Taylor's heart caught in her throat as she fought to scream, but all that came out was a scratchy, slow wail. Her back pressed against the picture window as whatever had come from her new closet bounded towards her - half leaping, half running.
And then the light from behind her caught the figure.
Bounding toward her, dressed in an oversized military jacket with long, straight hair that nearly covered his eyes, was a little boy. He grinned wildly at her surprise, and let out a low, deep growl that caused her eyebrows to furrow. She no longer had a reason to be scared - this was clearly Laddie, the little boy Mike had told her about - and yet she was still terrified.
"Laddie!" A deep voice snapped from her doorway. "No. This is Taylor."
Abruptly, Laddie's face seemed to shift from something of nightmares to a normal, exuberant little boy.
"I'm sorry," He apologized half-heartedly, walking towards Taylor and smiling up at her, one that seemed less threatening this time.
The man from the doorway watched their exchanged, mildly impressed that Taylor hadn't moved away as the creature that was threatening her only moments earlier moved in for a hug.
"Hi Laddie," She said, her voice betraying her and revealing her bewilderment.
"I didn't mean to scare you, I just didn't know who you were." He shrugged.
"It's okay, Sam just told me you were all down at the boardwalk. I didn't expect anyone else to be here." Taylor exclaimed, more to the figure in her doorway than the child apologizing at her waist.
Beneath her feet, the doorbell rang, causing her to jump momentarily. The man in the doorway smirked lightly.
"Laddie, go get a slice of pizza." He ordered, gently touching the kid's head as he rushed past him. "I'm David."
He moved into the moonlight, and Taylor could see the shock of his bleached hair against his slightly tanner skin, the hint of stubble gracing his jawline that looked much more appealing on him than it had earlier, on her brother. He was wearing a floor-length duster, as if he'd wandered straight out of a Western, but it did little to hide what was underneath. David's shoulders were broad, and he was handsome, despite not quite being the sun-kissed, surfer boy she expected to meet in Santa Carla.
"I'm Taylor," She said harshly, maybe a little more than intended. "Are you one of Max's 'sons?'"
The air quotes around sons was clearly necessary, as David scoffed at her.
"That's what he's calling us now?" He smirked. "Yeah, something like that."
He stared at Taylor for a moment, wordless, and seemed to size her up. Immediately, she felt chills run down her back, the hair on her arms begin to stand on end. She was both unnerved and enticed, all at once.
"David?" Sam's voice came from just outside the doorframe as he quickly walked into the room, both afraid of the head vampire and worried about his sister. Out of all the boys, David was the one who came here the least - so why he was he here now, alone in the room with Sam's unassuming sister? "I thought all of you went to the boardwalk."
David blinked for a moment, nearly, but not quite, caught off guard by the forcefulness of Sam's words. He'd never shown the slightest sign of aggression towards him before, not since his failed plan with the Frog brothers. After that, Sam retreated as far as he could, with them being 'family' and all.
"Laddie snuck off while we were getting food." David grinned, catching Taylor's eye as his teeth glinted in the moonlight. "I guess he wanted something else to eat."
Taylor swallowed silently. She knew men like this, men that fed off fear and submissiveness, and she was determined not to fall for them the same way she'd fallen for all the bad men back in Phoenix.
"Sam, is there a light switch in here?" She said matter-of-factly, passing David without so much as a glance and moving towards her brother, running her hand along the wall next to the doorway.
"Lucy got you a lamp," David laughed teasingly, walking over to where Taylor had previously stood and switching on the lamp that had been in the corner the whole time, that she'd blatantly missed.
Taylor felt her face flush, but raised her eyes to his - a successful attempt not to show her embarrassment.
"Thank you,"
David said nothing more, and didn't look at the siblings as he pushed past them, out of the room.
"Laddie downstairs? He needs to eat something other than pizza tonight."
Sam nodded, and David descended the stairs, calling for the child and exiting the house.
"Sam," Taylor said, turning towards her brother with a wide smile on her face. "Let's go to the boardwalk after we eat. It's not even that late yet, and it sounds like everyone's there. I want to see my family - plus, I need to be scouting for a job."
That feeling she'd had, when David was in the room with her alone, she wanted it back. The combination of arousal and fear and anticipation was a sharp addiction, and she wanted to feel it again as soon as she possibly could.
But Sam's answer came with a learned reluctance, and he refused to meet his sister's eyes as he nodded slightly. Was his sister just as bad off as Star, and all the other girls on the boardwalk, who let men like David use them? He didn't remember her being that way, but he hadn't always been the most observant, attentive brother. In Phoenix, he spent more time in front of the TV and at the mall than keeping an eye on her. That had always been Michael's job, but it seemed like he was severely slacking lately.
Maybe Taylor would see for herself tonight, Sam thought, just how different Mike has become.