DEAD INSIDE

(24)

"Ok, so he's waiting for us..." Vanessa said after I'd parked in front of their modern house. "He's with Karl and Ray, though..." She added and I took that as a signal to be cautious.

He opened the house to greet us and as soon as we crossed the front door, a beautiful woman almost ran up to us.

"Vanessa, is that you?" She asked, her concern hard to miss.

Vanessa cringed embarrassedly next to me and I wanted to tell her that it was ok, that she didn't have to be embarrassed of her mother because of me.

"Yes, Mom..." She muttered.

"How are you Sweetie?" She said before side-hugging her.

"I'm Good..." Vanessa was so ill at ease and since her brother was just observing the scene without a word, I decided to intervene.

"Hi, Mrs. Hilton." I told the brown-haired lady. "I'm Alison Vancouver."

She forced a smile but it didn't reach her eyes.

"V-Vancouver?" She said uneasily.

"Yeah..." I grimaced. "I'm Samuel's sister..." I added with a small shrug.

"Mom..." Gregory's harsh tone cut through the silence that followed my statement and Mrs. Hilton seemed to regain her senses.

"Yes, sorry." She straightened up. "Alison, I wanted to thank you for everything you're doing for Vanessa..." I felt my new friend shrink next to me and cringed inwardly.

"I didn't do anything, Mrs. Hilton, it's all on Vanessa." I corrected her and I was glad when mother and daughter gave me a huge smile at that.

"I need to speak to Alison, Mom..." Gregory sounded much more dangerous than on the two other occasions I'd met him.

"Of course, I'm sorry..." She apologized and gave me a last fake smile before disappearing at the end of main room.

"We're hanging out at the pool house..." He stated.

"Hmm... Maybe I could just talk to you here?" I suggested, feeling out of place when he was being so cold and... formal?

Next to me, Vanessa was quiet.

"I'd like for Karl and Ray to be there to make sure they are on board..." He interjected and started walking. As we followed him, I unconsciously crossed my arms in front of me.

"You're cold?" He asked a few seconds later, startling me. His sudden consideration was so at odd with his cold demeanor. I shook my head.

We walked across the spacious open room and then went outside through one of the bay windows that lined the back wall and ended up on the terrace.

We followed a path almost hidden by oleander trees until we got to a pool house as big as my current house.

Karl and Ray were lounging on a sofa with bowls of chips in their laps.

They sat up straighter when they saw us and when I greeted them, they nodded.

"Sit down." Gregory's deep and cold voice sounded downright scary. It may have been his way to maintain his authority amongst his peers but I was getting tired of it already.

I sat down and waited for him to say something.

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Vanessa. She was seated at the back of the room and I knew it must have been her spot at parties.

None of the boys said a word for a long time and I couldn't stand their silence any more.

"I'm beginning to regret coming..." I said, looking at the huge boy straight in the eye. "So I'll just say the three things I've come here to say and then I'll leave..." I paused to see whether he wanted to say something but he kept a blank face, which infuriated me.