Just the Five of Us

“Kristin?”

I swallowed hard staring at her shocked expression. How? What the hell? What was she doing all the way over here? I’m so confused…

“Kristin Halley Spencer! What on earth are you doing here!?”

“Uhh…” I blanked as I tried understand what she was doing here. This was an out of the way town, not the type she liked, what the heck! Oh, shit, I’m in sooo much trouble.

Mom’s face went stormy with anger, “Do not tell me you ran away!”

“I…I…” I stuttered, “No, I was just…”

She grabbed my arm digging her nails into my skin, the look of fury on her face never leaving, “Come on you little brat. I paid so much money for you to go to that place and then you run away?”

She started dragging me out of the store. I pleaded with Adrian using my eyes but he just shook his head before disappearing in the direction Shean and the other two had gone. I looked back at Mom feeling my stomach drop. I was so very dead.

“Kristin I hope you understand exactly what this means, I’m gonna whip you so bad you won’t even know which way is up! Then I am going to drag you back to that camp, make you apologize to everyone you’ve caused trouble for then you will stay or I will personally make sure you won’t be able to walk until school starts again!”

“I’m sorry Mom, you d-don’t understand I…”

“Oh I understand! I understand all right, you were being hunted by a deadly vampire so you
and you’re magical friends though you could get away from him by running. You think like that a lot Kristin! Life isn’t a novel, you can’t just do that! I don’t know what you told the camp staff, I don’t know how you got here, hell Kristin I…”

My breath caught as she raved. There was no way she knew what she was saying, there was no way. She was making wild guesses, if she really knew…no. She didn’t, who would have told her? She would be having spasms if she knew. She was just screaming and so happened to be screaming out the truth.

“Oh, you are meat now,” she finished in a low growl.

I resigned to following her timidly while trying not to cry. Just a couple of minutes ago I was having a conversation with the super natural and now the real world had caught up with me. I guess I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

I forced back the budding tears as I was hauled through the mall towards the parking lot. When we got back to camp, Mr. Arty was going to tell Mom we stole a car; then we would be linked to the explosion at McDonalds and then the other stolen car…

Those thoughts didn’t help with the tears threatening to do tumble turns down my cheeks.

Mom’s heels dug into the ground, she must have been really mad. She would never treat her beloved shoes to such stomping. Man, who knew she could even move that fast in those, granted she was wobbling a little more than usual. I managed to distract myself with that for the moment while I was pulled into the parking lot and towards an unfamiliar sleek black car.

That was when I realized that “Mom” was snickering in a man voice and her hands were growing against mine. Horror crashed through me as her blond curled hair started shrinking back into her skull and started to go darker with every second. She grew past her 5ft’4 and didn’t stop until she was a broad shouldered six feet and her cute pink skirt had snapped off and black leather pants somehow appeared underneath.

“Y-you…You’re not Mom,” I planted my feet as whom I strongly suspected to be Damon chuckled without looking back at me.

“Ding, Ding, you win round one, let’s see if you’ll get past round two,” he crooned.

My head whipped around looking for anyone who might notice a girl on her way to be raped by a vampire freak. People went about their business as if Damon hadn’t just sprouted out of my Mom’s shell. They didn’t even notice the glittering pink skirt sitting in the middle of the parking lot.

“They see a guy and girl holding hands laughing, pet, I put up a veil. The humans see what I want them to see,” he chuckled again practically reading my mind.

“NO!” I shouted planting my feet trying to wrench my wrist away from him but it was like struggling with steel, “I don’t want to! Damn it; let go now! Damon stop!”

“Oh, you guessed who I was, excellent! You’re smarter than your school records say,” he laughed as the car neared.

“You’ve been through my school records?!” I was outraged, but also scared because I could see two massive guys waiting in the car.

“Darling, your medical records as well, I know you well,” he said as if this was normal.

I wrenched at my arm trying to get free but nothing was happening. The tears I had been holding back when I still thought it was Mom spilled out easily now, but they were hotter with rage. I had never actually been this upset and angry, normally in this situation I would have been paralyzed into submission. But now, I just felt that it wasn’t fair to Shean, Adrian, Darren and Ray for me to just sit and wait for things to happen.

An idea sprang to mind. I was trying too hard to be on the defensive, why not an offense? I planted a good kick onto Damon’s backside leaving a dusty foot print that looked awkward.

That stopped him.

He turned his green eyes flashing. I tried to muster up what courage I had under that intense burning gaze. He glowered for a second more before I was suddenly yanked off my
feet and slung over his shoulder.

I screamed at the top of my lungs. In return a hand slapped my bottom leaving me bright red and feeling exposed.

“Shhh, don’t call that stupid reaper,” he hissed before tossing me into the car over a massive brick wall of a man.

I lunged for the open car door just as I hit the black leather seats and managed to get my head out just as what felt like twenty pairs of arms locked around my legs, waist, and even fingers digging into my scalp.

I yanked my suddenly sore face out of the asphalt into time to see Darren looking quizzically around the parking lot. His eyes landed on me and they widened into confusion at the sight of my head and shoulders dangling out of the car. He gave me a sympathetic look, probably still thinking I was grabbed by my mom. He pointed over his shoulder mouthing something I couldn’t make out.

I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed as loud as my lungs would allow, hoping that the veil didn’t affect his hearing.

“DAMON!!!!!!!!!!!” I roared as I got yanked back into the car.

The door slammed, but not before I got to see Darren’s terrified expression as he charged towards the car. I knew he was too far away, but at least he knew.

I was slammed down between two brick wall type guys before and the car swerved out of the parking lot sending me flying into the front seat landing awkwardly on my wrist. I got grabbed by the seat of my pants and yanked back down again as we sped out of the parking lot into the weak traffic.

“Aw, Kristin, baby, are you alright?” Damon peered into the back seat as I swore violently under my breath gripping my wrist.

“Shut-up, bastard, you don’t care,” I howled as tears stormed down my face.

He shrugged, “Girls like it if you at least pretend.”

I glowered at him through my blurred eyes.

“Hm, you need some work, obviously. Your hair is a mess,” he mused watching me curiously, “Also, those cloths are hideous. Where did you get them, the Salvation Army?”

I hissed at him. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, being a rich prick he wouldn’t know that now would he?

“In any case, you need a bath and a change of clothes. Maybe some work on your nails as well, you’re eyebrows are also looking a little bushy,” he started breaking me down as the car sped down the highway towards hell.

I stopped listening and settled for nursing my burning wrist and trying not to think about rape and murder. I now wished that it had been my mom. She loved me at least, she wouldn’t have me waxed in places that I didn’t want waxed. She would be judging what color lace I would look best in or whether or not I was bad girl type or a cute girl type.

“Darrel, don’t you agree she’s the cute girl type?” Damon asked.

One of the big guys next to me grunted.

“Then, we’ll have to get a silver color to match your hair,” Damon smiled as if this was a happy occasion to be cheery about, “Maybe matching cuffs to go along with it, and a chain so I can lead you around like a puppy. Oh, and you’ll need some cute costumes other than the lingerie. Like, maybe, kitten costumes and bunny costumes or even a Tinker Bell outfit would be cute.”

I hate Damon Alcove.