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Jonathon chuckled, “True, but Principessa you do eat. This is a special day for you and Patrick and Amelia wanted to make sure you experienced it as so.”
“That’s nice of them,” I said.
The rest of the car ride was mostly silent. We drove a little longer before Danny soared into a parking lot and the car screeched to a stop. I think I left stomach behind me. I put my hand to my head in attempt to steady myself and keep myself from being sick all over Danny’s car. He probably wouldn’t appreciate it that much.
I saw Amelia’s Mercedes SUV already in the parking lot. I didn’t see Joseph’s corvette anywhere so I assumed he had ridden with Amelia and Patrick.
The place looked ordinary enough.
Until I stepped through the doors.
Oh, God what have these vampires done to me?
I tried to turn around to leave but Jonathon caught me around the waist with his stone cold arm. “Let me go,” I said trying to dislocate myself from his grip.
“No, not so quick. We are going to have a nice dinner as a family. There is nothing for you to be fussy about.”
“Fussy? Jonathon, a drink probably costs a small fortune here! Let alone a meal! I’m not letting your family throw away a bunch of money for a meal that only one person will eat! This is beyond ridiculous! Let’s go to freakin’ McDonalds!” I said running out of breath.
“Shhh, principessa, you are going to give yourself a stroke. Your heart sounds like a little baby bird’s. Don’t get yourself into such a tizzy. Danny and Mason eat human food to,” he defended.
“They eat like wolverines so I’m not sure you can call that eating. It’s more like devouring.” I said in all seriousness. But he laughed anyway. “Come on, Jonathon, this is silly!”
“Kylie, be a good sport. They want to do something special for you. They think of you as their daughter. If your family was here don’t you think they’d want to take you out for a nice meal in celebration?” He asked; giving me the puppy dog eyes that melted my heart. I didn’t miss the fact that he avoided the words mom and dad.
“Sure but…” I started to protest before he cut me off.
“Kylie, this is your first, and I guess with your decision not to join me in eternal life, only graduation from high school. They want to do this right. Be nice.”
“Okay,” I said my resolve wavering.
The meal, of course, was delicious. Danny and Mason devoured several very rare, to the point of raw, steaks which completely grossed me out. Patrick and Amelia were glowing with pride which instantly made me feel bad about objecting to the very nice dinner. I thanked them many times. I wanted them to know that it really did mean a lot to me even though I thought it was too much. It was such a nice gesture, they had many things on their minds, what with the whole having to leave thing.
The thought of having to leave instantly made my mood go down. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to drive the Pulmer’s from their home. It felt weak to let Selena remove us from our home. Or in my case the only place that’s felt like home in a long time. Tears wanted to swell in my eyes but I forced them away. Now, was not the time. I needed to enjoy the evening. This evening I had with my family.
We laughed and joked just like a real family. But soon my eyes began to be heavy. Graduation had been in the late afternoon and the sun had long since gone down. Jonathon, ever observant, noticed. He chuckled, “Well, I think we better get going. Kylie’s getting tired.”
“Oh, sweetie I’m sorry! You must be exhausted. Not all of us can go on an hour of sleep a week,” Amelia said patting my arm, “I’m sorry we kept you out so late dear,” she said kissing the top of my head.
“It’s okay. I was having fun and I wasn’t aware that I was getting so sleepy.” They chuckled.
We headed out of the restaurant that was still doing a good amount of business even though it was well after midnight. Jonathon pulled me into the car next to him. He shrugged off his leather jacket and put it around me. He buckled me in and then pulled my head down to rest it against his shoulder.
I inhaled his sweet scent and it made me dizzy. My eyelids drooped closed. The sound of the car heater finally lulled me into sleep.
I felt something hard and cold wrap against me. It jolted me into consciousness. I mumbled something that was completely incoherent. I felt Jonathon’s sweet breath blow against my face as he laughed. “My sweet principessa. We’re home now. I thought my bed would be more comfortable than the car but if you’d like to sleep in there…” he said leaving the sentence hanging.
“No, your bed sounds better,” I mumbled.
“I thought so.” He chuckled.
He carried me all the way through the house and then up the attic steps and laid me down gently on his bed. He tucked the comforter tightly around me. “Thank you,” I mumbled sleep becoming of me once more.
I don’t know how long I slept before I woke up in a cold sweat. But I do know that I had a nightmare. A nightmare that felt chillingly real.
And I couldn’t help but feel that we were walking directly into Selena’s trap. We were her pawns. And everything was going exactly as she had planned.
Chapter Nine: Run
