Shadows of Kin - 5. Chapter 5

Tomas sighed and turned to the other man.

“Where do we begin Nicolas?”

The other man, Nicolas, huffed and ran his hand down his face. He walked over to a liquor cabinet that was opposite a fireplace that gave me a huge sense of déjà vu, grabbed a decanted bottle of golden coloured alcohol and poured four glasses, then handed them out to the rest of us. Tomas took his happily, Midge took hers like she was on autopilot, and I took mine somewhat reluctantly, but I kept it because I had a feeling, I was going to need it.

Nicolas took a long sip before saying, “This is not our story to tell Tomas, not yet. She needs to learn the truth from Annabelle.”

Who the hell was Annabelle?

Nicolas continued, “Only once she learns her full heritage, can we bring her into this.” He gestured wildly to what I would assume was something I didn’t even want to know about. “For now, she is safe, and we will keep it that way.”

What did I need to be ‘safe’ from? I looked at the drink in my hand, but it still didn’t feel like the right time to take a sip. Something felt off. I scoffed. My entire day had felt off. I should have just stayed home and watched movies like I’d told my mom we were going to do.

I moved to stand up and my stomach rolled, and before I could even think about finding the nearest bathroom, I threw up.

Midge ran over to me, regardless of the fact that I was now covered in puke, and was probably going to puke again, and grabbed my hair so that it wouldn’t get in the way. Tomas ran towards a door to the side of the room and came back with a towel. Nicolas stood staring at me, and chuckled.

He actually chuckled.

“Well that’s going to be fun to clean up.”

I wanted to throw something at him.

I gratefully took the towel from Tomas, and then glared at Nicolas.

“I need answers. I have had one hell of a night, and I just ruined a very expensive dress.”

I didn’t really care about the dress, but I did care about the person who gave me the dress.

I turned to Midge. “Where the hell is Chase?”

After everything that had happened, he was the one who owed me an explanation. It felt like everything had happened so quickly that the world was just spinning, and I needed it to stop. I needed to know why Chase had brought us to the damn masquerade in the first place, I wanted to know why he kissed me and then disappeared, I wanted to know why I’d woken up in a strange room after some strange guy had apparently made me drink his blood, and I wanted to know why I kept feeling like I’d been in this room before? The thoughts kept bouncing around in my head, and I just wanted it to stop.

Midge looked at me. “That is exactly what I’d like to fucking know. But um Gen… Before we get answers, can you shower or something. Your smell is kinda making me want to throw up.”

 ***

I stood under the spray of the hot water until the entire bathroom was so thick with steam that I could barely see, but the water still felt like ice on my skin.

The room Tomas had gotten the towel earlier from happened to be an en-suite bathroom, with one of the biggest showers I had ever seen in real life. And honestly all I could think about was that it would be a great place to have sex in. It was possibly the strangest time for a thought like that to pop into my head.

A knock sounded at the door, followed by Midge bellowing at me, “Hey Bitch! Hurry the fuck up!”

A small smile played on my lips. She was probably very uncomfortable waiting out there waiting for me.

Only when I got out of the shower did I realise that I had nothing else to wear, so I wrapped a towel around myself, and opened the bathroom door slightly so that I could ask for some clothing.

A few seconds later Midge’s hand was passing my backpack through the door, the one that I had brought with for ‘in case’.

I got dressed quickly to keep the chill from my bones.

“You took your sweet time.” My best friend admonished me as I came out of the bathroom.

“Dude… Can you really blame me?”

She gave me a look, “Well… Yes, actually I can.”

I stuck my tongue out at her, and then turned back to find Tomas sitting by the fire.

“Where’s that other guy? Nicolas?”

He looked so deep in thought.

“He had to leave.” He said without looking up.

An awkward silence followed his words, until Midge poked me in the ribs and whispered to me, “Can we go now?”

Somehow, from all the way across the room, Tomas heard what Midge had said.

“I would wait if I were you.”

A defeated sigh escaped my lips. As much as I really wanted to leave, and as much as I really wanted to climb into my bed and forget that the whole night even happened, I really wanted answers.

I looked to Midge and it was her turn to sigh.

“Fine, but if we’re staying, I need coffee, and I need a damn smoke. And can I please get something more comfortable to wear.”

Tomas laughed, which seemed weird coming from him.

“Follow me.”

He stood up and led us from the room. I grabbed my backpack and we walked down the massive staircase into the main foyer. It was eerily quiet. I hadn’t even thought about the time, but it must have been way past midnight.

Without all of the masquerade guests, the place looked even bigger. The doors to the ballroom were still open, but the entire room was in shadows, giving it a horror movie vibe. A shiver ran down my spine, so I picked up my pace.

Tomas led us down a short hallway, leading away from the ballroom, which ended by a very plain looking door, at least compared to the rest of the house… or mansion.

When he opened the door and turned on the light, I was pleasantly surprised to see a very normal kitchen. I didn’t know how to feel about it. I could tell that it was a room that Tomas spent a lot of time in. There were even dirty dishes in the sink.

“Should have washed those.” I heard Tomas mumble to himself, and then a bit louder he said, “Have a seat.”

Midge and I looked at each other and just shrugged before we both sat at the kitchen table.

“You both want coffee?”

We both nodded.

He got the cups ready, and while waiting for the kettle to boil, he left us.

A couple of minutes later, he returned wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a beanie. He looked so normal, and so much younger. It was such a contrast.

He handed Midge a bundle of clothing.

“Bathroom is down the hall to the left.”

He then carried on making the coffee.

It felt weirdly normal.

Midge came back wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants, carrying her dress and heels with her.

“That feels so much better. If I ever get to see Chase again, remind me to stab him.”

Tomas laughed as he handed us our coffee.

“Good luck with that.”

Midge gave him one of her dirtiest looks but said nothing.

She held out her hand to me, asking for one of my smokes. I dug around in my bag and handed her the box.

“Are we allowed to smoke in here?” I asked Tomas.

He shrugged. “Go for it.”

Midge lit mine and then hers. That first drag after such a long evening hit just the spot.

An intercom buzzed and Tomas left the kitchen.

I turned to Midge. “This is weird right? I’m not the only one feeling that?”

“Yeah dude. I don’t think this night can get any weirder.”

When Tomas walked back into the kitchen, Midge placed her coffee cup back and the table, and said, “Well fuck. I spoke too soon.”

I turned around to see what she was talking about, and the person I saw made my jaw drop.

“Mom?”