That evening, Michael, Sam and I headed to the Boardwalk. Sam with Mom on her way in to work at Max's Video, and I rode on the back of Michael's bike with him. I wandered around with him for a while, laughing when I saw him buying a new leather jacket. "Oh, big brother. You're trying too hard! You're cute, sweet and a great catch. If she can't see that, she's blind!" I said, as he grinned and kissed me on the forehead before shooing me off.
I found where he'd parked his bike, and hopped up on the railing, pulling my drawing pad out once again. I began sketching Michael and Star as they walked towards me in quick, efficient strokes, capturing their likeness. As I was closing my book, I heard Michael asking Star if she wanted to get something to eat. I looked up as I heard the bikes. Michael had already climbed on his, offering Star his arm. I slid down off the rail as we were surrounded by the boys.
"Where ya going, Star?" David asked, looking the three of us over. His gaze stopped on me for a moment before returning to Star's.
"For a ride. This is Michael," she replied. "And this?" he asked, nodding towards me. She shrugged, unsure of who I was. I smiled and said softly, "I'm Madison, Michael's sister."
"Let's go," Michael said, offering to help her onto the bike. As she went to step up, David's voice stopped her. "Star?" She turned quickly, looking disappointed and angry. There was a moment of tension before she climbed onto the back of David's bike, causing him to smile and Michael to frown. The other boys laughed.
"You know where Hudson's Bluff is overlooking the point?" David asked.
"I can't beat your bike," Michael replied.
"You don't have to beat me, Michael. You just have to try and keep up. And bring Sweet Sister along for the ride, why don't you?" he said, looking at me. I raised my brows in surprise, but clambered onto the back of Michael's motorcycle when he offered me his arm.
Dwayne looked back at Laddie, "We're going for a ride," he said, and I watched with a smile as the little boy wrapped his arms around the older rider. Laddie looked over at me and grinned, and I smiled back at him. "Hi there," I said, just before we took off. He waved and then wrapped his arms back around Dwayne. And then we began to ride. Down the boardwalk stairs and across the beach, through the woods where the fog began to roll in getting thicker and thicker. I knew the cliff edge was getting closer and closer and just prayed that Michael would see it before we went over. The boys were whooping and hollering as we flew along the ground, we were neck-and-neck with David and Star when suddenly Michael stopped the bike, sending us skidding close to the edge of the cliff.
Unfortunately the bike landed on my ankle, and I yelped in pain. "Oh god, Maddie, are you okay?" I nodded, as Paul and Marko helped haul me out from under it. "What the hell are you doing, huh? You could've killed her!" Michael screamed at David. Michael turned on David, hitting him as both I and Star shouted "No!"
Paul and Marko hauled Michael back as he shouted, "Just you! Come on, just you!" at David. I stood carefully, putting most of my weight on the leg that hadn't been trapped under the bike. Before I knew it, Dwayne was next to me, his arm wrapped around my side, helping me to stand easier. I looked up at him, easily a foot taller than my diminutive five-foot-three. "Thanks," I said, before my mouth decided to finish the sentence with, "Jesus, you're tall." He snickered and looked down at me. "And you're short."
"Yeah, yeah. Where the hell are you when I need to change a lightbulb and can't reach?" I said, poking him in the side and grinning. He laughed harder. "You're alright, Princess."
I looked up as I heard David speaking to my brother. "How far are you willing to go, Michael?" he asked. Everyone climbed back on their bikes, Michael and Dwayne carefully helping me on. I wrapped my arms around Michael and we drove after the boys. We stopped when we reached a set of wooden stairs leading down towards what appeared to be a cave of some kind. There were loads of "Keep Out" and "Caution" signs surrounding the place, as well as chain link fencing.
"Paul, help the Princess down the stairs," David ordered and Paul wandered over towards me, eyes mischievous. I looked at him warily. "If you drop me and I fall into the ocean and drown, I'm going to be your personal poltergeist for eternity!" I said, giving him my best amused glare. They all laughed and I was surprised at how very gently and carefully he picked me up and carried me down the stairs, making sure my sore ankle didn't hit the railing or the doorways into the cave.
As we entered what appeared to be a wide open area, Paul handed me off to Dwayne who was already on the floor, so he wouldn't have to carry me down an uneven patch of dirt and rock that seemed to be their "stairs" down into the room. Dwayne set me carefully on a couch. "Comfortable?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you," I said softly. He smiled and ran his fingers through my hair, which had come loose during the ride from the boardwalk. He seemed to catch himself and pulled his hand away from my face and hair, and I blushed as he looked at me and walked to the other side of the room. I listened as David told the story about the hotel and looked around the room at the collection of odd items and decorations. Most prominent was a large fountain with a chandelier that had fallen inside it, and a large poster of Jim Morrison, as well as several large burn barrels that were the main source of light and a bit of heat from the cool, damp winds off the beach.
I looked up to find Marko holding a pigeon, stroking it's soft breast. Paul was dancing around the edge of the fountain, and unlit joint in his mouth. Dwayne and Laddie were sitting on the couch across the room. Star, Michael and David were still standing at the front of the room. "Marko, food!" David called.
Marko tossed the pigeon in the air and it surprised everyone when instead of flying upwards towards it's roost, it flew to me, landing on my outstretched hand. I rubbed a fingertip gently over it's head, sending it into a paroxysm of coos and sweet calls. I looked up and blushed as all eyes were on me.
