Ephemeral

Flames of Rebirth Part 2

I slowly sat down at the dinner table in front of me, seeing Esther set up the last of the dishes along the surface. I could see how purposeful she was making the entire place along with the overall aesthetic – if the aesthetic was a perfect family.

There were different bowls filled with food on it, and to my immediate left there were fluffy, buttered biscuits.

I glanced at them once before I pulled out my phone to see that Jonah sent me a picture.

I opened it up, letting out a small exhale out of my nose.

With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it's only a matter of time until there's a country song where the guy's truck leaves him.

"Arianna, no phones at the dinner table, please," Esther spoke, drawing the attention of both me and her husband, Brendon, who was sitting at the head of the table. I looked around the spread and realized at that moment how I suddenly wasn't hungry at all to taste this food.

It probably tasted as fake as the rest of this place.

"No problem," I rushed out, eager to leave the table.

I placed my phone on the table and stood up, about to walk away from Esther and her fake family bullshit. As far as I was concerned, the only person that made my life had any color was Jonah, and I wasn't about to put away my best friend for the sake of having a 'family' dinner.

Brendon cleared his throat.

"Esther," he spoke to his wife as she was about to serve herself a salad. She was wearing a red bandana over the top of her head, causing the rest of her black hair to be smooth in the front and back. "How about we make an exception for Arianna this time?" Brendon suggested, trying to appease both of us. "She came down here to eat with the rest of us."

I stared at Brendon emotionlessly, not sure why he was trying this hard for something as insignificant as a family dinner.

"I honestly couldn't give two shits about you or her," I scathingly spat out.

I gripped my phone tightly in my hands and began to walk away...that was until Brendon suddenly stood up. He was also standing in the way and was blocking me from leaving the dining room. I looked up at his towering form with a frown – what was his deal-?

"I also don't care what you think about me, either," I wanted my words to bite and to sting. I didn't want to feel anything towards these two people that I had been living with for the past couple months. "Once I'm graduated with high school I'm no longer your problem..."

I side stepped to move away from Brendon, but he placed his hand against the wall, preventing me from going any further. I examined what he was doing and was now instantly looking for a way to take him down quickly and efficiently...my eyes were drawn to the table that displayed a perfect, sharp knife being extruded from a loaf of homemade bread.

"I suggest you move before I make you..." I trailed darkly, glaring back up at the man, making eye contact with him.

He didn't take my threat at all seriously.

Instead, he gestured to the seat I had got up from. I didn't take my eyes away from him – both he and Esther were giving me strange vibes since the moment I met them. However, they paled in comparison to the man I shot to death in the woods...or even Aidan himself.

"You've been looking up information," Brendon stated.

I raised an eyebrow at that conversation starter --

It was vague and definitely not at all an invasion of my privacy. I should have known that I'd have worrying 'parental figures' since I wasn't a typical run-of-the-mill kids they probably dealt with before. Even so, it was surprising to see that I was being supervised.