After scrambling up the fire escape, through my window, and back onto my bed, I put the magnetic window lock as it should be and closed it. Crossing my room and leaning against the door, I listened for any type of distressed conversation from downstairs. There was none; I heard only my father talking on the phone, pots and pans clanging together as my mother made dinner for the two of them, and the news in the background. It would seem that my assumption had been wrong, and that the silver car I had seen earlier had not been theirs.
Great, I thought miserably, so all that drama for nothing. Just wonderful. I laid down on my bed in desperation and stared boredly at the ceiling, beating myself up mentally for being so stupid and causing such a scene.
As I thought the incident over, an image of the tallish boy who had helped me came to mind. Now what did he look like...oh, right. Blue eyes. It had been ages since I'd seen anyone with blue eyes. I never really paid attention to anyone's features. They were all just humans to me, people so impossibly unlike me I didn't dare become associated with them. But I remembered that boy's eyes, because they had reminded me so strongly of my eyes, before I had become a vampire. Sparkling pools of ocean water, that's what they were like. A shimmering, deep blue unlike any other. Spiky, brown, messy hair. My hair was brown, too. And always messy, no matter how hard I tried to fix it. Which, might I add, is not very hard at all.
I stopped myself there, realizing exactly what I was doing. I was finding similarities between myself and that boy. That was not, in any way, okay. I had to keep telling myself that I was a vampire, that I could not be like humans. Besides, if I started accepting them, I can only imagine how long it would take to start getting close to them, and how quickly after that it would lead to their death and my discovery.
You can never be like them, I repeated in my head, it doesn't matter what you think. It's wrong. You're not like them, they're not like you.
But still...though I was different from people, that boy had been different from them, too. I could tell. He wasn't a victim of the seemingly homogeneic society. Like...me.
And he had made me feel so safe, for a fleeting moment, when those people had surrounded me. Unimaginable fear had consumed me then--fear that I'd be exposed for my true self--but he had stepped in, and the fear had gone away. No one had ever made me feel that secure. Ever. Not to mention that when other people had stood there and stared, he was the one who had tried to help me, even though I was a complete stranger. Not even my own family would manage that.
An argument placed itself in my mind. It was saying that the boy I had seen was unlike anyone I had ever come in contact with, that he made me feel differently than anyone ever had. But the other half was saying that he was just another human, that accepting him or getting close to him or anything of the sort would only lead to trouble. He wasn't a friend. He was an enemy.
I was so caught up in my inner battle that I almost didn't notice my door fly open suddenly. By the time I realized that my father had come into my room, he had already slapped me off of the bed and was glaring at me as I lay on the floor, frozen with surprise.
"You awful, horrible child," he mumbled, stepping back a foot or two as I began to stir. "I suppose we should have known, all this time, that you had some way of getting past our boundries."
"Wh-what are you...?" I began to ask, but was silenced as he slammed his foot onto the ground inches away from me, startling me into submission.
"I was watching the news, Akyra," he whispered, glaring at me more hatefully than ever before, "and we happened to see a broadcast about the little girl who walked away from a hit-and-run earlier this morning. Strangely enough, a little girl whose description fits yours to a tee."
Horror washed over me. I paled even more intensely, trying to fight the nausea that was creeping through my body and up into my throat. I should have known, I thought regrettably. Something as out of the ordinary as that couldn't be passed up by the media. And it was right in the middle of town, too...I sat up, only to sway dizzily and collapse against my bed. "That...that wasn't me..." I lied desperately, anxious for some attempt at getting out of this. But my lie only made things worse; I was lifted off of the floor by my hair and dragged towards and then down the stairs, before being tossed onto the couch in front of the TV. My mother stood in the kitchen, watching with emotionless eyes.
The news was playing a re-run broadcast, and the reporter sitting at the desk was talking to his co-anchor about the exact incident I had been involved in earlier. The footage cut to a video clip, where you couldn't exactly see anything except a crowd of people standing in the middle of the street, and a few glimpses of me as I had been walking away from the scene. The description given by a witness, however, was completely unavoidable--this person had described me better than I could have. There was too much evidence against me for my lie to work any longer.
As soon as the clip ended, the TV was promptly shut off and the remote flew at my head. "I wonder how long this has been going on. You've been sneaking out for a while, I assume? Thinking you can outsmart us, just because you think you're better than us? You're a monster, a demon, Akyra!"
"No, I'm not! Shut up!" I shouted, standing up to defend myself.
