Scarlett: (GxG)

Chapter 15

Scarlett wasn't happy. By now I knew her expressions, even if most of them were varying types of indifference or a smile with bad intentions behind it. She barely said a word during the ride. Eyes, swept with a dark, smoky color, never wavered from the road.

While she'd decided on a dark suit, leaning toward a very masculine look for the evening, I was terribly plain. Knowing I'd turn myself into a clown if I tried to even touch make-up and thus risking ridicule from my siblings, I opted for just Chapstick. My only remaining black dress was  a cheaper version of the last one I'd worn to Roselynn's party when I'd arrived. The one good thing was that it didn't have sleeves so I wasn't hiding myself again.

My heels made sharp noises along the slick tile of the lobby, echoing off empty walls. Stepping into the elevator I felt my guts twist a little. To say I was nervous was an understatement. My memory of these so-called family dinner's was rarely anything positive. When I attempted to remind myself that I was an adult now so that these events shouldn't be so stressful, it did little to sway my fears. It was everyone else that turned these dinner's into a show of dramatics and they were all at least a hundred years my senior. Surely nothing had changed.

"If we start arguing, just ignore it. It's been a while since we've all been at the same table."

I watched her reflection in the elevator door nod.

"Last time I was here I watched your father spear a chair into the wall, so I don't think much will surprise me," she said dryly.

I'd forgotten about that.

When the doors opened I was greeted by my dad's terrible portrait again as well as the smell of fresh flowers. My senses were slightly heightened after feeding. No where near the sensitivity of Scarlett's but still something I took note of.

I'd led her barely three feet into the entryway when I heard quick footsteps. Somehow I knew it was Alice, Rosalynn's personal assistant, before she'd even stepped out of the hallway.

"Thank God. I thought you weren't going to show."

I looked at the time on my phone.

"We're fifteen minutes early..."

"Hm... we...?" She looked down at her tablet, punching something in, all the while seeming to ignore Scarlett's presence. "I wasn't expecting you to bring a guest."

It was starting already.

"I'd have to find an extra chair for the formal dining room."

"We have a lot of chairs..."

Instead of answering she clicked a few more buttons on her tablet.

Scarlett grunted.

"I can wait in the car and you can text me when you're done."

My hand snatched at her wrist behind me before I even knew what I was doing.

"Is Mina here?"

Alice's eyes looked up at me.

"Yes but-"

"Then she's staying." There was the smallest drop of anger in my voice that was probably noticed by no one except me.

Alice's jaw tightened just a little.

"Everyone's gathering in the upstairs lounge before dinner. I can escort you there if you like."

I tugged Scarlett behind me. She dug her heels in only slightly before giving in.

"We're good. Thanks."

I took the winding staircase and then one of the long hallways to my right. Remembering the layout of the place was like riding a bike. After a while I could recall running the halls as a wild child, knowing every hiding spot, every lavish unused room.