Dahlia (Blood Crave Series) (7 page)

Chapter 6

“So…are you going to eat that?”

“Huh?” Dahlia looked over at Sam, who sat forward in his chair, ogling the plate of food in front of her.

She glanced down at her uneaten meal, limply holding the fork in between her fingers. Then she sighed. “Sam, if the food’s in front of me, you can safely assume that I’m going to be eating it.”

She was sitting across from him as she ate dinner, Glen and Deb flagged on either side. After coming home from school, she had wanted to put the earlier conversation with that strange girl on the back burner and not remotely decipher what that entire exchange meant.

Remember, she was doing normalcy now.

Sam leaned back in his chair as he eyed her skeptically. “I would never have known since you’ve been zoning out all through dinner. I just thought I’d take those lovely pieces of meatballs off your plate to help you out, is all.”

Dahlia rolled her eyes then, to stick it to him, stabbed a meatball with her fork and placed it in her mouth, chewing enthusiastically. She even let out a huge moan at the taste, just to spite.

“Yum.”

Deb and Glen chuckled at their rapport as Deb then looked over at Dahlia and asked, “So how have the first few days of school been for you?”

Dahlia paused, swallowing the last of the meatball before it lodged in her throat, as she thought how to answer her.

Irritating?

Strange?

Confusing?

She gave a forced grin, more of a grimace, and shrugged slightly. She was not in the mood for any chit-chat. “It was great.”

Sam shook his head, not believing a word that came out of her mouth, then pointedly stared at his parents. “Excuse us.” He abruptly got up from his chair, walked around the table, and yanked Dahlia up by the collar of her blue t-shirt, her fork clattering against the plate. He smiled over at his parents who both looked on in amusement. Glen just shook his head at his son, having known him for seventeen years and of his numerous crazy antics.

Sam marched toward the front door then swung it open, practically dragging her outside, but not before slipping on his shoes. He had also managed to pick up Dahlia’s own runners, which he’d thrown at her once the door had closed.

Dahlia shivered in the cold air as she instinctively caught the shoes tossed aggressively at her. She stared at him in blatant shock, shoulders practically up to her ears, as she stood barefoot in her socks. “What the hell was that for, Sam?”

He ignored her question and gestured toward her runners. “Just put your shoes on, we’re going for a walk.”

Her left eye twitched in displeasure but she put on her shoes nonetheless, complaining the entire time. She shook her head as she muttered, “You totally disrupt dinner to throw me out of the house, just so we could go for a walk?”

Sam had already dashed off and Dahlia had to jog over to catch up. He had his hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants as he looked over at her once she reached his side, eyes gleaming in the night.

“Hey, I’m not the one who was looking all sulky and making all of us uncomfortable by your lack of speech. Had I known you’d be so pissed about me bailing on you at lunch, I would have waited for your sorry ass. I was merely lightening up the mood.” He paused then continued again more softly. “Plus I thought you needed a break from the whole formal scene with mom beginning to ask a slew of, God knows how many, questions about school.”

Dahlia paused at his words then, glancing away, sighed in defeat. In Sam’s way, she knew he was just being nice, trying to give her an out.

Although he had a funny way of showing it.

“Thanks, I guess.” She thought she heard an apology somewhere in that rant. Dahlia used an excuse she was sure she’d be using more than once, instead of getting into what was really on her mind. “I’m still getting used to the whole high school thing.”

They continued to walk side by side in no specific direction. “Don’t worry about it,” Sam replied as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, which blocked some of the chill of the night. “Just remember that you can come and talk to me if you need anything. Trust me—I won’t blab to the parental units.”

Dahlia smiled as she looked up at him. Sam seemed to be falling perfectly into the protective brotherly role—although most times he had the annoying brotherly role down perfect. But her presence around him got easier as the days went on, more so since he had reassured her and been there the first day of school.

She jabbed him playfully on his side with her elbow. “I know, Sam. Thanks for understanding.”

“Anytime, Winters,” he cooed with a wink.

She hesitated suddenly, stopping both of them in their tracks. She stared off into the distance as Sam’s playful look turned to one of curiosity as he followed her gaze.

“Whatcha looking at?” he whispered quietly.

“I have no idea,” she replied, her voice equally soft. She could have sworn she saw a figure in the distance stare back at her before it completely disappeared. The strangest thing about it was that she thought she had been staring into a pair of the most beautiful green eyes she’d ever seen. So piercing, it literally took her breath away.

She shook her head to clear her mind from the vision as both she and Sam made their way back home, Dahlia quiet the entire time. By the time they arrived, Deb and Glen had already cleared the table. Not particularly being in the mood to eat anymore, she said goodnight to Sam as she made her way upstairs to her bedroom. Deciding on calling it a day, she quickly changed into her nightgown then slipped underneath her covers, lying quietly in her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, unsettled for no apparent reason, her body restless.

Her last thought before she finally drifted off to a dreamless sleep were of shining green eyes.

***

The rest of the week was thankfully uneventful as she somehow managed to make it to the weekend. She was still weirded out by the events over the past few days including the vision she had of a green-eyed stranger. Truth be told, she was still irked by the girl from the cafetorium.

Although she wanted to forget it, she made Dahlia curious, made her want to know exactly who she was and what her intentions were. She hadn’t overlooked the girl’s reference to a wolf and Dahlia wanted to know what she meant. Why did she, out of the blue, bring up a wolf and not some other feral animal? The girl’s tone had been teasing, as if she knew about her dreams and was playing a game of cat and mouse, and Dahlia happened to be the mouse.

Let’s not forget the whole mind reading trick. Of course, Dahlia fantasized about having such an amazing ability but it was simply that—a fantasy.

