Dark Days (The Childe Series, #2) (11 page)

Amanda plopped down heavily beside her, “This better be good, ’cuz right now I’m really upset!” 

“On the last day of school, when I got home, I walked in on my family talking about me. I found out I’m…adopted,” Cat said quietly.

“Aw, Cat,” Elle murmured breaking the silence. Matt sighed, at a loss at what to say next.

“Is that all?” asked Amanda impatiently. “You put us through all of this hell for that? I can’t imagine what you’ve done to your parents!” Cat turned red with total embarrassment at the truth in Amanda’s blunt words. She had hurt her family. She had hurt her friends.

“I know I’ve been a jerk. And yeah, you’re right I’ve hurt you guys. And I guess I’ve been selfish too, not thinking about your feelings either, but I want to apologize. I really hope you can forgive me,” she pleaded, looking at each one of them. Cat was immediately enveloped in Amanda’s arms, and she could feel her shaking. Pulling back a little, she saw tears running down Amanda’s face.

“Don’t you ever, ever, do this again, Catherine Colvin! We love you and will always have your back,” she sobbed. Julie and Elle came over and joined the two with tears of their own.

“Geez, girls. Ask me again why I put up with all of you,” Matt quipped.

“Because you love us!”  Elle reached over and grabbed him, pulling him roughly into the group. Cat swore she saw a tear in his eye, too.

 “Michael, do you have any garlic? I can’t seem to find any,” Ròs asked standing in the pantry.

“No, I got rid
of it, like I did the crosse
s
. I figured you couldn’t be around that stuff.”

“Hollywood and their crazy made, up myths. For your information, the first vampire coven was Italian. Take an Italian’s garlic away, and you’ll start a war,” she stated looking at Michael’s grin.

“I guess I have a lot to learn. I should’ve realized that. Cat really loves garlic, and she often helps me in the church. I feel like such a fool.”

“Don’t fret over it, Michael. Up until a few days ago you had no idea that we even existed. In real life I mean. Some legends are true, though. Old vampires, for instance, cannot be exposed to sunlight, because we receive much more than a tan. Oh, and a well-placed stake through the heart can do us in as well. And there is always the old-fashioned burning method. Or, of course there’s also beheading,” she said matter-of-factly, stirring the pot of delicious smelling marinara sauce on the stove. Michael cringed at the word beheading. “Oh, and don’t worry about turning into one of us if we get a little peckish. You’d have to drink our blood after to change,” Ròs said as she laughed.

Michael laughed nervously. “Well, I guess that’s kind of a relief…kind of.”

Ròs laughed again. “Your dinner is almost ready, and Cat should be here soon. We should probably start setting the table.”

Michael watched as the beautiful woman moved gracefully around his kitchen. For a vampire who didn’t eat food, Ròs was a wonderful cook and always insisted on making every meal.

After the first night, Michael had offered for them to stay with him until Cat made up her mind. He really liked the Cowans. They were great houseguests, always helping out around his little cottage. He had given Emma, the church’s housekeeper, two weeks off to go and visit her family just in case Ròs or Trevor did anything suspicious. He needn’t have worried though, because most of the time he forgot they were vampires.

“So Ròs, Trevor, do you still plan on taking Cat from us?” Michael asked, worried about their response.

Ròs laughed. “As if Cat would allow us to just take her. She’s quite the strong-willed girl, that one. Just like her parents were. No, she shall make up her own mind and we’ll act accordingly,” Ròs replied while removing the bread from the oven.

“Besides, she seems to be well taken care of here,” Trevor interjected. Michael smiled and was relieved to hear their answer.

“Hello, anybody home?” Cat’s voice came from the hallway. She moved into the kitchen and stood in awe at the scene before her. Ròs was standing at the stove with her long red hair tied back, wearing a bright red apron
, stirring a pot.
Trevor was setting the dining room table for two and Michael was exiting the pantry with a bottle of sparkling apple cider in tow. It looked like a normal family getting ready to sit down for dinner.

