Chapter 21
Cindy
They're targeting human mates, someone out there. Or at least that's the theory for now. To think of jumping from one awful life, into a possibly life threating one. No one even knows what happened to Rayna or Sarah, if they're alive. "Hey, you okay?" Evelyn asked. I had asked her for help again with the outfit for the party, but my mind was elsewhere right now.
I cleared my throat; "Yeah, I'm fine, just a lot to think about" I answered.
"I know, Ryan told me. They're working out the time to tell everyone, only a few of us know so far" She answered.
"I go back and forth thinking it is nothing, to be completely freaked out about the 'what if's' you know. I mean, maybe we're lucky and everything is nothing and nothing will happen, but what if it's the opposite" I answered. I looked down at all the dresses and other outfits she had laid out on her bed for me to look at. They were all beautiful, but I had zero focus on caring about appearances right now.
"Exactly, we never know in life, tomorrow it's this, and the next day it's something else. Life will always happen, so that's why we need to keep everyday-events important too. You can't base your day off of something you don't know for sure will happen or not. So, I think it will be good for you to just invest a little more interest in your introduction party, okay?" She asked with an encouraging smile.
The door burst open and in came Lavinia carrying a jug filled with some kind of drink and she miraculously carried 3 glasses at the same time. "Well, I don't know about the two of you, so I brought enough glasses just in case, but I could need a margarita" She said and almost slammed the jug down on Evelyn's nightstand. She had a serious look in her eyes, but she was at least sounding like herself.
"I just had a long talk with Jason about all of it, and I think he's more stressed and scared about the whole thing than I am" She answered and poured a glass and held it out for me. "You want a glass?" he asked.
"I've never tasted a margarita before" I answered. "But maybe it's good" I answered and took it.
She smiled and poured her own glass. "So how are you holding up?" She asked.
"Good I guess, nothing has exactly happened, but if they're right it's scary" I answered.
"Yeah, but hopefully nothing happens. Also praying that they find Sarah and Rayna" She answered and poured her own glass.
I carefully lifted the glass to my lips and instantly got a strong scent of the alcohol. It's not like I've never tasted the alcohol before, but I've never had the opportunity to really relax with a drink.
I took a small sip, and let it swirl over my taste buds before swallowing it. "You like it? I'm no professional bartender or anything, but I think I can at least make a decent batch" Lavinia said.
"It's good. I don't really have any reference to compare it to, but I like it" I smiled.
"Let me try too" Evelyn said, reaching for the last glass.
"If we hadn't all already lived in the same house, this should've been called a girls night, a sleepover of some sort" Lavinia laughed, plopping down on the bed, not caring at all about messing up the clothes there.
I smiled meekly; "If so, that would be my fist girls' night" I answered.
Their eyes went huge; "What, seriously?" she asked.
I nodded; "Story of my life" I answered with another sip.
"Well then, welcome to your first girls night. We should tell Jordan to get up here too" Evelyn answered.
That was a great idea, I would love to get to know all of them more. I haven't really talked that much with Jordan, but she seemed like a nice girl. Evelyn disappeared out the door to go find her.
"So, you and Ryan, have far have you gone?" Lavinia asked out.
By now I should have gotten used to her bluntness, but she still caught me off guard.
"Uhm...we've kissed, once...wait, twice" I answered, and let my cheeks turn a soft shade of pink by remembering the short kiss I gave Ryan yesterday.
"Seriously, nothing more than that?" She asked.
"Hey, I barely have gotten to know him" I answered. "How was it for you and Jason then, how did you meet and how did he tell you?" I asked, sitting down beside her, anticipated for a story that was not about me and my god-awful past.
"Oh that, he was such a big klutz when I first met him, he spilled his soda all over me. I was at McDonald's with some friends, and apparently he was too, so when he walks by my table, he almost tripped over himself for some reason and spilled the damn thing on me because he hadn't fastened the lid on properly" She laughed. "I mean, I was mad as heck back then, but now that I've fallen in love with that idiot, I can only smile" she answered.
"So did you really start dating then?" I asked.
"Not at first, but he insisted on buying me new clothes, even though I could just go home and wash them, but I accepted his offer. He gave me the receipts for the clothes in case I wanted to return or exchange them later and he had written his number on it with a message saying he was hoping I would give him a call" She answered, smiling fondly at the memory.
"So, did you call him?" I asked.
"No, I didn't" She chuckled. "Two weeks later, I met him at the park, he recognized me and asked why I never called" She said. "I told him because the whole thing seemed weird. We didn't have a romantic moment or anything and I just thought it was a sleezy way of hitting on me" She laughed.
"Then what?" I asked.
"Well, he apologized and seemed really nervous and told me that he really think I seemed cute and wanted to ask me out on a real date. Then he went on about how he wasn't used to asking girls out an all that, so I ended up giving him a chance" She answered. "And from there on and out we dated like every other couple and got together. But of course he had hist mysterious times when he suddenly had to leave, and he never invited me over to his place, being here, and so on. I eventually got tired of it and confronted him about it. When I mentioned I might break up with him if he didn't start being honest, he panicked, and that's when he told me" She smiled. "But I didn't talk with him for a week after that" She chuckled.
I frowned; "Why not?" I asked.
"'Cause I was freaked out, and needed time to process it all. Then I called him when I realized I was really in love with him, and we just worked everything out, and I'm so glad we did because I don't know what I would do without him" She answered.
"Were you ever allowed to tell anyone, that he's a werewolf I mean?" I asked.
