** * * * * Omniscient Narrator * * * * *
“Is this your home?” The young man asked Crystal.
She replied to his question with a head nod.
Crystal led him into the house. She could now see his face clearly.
He was handsome, with gray eyes. He had long black hair, maybe not too long but long enough to drop below his neck. He was also tall, at least 6’1.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
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*
Her step parents were in the sitting room waiting for her.
“Mum-two, good evening,” Crystal greeted cheerfully.
Thanks to the young man by her side, she was in a very good mood.
“Oh Crystal, you are finally here. Who is the handsome fellow with you?” Her step mum asked.
She turned to Michael and chuckled. “Oh mum, this is Michael!” Crystal smiled.
“She just said you are handsome,” she whispered to him.
She was trying to remind him of what he said earlier, about no female complimenting his looks. Michael grinned.
“Good evening ma,” he greeted.
“Evening Michael, welcome to our house. You are just in time for dinner, so come with,” her stepmom invited and walked towards the dining.
Her stepdad who had been strangely silent the whole time finally stood up. His presence was now noticed by the young adults.
“Hey Dad-two! I didn’t see you there,” Crystal exclaimed.
“Yes, because you were too busy with your mum,” the old man whined.
Crystal chuckled and went closer to him, then gave him a hug.
“You know you are my favorite person, you have always been and you will always be,” she told him. Her white sparkling teeth glittering, as the light emitting from the bulb reflected on them.
“That’s not fair, you said the exact same thing to me some time ago,” her stepmom yelled out from the not so far away dining area.
They all burst into laughter.
“Good evening Sir,” Michael greeted.
He was trying to make his presence acknowledged by the old man.
Crystal’s stepfather turned to him and smiled.
“Welcome my dear”
“Dinner is getting cold, fellas,” her stepmom yelled from the dining room.
She has been setting up the table for the four and she was through with that now.
“Come on Mike, let’s go have dinner!” Crystal said.
* * * * * * * * * *
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The family and their guest sat at the dining table, feasting on their dinner of turkey legs, pasta, salad, meatballs and a few other vegetables. Their menu for the night was filled.
The vegetables were mainly for Crystal. Her step parents are werewolves, so they preferred eating meat, to carrots and other vegetables.
Crystal’s stepdad was seated on the chair, at the short end of the table. His wife was sitting close by his left on the long side of the table.
While Crystal and Michael sat on the left, long side of the table.
“Mum-two, what of Aidan?” Crystal suddenly asked.
She was surprised that she hadn’t asked for her baby since she stepped in here.
How could she be so careless?
She must have been carried away with all the drama going on.
“Oh, he is alright. I fed him dinner before he fell asleep, you don’t need to worry,” she convinced her.
Crystal felt a bit relaxed after hearing that. Her baby was the most important thing in her life, and she wouldn’t put any other thing before him!
“So tell us Crystal, how did you meet Michael? You never mentioned having a friend in this neighborhood,” her stepmother asked, literally trying to get words out of her mouth.
“Well you can’t believe what happened on my way back,” Crystal said immediately.
Due to the speed with which she spoke, while trying to swallow food she got choked by the meatball halfway through her throat and started coughing .
“Sorry, have some water!” Michael said and offered her a cup of water immediately
She drank it quickly and breathed out in relief.
** * * * *
Well, that is what happens when you forget your table manners, but that didn’t stop her from saying what she wanted to say.
* * * * *
“So I was coming back from work today, when this bad guy attacked me. I was so frightened as he had a gun pointed to my head,” she announced.
Without waiting to hear what they would say, or what their reaction would be, she continued…
“The thug threatened to kill me and was about to take me to a corner, when suddenly… Michael came out of nowhere and scared him away,” she narrated.
“Oh!” Her stepmother replied.
“I see!” her stepdad muttered.
Their reaction was quite strange. She had just told them how she almost got killed, but the look on their face did not express any kind of surprise or concern. It was plain! Blank like what they heard was something common and not usual.
However, Crystal did not notice the strangeness in her stepdad’s and step mother’s behavior, they had completely ignored her story and concentrated on their food, like what she narrated was totally Greek to them, or it probably didn’t matter.
Crystal was more concerned about how Michael had scared away the thug. It wasn’t normal to her
The guy just panicked and ran away, even without anyone touching him. He had a gun in his hand and yet he was scared, it didn’t make sense to her at all.
“Michael, can I ask you a question?” She queried, why picking the salad slowly.
* * * * *
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She had a thing, for talking her time when eating, it was a habit she formed from childhood. Her real mother would always scold her but no matter how many times she was scolded, she would still end up eating her food slowly the next time.
Due to that habit, it was difficult to eat from the same plate with another person, as she would end up eating very little.
* * * * *
“Sure Crystal, shoot ahead!” Michael permitted.
She hesitated for a while, not knowing if she should ask him. But she was too curious to hold back.
“Um… How did you scare away that hooligan? I mean you just showed up and demanded that he let me go, and he immediately… He ran like a scared cat, I just don’t understand what made him panic so much.
I mean he had a gun, even if there was no bullets in it, he could have at least used it to threaten you”
The young man already knew the answer to her question, but he was hesitant on answering it.
He looked towards her step parents and they made some communications with eye signals, but Crystal didn’t notice any of that.
“Crystal, I am scared that you might hate me if I tell you this,” Michael said and looked down.
“No Mike, I promise… My thoughts or feelings towards you won’t change, no matter what you tell me.” Crystal said.
She was desperate to have an answer to her question. With his last words, she was now certain that there was something about him that she didn’t know, but what could it be?
“You promise that you won’t panic if I tell you?” He asked.
Now she was even more curious than ever. She had dropped her fork and had her gaze fixed on his admirable face.
“I promise Mike, I won’t panic!” She replied.
Her step parents were not paying too much attention to them, although her stepmom had stopped eating, with her gaze shifting from one to the other person.
The old woman was scheming something again.
“Alright Crystal, I… I am… I am a vampire!” Michael announced.
To be continued!!