Bloodlust

Bloodlust Chapter Four

Chapter Four: Home Sweet Unknown

Somehow, I found myself wandering the fast-food smelling halls of the airport, my hand clasped around Ben’s. He stumbled along behind me while I robotically dragged him to the baggage claim. I stared off into the hazy distance, not really seeing anything. New Jersey, I fought against the haze long enough to remember. I’m in New Jersey. With Ben. And we’re meeting Aunt Maggie today.

          I blinked thousands of times before finally returning to the present. Ben swung our entwined hands multiple times to ask me why we stopped. I merely shook my head, grabbing our bags. As we wheeled our suitcases towards the exit, a stout but young woman stepped into our path. Her poufy, mouse-colored hair was styled to stand up like a fresh-baked cake. A grim frown, similar to an upside down crescent moon, flipped at the sight of us. Her yellowish, cracked teeth lightly sparkled in the early morning light coming through the glass windows. Obviously, her Facebook profile was a hoax. There’s no way she was 40. She was probably closer to 60 or so.

          In three surprisingly large strides, Aunt Maggie was out the door, pulling on my hand, and forcing me inside the car. I got in without a word, but Ben wouldn’t cooperate. He flung his arms around her neck, as she swung him around in a loving embrace. Okay, maybe 60 was pushing it. But there’s no way she’s 40.

          His eyes sparkled-Dad nor Mom had ever done that before-as Maggie and I caught up.

          “So, Lex,” Maggie started.  “You uh got any friends that are going to visit you?”

          I instantly thought of Harley; surely she would visit me, right?

          “Well, yeah I think,” I told her. “My best friend Harley is studying in Trenton at the university for a couple days.”

          Maggie nodded. “Have you decided where you will be attending next year?”

          I shook my head. “It’s kind of hard to know at this point. Depending on where I’ll be living and who will take care of Ben, I’m thinking I’m going to need to be close to home.”

          “Well, what if you stay with me and so does Ben?”

          “Then perhaps I could attend the university. At least, for a little while. But of course I’d need to get a job to pay for the classes and possibly a scholarship…”

          “Nonsense,” Maggie stated, the tires on the car screeching as we came to a stop in front of a roman style mansion. “I will pay your tuition, even if only for a semester.”

          My jaw nearly dropped out of my skull. Holy crap! “No way,” I told her, getting out of the car. Again, my mouth opened at the sight before me.

          Four tall, handcrafted pillars held the frame of the majestic building. The front porch-stood under a miniature roof the color of cream-had a withered rocking chair, filled to the top with needle-pointed pillows, all in the shapes of doves.

          The grassy lawn gleamed with light dew that rolled off the blades. A small, white picket fence-like the type that less fortunate girls in chick flicks always dream of; “all I want is a nice home with a family, with a white picket fence surrounding everything”-that led to a magnificent garden lined with roses, daisies, tulips, and many other flowers. An oak tree, the same height as the house, stood almost in the very center of the inter-joined yard of the garden.

          The young woman lightly punched my shoulder jokingly, saying, “Darlin’, are you just going to stand there all day? Please, come inside, unpack, and get settled.”