Ch. 3:
Malacai returned to us after a few long moments of hushed speaking with Damian. He had a peaceful look on his face, so I was convinced already that they had had a good conversation.
“What do you guys think about going into town for a little while? I would like to get to know the area, at least a little bit.” He smiled, invitingly.
I hesitated. Did I really want to go out exploring all day? Of course I did.
“I'm game. Let's do it.” I replied.
“Count me in.” Cheyenne said.
“Be ready in ten minutes. I want to go ahead and get it done so we can be back a little early. Remember though, you must stay in the shadows. If anyone sees how strange we look, it might raise questions that we can't answer.”
“Okay.” Cheyenne and I replied in unison. If there was one thing we agreed on, it was the fact that we didn't want anyone to know what we were. We would be much safer if we could blend in.
Since we had already gotten dressed, we waited for Malacai to return from whatever he was doing. We were never quite sure what he did in his spare time, but we were pretty convinced that we didn't really want to know.
After a few minutes, he came skipping down the stairs, keys in hand.
“You guys ready?” He asked.
“Yes. Where are Anna and Joel? I thought they would like to get out, too.” I said, wondering why they wouldn't want to explore their new home.
“They said they would meet up with us. I guess they had already made some plans before I had asked them about going out.”
“Oh, okay.” Cheyenne and I followed Malacai outside and into the beaten up van. Usually after a month or so after we moved to a new place, Malacai would go splurge on some nice cars for us. He didn't really like coming to a new town looking like he thought he was better than everyone else because he was rich. I was never sure where he got all that money, but he made sure to use it wisely.
As we rode into town, I admired all of the small-town life around me. There were elderly ladies walking slowly up the sidewalk, kids running past them, waving a quick hello, and couples pushing strollers on their daily walk. Everyone seemed so happy; it caused a smile to break across my face.
We pulled into a quaint sports bar and I couldn't wait to go inside and see what it was like. The sign above the door read, “If you come in here and drink, don't expect us to let you leave.” It was a very nice gesture, and I found it very responsible and caring.
I looked back before we walked inside, and saw that Malacai wasn't following us in.
“You not coming in?” I asked.
“No, I think I might ride up the road for a few minutes. Maybe I'll run into Anna and Joel somewhere. I don't want them running all over town. People will start to wonder what that strange blur is.” He smiled.
Cheyenne and I turned and walked into the bar. I decided I would have a Cosmopolitan and I already heard Cheyenne murmuring to herself about whether she wanted a White Russian or a Bloody Mary. Blood might be the best high we could get, but a strong drink usually calmed our nerves and lightened our spirits.
We took a seat in a four person booth and looked at our menus. Once I had saw that they had what I wanted, I glanced up, looking past Cheyenne's head. There he sat. Damian. He was looking down at a menu, but didn't seem like he wanted anything. I couldn't tell exactly what he was feeling at that moment, with him being a few booths away, but in his aura I could see he was upset.
I got the familiar feeling of butterflies rummaging around in my stomach as I saw the man of my dreams sitting in the back corner. I never expected to see Damian sitting in a place I never imagined him going. I hadn't been able to get him off my mind ever since he left barely an hour before then.
Just then, he caught my eye and smiled sheepishly at me.
“Hey, Damian! Long time, no see!” I joked. I couldn't believe how easily we had run into each other. I assumed he had already split and went back to his home in Strawberry Plains.
“Hey, Amelia! You guys decide to get accustomed with the town?”
“Yeah, but it's a little too hot for that right now so we decided to come have a drink. Would you like to join us?” I asked, my hands beginning to tremble. I don't know what it was about him, but he caused some very strange reactions. He stood, and walked towards me. I scooted towards the window to make room.
“So, come here often?” I chuckled, nervously. I could always be amazingly corny at the worst times.