"Yes, after a while, I never told my friends, but I got to tell my parents. I still hang out with my other friends sometime, but we've kind of drifted apart, but that happens" She answered.
"Because you couldn't tell them?" I asked.
"Well, not really, but this is a whole new life, and we're growing up and my life is here, and they have lives other places and are all kind of scattered over the country now. We meet now and then, but it's rare" She answered.
"I don't know if that makes me lucky or miserable, because I only have one friend, I wish I could be honest with" I said. Suddenly I felt so small. She had all these friends, a normal mom and dad, and of course it may made things difficult before she could tell anyone, but in the end, it worked out fine.
I myself didn't have that problem, because I had none of that, except Amber. "You keep looking at the bad stuff. Everyone's lives are different, but in the end, we're both sitting here, both with our happy endings, well, our lives are not over yet but you get it. We're in the same place even if our lives don't contain the same amount or friend or past" she answered with a smile.
"You might wouldn't have said that if you knew. I just realized now I've not told you everything although I'm pretty sure everyone gets the gist. Don't get me wrong, I am happy right now, but I'm still affected by 10 years of complete misery" I answered. Then I just shook my head. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a downer. Like I said, I am happy now, and that's what I should be focusing on" I answered and genuinely smiled.
"Cheers to that" She said and held her glass up for a small toast.
"Okay, even though I had to drag her away from Hunter, here's Jordan ready for a girls night" Evelyn announced.
Maybe I only have one friend from the past, which will always be my best friend, but I definitely have many friends for the future.
*
1 drink and four hours later I was tired and trying to fall asleep. I was already on my way back to my room when I bumped into Ryan. His room was close to mine after all. "Sorry" I said, almost yawned.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm just tired." I answered.
"You sure? We haven't really had a chance to talk after the meeting yesterday, about...certain stuff" he answered, choosing his words carefully, like I was too fragile for the truth.
"You can say about the case of the missing girls, the case about me might being in danger. I was there at the meeting, you don't have to step on eggshells around me, I can handle it" I sighed and walked past him to my room. I didn't bother closing the door because I knew he was going to follow me.
"You don't really seem fine" he stated.
"I am fine. I receive some bad news, and everyone is worried about me breaking down?" I answered.
"It's not like that, and really, bad news? Your life could actually be in danger if this turns out to be something, it's okay to not feel okay over that" He answered.
"Oh my god, do you want me to feel not okay? Jeez. I'm not saying I'm completely unfaced by this, but I'm trying to not let it get to my head right now, because I have this whole new world to adjust to, I have an event to plan in a very short time and now I have to concentrate on keeping this whole other thing at bay so it doesn't ruin my life while I still don't know if something will happen or not" I finished my rant with a big sigh. I sat down on my bed. My small speech right there just disproved my earlier statement.
"You know you can do all this in your own time. If you need some time you can always say so, no one is expecting anything" he answered.
I know his words was supposed to be soothing, but I just frowned and looked at him; "Not expecting anything, what is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"I just meant that with everything going on, no one expects you to be ready for the introduction at any point or that you should know everything about us already." He answered.
"Then why do I feel this intense pressure? I know no one expect me to be perfect at this, but that doesn't mean I can't try, I still need to step up and do what will be expected after some time. I just arrived here, of course no one is expecting anything of me now, but they will" I answered. I'm not regretting going with him here, but I don't know why I had expected some sort of easier days than it's been so far. "I'm not being ungrateful or anything, it's just...I don't know, everything is different from my old life, and that's a good thing, but I don't think I am adjusting very well" I answered.
He took my hand in his; "You are, but I just want you to be honest with yourself. You weren't like this until yesterday after the meeting. Maybe you don't let yourself feel it, but I think it got to you more than you like to admit" he answered.
"Then...can I ask you a question and can you answer me honestly?" I asked.
"Of course" He assured.
"Do you really think we should be prepared for some sort of...disappearance?" I asked. "Do you honestly believe I could be in the range of targets?" I asked.
He didn't answer at first, but then he looked into my eyes, before nodding. I pressed my lips together and looked at our joined hands. Then I finally let my heart beat anxiously. "Then honestly, I am scared" I admitted.
He cupped my cheek. "It's okay, but I can promise you nothing will happen If someone attempt to hurt you in any way, I won't let them" He answered.
I didn't have any answers in words right then, but I did what I really wanted to do, and leaned in and kissed him. He didn't hesitate for even a second before kissing me back. Even though we were really close, I moved a little closer.
He moved is hands to the back of my head, tangled in my hair. His kiss became more passionate. But before I knew it, he pulled away. I looked at him almost like he was crazy; "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing's wrong, believe me, but...I got to stop before I am unable to" he said.
"We barely even kissed" I answered.
"I know, but I can tell by your breath you've been drinking even if it's not much, and I know you're upset right now, so I just don' think it would be such a good idea" He answered.
I knew he was right; "I know...By the way, it was just Lavinia who came up with a batch of margarita, and I just had one glass while dealing with everything. I just don't want you to get the wrong idea, because I usually don't drink" I answered.
"Hey, I am not judging or anything" He answered.
"I know, and I know you're right. I just...I don't know, I really don't know anything" I answered. "I'm just too tired to think about anything at all right now, I think I should just go to sleep" I answered and let out a yawn.
"Sounds like a good idea" he chuckled. He got up to leave when I grabbed his hand; "Would you mind staying?" I asked.
"You sure?" He asked.
I nodded; "Really, I just don't feel like being alone" I answered.