"I can only imagine what awful things you've been doing--killing people like the damned creature you are? Plotting to lash out at us, I can assume!"
"That isn't true!"
A book or two flew towards me, and as I dodged them, I heard the front door open. My father crossed the room, grabbed my arm, and dragged me roughly to the open door, where my mother stood silently. "Let go of me!" I ordered several times, kicking randomly as I struggled to escape. He stopped at the door, letting me look out at the dark front yard, and the sidewalk and street beyond it. "Take a good look at your new home, Akyra. We've tolerated you for far too long, and your habits have brought us to the conclusion that you are too dangerous a monster to keep a secret any longer. Go on and be someone else's problem." With that, he let go and shoved me onto the doorstep, slamming the door in my face. I heard it lock and watched through the front window as he and my mother walked away.
I stood on the step for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the door to open again. Waiting for them to welcome me back inside and apologize for the outburst. That's what parents do, right? I knew they wouldn't, but my heart was so steeped in denial that I couldn't bring myself to move from the spot. There was something deep within me that was hoping they hadn't meant what they said, that the past eight years of hatred had been a lie. It was the only thing that was keeping me rooted to the pavement, that last glimmer of hope that they still loved me, even just a little bit.
I knew for sure when a half an hour had passed, and painfully told myself that it was time I left. Turning my back on my seven-year home and eight-year prison, I walked off into the night with a heavy heart, my unwanted teardrops falling onto the path ahead of me with every sorrowful step I took.
Sunlight dimly lit the dark sky above me. I had no idea what time of day it was, or where I was at the current moment. I had been wandering aimlessly for countless hours, completely lost and completely unsure of where to go. Not like I had anywhere to go.
I sat down on a nearby park bench, taking a deep breath and wiping my tear-stained face free of the water droplets. It was warm out, even though it was only about dawn, and I was beginning to hate the warmth. It was almost too much to bear, this change in temperature, and I longed to not feel like a penguin dropped into the middle of some tropical island.
But that was the least of my worries at the moment. I had absolutely nowhere in the world to go--no family or friends to run to--and while under this much diress, I was beginning to doubt how much control I had over my vampire instincts. Even now, I was trembling with intense hunger and fearing the thought that I had nothing to dispel it. What could I do?
Trying to stay rational, I made an attempt to come up with a few solutions to my seemingly endless problem. After a few minutes passed, I got more and more discouraged when nothing at all came to mind. For the millionth time that morning, I could only tell myself it was hopeless. I was hopeless. In the back of my mind, I knew I was losing control, slowly. I knew that if I didn't find something positive, something that would brighten the depressed darkness swirling inside me, I might not ever find a way out. And who knows where my life would go from there. Or if it would even go anywhere at all.
I was beginning to scare myself. I sat in the same spot for hours, shivering in discomfort and fear, trying to avoid my own thoughts. Every so often, I'd start to cry again, cry until I felt like there were no tears left to cry with. And even after that, I sobbed dryly, lying on my side on the hard bench and shaking uncontrollably. There's no way out. It's over.
Apparently, I had fallen asleep without noticing, because when I opened my eyes again I was certainly not alone. It was much brighter out, obviously later in the day; I had to squint in the sunlight as I tried to look around. People were milling through the park, some of them eyeing me warily as they passed by, whispering things to one another and staring. My stare must have been just as clueless, because a lady came within a few feet of me and knelt down to my eye level. "Are you lost, sweetheart?" she asked, looking concerned. My eyes widened in terror, and I sat up quickly, nearly falling over in the process. My heart was racing, my head spinning as I struggled to remain in control. Stay calm, stay calm...I chanted to myself, wrapping both arms around my torso and huddling into a little ball as I shuddered violently. Everything's all right. You're not hungry. She'll leave if you ignore her. Don't panic...but instead of walking away like I hoped, she took a few more steps forward and gently touched my shoulder. "Do you need help?"
Horrified, I slapped her hand away and jumped up off the bench, skittering behind it before I half jumped, half walked away. "No! Leave me alone!" I screamed over my shoulder, ignoring the countless shocked expressions that glanced my way. Before I knew it, I was running, and I wasn't sure where. At that speed, all thoughts in my head slowed down, and I was able to relax my anxious mind, if only for a while. It was calming, and I didn't want to stop. I probably would have run forever, too, if I hadn't crossed paths with someone.