“Actually I've only been here once before. It's not too bad though, they are pretty cool people.” He stared into the distance. I could sense now how upset he really was. Being a semi-mind reader wasn't always fun. When I encountered anyone in a bad mood, my mood immediately changed and I lost the motivation to try and cheer them up. It was a never-ending cycle. I tried very hard this time though, I couldn't stand to see him upset.
A strange looking woman sauntered up to the table dressed in a short skirt and tank top. She was unusually tall and had an extremely wide mouth.
“What can I get for y-” She glanced at Damian. “You moved. Would you like something other than soda now?” She chewed on her lip and flipped her hair as if we were wasting her time.
All three of them put in their drink orders. Cheyenne requested a Bloody Mary, I ordered a Cosmopolitan, and Damian asked for a rum and coke. I realized that we must have all needed a drink with those kinds of orders in the middle of the day.
After the waitress walked away, Damian whispered, “She was my waitress when I got here. I don't think she'll make employee of the month.” He smiled my direction.
“Definitely not. So what are you doing here anyway? There has to be some reason because you were sitting alone.”
Damian shrugged, “It's just been a rough couple of hours. I needed to get out of the house and this is the place I happened to find first. I wasn't even going to drink, but seeing as how the waitress doesn't care how old we are, I decided to go for it.”
We talked for a while longer, mostly about the town and the places there were to go. There wasn't much, but he did mention a movie theater and a dance club on the other side.
After we had ordered our second round of drinks, I looked up to see Malacai walking towards our table. “Amelia, Cheyenne! Your uncle just called, we need to go check on him.”
My uncle? Where did he come up with that one? I guess I'd spent my daily allotted amount of time with a human. Either that or the boys were getting hungry.
“Okay. Let us finish our drinks really quick. We'll be right there.” I picked up my glass and glanced at Damian. He was looking directly at me, seemingly hypnotized.
“Damian, I am so sorry to have to cut this short. I promise to make it up to you.”
Damian smiled, “It's okay, but you better believe I will hold you to that!” He finished the last of his drink and stood up from the table.
“Well, you guys have a safe trip home and if you ever need anyone to show you around town, let me know.” He slipped a napkin to me. When I examined it, I found his phone number written sloppily in red ink. When did he get the chance to write that down? I decided I didn't care when he had time, at least I had his number! All I could do was smile up at him as he began to walk towards the door.
“Okay, I'll make sure to do that.” I felt my blood ascending to my face and thanked my lucky stars that my complexion didn't allow the redness to show.
I had almost forgotten that Cheyenne was sitting across from me in the booth. She was watching me intently, and she had a wide smile on her face.
“What?” I joked.
“Somebody got a number!” Cheyenne giggled.
“Hah, whatever. It's not like I'm gonna use it or anything.” or so I thought. I didn't see any reason why I would need to use it at the time.
Cheyenne continued taunting me, but all I could do was study the numbers on the soft, white napkin. I felt like she was back in high school again. There were all sorts of emotions flowing through me. I wasn't sure if I was more concerned about when I would see Damian again, or how
Malacai would react knowing that I had gotten Damian's phone number.
I attempted to get a hold of myself. It wasn't like he asked me on a date. The phone number was for all of us in case we get lost.
I continued trying to tell myself that it meant nothing, but I couldn't deny how ecstatic I was at that moment. I felt like a young girl experiencing her first crush. Although, once I relaxed and really thought about it, I knew I couldn't use the phone number. I couldn't be with someone who wasn't part of the Dark Night. Well, it was a nice thought while it lasted. I'd have to avoid this one at all costs though, because if I kept seeing him I might not have been able to help myself.
“Lets get out of here. Malacai is starting to give me dirty looks from the door.” Cheyenne interrupted my thoughts.
I stood up and followed Cheyenne through the swinging doors. When we reached the van, all three of the other coven members were leaned against the beaten up van. Malacai must have caught up with them before they could make too much trouble.
“When can we get some normal vehicles? I'm starting to feel like I've been on a roller-coaster every time I get out of this thing.” Joel grumbled. He gave the van a nasty look and began creeping away from it.
