Alexander took a step closer to
her, placing himself more between her and Dante while nonchalantly removing his
wrist watch and pretending to wind it. He watched her out of the corner of his
eye as she struggled against the unexpected anger that shook her limbs. Zoey
stood slowly, keeping an eye on Sophie.
Alexander took another subtle step
towards her; he would stop her if she gave in to the instinctual fury towards
Dante. All she wanted to do was lunge for his throat in a rage at the
circumstance she’d been dragged into. Yet, she suddenly felt heavy, like she
was made of lead. An uncomfortable but weak sensation came from the general
direction of where Laney stood, as if something were trying to push her
backwards.
“Sophie, please calm down,” Dante
pled soothingly. “It is for your own good that we have introduced you to our
life.”
She gritted her teeth against the unseen
force that held her back, and then exhaled a sigh of frustration through her
nose and slowly unclenched her fists. She exhaled carefully. After regaining
some measure of self-control, she looked at the assembly around her. Once the
fog of her anger cleared and she was able to think about things logically again,
she had to admit to herself that she did feel completely safe there. The
thought of spending the night alone in her dorm room was a little more
unsettling than spending it here among these people, since her attacker was
still on the loose.
"Can I sleep on it?" she
asked.
Dante nodded.
Laney’s lips suddenly burst into a
smile. “Jim can take you home,” she cheerfully volunteered.
Jim grinned at Laney and then at Sophie.
Nothing kept those two down, apparently.
“Let’s do it,” he answered before
Sophie had a chance to object.
Alexander’s eyes shifted quickly to
Jim as he replaced his watch on his wrist. “The old-fashioned way,” his deep,
intimidating voice commanded before he turned and strode out of the room.
Sophie stared after him in wonder.
“Aw, alright,” Jim grumbled.
She made a mental note to remember
to ask what the difference was between the “old-fashioned way” and whatever Jim
had in mind for transportation. She was inclined to assume that it had
something to do with the method that had gotten her there in the first place. He
grinned down at her. She couldn’t have been too far off.
Nevertheless, Sophie sighed with
relief that Alexander wasn’t taking her anywhere.
Jim chuckled, shook his head and
looked from Sophie to where Alexander had been standing.
She grimaced when she'd realized he
caught that thought. She wasn’t used to being transparent.And, she
still couldn’t hear any thought that passed through the minds of the family who
lived there. As she followed Jim towards the back door, she wondered idly to
herself how they blocked her out.
“We’ll teach you!” Laney called as
she danced herself into a handstand and grinned at her new-found friend.
Sophie glanced over her shoulder
incredulously at Laney and at Zoey who clearly didn’t seem to think there was
anything odd about Laney’s behavior, before she followed Jim silently to his
huge red Dodge pick-up truck. Climbing in, she folded her hands awkwardly in
her lap as he backed the truck into the road.
“Um…so, what’s with Laney?” she
asked carefully once they were on their way, hoping they’d be out of earshot of
the house.
As they traveled further from the
Victorian structure, she felt an empty dread creep into her soul, a coldness
that she couldn’t explain. She almost desperately wanted to go back—pulled like
a magnet to the residence.
Jim chuckled again.
He does that a lot , she
thought. But, no matter how much taunting she received from him, Sophie
couldn’t deny that this man and his family were the family that made sense to
her. It would be nice to have a big brother who poked fun at her. She really
didn't have anything to
her, placing himself more between her and Dante while nonchalantly removing his
wrist watch and pretending to wind it. He watched her out of the corner of his
eye as she struggled against the unexpected anger that shook her limbs. Zoey
stood slowly, keeping an eye on Sophie.
Alexander took another subtle step
towards her; he would stop her if she gave in to the instinctual fury towards
Dante. All she wanted to do was lunge for his throat in a rage at the
circumstance she’d been dragged into. Yet, she suddenly felt heavy, like she
was made of lead. An uncomfortable but weak sensation came from the general
direction of where Laney stood, as if something were trying to push her
backwards.
“Sophie, please calm down,” Dante
pled soothingly. “It is for your own good that we have introduced you to our
life.”
She gritted her teeth against the unseen
force that held her back, and then exhaled a sigh of frustration through her
nose and slowly unclenched her fists. She exhaled carefully. After regaining
some measure of self-control, she looked at the assembly around her. Once the
fog of her anger cleared and she was able to think about things logically again,
she had to admit to herself that she did feel completely safe there. The
thought of spending the night alone in her dorm room was a little more
unsettling than spending it here among these people, since her attacker was
still on the loose.
"Can I sleep on it?" she
asked.
Dante nodded.
Laney’s lips suddenly burst into a
smile. “Jim can take you home,” she cheerfully volunteered.
Jim grinned at Laney and then at Sophie.
Nothing kept those two down, apparently.
“Let’s do it,” he answered before
Sophie had a chance to object.
Alexander’s eyes shifted quickly to
Jim as he replaced his watch on his wrist. “The old-fashioned way,” his deep,
intimidating voice commanded before he turned and strode out of the room.
Sophie stared after him in wonder.
“Aw, alright,” Jim grumbled.
She made a mental note to remember
to ask what the difference was between the “old-fashioned way” and whatever Jim
had in mind for transportation. She was inclined to assume that it had
something to do with the method that had gotten her there in the first place. He
grinned down at her. She couldn’t have been too far off.
Nevertheless, Sophie sighed with
relief that Alexander wasn’t taking her anywhere.
Jim chuckled, shook his head and
looked from Sophie to where Alexander had been standing.
She grimaced when she'd realized he
caught that thought. She wasn’t used to being transparent.And, she
still couldn’t hear any thought that passed through the minds of the family who
lived there. As she followed Jim towards the back door, she wondered idly to
herself how they blocked her out.
“We’ll teach you!” Laney called as
she danced herself into a handstand and grinned at her new-found friend.
Sophie glanced over her shoulder
incredulously at Laney and at Zoey who clearly didn’t seem to think there was
anything odd about Laney’s behavior, before she followed Jim silently to his
huge red Dodge pick-up truck. Climbing in, she folded her hands awkwardly in
her lap as he backed the truck into the road.
“Um…so, what’s with Laney?” she
asked carefully once they were on their way, hoping they’d be out of earshot of
the house.
As they traveled further from the
Victorian structure, she felt an empty dread creep into her soul, a coldness
that she couldn’t explain. She almost desperately wanted to go back—pulled like
a magnet to the residence.
Jim chuckled again.
He does that a lot , she
thought. But, no matter how much taunting she received from him, Sophie
couldn’t deny that this man and his family were the family that made sense to
her. It would be nice to have a big brother who poked fun at her. She really
didn't have anything to
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