Penny's Choice (Book 1 of Penny's Choice Series)

Chapter 8 (The Move)

"I brought you something to eat," Thomas said, knocking on the side of the wall. He had allowed Penny free roam of the area. She still slept in the cell because it had the only bed in the place. Thomas had procured a few nicer pieces of bedding for her, so it was much more comfortable than the first night. No other vampire ever came down to see her, with the exception of Thomas's father. He came down once to meet her. He seemed like a depressed, broken man. Penny felt bad for him.

"Thanks," Penny said. She was still spinning from her recent discoveries, but she had decided that she could mostly trust Thomas. Most of this pseudo-trust was based on her belief that this vampire was in fact Thomas. She had grown to trust Thomas more than anyone over the last year. Plus, she liked Thomas. He was her only real friend. She looked forward to him cropping up in her missions.

She was still having a hard time putting aside her misgivings about his involvement with her family's murder. But it did make more sense that he was trying to help her that night than harm her. It was the only scenario that any made sense at all. Even from the perspective of a vampire.

Most of the questions she had now revolved around the Brotherhood. There was one thing that Charles said that really bugged her still. After the library fire, Charles had hinted that she didn't have a choice in joining the Brotherhood. She had postponed asking Thomas about it because she was afraid of the answer. She was afraid that she had wrongly put her trust in the organization.

"It's meatloaf!" Thomas said, with a note of glee in his voice. He sat the tray down on the table, arranged the silverware, and pulled out a chair for Penny.

"Meatloaf? What's so special about meatloaf?" Penny asked. It wasn't that she had a problem with meatloaf, but it was an odd choice to get excited about. So far, the food that she had eaten with the vampires was about ten times better than at the Brotherhood sanctuary, even if it was just a sandwich.

"It's my mother's recipe," Thomas replied.

"The cook has your mother's meatloaf recipe?" Penny said as she took her seat. Thomas helped her scoot up to the table. One thing was for sure, Thomas was a perfect gentleman. Something that his suave brother lacked.

"Sure; I'm the cook," he said, taking a seat next to Penny. "Who do you think has been cooking all of your food?"

"I don't know, a cook of some sort?" Penny took a bite of the meatloaf. It was really good and just a little spicy. "You're a really good cook, Thomas." She spoke between bites of meatloaf. "Are you trying to fatten me up or something?"

"Yup," Thomas said, grinning from ear to ear. "I've never really understood my brother's fascination with skinny girls."

Penny giggled. "That's not what I meant!"

"Body fat doesn't really affect the taste of blood," he said. "That's more of an age and gender type thing. Men taste better than women, and the young taste better than the old."

"So little boys? That's gross!" Penny wrinkled her nose.

"God, Penny, I'm not a pedophile!" Thomas said, sitting up. "That's enough talk about that." He rolled his eyes. "Try your polenta."

"What?"

"The mashed potato looking stuff." Thomas pointed to the yellow, grainy lump next to the meatloaf.

"Haven't you just heard of mashed potatoes?" Penny took a tiny bite. "Not bad, I guess."

"You're boring," Thomas said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Boring? I'm eating meatloaf with a vampire!" Penny ate up the rest of her meatloaf while Thomas droned on about whatever was passing through his brain at the moment. Penny had never seen two people as opposite as Charles and Thomas. She could sit for an entire dinner with Charles and he would never say a word. Thomas, on the other hand, could talk for hours without taking a breath. They did have some things in common. Like they were both extraordinary fighters. But while Charles was simply stronger than anyone else, Thomas was a good fighter because he was smarter than everyone else. He used complex physics and geometry equations to determine the best route. His ability to instantaneously calculate complex equations in his head made him practically precognitive and a favorite of the Matriarch. He often knew with mathematical certainty what was going to happen before it did.