Midstep, I crashed into the side of a blackish-brown blur, tripping over it as it fell forward. I skidded across the grass and flipped onto my back. I lay there momentarily, slightly dazed, and then shook my head once and sat up. Getting to my feet again, I turned to run before hearing an ear-splitting moan from behind me. Turning, I looked down and nearly fell back over in surprise. Lying on the ground in front of me, clutching his arm and wailing, was a boy. But not just any boy--this was the boy that had tried to help me, when I had been hit by that car the day before. Brown hair, blue eyes, black army jacket, baggy, ripped jeans...the same person that had run into the street after the accident. Just thinking of that moment brought a wave of grief spilling over me, but realizing I'd had the luck to find him again made me forget all the sadness that had been overwhelming me.
"Oh, god..." he mumbled, rolling back and forth, "my freaking arm...dammit, it's broken..." Instantly, I felt not only responsible, but sorry for the boy. I realized that he wouldn't heal as fast as I would have in this situation, and that he must be in a lot of pain. Ignoring the instincts raging inside my mind, I sat on the grass and looked down at him.
"Are...are you all right?"
"Hell no," he snapped, turning his seething gaze up at me. "Why should I be all right, my arm's broken!" After a few more seconds of loathsome glaring, comprehension dawned on his face. "You look familiar..." he muttered, looking me over.
"As do you," I said. Inwardly, I was shocked that I was behaving so nonchalantly. First of all, I was talking to a human I didn't know, something I rarely, if ever, did. I was afraid of humans, so there was no clear reason why I was having such a comfortable conversation with him. Second, I was currently, right at that moment, resisting the urge to kill him with every fiber of my being. Just sitting that close to him was driving me insane--his blood smelled so fresh, so pure...like nothing I'd ever experienced before. My parents each had a smell also, but ignoring the smell for so long had turned me off of it. People like this boy, who were new to me, still had a noticable smell to them. Each one was different, like fingerprints. No two fingerprints--or smells--were the same, and this boy's smell was the best I'd ever known. Irresistable. It made my throat burn like it was on fire, and my head spun with the intoxicating aroma. Truly, it was clear that this single smell was one I wouldn't easily ignore. But I kept my cool, watching him lurch up and off of the ground into a shaky sitting position, still holding his broken arm to his chest.
"I might be wrong, but aren't you that girl that got hit by a car yesterday? I came to help you and all...you were on the news, right?" Paying no attention to his comment about the news, I nodded, and his face lit up. "So you're okay. Good. I was worried about you."
This was surprising to me; I hadn't been the object of someone's worry, compassion, or anything for as long as I could remember. But had he not just said he had worried? Worried about me? "...Th-Thank you..." I said shyly. I must have blushed, because he chuckled lightly before wincing in agony.
"Damn, this hurts," he said with a sigh. Suddenly, what sounded like police sirens could be heard in the distance; instantly, he perked up and awkwardly jumped to his feet. "Perfect timing. Curse 'em all."
"What are...?" I began to ask, but he interrupted.
"The cops, of course." Glancing down at his pockets, which I now noticed were very full, he smiled grimly. "Shoplifting, again." The sirens got closer, and he began to look a bit panicked. "That's my cue. Good to see you again," he said quickly. Hastily, he turned to run away. For reasons that will forever be unbeknowst to me, I stepped in front of him and shook my head.
"You can't just run off like this, you're hurt," I informed him, trying to look stern. Now that I've found him...he's the only hope I have, I thought to myself. I can't pass up a chance like this--he may be the only human I'm able to be around. Without him, I'm doomed to be alone. Forever.
"No, really, I'll be fine. You wouldn't want to get involved in the law like this, trust me."
"Trust me," I said desperately, "you're not going to outrun a fleet of police cars with a broken arm." Looking left and right, I noticed that we were next to a particularly thin alleyway, one that most people wouldn't consider an easy place to hide. Jumping at the chance, I pushed him towards it and shoved him behind me, ignoring his cries of pain.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded, yelling a stream of angry, swear-filled comments at the back of my head as I blocked him out of view. Minutes later, the police cars--three of them, I noticed--went zooming by, sirens wailing and lights blinking rapidly. After I was sure they were long gone, I pulled him back out of the alley and looked at him. Not only was his face bright red with anger, but his furious blue eyes were like daggers, stabbing me in succession. "That was one freaking crazy stunt, you know that?" he shrieked, rolling his eyes. Obviously, he was upset with me. I had ruined whatever chances I had of getting help from him. Great. Ashamed of myself, I turned to walk away, but was stopped by a shout. "Don't leave!"
I turned. "Why not?"