“Oh Catherine, don’t you look lovely tonight. We’re just about ready. Just have a seat, and I’ll be right there,” Ròs’ soothing voice had her moving to the nearest chair.

“Do you need any help?” Cat asked.

“No sweetie, your uncles and I have it all under control.” 

Cat watched on as everyone continued setting up for dinner. The one odd thing that she noticed as she scanned the space was there were blankets covering all the windows.
Hmmm, I guess those block out the sunlight
, she thought. As everyone joined her in the dining room, Cat found herself sitting across from her aunt at the head of the dinner table, with her uncles on either side.

“Cat, you look different,” Michael commented as he noticed his niece’s happier demeanor.

“Yeah, I finally sat down today and told my friends.” Cat jumped when Michael dropped the fork he was holding onto his plate. “Oh, no, I told them I’m adopted, not the other thing. I’ve kind of been avoiding them since school let out, but they forgave me. I still can’t believe I was so stupid.”

“Of course they’d forgive you. You’re a wonderful young lady who would only surround herself with compassionate friends. I’m so happy you took that step. What about your parents?” Ròs asked

“I’m going to talk to them when I get home. I realize I’ve hurt them too. And before you ask me, I haven’t made my decision yet. Please give me a few more days, okay?”

“Of course, Catherine. We understand how hard this is for you, and we’re very patient. I mean, we’re immortals after all. Now you two eat. You men just talk too much, and the food is getting cold.” Ròs and Cat laughed at their dinner companions’ puzzled faces.

Two hours later, Cat pulled into her driveway. Her stomach was tied in knots thinking about the conversation she was about to have with her parents.

“Yoo-hoo, Catherine. You’re cutting it a little close to curfew, aren’t you dear?” a sickeningly sweet voice called out.

“Great, just great! Nosy Maude and little Fredricka, just what I need,” she murmured to herself.  “Hey Mrs. Roberts. Almost, I’ve got about 25 minutes still,” she said out loud, pasting a smile on her face. Fredricka, her annoying little poodle, lunged forward making Maude stumble. Maude grabbed hold of the spare tire on the back of Cat’s Jeep to stop herself from falling.

“Fredricka, bad girl! You almost made Mummy fall,” she chastised the small pooch who had grabbed Cat’s shoelace, and began pulling it with all her might.

“So, who does this ugly orange contraption belong to?” Maude asked. Cat knew Maude had seen her driving it, but Maude just needed confirmation.

“It’s mine. Isn’t it gorgeous? I love orange, such a warm color, don’t you think?” Cat replied mockingly. 

“No, I think it’s positively dreadful. Definitely not a young lady’s vehicle, that’s for sure. I don’t know what your parents were thinking when they bought it for you. It’s not even your birthday. And also with you being on restriction and all.  That’s what’s wrong with the younger generation today, spoiled rotten you are,” Maude rambled on, not noticing that Cat’s attention was centered on the small poodle that was determined to eat her shoe. Cat gently nudged her away, which Fredricka didn’t like, and reacted by viciously growling at her and clamping down on the front of her sneaker.

“Fredricka! Leave Catherine’s shoe alone,” Maude demanded, pulling at the leash, causing the little animal to let go of Cat’s shoe and growl at her. “Do we have to go home and have a talking-to? You don’t talk back to Mummy like that, wait until I tell Daddy.” To Cat’s surprise, Maude turned around and made her way back to her house, apparently forgetting Cat was even there. She knew that
Daddy,
Mr. Roberts, couldn’t care less about Fredricka’s bad behavior.

Cat’s thoughts were interrupted by Taylor’s car entering the driveway. She smiled as she saw her brother’s girlfriend, Trish, sitting in the passenger seat. The beautiful brunette’s usually spunky demeanor was absent, as she stared back at Cat with an uneasy smile. Cat realized she hadn’t seen Trish since she found out she was adopted, and not wanting to make things awkward, she knew she had to put Trish at ease.