Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book 1) (5 page)

She sighed. “Okay, I’m getting up,” she said in annoyance and stood up as realization seemed to crash down on her. This evening wasn’t going to go away.

“Okay, let’s go,” Luna said to him as she pushed towards the front door as fast as she could.

“Remember, Luna, best behavior,” David muttered to her so that Chance couldn’t hear it as he passed her to sit back on the couch.

Chance wrapped an arm around Luna’s shoulder and smiled at her. She knew he could sense her agitation. She gritted her teeth and walked out of the doorframe as fast as she could. Chance walked beside her and in a minute, she heard the door close. Luna shrugged his arm off of her as soon as she was sure that David wasn’t watching anymore and turned to look at him.

“Okay, what exactly are you trying to prove with all of this?” Luna asked him. “You know I never tried to fight you. Why did you lie to David?”

Chance shrugged, he had been fully prepared for her to turn on him yet he hadn’t decided on how he would answer her questions. “I know how your parents can get and I’m not going to be the bad guy here if you do decide to tell them anything. Plus, I don’t think a date will kill you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, you already made your show in front of David. I put up with your annoying friends today, and I’m tired. You don’t have to take me anywhere. Why don’t you just leave me alone now before I end up tearing my hair out?”

“Because I don’t want to. Now is that anyway to talk to your date?” he asked looking at her through deep blue eyes.

Luna sighed and looked at the ground. “No, it isn’t, but I don’t consider you my date.”

“Then get in the truck and we’ll have a nice night,” he said ignoring the second part of her comment.

Luna gritted her teeth at the thought of obeying him but turned to see a black Honda Ridgeline parked in the street. She walked over to it and opened the passenger door. When she got in, she slammed it shut. Maybe if she broke it on accident he would leave her home. It was hope. To her annoyance, Chance climbed into the driver side and turned the engine on.

Luna groaned and set the back of her head against the seat as he drove.

“Where are we going?” she asked him looking at him. “McDonald’s?”

He smiled but didn’t move his eyes off of the road. “You’ll see when we get there.”

                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna set her cheek against the window as he kept driving. She was starting to fall asleep once again and was hoping the cold glass would help wake her up. They hadn’t stopped moving yet and the ride seemed even longer since they hadn’t spoken the entire time. To her disappointment, the door seemed to be awkwardly shaped and it didn’t support her.

Luna sat up and groaned at the pain in her stiff neck. It seemed like Chance wasn’t the only one. She looked at the door and saw a deep dent in it like he had gotten into some kind of minor accident and hadn’t bothered to get his car fixed. Chance glanced at her from the corner of his eye as she sat up feeling wary as he noticed where her eyes were focused.

He reached out and set his right hand on her thigh to distract her. She flicked her attention to it and stared at his pale hand for a moment. She noticed that even his fingernails were perfect. She snorted.
What a prep,
she thought before she smacked his hand away.

“Don’t touch me,” Luna said quickly. She stared at the red mark she had left on his hand as he gripped the steering wheel with it.

“I just want you to be comfortable,” he said innocently.

“Well, that’s not gonna help anything,” she growled. “I hate you; I don’t want you touching me, you creep.”

“Oh, lighten up, already. You’re always so serious,” he said. “How do you ever have fun?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “If you’re done insulting me are we going to get to wherever you’re taking me
today
? Or are we driving around in aimless circles to pass the time?”

“Nope, because we’re here now,” he said smiling and the car slowed down to a halt.

She narrowed her eyes at him but felt herself feel hesitant to look at the window. She looked out the window to see that he had pulled up in front of a small restaurant. She stared at it in surprise knowing that only wealthy people ate there. What was he trying to prove by bringing her to a place like this?

“Surprised?” he asked chuckling. “It’s sure as hell better than McDonald’s. I’ll tell you that now.”

Luna turned back to look at him suspiciously. “Okay, this isn’t just you trying to get yourself out of trouble. There’s something that you’re not telling me. What do you want from me? Just spit it out.”

He smiled at her and stared at her for a minute. He didn’t answer her as he climbed out of the truck and shut the door behind him. Luna opened the door beside her and climbed out while Chance waited on the sidewalk. She closed the door and joined him outside.

He smiled at her widely as she walked up to him and he ushered her to walk ahead of him. She glared at him for a moment and didn’t move. She didn’t trust him…at all. He was acting really weird…even by his standards. He stared at her expectantly and she stared back at him.

Luna guessed that he wouldn’t move until she did. She sighed and after a minute, gave up. She walked towards the restaurant, and Chance stayed behind her the whole way. He stepped close to her and his side brushed against hers. Luna winced at the feeling of cold metal. She glanced at his side to see the silver handle sticking out of his pocket once again. What was that? If it was something that needed to be hidden, why did he carry it with him so much?

Chance glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he noticed her reaction and shoved his hand into his pocket so that the handle was out of sight. He was hiding it from her again…why?

He ushered her inside the building without a word. Luna was growing weary of his speechlessness-it wasn’t like him. Once they were inside, he pushed past her and led the way to a small booth at the back of the restaurant. As Luna followed him she wondered if he had been there before. Chance sat down and she sat down on the soft material across the table from him. Chance stood up again and shifted something in his pocket before he sat down across from her looking a bit more comfortable. He sat staring at her through wide eyes. Luna blinked self-consciously as his eyes seemed to bore into her very soul.

“What?” she asked him finally.

He shrugged but didn’t look away. “Just looking.”

Luna sighed and set her hand on the table and stared at it. In less than a minute, she began to tap her fingers impatiently as she tried to distract herself. It would be a long evening.

