The Dark Stranger

Thankful

"The Dark Stranger"
© VeGirl 2014

With Eddie's consent, I end up staying with my parents for another week and I start to feel more at ease, despite the weird vampire-attack, which by the way I haven't told anybody. Thanksgiving is coming up and my aunt and uncles and all the cousins are gathering at my uncle's house. Father is driving us while Nick and I do our best to discretely roll our eyes as our parents talk about last Thanksgiving which both Nick and I unfortunately missed. We are grateful.

A friend is somebody you choose to spend time with, but family is something you either have or you don't. Granted; in the best of worlds, they are always there for you for better and for worse, but to get some of the family-days off is not a bad idea.

Uncle Jarrett and Aunt Kate welcome us in the doorway. "Oh, it is so good to see that Nick and Sam are with you this year. Come in!" They usher our family through the door and into the crazy circus that can be family holidays. Their house is absolutely filled with people; aunts and uncles that can't pinch Nick's or my cheeks enough and children who run around with the only goal to make as much noise as possible, it seems.

"If one more crazy person pinch my cheek I'm gonna throw fists around," Nick hiss in my ear as we proceed further and I have to bite my cheek not to laugh out loud.

We are pulled and ushered into their livingroom and end up clamped together in a couch with two elder people who don't really recognize us and keep mixing everything up. I am careful not to meet his eyes, because that will definitely push me over the edge into a crazy gigglefit.

"I think I'm gonna need a bathroom break," I hiss to Nick.

"No! Don't leave me here!" he grabs hold of my arm and does his best to keep me there.

"Let me go or I will sit down in your lap and I really need a bathroom break," I tease him as only brother and sisters do.

"Traitor," he mutters while I walk out on him with a gloating expression.

In the bathroom I stand by the mirror for a good while, trying to put foundation on the tiny bitemark. Thoughts of Nick's teasing remark by the breakfast table flutter to mind. "If you're trying to hide a hickey under that, I must say you're doing it wrong." He smirked, and by then the course of event was lost on me. Quickly I raised a hand to the band-aid with wide eyes and rushed to the bathroom, accompanied by his chuckling. As I now inspect the mark I am pleased by the result to hide it and am grateful for the scarf that I packed down.

I try my best to dodge the running children, and take a detour through the kitchen where I accidentally bump into somebody. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Sam? It's been since... forever!" I am encaged in a warm hug.

"Layla?"

"Yeah, who else silly?" My cousin grins at me. "Wow, how is life treating you?"

"Recently broken up," I say in a clipped tone even if I could remember that I was the one who broke up with Peter.

"Yeah me too, isn't life great?" she claims enthusiastic and we laugh together. "Wait till Aunt Edna try to set you up with any of the cousins," she snickers.

"That's okay, I just found out that I'm adopted, so..." I did my best to make it into a joke, but Layla gasp.

"You're not my real cousin?"

"Sure I am, just not biological." I snicker, not too bothered by that. "So I can date Uncle Steve." I wiggle my brows before we both frown, since uncle Steve is the kind of slightly perverted relative that Bridget Jones talk about.