Damned

Chapter Twenty-Two

I was nervous -- but it was one hundred perfect my fault. It was my great idea to complain to Daniel that everyone would meet his cousins, Lara and Lisa at the same time I would. For whatever reason, I had wanted to meet them before. So, Daniel invited me to Family dinner for Sunday night, which was tonight. Of course, at the moment when he asked me, we were driving back from the cabin. 

I had been full of endorphins from fighting. I hadn't been thinking clearly. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have realized what dinner with the Cursed Ones really meant. Daniel assured me there would be food, but he hadn't denied there would be blood. They would be drinking blood. I didn't even eat meat! How was I going to sit there while they drank from blood bags?

Oh, God were they going to drink from blood bags? What if they had Humans there and bit them? 

I started to feel nauseous. I had thirty minutes before Daniel picked me up. My mind went to possible excuses I could use to get out of this, but nothing came to mind. Plus, this had been my idea, to begin with. Daniel would know I was lying. No, there was no getting out of this. I had to go. I went into my bathroom and splashed my face with water, then put my make up on.

I kept it simple. I didn't know anything about Lara and Lisa, but I knew Daniel's parents. They weren't a fan of mine, so I wasn't going to show up in full goth. Daniel's mom, Nancy, was the definition of simple. Other than the fact that she was a surgeon and a Cursed One.

The second I set my brush down, finished with my makeup, the doorbell rang. It jarred my nerves. I told Daniel to text me when he was here. I think he felt bad about being so late yesterday. When I wanted him to be late, he was punctual. I grit my teeth and stood up. I was wearing a black wrap dress that had tiny grey skulls all over. It wasn't terribly goth and I was comfortable in it.

I slid on some sandals that had an inch lift. I was still a couple of inches shorter than Daniel. As I walked down the stairs, my hand shook slightly on the railing. 

"Corn, you look white as a ghost, something the matter?" Dolores, who was perched in a chair with a stack of case files in front of her, commented. I took in a shaky breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her. She was a Private Investigator, I knew she didn't buy it. "I'm going to dinner at Daniels, can you tell my mom when she's back? I text her, but she hasn't responded yet." Dolores nodded and turned back to her files. 

I opened the door, revealing Daniel on the other side. He wore a button up in a cream color I had never seen before. It made him look tanner. His curls were bouncier, falling slightly onto his forehead. He made my heart swell and my nerves subside.

"You look gorgeous," he told me. I took his hand and he whisked me towards his car.

"Thank you, I'm full of nerves," I confessed when we were in his car. I forgot how small his car was, I was nearly suffocating.

"Why's that?" He asked as he put the car into gear. I didn't know how to explain myself to him. I wasn't good at telling people how I felt. I probably shouldn't have told him I was nervous. That was just going to make him nervous.

"Just--

I searched for a lie.

"You know I'm a little sensitive about being a Vegetarian." I tried to make it sound casual. He nodded, believing me. It was a lie. I didn't care what people thought about me not eating meat because it didn't concern them. It was the same way I didn't care if people ate meat. 

Blood.

Blood was what was worrying me.

Daniel had no idea.