I clenched and unclenched my fists as I waited for Vlad to make a move.
"You ok?" Sam whispered.
I gave a small nod. "Yeah."
She took a small sip from her cup.
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Turning slightly, I saw Vlad, leaning closer to me.
"Fine. I won't fight you here." He whispered into my ear. "But just so you know, I do intend on kicking your ass."
"You and what army?" I demanded, hissing through the side of my mouth.
He stood up straighter, but still whispered into my ear. "The ghost army."
I clenched my fists again and shrugged his hand off of my shoulder, turning to glare at him. "You were behind those ghost attacks, weren't you?"
He smirked. "Who did you think sent those ghosts after you in college?"
I gritted my teeth.
Vlad gave a small shrug, a smile still on his face. "But then I was informed that you hadn't even tried to fight back."
"That's because innocent people were around." I replied. "I wasn't going to show them what I was. Or get them hurt."
"People are never really innocent, Daniel. Honestly, have you listened to nothing I've ever said, hmm?" He asked.
He was doing this on purpose. Toying with me to get a reaction.
Well if he was looking for a reaction, he wouldn't get one from me.
I wasn't going to give him what he wanted.
"If you'll excuse me, my fiance and I would like to enjoy the rest of our evening." I took Sam's hand.
"Fiance? Big step, Daniel. Tell me, do your parents know that you're engaged?" He asked.
"That's not really any of your business is it?" I asked, pulling Sam closer to me.
He gave a small shrug. "Maybe not."
I led Sam behind me and walked away from him.
"Enjoy the rest of your evening, Daniel." He called.
I gritted my teeth and continued walking away from him.
The hand that was holding Sam's hand wasn't clenched like my other hand was.
I took a few deep breaths as we paused by the stairs.
Sam sat down on the steps and smoothed out her dress.
"You should go talk to Jazz." She said, wincing as she pulled on her shoes.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing. My shoes are a little tight."
I slid her shoe off and massaged her foot a little. "Better?"
She smiled. "Yes. Now go talk to your sister."
"Why?" I asked.
She set her punch down on the stair beside her. "Because. I want you to go ahead and get her to agree to take the x-ray so we can take care of that after the guests leave."
I gave a sigh. "I don't want to bring that up with everyone around."
"Then ask to talk to her privately and take her into the kitchen or something." She replied.
I saw Vlad across the room, his back to me.
Instantly, my anger rose again.
Who did he think he was? I oughta rip his head off just for walking through my front door.
I was surprised at how angry I really was, so I took another deep breath and nodded at Sam.
"All right, I'll go talk to her."
She reached out and squeezed my hand. "I love you."
"I love you too." I replied, giving her hand a kiss.
She leaned her head on her hand and watched me as I started walking away.
I looked back at her once and she smiled.
After making sure that Vlad was nowhere near her, I walked into the kitchen and saw my father, taking a sip of soda from a can.
"Have you seen Jazz?" I asked.
He nodded and set the can down on the counter.
"Yeah, a few minutes ago, she came in here with Tucker and grabbed a soda." He said.
I walked over to the fridge and opened it.
A case of Dr. Pepper was at the bottom.
My favorite drink.
I reached in and grabbed a can and pulled the tab up.
"Thanks, I'll go look for her." I mumbled.
"Danny?" He asked, as soon as I'd turned my back.
I turned back around. "Yeah?"
He fidgeted with his wedding ring for a minute. "It's uhh…"
For a second, he glanced down at his wedding ring, then back up at me.
"It's good to have you here."
I gave him a small smile. "It's good to be here."
He nodded and I exited the room.
As weird as that was, I didn't think anything of it.
Maybe he was letting it go.
Besides, I hadn't done anything wrong, right?
I walked back into the living room, drinking the soda.
Sam looked up as I passed by her.
"Found Jazz yet?" She asked.
I shook my head and swallowed.
"No, not yet."
She shrugged. "Did you check upstairs?"
"No, but I will now." I replied.
She stood up as I walked up the stairs.
When I got to the bedrooms, I knocked on her door, then opened it.
No one was in there, so I shut it and I went to my room instead.
I knocked but there was no answer, so I opened the door.
What I found when I opened the door both horrified me and disgusted me.
Tucker was lying on my bed, with Jazz on top of him.
Her lips were against his, and his hand was steadily moving up her back.
Jazz's shirt had been discarded onto my floor and Tucker's hat had fallen off onto my bed.
I made a noise like a dying cat and slammed my door shut again.
Jazz swore and I took a deep breath, turning my back to my bedroom door.
I grabbed my temples in either hand and began rubbing them.
Just as I was wondering if it was possible to wash out your eyeballs, the door opened and Jazz came out.
"It's not what it looks like." Tucker said.
I turned around and saw Jazz nudge him and give him a look.
"What he means is, nothing was going to happen." She replied.
"On my bed?" I asked, my voice higher than normal. "Why? When you have a perfectly good one right next door."
She looked at the floor. "Sorry…"
"Ooh, some guests are leaving." Tucker said.
I glanced behind me and saw my mom waving goodbye to some people who were leaving.
I turned back around and cleared my throat.
"That was the most disgusting thing I think that I have ever seen." I said.
Tucker laughed and Jazz nudged him again.
He put his hat back on and grabbed his cane from the doorframe. "What?"
She sighed. "I'm sorry. We'll use my bed."
I made another noise like a cat.
"Here? While there are people downstairs?" I asked, my voice going higher and higher every time I spoke.
Tucker glanced at Jazz, then back at me.
"Ohhh…" He said like he suddenly comprehended something.
"What?" I asked, my voice returning to semi-normalcy.
"Nothing." He shrugged, but he was grinning.
"No, seriously. What?" I asked again.
He gave a small laugh and glanced at Jazz again.
"You haven't…have you?" He asked.
"Have I what?" I asked.
He laughed again. "You haven't."
"Haven't what?" I demanded, getting pissed.
He gave a small chuckle. "You haven't done that with Sam have you?"
I felt my face color instantly. "What are you talking about?"
Tucker was grinning. "Dude, don't make me say the words. Cause I will."
My face was still red and by now, Jazz was chuckling.
"You know what? I'd hazard a guess to say that you haven't done it with anyone. At all, ever." He said, watching my face for a reaction.
I guess he got the one that he was looking for because he started laughing again.
"Will you two grow up?" I demanded my face still red. "I've been busy running a multi-million dollar corporation. I haven't had much time to myself."
Jazz shrugged. "Makes sense."
Tucker gave me a shrug too, but his grin was still in place.
"Whatever you say man." He winked and grabbed Jazz's arm. "Let's go."
I watched them walk away in horror and fascination.
I didn't understand how they could give everything they had to each other.
What made them trust each other so much? I didn't trust Sam that way…of course, I would never tell her that.