Angels and Roses

Chapter 3: Dinner Invitation

“Parker, we've been invited over for dinner at the Miklos house," Parker's mother said, knocking on her bedroom door. Parker put down the paranormal romance book she was reading about vampires.

Her favorite reading genre was paranormal romance. Parker never understood why, but she kept thinking there was something more out there, something like what could be read about in those books!

“Do I have to go?" Parker asked, annoyed that her mom wasn't asking her permission.

“We are going to be neighborly," Blanche insisted. “Don't you want to make a few new friends?" Her mother's question wasn't meant to be hurtful, but Parker couldn't help feeling inadequate. She'd tried to make friends her whole life, but only Lissa had ever stuck around, mostly.

She didn't know what Damien or Lucien would see in her to want to be her friend. But they were new to town and hadn't been exposed to the cliques in her school yet. She thought that maybe she did have a chance to win them over with her personality.

“Alright, I'll get changed," Parker called to her mom. She bookmarked the page in her book. That night, she planned to pick back up with the mysterious vampire Bernardo in his seduction of the reluctant Detective Lacey.

Looking at the clothes in her closet, Parker missed having Lissa there to tell her what to wear. She shook her head. She was perfectly capable of picking out her own outfits! Pulling out a pair of skinny jeans, converse shoes, and a tank top, Parker threw on her ensemble. She ran her fingers through her hair and left without looking in the mirror.

If she paused to check her reflection, she'd become too self-conscious about her appearance and back out of going. She wanted the chance to be bold, to meet new people that didn't have preconceived notions about who she was.

Damien and Lucien had already complimented her, so maybe that would work in her favor!

Blanche knocked on their neighbor's door. Parker hung back a little, still concerned about being under the same roof as two really attractive boys her age. She couldn't help feeling like something was off with the whole family, but her mom seemed excited.

“Welcome, welcome," Malakai said when he opened the door. “Please, come in. Dinner is just about ready."

Malakai showed them to the dining room. Parker looked around at the furniture. Everything looked antique, like it was from another century. The art on the walls looked really out of place.

“We travel a lot," Malakai said, noticing Parker's gaze. “As such, we acquire a lot of unique pieces." Parker nodded and continued into the dining room. The table was lavishly set for five. There were silver candlesticks on the table with brand new candles in them, lit for the first time.

The China was elaborate and clearly expensive. Parker felt nervous to even touch anything. She didn't want to be a clutz and break something that nice!

“Please, have a seat," Malakai said to Parker. “I'll call the boys down."

“Something smells delicious," Blanche said, putting her hand on the back of Parker's chair as she sat.

“The roast is sitting and should be ready for serving in a few minutes," Malakai said. Blanche took a seat beside her daughter, and Malakai shouted up to Damien and Lucien from the bottom of the stairs.

“This house is like a museum," Parker muttered to her mother.

“It is lovely, isn't it?" she asked. Parker rolled her eyes.

When Damien and Lucien appeared, Parker noticed the smile Damien wore for her while Lucien had a surly look. He wouldn't make eye contact with her. The two brothers sat across from Parker and her mother.

“How are you settling in?" Blanche asked the boys.

“Fine," Lucien grumbled.

“It has been a while since we've been able to get everything out of storage," Damien said. “The space isn't quite big enough for everything." He shook his head, wavy dark hair swaying around his face. Parker smiled, his warmth spreading to her from across the table.

“Well, I am pleased that the two of you are able to have a stable home for a while," Blanche said.

“It was me, really," Damien said. “I wanted to go to a public high school."

“Why?" Parker asked before she could stop herself. Her mother glared at her out of the corner of her eye. Parker couldn't imagine anything more boring!

When both Damien and Lucien looked at her, she bit her lower lip and looked down.

Malakai came into the dining room with several serving dishes. He went back to the kitchen and got the roast next. While Malakai sliced up the roast, dishes of vegetables and rice were passed around.

“Parker, how is the school?" Malakai asked, passing out slices of meat and taking his own seat. Parker shrugged.

“It is like any other school, I guess," she said.

“Parker!" her mother snapped before shooting Malakai an apologetic look. Parker rolled her eyes again. She caught a smirk from Lucien.

“Mom, there really isn't much to say about high school," she said moodily. “There are classrooms, notebooks, pencils…it is all the same." Blanche shook her head.

“What about friends?" Malakai asked. “I'm sure you've got plenty of boys chasing after you." Parker nearly choked on her potato. She coughed, taking a quick sip of water.

“No," she said with a sigh. “There isn't anyone…interesting enough." Parker bit her lip again, looking down at her plate. She noticed that Damien and Lucien didn't seem to be eating anything, mostly just moving things around on their plate with forks.

“High school aside, I will be happy to take you on a tour of the town," Blanche told Malakai, leaning in to talk to him more. Parker looked away.

Her mother hadn't been on a single date since her father had bailed overnight. Parker had been eight. Her mother had been devastated, and Parker had always thought it had something to do with her.

It had been so sudden. Her parents had a great marriage. She didn't remember many details about her father, but she did remember how devoted to each other her parents were. The morning after he'd left, she'd found her mother crying in the kitchen. There was no note, nothing. He'd just packed his bags and left. Neither of them had heard from him since.

Parker had always wanted her mother to meet someone new. She just didn't want to have front-row seats to their flirting!

“Boys, why don't you retire to the living room with Parker," Malakai suggested. “Blanche and I will put dessert together." He winked at her, and Parker's mother giggled like a school girl. Parker winced, jumping at the chance to leave them alone for a few minutes.

“Your mom doesn't date much, I take it," Damien said, following Parker into the living room.

“Never, not in over eight years," she told him. “It is weird to see." Damien chuckled. He sat on the antique sofa and patted the seat beside him. Parker eyed the gesture suspiciously, but she gave in and sat.

The hairs on her arm bristled as she brushed lightly against Damien. Quickly, she jerked away.

“Sorry," she muttered.

“No worries," Damien said with a friendly smile.

“So, what is there to actually do around here?" Lucien asked. He flopped down in the chair across from the couch, throwing his legs over the arm of the chair and sitting in it sideways.

“Don't mind Lucien, he is more of a 'big city' type," Damien said with a scoff.

“Big city sounds nice," Parker admitted. “As for what to do around here…there are a couple of book stores and coffee shops. Down at the beach, there is plenty to do, surfing, swimming, parasailing." As she listed the activities off, she noticed how bored Lucien looked.

“Sounds thrilling," he muttered. Parker looked at Damien.

“I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this," she admitted, wringing her hands together in her lap. Damien shook his head.

“You're fine," he assured. “Lucien is hard to communicate with." The blond brother snapped his head towards Damien, glaring at him.

“I'd rather be nobody's friend than everybody's friend," he argued. “You know what that's like, don't you, Parker?" The way Lucien said her name sent a shiver down her spine. She detected the hint of an accent, but it was too light for her to know its origin. She shrugged.

“I don't have a good frame of reference," she said. “People aren't really clamoring to be my friend."

“Well, we can be friends," Damien offered. Parker lifted one of her white eyebrows at him.

“You're just saying that because I'm the first person you've met in town," she said with a sigh. Damien smiled a charming smile that made her stomach drop.

“Not at all," he assured. “We met your friend Lissa too, remember?" Parker looked down at her hands as she shifted them in her lap. She felt guilty suddenly that Damien wanted to be her friend and not Lissa's.

That night when she drifted off to sleep, Parker had her first dream about Damien Miklos.