Synching With the Devil's Son

Chapter 59

Lucien's P.O.V.

I like Bella's father. He's self assured, easy going and obviously loves his daughter. He has a quick wit, and I find myself looking forward to spending an evening with him. Her brother also seems kind, maybe a little more protective over his little sister, but I cannot blame him one bit. He's gone to take a shower, so I haven't had a chance to talk with him or prove I have only Bella's best interests at heart yet. She seems nervous for me to be around her father, so I put my arm around her shoulder and whisper, "Relax," into her ear. She smiles at me, taking a deep breath while I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"May I help with anything?" I ask Mr. Parker as we all enter the kitchen where there is an array of food stacked on the countertop.

"Nope, it's every man for himself here. You guys can make your own sandwiches, okay?" he says, turning to look at Bella and I over his shoulder. At our nods he continues. "Mary brought potato salad over yesterday, and we have sliced ham, turkey and roast beef, avocados, cheese, lettuce, onions, chips, fruit and any condiment your heart desires."

I feel Bella squeeze my hand and I look down at her. "What can I make you?" she asks quietly.

"Whatever you're having," I tell her, looking at everything spread out on the counters. Suddenly, there is a crack of lightning that resonates throughout the house, and the lights go out. I feel Bella startle at the sound, then she holds my hand tighter as a shadowy light filters through the windows. I hear Bella's brother say, "Guess I got out of the shower just in time," when he walks into the kitchen. We each make our sandwiches, Bella assembling mine, and then head to the dinning room to eat. The food is delicious, fresh and hearty. "This potato salad is incredible," I tell them, taking a second helping.

"Mary's an awesome cook, and is always bringing food over for us to enjoy," Bella tells me. "She's our neighbor," she continues, pointing in the direction of her house. "She's a widow and Dad's a widower, but we cannot seem to get them past that and admit they have feelings for each other," Bella tells me conspiratorially, while her Dad chokes on his drink.

Garrett pats his mouth. "Bella, don't start any rumors, okay? Mary and I are just friends."

"You could be friends with benefits," Chris chimes in, and I watch in fascination as Garrett's face blooms red. 'Interesting,' I think to myself.

"So Lucien," Garrett says, obviously trying to change the subject, "I haven't seen you around much. Are you new to the area?"

I nod, "Yes sir. We moved here a few months ago, bought and renovated the old Willows house."

Unlike our high school friends, Garrett and Chris don't start talking about ghosts or unusual sightings around the property. Instead, Garrett says, "I knew the Willows's well. I was friends with Jason in High School. Such a tragedy what happened."

Chris chimes in and says, "Yeah. Billy wasn't straight in the head, even when we were kids." I try to look like I have no idea what they are referring to, when in reality I am well aware of William Willows' plight. The only child of Jason and Stephanie Willows, he was arrested for killing his parents with a shotgun, then chopping them up and feeding them to their pigs. We received his soul about a year later after he was found dead in prison, the victim of vigilante justice. We often get the souls of people killed in prison, most of whom have hurt children, but my Dad thinks William was just too weird, and the other prisoners didn't like him.

"Evil and depravity come in all shapes and sizes," I tell them, and they all nod their heads in agreement. I can feel Bella's sharpened gaze on me, and when I turn to look at her, she's got an eyebrow raised, so, barely perceptively, I nod at her. She shakes her head slightly, and looks back at her brother.

"We have their pigs," Chris confesses, and I look at him with interest. "After he hacked up his parents, Billy fed them to their pigs. The town council wanted to slaughter the poor animals and discard all their meat. It wasn't the pigs fault Billy fed them human remains, so Bella and I convinced the town council to let them live out their natural lives on our property."

Bella grimaces at the memory. "We agreed never to sell them for meat, so now we have a drove of pigs in our backyard."

"You just...go around rescuing animals from the clutches of people with evil intentions?" I ask.

"Pretty much," Garrett says.

"How do you afford to keep them all?" I wonder.

"We get stipends from the state as an animal rescue shelter, and money from adoptions, but most of our funding comes from private donations. There are local fundraisers that help us out and somebody has been anonymously sending us two thousand dollars a month, every month, for the past few years."

'Really?', I think to myself, 'that sounds a bit odd,' but I keep my opinions to myself.

"So tell us something about yourself," Chris says to me. "What are you going to do after High School?"

I lean back in my seat and say, "I'm going to attend the University of Tennessee in the fall."

Bella chokes on her food at my announcement. She looks at me, stupefied, and her father says, "That seems like it's news to you Bella."

She manages to swallow the bite of sandwich she had in her mouth, and says, "We haven't really discussed what happens in the Fall, so it is a little surprising." She looks at me with a narrowed gaze. "I'm going there too," she tells me.

Of course I know this, we talked all about it. She wants to be a Pharmacist, and I want to be with her, so if I need to pretend I am attending the University of Tennessee to make that happen, I will. "Really?" I say, feigning surprise. "I'm going to study History," I tell her with a smirk, "what are you planning on studying?"