                                                                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~

Chance stared at her twitching fingers and nervous posture. She had made it clear by her words that she wasn’t happy with him but it was really obvious in her posture. He couldn’t understand it, but at the same time he couldn’t let that bother him. It was finally just him and her…it was the time for him to put on his full charm.

Maybe if he couldn’t do that much then he could at least figure out why she had such a problem with him. He was popular among even the nerds yet he couldn’t seem to reach through her cold exterior. He knew memories of their encounter years ago were gone from her mind. She had no reason to hate him.

Yet, she did.

“So, do you really hate me?” he asked curiously.

Luna looked at him and narrowed her eyes. Out of all the time she had known him he had never asked her that question before. “Most of the time I do, yeah.”

“Why?” he asked tipping his head to one side.

Luna shrugged. “Different reasons but the main ones are that you’re annoying and you hunt.”

He blinked. “Well, I like you.”

Luna’s hand instantly flashed from the table. “You’re a murderer in my opinion.”

His eyes flashed, and his heart sank in panic. How did she know? Then he realized that she meant he was a hunter…she didn’t know his secret. Suddenly, he didn’t feel too friendly anymore. That had been too close and it had certainly made him feel sick. He didn’t know if he would be able to kill her if he had to do it. Past experiences didn’t run in his favor. “Well, I can’t help that we have different views. That’s life I suppose. If I can ask, have you ever killed anything?”

Luna shuddered at the thought knowing that killing animals was an early sign of a serial killer and then shook her head. “No, and I don’t want to. Ever.”

“Hmm, you’ve never even killed a fly?” he asked incredulously.

“Nope,” she replied, firm in her answer.

“For all you know you might like it if you just tried it,” he said thoughtfully.

She shook her head so fiercely she felt dizzy. “No, thanks. Killing is for those with a sick mind.”

Chance opened his mouth to say something but a waiter walked over to the table. He closed his mouth again.

“Are you ready to order?” the waiter asked as he looked at both of them separately.

Chance turned to look at him. “Yeah. I want a steak and make sure it’s as rare as humanly possible.”

The waiter wrote down his order before he turned to Luna. “What about you?”

She shook her head. “Nothing for me, I’m not hungry.”

Chance frowned. “I’m not letting you leave until you eat something,” he said to her feeling bitter. He really wished she wouldn’t be so difficult. He had brought her here to impress her, and she wasn’t even going to try the food on her own. Chance turned to the waiter. “Bring her something light.”

The waiter nodded in response and turned to leave before Chance looked back at Luna calmly, the emotion had gone.

“You don’t have to do that, you know,” she said. “I can eat when I get home.”

He shrugged. “I got money to spare. It’s not a problem.”

She sighed. “Will you please just tell me why you did all of this?” she said looking at him through pleading eyes. “You didn’t want a date, there’s something you’re not telling me isn’t there?”

He shrugged again and looked away. He couldn’t explain his need to her; he wished he could make her feel it somehow. “I just wanted to get to know my friends better. It’s not a crime.”

Luna frowned. “Then why not bring out the jocks and cheerleaders instead of me?” she asked him suspiciously. “I’m not your friend, they are.”

He set his elbow on the table to hold his chin in his hand as he looked up at her. He had expected that answer. “Yeah, well, I wanted to change that.”

“Why?” she asked just as suspicious as she had been a minute ago.

“You’re different from them, a lot different.”

Luna blinked and felt confused. “Yeah, so what?”

“So, that’s why you’re here. I feel something about you that I can’t exactly describe,” he said knowing that that was probably the best way that he was going to be able to explain himself to her. “That’s why I brought you out here.”

At his words, a single tear dripped from her left eye and ran down her face. Luna wiped it away like it was nothing, but not before Chance could notice it. His attention was drawn to it. The tear, that single drop…it added up. Added up to the thing he had been looking for.

The ability he needed to finally accomplish his goal was invested in this tiny girl he had been trying to serenade. That changed a lot…changed a lot indeed. He couldn’t help but stare at her. The world had suddenly become a perfect place as he understood her. Maybe she didn’t understand it, but he sure did.

“One rare steak and chowder,” the waiter said suddenly as he set the plates of food on their table.

Chance smiled at him. “Thank you.”

Then he turned to his steak and cut a piece of if off to put in his mouth. Even from there, Luna could see the blood still leaking out of it. He didn’t speak as he continued to stare at her through wide penetrating eyes. Luna looked down at her soup and picked at it with a spoon to avoid his gaze. The whole time they ate, neither of them spoke. Time seemed to pass by painfully slow. He didn’t look at Luna again as he ate. Finally, he finished and she stared at the bloody puddle that the steak had left on his plate. She shuddered at the thought of it.

“Okay, let’s get going,” he said focusing on the unhappiness that was nearly radiating off of her. His plan wasn’t working.

Luna nodded and pushed the half-empty bowl away from her as Chance pulled out his wallet and called the waiter over. He pulled out a wad of bills and sorted through them until he had the right amount to pay. Luna stared at the money in amazement.

“Where did you get all that?” Luna asked him as she watched him sort through the bills carefully.

He smiled hoping that maybe he had finally interested her after all. “Why do you want to know?”

“It’s amazing,” Luna said and then flinched as she realized she had complimented him.

“If I told you then I’d have to kill you,” he said smiling at her sweetly and meaning every word of it before he handed the money to the waiter. The waiter thanked him for the tip, and Chance stood up. Luna did too and followed him out the door and into the still night air.

“It’ll be a while until we get home now, won’t it?” she asked him.