David continued his spiel. "That's what I love about this place. You ask, then you get." Paul handed him the now-lit joint and David took a drag before offering it to Michael. "Appetizer?" he asked. Michael took it as David patted him on the back. "You'll like it here, Michael," he said.
While they were occupied, I placed the pigeon on the back of the couch beside me and pulled my pad and pencil out of my bag, sketching out the room and the boys in painstaking detail. My fingers flew, deepening and shading certain areas, lightening others. I looked up as Marko returned, calling out, "Feeding time. Come and get it, boys!"
"Chinese, good choice. Guests first," David said appreciatively. He handed a carton to Michael, as Marko handed one to me. I smiled and him and thanked him. He winked at me. "Only the best for the Princess," he said, before handing Paul and Dwayne each a carton. I opened my carton and was surprised to find my favorite, Chicken and mixed vegetables over rice. I took the chopsticks and began to eat as David teased Michael about how a billion Chinese people couldn't be wrong about enjoying rice. Michael finally broke down and took a bite.
"How are those maggots, Michael?" David asked, causing both Michael and me to look up. "You're eating maggots. How do they taste?" I looked on in concern, as Paul and the others laughed and Michael looked panic, spitting out his rice and throwing the carton away from him. The boys laughed harder.
"Michael?" I asked in concern. Apparently I wasn't the only one, as Star chimed in saying, "Leave him alone."
David looked to me, and saw my concern. He began digging into his carton and offered Michael a bite. "No hard feelings, huh? Why don't you try some noodles?"
"They're worms," Michael said. The boys laughed again as Michael spoke. "What do you mean they're worms?" David said, smirking. Even Dwayne and little Laddie were laughing this time. David dug deep into the carton and loaded some onto his chopsticks. "Don't eat those," Michael tried to say, but David took a large bite. "They're only noodles, Michael."
"That's enough," Star said, causing Paul to tell her to chill out. David got Marko's attention and asked him to retrieve something. From the movie, I knew it was the bottle of his blood. Sure enough, Marko came back carrying the bottle that was decorated with gold and gems. I watched as David took a sip, sending a shiver down his spine.
"Drink some of this, Michael. Be one of us," David said. He held the bottle out to my brother and I was desperately trying to decide whether to stop him or not. But time seemed to move to quickly, I felt like I was in a trance as I watched Star try to get him not to, telling him that it was blood. "Yeah, sure. Blood," he said, disbelieving. Nervously, Laddie got up and joined Star behind her curtained alcove, as the boys cheered Michael on, calling his name. As I watched, Michael took a long swallow from the jeweled bottle.
"Bravo!" David called out, clapping. "Give us a ride, Marko," he said. Marko began pushing David around in his wheel chair-throne as the other boys danced around, Paul blasting the music.
I'd finished my food and once again had my art pad out, sketching the scene before me. Abruptly, the pad was yanked from my fingers and I found myself staring into two ice-chip blue eyes. David sat back in his "throne" and flipped through the pages. His eyes widened as they went through the book and he returned his gaze to mine. "These are very impressive, Princess." I felt color rising to my cheeks. "Thank you, David," I said. He nodded, before holding his hand out to me. I stood carefully with his help, glad to find that the ankle wasn't too sore after being rested for a while.
The song on the radio changed to a softer, slower ballad and I gasped as David drew me to him, his arm wrapped around my waist, partially lifting me, the other hand wrapping around my smaller one. He danced us around the room in an odd, waltz-like style, passing me off at different points to Dwayne, Paul and Marko, but by the end of the song, I was back in his arms, giggling at a joke that Paul had told me. David gestured towards the bottle of blood. "How about it, Princess. Do you want to drink, too?"
I smiled and shook my head. "Not tonight, thank you, David. I'll be taking pain medication when I get home for my leg. Probably not the greatest idea to mix alcohol and pain medication. I sometimes have odd reactions to them to begin with," I said. He looked disappointed, but he couldn't contradict himself saying it wasn't alcohol when he'd stressed to Michael that it was only wine. It was beginning to get late and the boys seemed to recognize that.
"Come on, boys, we're going to drop the Princess of at home, then we're going to show Michael something new," hew said. It sounded good to me, as I was beginning to get sleepy anyways. This time it was Dwayne who carried me bridal-style up the stairs, but with as much care as Paul had shown on the way in. I waved goodbye to Laddie who was standing at the mouth of the cave and smiled when he waved back. Dwayne helped me onto the back of David's motorcycle and I wrapped my arms around David; I leaned my head forward against his jacket, blushing when I felt David place his hand over mine, thumb rubbing circles against my wrist.
"You okay back there, Princess?" he asked, as we rode. "I'm great!" I called back, giggling as he made the bike go even faster. Before long, we were pulling up in front of Grandpa's. Before I could blink, David was helping me up, and kissing me on the forehead. "Goodnight, Sweet Sister," he said, winking at me and making me blush again.
I turned to walk to the house and there was Dwayne, he also kissed me on the forehead. "Night, Princess," he said, running a hand through my hair. Before I could say goodnight, Marko and Paul were beside me, each giving me a soft kiss on the lips, surprising me. "Umm...goodnight, boys," I said, my cheeks coloring brightly and hotly. They laughed and watched as I climbed the stairs to the house and walked inside, waving goodnight to them. I shut the door and leaned against it for a moment before heading upstairs to bed.
I simply pulled off my jeans and climbed into my bed in just my shirt and panties, not realizing that the boys could see from where they were watching me from below. I popped a quick pain pill for my leg, swallowing it down with the water in the glass at my bedside. I felt strangely bereft as I heard the boys' bikes start and fade away.