Perfect Pet

Ch.6: Tears in the Wind

Two days in and another stop.

The ride wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it was downright pleasant because when I was ready to sleep, my bunk had the plushiest mattress and I had my shower with custom soaps and shampoo. They must have been scents that were less troublesome to a vampire's more sensitive nose, the fragrance mild from what I had seen. The food served was to die for, comparable to a five-star restaurant. Or so I thought. I hadn't been to many, Mother was always concerned with her weight, but the plates looked even better than images I'd seen on T.V. It was more luxurious than I was expecting, not that I should have been surprised. Vampires never did anything half-assed, especially when they had someone to impress. With their long lives, they had the money to throw around too. It left me wondering what Rigryce would be like if the train was this nice.

I wasn't sure what state we were in, let alone what city. The application had listed available locations but it wasn't likely we'd been stopping in the same order they'd been printed. That would be too easy if the wrong person got ahold of one. The stations started to blur, possibly looking similar thanks to having the same owner. Modern, using lots of glass and having dramatic fronts, they were all pretty but a station was a station. The only real difference I saw was the further we traveled, the more middle-class girls there were. Fewer Pearls and more like the girls I'd overheard. Whenever I left my compartment, I was bombarded with noise as more were filled and eventually doubling up became needed. Friendships and cliques started forming, everyone trying to create a safe space before the real fun started. It was a relief no one had asked to join me yet, though realistically my time alone was coming to an end.

I was reading on my kindle when I felt the constant sway stop, the train announcing its presence with a loud whistle. I didn't bother to look up as the doors slide open and apologies got made as the new girls tried to find a place to sit. The groups got smaller as the number of stops lessened, this one only having twelve to fifteen boarding compared to the roughly forty that had been with mine. It wasn't long before my door was pulled open and a mousy girl peeked her head in. "Do... do you mind if I sit here?"

The temptation to ignore her was strong but a little peek changed my mind. Wearing an oversized grey sweater that hit her knees and glasses that gave her an owlish look, she'd get eaten alive if Pearls' posse saw her. Cute in an accidental hipster sort of way, she was everything the rich girls strived to separate themselves from. New vs reused, fancy vs understated. The way she shuffled from foot to foot made it was clear she wasn't a fighter. An easy target for sure. I doubted Pearl would use physical violence- wouldn't want to damage her manicure- but dealing with my mother had taught me words could hurt just as much. And the scars could last a lot longer. I wouldn't be much better than them if I turned her away.

"Go ahead."

A relieved smile crossed her face as she slid inside, settling on the seat across from me. Her suitcase was more of a trunk, getting neatly tucked into the overhead compartment with a muffled thump and a small carry-on back getting settled next to her. Tucking a strand of dirty blonde hair behind her ear, she held out a hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kali."

Grabbing her hand, I bobbed it up and down a few times. "Eden."

We lapsed into silence then. I could tell she wasn't sure what to say and I didn't want to pressure her into a conversation I wasn't overly keen on having myself. Making friends should have been one of the first items on my to-do list but I had never been good with people outside of River and Dad. It was one of many things in the long line of reasons Mom considered me a disappointment. Awkwardly stumbling over words when trying to impress people doesn't leave the greatest impression.

The train chugged along, the view changing from urban cityscape to flowing meadows of grass as far as the eye could see. I had never seen so much sky, the azure color unhithered by clouds as it went on for miles in all directions. It was reminiscent of something only an artist could paint, the colors almost too vivid to be real. San Antonio wasn't a trendsetting Texas city, more of a historical site, but there was still a decent amount of skyscrapers downtown as apartments got built and restaurants and hotels tried out the area. Enough to block out the feeling of an untouched sky, especially when the Riverwalk got lit to full glory at night. That was beautiful but so was this, in a raw, untouched sort of way. A few cows meandered along here and there, grazing in the last dregs of summer heat, calfs following their mothers around like shadows.