Staring at the ground with embarrassment, he shrugged. "I'm not done yelling at you?"
Despite my normal tendency to storm off in a huff, I found myself laughing. "Is that your real reason?"
"My name's Sora," he said awkwardly, smiling a little. I blinked at his reply, and then, for the first time in a long time, I smiled sincerely as I told him my name.
"I'm Akyra," I replied, stepping closer.
"Akyra..." he said, apparently trying my name out. "That's a pretty name for a girl."
"Sora's a pretty name for a girl, too," I said, laughing at my own joke. He scoffed slightly before cringing. "You know, we should probably get you to a doctor."
"Nah," Sora said, shaking his head. "I've got somewhere better to go than some stinking hospital. Follow me," he offered, jerking his head in the direction he started walking.
The old me would have immediately turned and ran for their life, sprinting off into oblivion full of fear and the desire to remain in solitude for as long as possible--away from problems, away from anxiety, away from everything and anything. But recent events had changed that--I now knew what it was like to be truly alone. Sora had shown me, for the first time, the feeling of wanting to be free from that loneliness. He had given me the opportunity to look at life differently, and that glimpse of a new, brighter future had changed me. I was a new person. Who I'd become over the years was no longer who I was, and I was ready to start over.
My mind was made up, and I jogged forward a few steps to catch up with Sora. "Coming," I called, giggling in spite of myself. I was just a little bit happy, for the first time. For the first time, I felt like I was going to start living the life of the Akyra I was meant to be.
"Where are we going?"
"You've probably asked that about a hundred times, Akyra," Sora replied, his mood edging dangerously close to annoyed.
"But you still haven't answered," I shot back. He huffed loudly and stopped walking, turning around to face me.
"Fine, fine. If you're really that interested, we're going to my apartment."
My eyes widened. "You have an apartment?"
"Yeah, me and my brother."
"What about your parents?" I asked, interested. I was confused to see Sora's jaw clench, and he lowered his head slowly.
"They...they don't live with us," he whispered, his voice shaking.
"Oh," I replied, walking alongside him as he continued down the street. He looked over at me, now back to his old self, and titled his head curiously.
"Where do you live?"
This threw me off; I stopped walking and stood stock-still, unsure of how to respond. Do I tell him I was thrown out of my house because I'm a vampire? Or do I say I was thrown out of my house for a different reason entirely? Even still, should I make something up completely?
"Um...nowhere," I answered finally, sounding as sad as I felt. That realization was still hard to grasp, it seemed.
"You're kidding," Sora said in surprise. After a few moments, he shook his head disbelievingly. "So you're homeless, then? How'd you end up like that?"
"Well, uh, my parents and I didn't get along. They threw me out." That seemed to be an adequate explanation, and a truthful one at that. Satisfied, I waited for him to say something. However, he didn't; he just kept walking, squinting his eyes as if he was trying to focus on something.
"That sucks," he mumbled finally, sighing. "I feel pretty bad..."
"No, don't," I pleaded, not wanting his pity. I didn't need anyone's pity; it would just make me feel more sorry for myself as a result.
"Seriously, Akyra, I'm going to talk to Cloud and figure something out for you. It's not right to let a person go homeless when you know there's a way to help them."
"Sora, I don't need---" Halfway through my sentence, Sora lifted his good arm and put his hand over my mouth. I was so shocked I nearly bit him, but focused on biting my lip instead.
"You do need help, Akyra. Stop cheating yourself out of good fortune and just go with the flow. You'll never be happy if you don't accept help from people sometime."
He's right, I thought, somewhat bitterly. I can't keep refusing this. If I don't want to be alone, I have to let him help. "All right," I agreed, my speech muffled by his hand. Lifting it away, he patted my head with the same hand and then went back to walking. Five minutes or so passed, and then I realized something.
"Sora, who's Cloud? You mentioned him before."
"Oh, Cloud," he said, laughing, "Cloud's my cousin. He's older than me."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen, sixteen in two months. October."
"I'm sixteen in November," I said proudly, adding a mumbled "I think" at the end. He smiled at me.
"So we're pretty much the same age. That's cool."
"Yeah," I replied quietly, watching my feet step in a steady, one-two rythym as I followed Sora. I hadn't known anyone my age since I was six years old. I hadn't had any friends since about then, either, but I wasn't yet sure if I could consider Sora a friend, or if he was more an aquaintance.