“You have to give me time to get an established form of income before we can prance around here like we own everything. Let's go.” Malacai shot a glance at me as he passed.
“Ouch.” Cheyenne whispered to me. It may not have been a direct shot at me, but I could tell he was pissed.
I found a seat in the very back of the van and didn't speak to anyone the whole ride home. My mind was racing.
What am I supposed to do? Just ignore the way he makes me feel? I can't! And I won't, not just because Malacai has species issues. I've never felt this way around anyone before. I can't just ignore it. Why am I even thinking about this? I hardly even know the guy. What is wrong with me?
The van came to a stop about twenty minutes later. The ride was long and silent for us all. I knew they could all feel my confusion and anger towards Malacai. One I Amelia had always had was that I couldn't control my emotions once they became too much. It was also a problem that our kind were super sensitive to emotions and the vibes coming from a person.
When I stepped out of the van, I immediately began sprinting towards the forest. When I got into the trees, I ran farther than I ever had by myself before. I could feel that Cheyenne was calling to me. I could feel it in the trees, the ground, everything the exotic forest had to offer brought
Cheyenne's voice to my heart and soul.
I love you, Chey, but I have to be alone right now.
When I arrived at the lake, almost twenty minutes worth of running from my house at a normal speed, I took a better look at it. It was amazing. The water glittered from the sunlight, as did I. The trees encircled it completely and gave me all of the privacy I could ask for. The sky was blue and the sun shone brightly. I didn't particularly like the sun, if only because of the crawling sensation that it sent across my skin, but I could stand it if it meant being able to see the exquisite view.
I sat down on the edge of the bank and slowly sank my feet into the water. It felt so good on my skin. It was warm and inviting. I closed my eyes and layed back against the grassy bank behind me. After a few moments of clearing my mind and relaxing my nerves, I heard a slight brush against the leaves somewhere behind me. I sat up swiftly and looked around the trees nervously.
I heard the noise again, but this time it was louder. I stood up in my bare feet and tiptoed in and out of the maze of trees. When I decided it was nothing, I started to walk back towards the lake only to find a gorgeous fox sitting in the same place I was just laying. I went down on all four limbs and lounged at the amazing animal. I felt it's soft fur and felt it's fear in my heart. I held it's throat back and sank my teeth deep into it's throat.
When I had gotten enough of it's blood to tide me over, I helped the fox to run along. It glanced at me once more before disappearing into the shady trees.
When I sat up and shook off the high I had gotten from drinking, my ears perked up at the sound of people arguing in the woods. Being my usual, curious self, I took off to the other side of the lake where I was sure the voices were coming from. By the time I arrived, the yelling at stopped, so I wondered around in the trees until I heard a light splashing in the water just a few yards from me.
When I peeked my head out to investigate, I found Damian with his back slightly to me, skipping rocks across the water.
“I wish I could do that.”I said. “I never learned how.”
Damian turned sharply to see who was speaking, but relaxed when he saw me walking towards him through the trees.
“What in the world are you doing here? Do you know how far from the house you are?” Damian exclaimed, apparently worrying about my safety. Oh, how little he knew about me.
“I got into a bit of an altercation with my...dad. I had to get away from everybody for a while, but I thought I heard someone yelling so I started walking this way.” I stood about three feet away from him trying to think of a better excuse.
“You came when you heard someone yelling? Are you sure that's safe?” A wide smile spread across Damian's face. “Well, nothing is wrong. I also had a small run-in with my grandfather.”
“I hope everything is okay. I will leave you to your peace and quiet then. I just wanted to make sure no one needed any help.” I turned to walk away.
“Are you sure? I wouldn't mind a little company.” He pressed.
“I really think I should make my way home. I'm sure it will be time to eat by the time I get there.”
“Okay then, be careful, and just scream if you need me!” Damian chuckled.
“You got it!”
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Jessica |
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