Losing It: A Collection of VCards by Julia Crane, Stacey Wallace Benefiel, Alexia Purdy, Ednah Walters, Bethany Lopez, A. O. Peart, Nikki Jefford, Tish Thawer, Amy Miles, Heather Hildenbrand, Kristina Circelli, S. M. Boyce, K. A. Last, Melissa Haag, S. T. Bende, Tamara Rose Blodgett, Helen Boswell, Julie Prestsater, Misty Provencher, Ginger Scott, Milda Harris, M. R. Polish Page B

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
    I fixed my stare on Josh, the door clicking closed behind me. He walked away, hands shoved into his pockets.
    The stairs groaned as I ascended. I went left and peered into the room at the end of the hall. Josh sat outside on the roof, leaning against the terrace wall. His shoulder covered the left side of the open window. He rested his forearms on his knees and stared at the blackened sky. His dark hair flopped over the side of his face and I wanted to go to him and run my fingers through it.
    “What do you want?” he said, as I walked into the room.
    How could I answer that? I didn’t know what I wanted. “To talk?”
    “I said everything I had to say when I left.”
    “Well, I didn’t,” I said.
    Josh ducked his head inside the window. His gaze bore holes in me, and it hurt.
    “I told you, Grace. I’m not ready to be near you until you sort out your issue with Seth.”
    “My issue?”
    “You can’t have us both.”
    “I don’t have either of you! And I don’t know where Seth is. Angelica took him, in case you’ve forgotten. Where do I start looking?”
    “You think I should know?” he said.
    The volume of his voice made me flinch. There was a time when Josh would never have shouted at me, but that had changed when Charlotte turned him. I couldn’t blame him for being so angry. I’d be angry with me, too.
    “I don’t want to fight, Josh.”
    “Then why are you here?”
    I hesitated, and then took a step forward. “I want to see if you’re okay.”
    “Really? You came all this way to check up on me?” He climbed through the window with a grace he hadn’t possessed as a human, and stood in the centre of the room.
    “You might not think it, but I care about you.”
    “I told you I loved you.” Josh scowled and clenched his fists. “And you didn’t say it back.”
    I fiddled with the ring on my right hand. Josh’s stare broke away from mine and focused on my fingers. I wore another ring, the one he’d given me, on my left middle finger. The sapphire was as blue as my eyes used to be before I fell.
    “You put it on,” he said.
    “Why wouldn’t I?”
    “Why would you if you don’t love me?”
    “You’re putting words in my mouth. I never said I don’t love you.”
    “But you never said you did.”
    “I …”
    “Do you love me?”
    I hesitated again. “It’s not as simple as that.”
    “Give me a break.” Josh pushed past me and flew down the stairs.
    With a deep breath, I followed. How was I going to fix this? It seemed as if everything was too broken to be put back together.
    I went into the kitchen where Josh stood, leaning on the bench. His arms were stretched out in front of him and his head hung between them. I wanted to go to him, to wrap my arms around his waist and never let go.
    “You’re still here,” he said.
    “I don’t want to leave.”
    “What about what I want? Doesn’t that count for anything?” Josh lifted his head and we stared at each other.
    “I’m not leaving,” I said.
    He went to the fridge and took out a plastic water bottle, but it wasn’t filled with water, and it wasn’t red cordial.
    I raised my eyebrows. “The city has a store where you can buy blood?”
    Josh laughed and took a swig. “Not exactly, but do you see any wild animals around here? Last time I checked they were all behind bars at the zoo. We’re not in the country, Grace. I can’t hunt, and I can’t eat the next person who happens to walk past.”
    “You can’t do that in the country either.”
    “You know what I mean.” He took another drink.
    “At least you’re talking to me.” I attempted a smile, but it fell short.
    “Who says I’m talking to you?”
    “You’re talking to the blood then?”
    “What do you want?” he asked.
    I looked him straight in the eyes, but after a few seconds Josh dropped his gaze. He sighed and clenched his fists.
    “I don’t know what I want,” I said.
    “So you thought you’d come