Slaves of the Moon

There was absolutely no way I was going to make it to school on time. There was twelve minutes left before the bell was set to ring and I was still at least thirteen blocks away. It was enough to make me want to cry. I had had a perfect attendance record until now. My luck really was steadily declining. One's attendance record really isn't that big of a deal...on it's own. But when you've been maliciously attacked by a fellow student, threatened by random psychos, and keep forgetting to do your proscribed chores that keep the house running, it becomes a very big thing.

A black Lincoln Town car pulled up beside me as I waited to cross another decently busy street. It was Xavier Volkov who leaned out the window. I was beginning to wonder if these three were stalking me. "You need a ride or do you just enjoy walking everywhere."

"Don't be such an idiot Xavier," Kayne growled as Fang punched his arm.

"I think that'd be my brothers' way of saying that they like you better than they like me," he grumbled.

Kayne leaned forward over the backseat. "Just ignore Xavier. He's not a morning person. Do you want a ride to school so you won't be late?"

I looked from the Town Car to the long blocks that stretched before me. There wasn't really much of a choice. "Let me in," I sighed. Kayne opened the door and slide over to let me in.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

It was probably a good thing that I got a ride from the Volkov brothers because Miss Perez (my first period teacher) nearly killed the one kid who came in late. I just sat silently in my seat thanking God it wasn't me. Maybe God had decided to give me a little luck after all. At least that was what I was hoping until lunch came. This was also about the same time that I remembered that I had no lunch of my own. I hadn't been able to make one. So while everyone else was running to the cafeteria, I made a detour to the library. I could just work on my English paper that was due in a week. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get it done early.

As I rounded the corner to head for the stairs I ran into a solid wall. It turned out to be Fang Volkov's chest. He must have gone to his locker because the backpack he had had at the end of the last period was now gone. "Forgive me Emma. Are you alright?" Fang asked grabbing my elbow so i wouldn't fall.

"I'm fine Fang," I assured him.

"You are not going down to the cafeteria." He pointed out. I frowned.

"No, I'm not," I said simply.

"You shouldn't not eat," Fang said turning me and making me walk in front of him.

"What are you doing?" I demanded trying to twist away from him so I could go the library. I caught a whiff of food and my stomach growled.

"As I thought, you were planning on skipping lunch," Fang said reprovingly as he led me down the stairs and into the large cafeteria. "Kayne would have my head if I allowed you to go hungry."

"Well it's none of your business or his whether I eat lunch or not," I snapped. "Now why don't you let me go back up to the library so I can spend my lunch hour in peace."

Xavier sidled up next to me as we approached the table where Kayne sat staring at me and ignoring Juliet who was trying to hang all over him. "Not a chance kleine schwester. We like life far too much to piss Kayne off."

I was trapped. I had no choice but to join the Volkov brothers for lunch. I was maneuvered into a seat between Fang and Kayne. Xavier somehow managed to move Juliet away so that he was sitting on Kayne's other side. Instead Juliet took the seat directly across from me. It was enough to make me want to groan. My luck had flown out the window again.

"Who's volunteering?" Xavier asked with a large grin looking at his two brothers.

"You," Fang and Kayne said in unison. Xavier's face fell. "You are the one who asked first," Kayne pointed out. "Here, I'll pay," Kayne said with a smooth smile as he took out his wallet and tossed it to his brother.

"Oh as if that will be so helpful. If I die under the weight of your food I'm going to come back and haunt you," Xavier promised turning and walking away.

"I have no doubt about it," Kayne assured Xavier's back. Kayne turned back to me. "Why were you planning on ditching lunch?"

"It's none of your business," I growled.

"That means that poor girl doesn't have the money for lunch today. Is your little sister mooching off of people today too?" Juliet asked with a pout that looked falsely sympathetic.

"Don't talk about her Juliet. I chose not to bring a lunch. I had other plans until I was abducted by the Incredible Hulk here." I said jerking my head to indicate Fang.

"At least Fang is thinking about your health," Kayne countered gently. "You can't go hungry Emma. It isn't good for your body."

"Don't worry about her Kayne. She and her sister are just like her parents. They take advantage of other people's generosity and then claim innocence or skip town." Juliet hissed, her eyes trying to rip my soul to shreds.

I turned cold inside. "Don't talk about what you don't know Juliet," I said in a low calm voice. I was anything but calm though. Inside I was raging. How dare she judge my father. She could judge my mother. My mother really was all those things, but I still held out hope for my father. "Besides, didn't your father do the same thing when he first came to town? Take advantage of my father's generosity that is? Or am I mistaken?"

Juliet didn't bother to answer. Instead she stood up quickly, anger flashing in her pretty eyes. "You guys might want to watch out for the Bryant's. They all end up dead beats or jail birds anyway," Juliet said before turning on her heel and stalking away.

I sat silent and empty inside. My mind was half dead, half in the past. I was reliving the days of the trial. I was listening to my mother yelling at my dad on the phone. I was feeling the pain as the foreman of the jury announced the verdict of guilty. I was hearing the judge sentence my father to years of jail time. I was watching my mother pack up her bags in the middle of the night and tossing me a bottle of breast milk. I was hearing my mother degrade me and Cassie as she walked out the door and got into the cab. I was suffering all over again.

"Emma," A voice whispered in my ear drawing me back to the here and now. I felt an arm around my shoulders, hugging me close to warmth. Everything I had felt, seen, and heard was a memory. It was the past. It was done and over with. I could not change it. "Are you alright Emma? Are you back now?" It was Kayne's voice whispering softly in my ear.

I nodded. I didn't trust my voice to be steady. I looked up to see that Fang had moved to the other side of the table and that Xavier had returned and joined him. Lots of food sat on the table and Xavier was frowning. "I guess that means we'll have to share," he said with a dramatic sigh as Fang swatted at him.

"Keep it up and you'll be the one going without lunch," Kayne teased with a low growl.