Chapter 13: The Vampire Pirate's Daughter by Lynette Ferreira
I look at him confused. “I did not realise. She always says your house or her house?”
“Habit. We have always pretended to only be friends, although everyone who knows us, obviously do know. When we were in grade school, she did not want her friends to know she knew me. I was skinny and emancipated back then and she had a reputation to uphold. From there it became a habit, so sometimes even when I talk to her, I would say my house and your house.”
I look at his arms and muse that he is most certainly not skinny and emancipated anymore. The muscles on his upper arms are well defined.
“So, the principle is also her dad then?”
A shadow falls over his face, when he replies, “Ya, actually only her dad—remember. He only tolerates me. My adoptive mother is great, though, she treats me no different than she does Carmine.” He sits up abruptly. “Jeez. I am telling you my entire life story.” He looks at me puzzled.
I sit up as well. “Is that so bad?”
He starts to get up and suddenly I do not want him to leave. I want to know the reasons why he is the way he is, what makes him whom he is. I put my hand on his forearm gently.
He looks at me and smiling slowly, he continues standing up. “I have to see if Lionel needs a hand. Don’t go away.”
I lie down again, and I turn onto my stomach. The shadows are stretching and becoming longer, reaching toward my little island in the sun. I lean on my elbows and rest my chin into my palms.
Looking at Andrew from the corner of my eye, I once again see his dark, short hair.
His lean, muscular back is turned to me, so I cannot see his broodingly dark eyes. He is very tall, I would say a head taller than I am and he has the most amazing smile. I consider what I had just heard, that Andrew is an orphan, just like me.
What are the odds?
It is weird that moments ago he was here next to me, softly smiling and talking as if he has always known me. Sharing himself with me until he realised, he was.
I hear Carmine returning before I see her. When they walk into the clearing, I look up at them and then I see Duncan walk in my direction. Hurriedly I stand up and reach for my clothes. I pull my shorts on and then my shirt over my head. I shake out my sun-dried hair. Duncan reaches me as soon as I turn to the fire.
I smile friendly past him. “Hi, Carmine. How was the walk?”
Excitedly she exclaims, “You missed it. We saw a buck on the other side of the fence. It was great!”
I ignore Duncan and I walk past him to Carmine. Together we walk toward the fire while she jabbers excitedly about the antelope she saw.
I notice Duncan pretend to walk past as if he never noticed me either and then he reaches for his bag on the ground. He pulls on a hooded jacket and then slowly he walks toward the fire as well.
Carmine walks to Andrew and so I do not have a choice but to stand next to Andrew. For a long moment, all three of us stare into the fire quietly and then I smell the meat. Lionel places the steaks and sausages on the grill, and I ask hesitantly, “Can I have mine as rare as possible?”
Lionel laughs. “You like your meat like I like mine. Just enough sizzle so it cannot stand up and walk away.”
I smile relieved. “I don’t know why...”
Lionel interrupts me, “That is how meat should be eaten, isn’t it obvious?” He looks around at the others. “Not like all of them who like theirs medium or well-done.”
Andrew guffaws, “Hey, I like to enjoy my food. How can you even eat it when you can still see it swimming in blood on your plate?”
Lionel laughs. “Yum!”
Andrew makes a disgusted face. “Yuck!”
Lionel retaliates, “Don’t dismiss it if you’ve never tried it.”
I am glad I have an ally because I would have hated to gag down a medium steak. The smell of sweet, singed meat fills the air.
Later we eat, and Andrew sits next to me on a log. We eat in silence and when we are finished, I lick my fingers clean.
He bumps against me playfully. “Did you enjoy that?”
Embarrassed I smile. “I did.”
“I honestly don’t know how you can eat it like that. I prefer mine as well done as possible, before turning it into charcoal.”
I shiver and he laughs.
We clear up and dispose of the plastic cutlery and paper plates in the metal bins standing near enough.
Everybody sits down again and then Duncan starts to tell us a ghost story. I feel myself leaning closer to Andrew, but I do not lean into him.
Amused I wonder what they would say or how fast they will run if I tell them my scary story.
A FEW WEEKS later, I get into the back seat of the Mini Cooper with Carmine next to me and I fasten my seatbelt. Nudging her, I point to her safety belt uneasily.
I do not want to seem old before my time, but I have an urgent need and I ask, “Are you sure you can drive, Duncan. You seriously had too much to drink.”
He laughs from the front with Andrew sitting next to him in the front passenger seat. “I am a good driver and I am not that drunk.”
Trying to get rid of the nervous tension in the pit of my stomach, I lean my head back against the headrest.
We are leaving a nightclub in the city. Although we are under-age and not allowed into the main dance floor, we sat outside by the large wooden tables and benches. Duncan has friends who are eligible to drink and with the present legislation, he did not have to be much older to be able to drink himself into oblivion. Duncan kept saying he only had one more year to go before he turned eighteen, and then he can stop begging his friends to go to the bar for him. Although he refers to it as begging, he still got drunk. He is not paralytic drunk, but I am sure he had too much to drink to be able to drive.
Continue reading Chapter 14/23
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