Dark Realms by Kristen Middleton Page A

“What about you? Are you going to lay off
Deanna, who isn’t even here to defend herself?”
    “Fine,” I replied tightly. “As long as he
stops talking about her every five minutes.”
    “Whatever,” he replied, shaking his
head.
    She closed her eyes and
rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You know, maybe this was a mistake,
I don’t know.” She opened her eyes. “But, what’s done is
done, and we have
to make the best of it. So, please, quit arguing and let’s try to
make the best of this. Okay?”
    We both agreed, but avoided eye contact.
    “Okay,” she said, smiling again. “Now, let’s
finish this up and find the cabin. I think you’re going to really
like living out here if you just give it a chance. I mean, come on,
you have to admit – the scenery is beautiful.”
    “California was beautiful too,” replied
Nathan, grabbing a stack of pizzas from the freezer. “I’m just
saying…”
    She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”
    He put the pizzas in the cart. “Okay, fine,
I’ll admit that it’s different here – the fresh air, the mountains,
all of the greenness. I guess it’s cool.”
    “Thank you. Now, let’s grab some Hot Pockets
and Pizza Rolls,” she said, staring at the case.
    I grimaced. “Hot Pockets?”
    She motioned her thumb at Nathan. “We need
to keep him fed. Those are quick and easy.”
    It was true, he was always hungry, and once
his blood sugar began to drop, grumpier than all hell. Our dad’s
family was prone to Diabetes and mom predicted we’d both end up
getting it someday.
    I opened the glass door and began sorting
through the Hot Pockets with Nathan directing. Forty-five minutes
later, the entire cart was full and Deanna was temporarily
forgotten.
    “That will be two-hundred-and-forty
dollars,” said the cashier, snapping her gum.
    Mom handed the young woman her credit card
while the cashier appraised Nathan as he bagged the groceries. When
he finished, she smiled. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do that, you
know. It’s my job.”
    “That’s okay. I don’t mind.”
    “You guys just move here?” she asked,
twirling a piece of her blonde hair around her index finger.
    I refrained from rolling my eyes.
    “We did,” smiled my mother. “Just today, in
fact.”
    “Cool,” replied the girl, still staring at
him like he was a pair of designer jeans that she couldn’t possibly
live without. “See you around.”
    “Yeah,” replied Nathan as he began to push
the grocery cart outside without a backwards glance.
    Mom and I looked at each other in amusement.
Sometimes men were so clueless.
    “Let’s put the groceries
in your car,
Nathan,” said mom as we stepped back outside. “Mine is too full
already.”
    “Okay,” he replied, veering towards his
vehicle.
    As we were trying to stuff the food into the
back of Nathan’s Mustang, a soft voice greeted us. “Hi. You must be
new in town?”
    We all turned around to see a striking
redhead getting out of a tall Chevy pickup. She wore a miniscule
white sundress, which showed off her toned legs, and dark
sunglasses, which I thought was a little odd, considering it was
dusk.
    Nathan’s blue eyes lit up and he grinned.
“Yeah, we just pulled into town.”
    She removed her sunglasses and smiled back.
“I hope you enjoy it here. It’s quaint, but there are lots of
things to do, especially after dark.”
    Her teeth were pearly white and her hair was
a mass of shiny curls. She dropped her keys, and after she bent to
retrieve them, tossed her hair back over her shoulder. It was a
simple thing, but it had an immediate effect on Nathan. Truthfully,
I didn’t think anybody should be that gorgeous.
    Before my mother or I could get in a word,
Nathan spoke up in a surprisingly deeper voice. “Thanks for the
info. Maybe we’ll run into each other sometime.”
    “ Maybe. It was really nice
meeting you,” she replied, clearly directing it towards Nathan, who
looked like he’d all but forgotten about Deanna. Then she