Flirting with Danger Bk 1

The wake was morbid and dark, not to mention deathly quiet after the fight. Sue had said some really horrible things and so had her father, but I was glad when she left. Mr. Baxter stood there, a drink in his hand, looking after her sadly, all the energy drained from his face. Then he sighed and left the room, dragging his feet down the hall to my left.
It had started out pretty calmly, and I’m sorry to say, going pretty good. But then something happened, I’m not sure what, and then suddenly they were both yelling at each other. Sue was blaming him for her mother’s death, saying that he never looked after her like he should.
I sat there on the couch arm with my drink and looked around me. Everyone was looking down kind of embarrassedly because the fight had happened right in front of them, but would sometimes glance up at each other. Dale and Louis were on either side of me, staring at the floor and taking sips of their drinks, Chase on the other side of Dale while Jack and Jason were on Louis’s other side. I looked towards the front door, wondering if I should go comfort Sue, but decided against it. She just needed some time to herself.
So, I looked around the living room, finally turning my attention to a pillar of wall, slightly separating the kitchen from the living room. I moved slightly to the side so I could see Ivan sitting in a chair morosely and Connelly’s tux jacket sleeve showing on the other side of the wall pillar. I was tired of this silence so I stood and walked around the wall pillar, Ivan looking up at me when I passed and then back down, taking a sip of his drink.
I could tell his eyes were going over and over what he’d done to Sue’s mother to save everyone, but he wasn’t doing it to make himself feel like a hero, but torture himself like an accessory to murder. He had calmed a little since that horrible night, but was still having a hard time with it. I knew he’d never forget it. It was like the war memories that stayed with veterans forever.
Connelly was sitting in a chair hunched over with his arms resting on his legs, a drink in his hands, and his face downcast. He looked up at me when I stopped in front of him, his eyes depressed and face upset.
I looked at him in agreement and said, “How’s she doing?”
I looked up at Ivan and he shook his head. “She’s walking in the woods out back.” he said, glancing at me before returning his eyes to his coke.
I looked down at Connelly again and said, “Do you want another drink?” He looked up at me, knowing I wanted him to come with me and nodded. He took my waist and I led him into the mostly open kitchen where the music Sue had put together of her mother’s favorite songs, echoed off the walls from the living room.
The kitchen counters were covered with food everyone had brought, along with drinks too. I opened the fridge and took out some Dr. Pepper, filling our glasses and then handing him his.
I heard the murmur of voice starting up again and smiled slightly. Maybe this wake could turn out good again after all. I put up the two liter bottle and came to Connelly’s side, leaning on the counter in front of the sink where a window was.
Connelly was staring out at the street, the look on his face saying he was in deep thought. I moved closer to him and slid my hand around his waist, him responding by raising his arm and bringing me to him. “Now do you see how dangerous we are?” he asked suddenly, though it was low enough that only I could hear. He looked down at me sadly and seriously.
“I see how dangerous they are.” I said, staring just as seriously back, telling him with my eyes that I wasn’t leaving him for anything.
He sighed, the corner of his mouth turning up in a smile, and kissed me. “My brave little human.” he whispered, brushing my cheek.
“Little?” I said, giving him a look.
He smiled bigger this time and leaned in to kiss me again, but stopped short.
“What?” I asked.
“We need to go find Sue.” he said, looking at me for my reaction.
“What did Ivan say?” I asked.
“He can’t hear her.” he said, and we ran out the door to Ivan, who was standing in the back yard.
“I can’t hear her.” he said, his voice strained with worry.
“When did you last hear her?” asked Connelly.
“A few minutes ago, but I couldn’t tell where she was.” Ivan said, scanning the woods in front of us.
“Don’t worry Ivan. We’ll find her.” I said and we all ran into the trees.
“Sue!” I called desperately as I fought through the vines and brambles tearing at my dress.
“Sue! Sue, where are you?!” Ivan called with evident pain in his voice. He was tearing through the brambles and bushes like they weren’t even there. Well, he was a vampire after all. I reminded myself. And right now, he didn’t care if anyone saw or not because he was going to find Sue. He was so fast that when he got through that last bramble bush, he decided to go ahead at his own speed; I lost sight of him a second later.
“Uh, Kota? Why don’t you go back to the house and we’ll find her.” Connelly asked, but I could tell that he was just being nice about telling me to do it.
“Yeah, okay. You’re faster anyway.” I said and stopped.
“Just try and keep everyone inside and find Mr. Baxter.” He kissed me once and then with a swift wind, he disappeared after his brother. I looked after him for a minute and then turned around and headed back to the house. I stumbled out of the trees with a slightly torn dress and ran back inside since there was no one outside.
It was still quiet in the house when I entered and everything was just like we had left it. I walked down the short hall and looked into the kitchen, which was empty. I then went into the living room, but there was no sign of him in there either.
“Do any of you know where Mr. Baxter is?” I asked. Some of them looked at me and shook their heads while the others just looked down either at the floor or their drink.
I turned on my heel and walked down a long hall to the left. I opened every door to find that the room was empty. I was beginning to worry when I opened the third and final door at the end of the hall and saw that this room was empty too. I was just about to close the door when I saw a piece of a shoe sticking out from the bathroom.
“Mr. Baxter?” I said and heard the sound of someone retching and the shoe moved. I walked into the room and went to the bathroom door. Mr. Baxter was just flushing the toilet.
“Hello Kota.” he said hoarsely. He slid back down against the wall and raked his hand through his hair, looking up at me.