"Here we are!" Sora piped cheerfully, nodding towards the apartment building to my right. Looking up at it, I noticed it had several floors, and lots of windows, some lit from the inside. The door in front of us was glass and see-through, and I could see the lobby before we even walked through. Sora called a greeting to the secretary behind the desk and headed towards a hallway, which led to an elevator. He stepped inside confidently and turned to press a button, but then noticed me, still standing in the hallway, hands clenched together fearfully. "You okay?"
"I...I've never really been on an elevator before," I confessed, trying not to look embarrassed. I expected to be laughed at, but Sora only looked at me sympathetically before answering.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, just walk in." I did as I was told, and watched Sora press a button for the fourth floor. Nothing happened for a moment, and then the elevator car shuddered slightly before jerking upwards. I screamed, and immediately heard Sora chuckle. "It's not Tower of Terror. Relax."
"What's Tower of Terror?"
"Right, you don't know. So relax."
Trying my best to remain composed, I waitied patiently while the car continued upwards, and then supressed another yelp when it jerked to a stop. Sora stepped out, and I gratefully followed, trailing him down a hallway towards a door marked "4C", which he asked me to open for him. I did, and we were immediately greeted by loud, angry screaming.
"Sora, you moron!" screamed the boy who ran toward us. He had spiky, blonde hair, and was wearing a pair of cargo pants and a blue t-shirt over a white hooded sweatshirt. Sora grimaced as the boy continued reprimanding him without even stopping to notice me. "I can't believe you would go and pull a stunt like that; I heard the cruisers go by, don't try and tell me it wasn't you because I know it was! Look at your pockets; they're freaking full of stolen stuff! How could you?!"
"Roxas, you sound like someone's mother should..." Sora remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes and smirking at me. The other boy, Roxas, sighed in desperation and leaned against the open door.
"What, you expect me to be completely calm over the fact that you just stole from the same store you got caught stealing from a week ago? You're just asking to get arrested."
"Look, I was just...borrowing..." Sora attempted, but Roxas only swore angrily and muttered something about kleptomania before he walked back into the apartment, leaving the door open. "Heh, figured he'd be mad. He's always been a little overprotective." Turning to me, he shrugged as if to say "well, now you know", and then grinned. "That's my twin brother, Roxas. As you can probably tell, we're not identical." That said, he proceeded into his apartment. Assuming I should follow, I did, and closed the door behind me. Hearing it close, Roxas looked up and noticed me for the first time since we had arrived.
"And who's this, someone you kidnapped for ransom?"
"That's Akyra," Sora answered, glaring at his brother. "She hasn't been kidnapped; she's the girl that got hit by the car yesterday. I saw her again at the park when I was running from the cops..." Roxas groaned and put a hand on his head, "...and when I broke my arm, she walked back here with me."
"You broke your arm?" Roxas asked, sounding surprisingly calm. "Good thing Cloud came down to help with the rent. I'll go get him, wait here." Just before he was about to walk into an adjoining room, he stopped and turned to me. "Nice meeting you."
"You as well," I muttered, feeling shy. Roxas grinned and continued into the room, emerging moments later with a much taller, much blonder boy dressed completely in black except for a white t-shirt under his motorcycle jacket.
"What happened, Sora?" the boy asked, walking over and inspecting the shorter boy's limp, swollen arm. Sora yelped in pain as the older boy lifted it in his hand. "It's broken?"
"Let go, Cloud, that hurts like hell," Sora complained, pushing his cousin's hand away. Cloud rolled his eyes.
"Do you want to go to the hospital?"
"No," Sora answered loudly, "can't you call Taelia?"
Sighing, Cloud nodded. "I guess so. Take a seat and don't move." Once again, it had taken the next newcomer until now to notice me. "Um, who's...?"
"Akyra. She got hit by the car yesterday, and she came here with me after I broke my arm."
"Let me guess, she helped you escape the cops?" his cousin asked, chuckling. He looked at me. "Sora never makes friends unless they get him away from the police. He's a little strange like that. It's nice to meet you, by the way," he added as he picked up a cordless phone off of the nearby counter and dialed it. Sora made his way over to a couch, and I followed and sat down beside him as he turned on the TV.
"What do you watch?" he inquired, handing me the remote. After staring at it for a moment, I hit the channel button until I found the comedy I always ended up watching. Sora burst out laughing, and even Roxas noticed and laughed from across the room.