So she tried to forget the whole thing. She actually managed to convince herself that it had been nothing more than her overactive imagination, one again, playing tricks on her. Just like the night when she thought she was being followed, her name whispered in the wind. It wasn’t plausible.

All of this was just a coincidence, albeit weird, but a coincidence nonetheless.

She even attempted to quiet her crazy thoughts by seeking out the girl and getting her to explain. There was no such luck, however, as she seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Yet another strange oddity, considering she thought they were both in the same class.

To take her mind off all this...nuttiness...she convinced herself that attending Meg’s party was imperative and the perfect thing to do in a time like this.

She definitely needed to get out.

On any other day, she would be writing on her laptop or reading a book found on her nightstand. Since it had been a nice day outside, perhaps a walk to the mall to see the puppies at the pet store would have filled the next few hours.

Instead, she was coerced—although easily coerced—into attending the party with Sam.

So there she was, the room crowded with sweaty bodies dancing to the rhythm of the music as it pulsated throughout the room. Dahlia sat on a two-seater couch.

Alone.

She downed a glass of punch as she searched the crowd for a way out, cursing Sam for bringing up the party in the first place and herself for giving in so easily. She breathed deeply, trying to convince herself that this was, in fact, a good thing. That she needed a drink and a dance here and there to forget the strangeness that was her life.

But the fact that Sam had ditched her as soon as they arrived burned her. Why was he always doing that? She looked around, not seeing him or his friends anywhere. Even the host herself was missing in action. Every face she saw was a complete stranger to her, a position she really didn’t care to be in.

Dahlia was also stuck here since Sam drove and was, at the moment, not answering his phone. It wasn’t as if she could
walk
home, even if she wanted to. Cedar Oaks may be small, and the majority of everything walking distance, but Meg Young happened to live on the outskirts of town. She lived in this grand, Victorian-style house with a ton of grass space and no neighbors to see for miles. Dahlia wouldn’t know which way was right if she decided to venture out on her own, especially since she really didn’t know where she was. Not realizing the need for a taxi, her wallet currently sat on top of her nightstand.

It was definitely not a smart move on her part.

She felt sitting on the couch until it was time to leave would be her best bet. She’d eventually spot Sam and demand he take her home, or give her the car keys so he could stay and party.

Still, there was no sign of him. The only familiar face she found was a guy from Health class staring across the room at her, drunkenly. She thought his name was Larry Epstein or something along those lines. Dahlia wanted nothing more than to get up and run from those leering eyes as fast as possible. She remembered the way he had looked at her when she held the banana in her hand.

Eww.

She inwardly shuddered then, spying a glass door to her left, saw her chance to escape. Getting up from the couch, she maneuvered her way through all the swaying bodies as she approached it. Exiting out through the sliding glass doors, Dahlia breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally outside, away from all the noise and gross Larry Epstein.

She closed the door behind her, muffling the sounds from inside. Turning around, she became aware of her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the night. The cool breeze caressed her bare skin, and she quickly rubbed both arms to keep warm.

There was a lot of shrubbery. They were high so they enveloped Dahlia with their presence. Looking around, she noticed a small pathway where the shrubbery ended that seemed to lead somewhere off into the distance. Curious and wanting to get away at any rate, she took a few timid steps toward the opening, wondering where it would lead.

All of a sudden, she felt a gust of wind that sent chills up her spine and caused her hair to stand on end. She hugged herself, cursing her thin white t-shirt that she wore with black skinny jeans.

For some reason, her body was warning her, just like that night in the park when she thought eyes were watching. There was no logical explanation why, but her body wanted to turn and run back toward the house. It seemed to know that whatever was out there, deep within the darkness, was something sinister.

Hunting her.

Knowing these thoughts were foolish, she shook her head and continued walking toward the opening. The night seemed to have gotten darker, if even possible. The pathway, gradually smaller, until there was nothing left to call a pathway. There was nothing but dirt and gravel.

It was silent, Dahlia too far out to hear the excitement of the party. The only sound heard was of her own open-mouthed breathing, which quickened, as if to match the rapid beating of her heart. Being out here, the place seemed somewhat familiar, reminding her of a time long ago when she was alone like this in a forest.

Except then she had a wolf as company.

“Tonight you can have me as a substitute,” a husky voice rumbled next to her ear, blowing hot air against her skin. She felt a hard, warm body press firmly against her back, causing her to stiffen. The voice vibrated against her, sending shivers throughout her entire body and Dahlia could have sworn the voice was also coming from
within
her. But that couldn’t be possible.

Not again.

Turning around, at first all Dahlia saw was darkness. Then after a few seconds, she became aware of a figure.

A very large figure.

He stepped back to give her more space and she was able to see more of his form. He towered over her, almost a foot taller than her five foot four inches frame. Looking up, she locked gazes with his eyes and couldn’t blink, let alone glance away.

In the dark, there was no way she should be able to see his eyes so clearly. But standing across from him, she saw that they were green. They were unique, almost like the leaves in the forest.

Dark and earthy with a blinding light behind it.

His eyes held hers in place and she just stood there captivated by him. Then shaking her head, she gave a few quick successive blinks, as if awakening from a trance.

It’s like staring at a large jungle cat
, she thought, cautiously taking a step back from him.

From what she could see, his entrancing green eyes were held in a strong face, almost proud. In the night, Dahlia was unable to see whether his skin was the color of caramel or mocha or somewhere in between. His hair was short and dark, a glitter in the night revealing a small earring in his left ear. He was wearing all dark clothing, making it easy for him to blend into the night.

Although Dahlia couldn’t see him clearly, she had the distinct feeling that she knew him from somewhere. His eyes reminded her of the vision she had when she was out with Sam. Something about his presence felt recognizable so she couldn’t help but ask him bluntly, “Why do you seem so familiar?”