I feel Damien's hand on the small of my back like a branding iron as Tyler opens the door to the little girl's room. He steps inside with Matt, but I hesitate. Matt turns to me and holds his hand out. I look to Tyler who nods in reassurance, but he has a grimace on his face, as if he's not so sure about all this. Neither was I.
I step onto the white shag carpet, staining the area with mud that was still on my feet from running outside in the rain. The little girl doesn't look menacing anymore, clad in her Barbie nightgown, and staring out the window into the darkness with scared eyes.
"They're out there watching me, aren't they." She says, in a small bell voice, but it's not a question, it's a statement, because she already knows the answer. Then she meets my eyes, and gives me a sad smile.
"I told you not to go near the window." Tyler scolds her softly, hurrying around the room picking up crayons that were left everywhere. A bolt of lightening makes me jump, and the girl giggles at me.
"I'm Chase." I tell her, because I can't think of anything else to say, and everyone was looking at me expectantly. I consider holding out my hand to her, but it seems awkward, like I should just be treating her like any other kid. At the thought, I fall to one knee, and smile at her, like I would do with the neighbor's kids. Then, I hold out my hand, and she takes it.
"Natalie." She smiles and takes my hand, and I notice the creamy caramel of her eyes. She reads the surprise on my face. " They change when I feed." She explains, but her words make me feel uneasy. There just wasn't something right about the word feed.
"How?" I ask. I'd been asking that a lot lately.
"We take turns." Matt says, rolling up his sleeve to show the white bandage wrapped around his arm. "No one else needs to get hurt." He says, and I stand again, mostly because his words don't completely convince me. I watch Natalie and Tyler sit down to color, and I make up my mind.
"I want to help you." I tell them, and Tyler's head snaps to me. Damien raises his brows, like he found me amusing. "I'll stay to help her, anyway I can. My parents work nights, so I'll only be able to stay a few days." I say, but Matt is looking at me like that's more than enough time.
"Told you we should keep her around." Damien says loudly to his brothers, pleased with himself. "I'll give you one thing," He says, swinging an arm over my shoulders, "It's never boring with you around." He grins, but no one else says anything.
"Let's see what you've got in the fridge." I say softly after a minute of silence. "I'll make us something to eat." I say, and make my way down the stairs into the kitchen. At least I knew the house well enough now to maneuver through it alone now. "I don't plan on sleeping tonight." I tell one of the triplets when they walk into the kitchen behind me, watching me pull out boxes of instant mashed potatoes and canned beef stew.
"You're just like him, you know." Matt says, and I shoot him a confused look. Damien comes in behind him and moves around his brother leaning on the counter to take a seat at the table. "Nathan, I mean. I'm always wondering what the two of you are thinking all that time." He tells me with a smile, and in this instant I can tell he misses him.
I'd never considered that the triplets were actually afraid of losing their brother. That I was his replacement. A piece of him that they could keep with them, if only for the time being. I smile at them, flicking on the stove and putting on a pot of tea. When a loud knock sounds at the door, I jump. At first I think it might have been the thunder, but then it sounds again, loud and angry. Matt moves to open it, but I stop him with a hand on his arm.
"Stay in the kitchen. They won't mind killing you." I say, though it sounds too harsh. Matt stares me down a minute before hurrying up the stairs to warn Tyler and the girl. I pull open the door, and I squint at Paul standing out on the porch. He looks wild and bewildered and he was shaking and naked and soaked, and he looked just as frazzled as Nathan looked that first night I saw him with Jared and Sam. "Paul." I say, but he won't look away from my eyes, won't break the contact between us, and n that instant I feel a tug in my chest, as if someone had pushed me toward him from behind, and I stumble a bit but regain my footing quickly.
A heart shattering cry escapes from his throat, like someone was stabbing him. I read the confusion clear on his face. "What's happening to me?" He grinds out, but I have no answer for him.
"Paul!" Jared screams, walking slowly from the line of trees across the street. "Fuck," He curses, when he sees the way he's looking at me. "Paul, I'll explain everything, get away from there!" But Paul doesn't budge.
"Can I come in?" He asks me. Weren't vampires the ones that needed permission before entering a house? I furrow my brows, sensing Damien walking up the hall behind me. I glance behind me to shoot him a threatening look, but he doesn't see me.
"Paul, you need to go." I say, and close the door before he can say anything more. When it's closed I try to stop my shaking fingers long enough to slide the lock into place but my hand was set on vibrate and I kept missing. Damien's rough hand settles gently over mine and guides the lock into place. I feel my shoulders shake before I realize that I'm crying. What a baby, I was. What was I even crying over?
"Come on." Tyler says from behind me, holding out his hand to me, as the whistle of the tea pot pierces the air. "Let's get you some tea."