"Saturdays? This is our favorite," he said excitedly, leaning back and placing his injured arm on a stack of pillows. I did the same, and soon found myself quite comfortable. It was odd; I'd only been in the apartment for a few minutes, but I already felt at home, sitting on their couch and watching TV with them. I was happy, content, and secure, and I wanted nothing more than to stay forever. Unlikely, I thought disappointedly, three boys letting a girl live with them. Much less a girl that's pretty much a stranger. Looking at Sora nervously, I shivered as the smell of his blood drifted back into my senses. I could smell Roxas as well--sitting in the recliner next to the couch--and Cloud, who was on the other side of the big living room, but their smells were so inferior in comparison to Sora's that I could only ignore them. As ecstatic as I was to be somewhere where I was at ease, it was still difficult to resist his blood.
Just as I was considering this, the door opened again, and a woman about Cloud's height walked in. She had shoulder length blonde hair and emerald green eyes, seeming catlike in her appearance and movements. She wore a long, tan jacket, which she was apparently wearing over a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. "Okay, so what happened now? Cloud calls me and says something about someone and a broken arm..."
"That would me moi!" Sora shouted from my left, laughing. Roxas held in his own laughter, but it escaped in short bursts nonetheless.
"Sora, is it humanly possible for you to stay out of trouble?" the woman asked, shaking her head good-naturedly.
"Honestly, Taelia, I'm beginning to doubt that," Cloud answered, walking over to stand beside her. Sora stuck his tongue out and laughed teasingly. Rolling her eyes at him, Taelia perked up noticably when she saw me.
"Who's this?"
"Akyra," the three boys said in unison, not bothering to explain any further. Taelia smiled.
"Hi there, Akyra, I'm Taelia; Sora and Roxas's cousin, Cloud's twin sister. Sorry to see you've had to deal with the lot of them on your own, even I have trouble bearing it. And I'm family." I only shrugged, not confident on how to respond, and turned back to the TV. In my peripheral vison (which, might I add, is almost as powerful as my normal vision) I noticed Taelia taking some bandages and other medical supplies out of a bag she had set on the counter. Sora cringed.
"You're not going to wrap it, are you?"
"No, Sora, I'm going to let your arm sit there and magically heal on its own. Of course I'm going to wrap it; just stay still and keep quiet," she ordered as she came nearer to her younger cousin, carrying one of the several rolls of bandages. Slowly, she began wrapping Sora's broken arm, much to his dismay. Ignoring his swearing, complaining, and flailing, she soon finished with the bandage and reached back into the bag, pulling out a sling and putting Sora's arm in it before securing the strap behind his neck. "There, all set. Don't do anything stupid until it heals, and keep it in the sling."
"How long...?" Sora began to ask, but his cousin was one step ahead of him.
"Two weeks," she answered briskly, and Sora groaned before mumbling a short stream of swears. Shaking her head, Taelia shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you; that's how long it takes to heal and there's nothing you or I can do about it."
Doesn't apply to me, I thought, fidgeting on the couch. Looking out the window beside me, I noticed that the sun was starting to go down; glancing at the clock on the other side of the room, I was surprised to see that it was already 5 o'clock. It must have been around three or four when I had run into Sora in the park.
"So, Akyra, where are you from?" Taelia asked, snapping me back into reality. Blinking a few times, I was about to answer when Sora spoke up suddenly.
"She doesn't live anywhere. Her parents kicked her out."
A silence settled over the room. The only noise came from the TV, which was now blaring some commercial for chewing gum. Flushing slightly, I stared awkwardly at my feet before hearing Cloud start up the conversation again.
"Is that why you brought her here, Sora? So she had a place to stay?" Sora nodded, and a slightly sympathetic look swept over Cloud's face, followed by something that looked like concern. But I could have been wrong. Turning to me, he grinned. "Staying for dinner, then?"
"Staying for longer than that, stupid brother," Taelia said loudly, punching Cloud in the arm. "Akyra, you're welcome to stay here if you'd like, at least until you sort things out with your parents."
At that thought, I paled. Only I knew that there was more than just a child-parent arguement going on here; only I was aware that there would never be a chance for me to go back home. If I was going to stay here, it would probably have to be for good. I had nowhere else to go. Maybe if they start to like me, they'll let me live here forever. I just have to stay in control long enough to win their trust, that's all.
"I'd like that," I said thankfully, and was relieved to see pleasant, friendly smiles as a response. This could work.
There are still two big problems, though--actually staying in control of my instincts, and the fact that I'm a vampire.
Okay, so maybe it wouldn't work so well. It seemed that I was going to have to play my cards right to gamble my way through. At least I was willing to.
