Page 16 of This Blood that Bonds Us

Aaron and Presley shared a look.

“Soup it is.” Presley winked at me.

Seven

Aaron

“Don’t say anything,” Presley said as he pulled plates from the cabinet. We offered to set the table while Mom heated the soup.

“How? She’s going to want to see us eat,” I whispered, and scrunched in next to him in the tightness of the kitchen. Mom wasn’t paying attention. Instead, she whisked her way around the kitchen to pick up things off the counter and ready the food. I’d already told her Kimberly wouldn’t care about the mess.

“I don’t know. We’ll improvise. Just don’t tell her yet. Let me enjoy this for a minute.”

I sighed, catching a glimpse of Kimberly as she emerged from the bathroom. She’d taken her hair down and combed through it. The hairs on my arm stood up. I couldn’t let myself think about her too much, otherwise it was all I would think about. Our previous encounter. Getting her alone. Taking off her clothes. Biting her neck—

“Is everything okay?”

“Uh. Don’t say anything. Presley wants to keep the vampire thing under wraps.”

“How?”

“I really don’t know.”

She nodded like she understood the assignment anyway, and I guided her to the dining area. Mom set a big simmering pot of soup in the middle of the table. It was old and worn and had cracked light-blue paint on the side with intricate, faded designs that reminded me a lot ofAlice and Wonderland. Mom’s whole cabin was accented in blue. The cabinet knobs, the couch, her shelf that held her trinkets she loved to collect. I eyed a set of cherubs sitting on a shelf above the fireplace.

“One of my neighbors brought the table over. Her older daughter painted it before she left for college.” She turned to Presley. “Maybe when she comes to visit, you could meet her. You might get along.”

I hadn’t fully processed her presence yet. My old world blended into the new, and I’d often wondered if they’d ever realign. None of it felt real. Why did it feel like it had been so long? It wasn’t quite a year yet, but everything was different. She looked the same yet different. Her hair was grayer, her dark circles were still there, but now she looked . . . relaxed. I didn’t know if I’d ever seen my mother relaxed a day in my life. Maybeonce or twice. She was always in a rush. Trying to get to work or trying to get us somewhere on time. We were never on time.

Here, she moved slowly, adding things to the table. Cornbread, butter, linen napkins, and mismatched porcelain china. I wanted to stop her from doing the work, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I’d wondered if I’d ever see her again, and when we decided to run away from The Legion, I imagined it would be a lot longer, if ever.

Sitting next to Kimberly, I squeezed her knee under the table. This was all new for her, and regardless of what was going on with me, I would make sure she knew she wasn’t alone. I saw the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure out how to act. She was probably worried Mom wouldn’t like her, but Mom liked everyone. She’d treated Ashley and Sarah like her own daughters. Plus, it was impossible not to fall in love with Kimberly, and thanks to her, I was able to enjoy sitting with my mom without wondering if I would snap and kill her. Things were looking up.

“Dig in.” My mom smiled, and the wrinkles next to her eyes bunched. I’d never noticed them before.

We all hesitated until Presley took the lead, filling his bowl with soup and gathering a large stack of cornbread. The smell filled the space, and my heart ached from the nostalgia of Mom’s cooking. Suddenly, I was five again, waiting anxiously while Mom cooked dinner. I think she enjoyed it; she just didn’t always have the time. I wished I could eat it.

I’d seen Akira eat popcorn. There had to be a trick to it. Maybe it was small bites. I grabbed a piece of butter for my cornbread and motioned to Kimberly. Maybe she could kill time by pretending to butter her bread.

“I’m so happy to have my table full again.” She laid her arm on the table, looking at us longingly. Her eyes flickered to the front door behind me.

“Have you been lonely?” I asked.

“Oh no, there’s quite a community here. Lots of retired women. Families. I have the best neighbors. We share food and stories.”

“We were in this place called Blackheart. It’s where Kimberly grew up. It was on a mountain and had these huge trees with massive trunks,” Presley said.

“Oh, is that how you all met?”

Kimberly nodded. “Yeah, we met at college. It’s a university town in California.”

Mom’s forehead dented. “You were all going to college together?”

We all shared a look, wondering what to say. She’d probably imagined something much worse. All of us lost. Scared. Hungry. Unbeknownst to her, we were all drunk in a frat house in California.

“What did Luke tell you?” It felt weird saying his name, knowing he wasn’t here. I didn’t know where he was, and that wasn’t a feeling I’d ever really had before. He was always close enough to visit, but they could be anywhere.

Mom picked up her mug of tea and sipped it. The smell of lavender permeated the air, mixing with the roast. “I got an urgent call from Luke while I was at work in the ER. He couldn’t wait. He simply said, ‘You asked me to tell you when I needed something. Right now, I need you to go home and pack a bag. We’ll meet you.’ I didn’t ask any questions. I was saving them to ask later, but when I got home your brothers were waiting with a car and a driver who was instructed to take me as far as he could across the country. I asked about you. I asked about them. Luke just said, ‘Trust me. We’ll keep them safe.’I didn’t go easily, but your brothers begged. They said I’d put you all in danger if I stayed and that it was safer for all of you if I didn’t follow.”