The Darkness comes hunted

Part Eighteen: The Family Meeting

Ziggy Varman entered the Whisper Bar in downtown Lakewood, wearing a white fur coat, a navy blouse, and black pants. She saw two young, stunning brunette bar girls interacting with Vincent and his other high school pals at a table to her right. Ziggy cast a judgmental glance in their direction before turning to go to the counter.

‘So, the all mighty Nail Kosovar, why are you sitting in this depressed bar alone? Where are all your goonies friends?’ Ziggy said, standing behind the drunken body of Nail Kosovar himself.

‘What do you want with me, Ziggy?’ Nail said with his face still facing down on the counter. Three empty vodka bottles sat beside him.

‘So, in the entire school of Lakewood, you’re the worst—but it just so happens that both of our archenemies—Valentina Prescott and Mason Blossom—are hosting a small, undelightful party at Cole Walker’s house.’ While speaking to him, she grabbed an empty glass on the side of the table and poured in the leftover vodka from Nail’s vodka bottle. She drank it like a pro, which seemed to impress Nail.

‘So, what do you want me to do with them?’ Nail asked, still hanging over from all the vodka he had had for the past hours.

‘Wanna join forces with me and create a little destruction at their party, Neilly Comrade?’ Ziggy said.

Seated alone at the counter, Nail happily agreed to Ziggy’s request and gazed up at her. The two wild teenagers shared a smirk, before Ziggy pulled out a chair next to Nail and started to explain her evil plan to him.

Back down the road at downtown Lakewood, the family meeting plus dinner between Mike’s family and Betty’s family began.

In the dining room, Betty sat in front of her boyfriend, Mike, while Mike’s father, Anton sat right across from Betty’s father. Betty’s mother, Joyce, sat right in the middle between Mike and her daughter Betty.

To cheer up the atmosphere and start the conversation, Betty’s father asked the first question.

‘So Anton, how does living right next to the great lake of Lakewood feel like? Do you do a lot of fishing these days?’ Betty’s father asked.

‘No, not really, but if you want someone to go fishing with on the weekends, you know where to find me,’ Anton responded with a smile. The two adults laughed together, but the other three chose not to.

‘You know what Anton, I’ve been considering finding somewhere to crash for a few nights, you know, to relax. I mean, for the last few days, I’ve been sleeping in my office down at my bookshop, and it’s getting a bit chilly at night, not going to lie.’ Betty’s father said.

‘I’ll bet your office beats my rough old cabin down the lake,’ Anton replied with a laugh.

"Oh, ha, ha, your wooden cabin is still a safe place to sleep at night compared to my office at the shop. You see, Joyce here, she’s been redesigning our bookshop with brick and steel pipe. And the hit part is, the other day she threw a brick through the window."

"Is that so?" Joyce cast a disappointed glare in her husband’s direction.

"Keep talking, Fred and the next thing I’ll throw through that same window may not be a small brick like before," Joyce added, staring madly at her husband.

"So, let’s change the subject and talk about our Thanksgiving event at school back in the day, Joyce. Fred, you still remember, right? Betty, did your mom ever tell you about that night?" Anton asked, turning right and looking at Betty’s nerve-wracking eyes.

"Just the part where she and dad were the main speaking topic that night," Betty replied while sharing a smirk back at Anton.

"Yeah, they were. What an interesting topic we have ever had. Some of the school board even decided to leave the room when Principal Kinsley brought up that topic." Anton said.

‘Dad, what are you doing?’ Mike interrupted the talk.

‘Don’t worry, kiddo, it’s just a fun story. I’ll guarantee you, son,’ Anton replied."

“Ikaris and I, we were foreigners to all the students back then, the first two Russian kids to study in an American school. And at first, Ikaris and I tried to hide our Russian accents and practiced our American accents every day, just to blend in. But things got worse when one of the American kids back in the day finally figured out who we were. He spread the word to his friends faster than wildfire. The time when we transferred to America, the Cold War was raging like a firestorm, threatening to consume us all. And Americans back then really hated Communist scum like us.”

“Dad, please stop, it’s not a funny story anymore.” Mike interrupted his dad, trying to stop what he was about to say next.

“It’s okay, Mikey, don’t worry. So, about our story. A week before the Soviet fall, Ikaris and I were all set to cosplay as Russian Communists, like what we truly were. And the show was near, so I was backstage, dressing up and preparing to get ready for the show, when I heard those voices yelling.”

The atmosphere was tense and awkward as if a bomb was about to go off. The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall and the clinking of the forks on the plates. Mike and Betty were sitting very still, trying to listen to what Anton was about to say.

“It was your mom and dad, Betty. They were… they were fighting about…” Anton trailed off, and suddenly everyone in the room looked at Betty, even her mom and dad.

“I don’t know, sorry, it’s a long time ago, I can’t remember what they were fighting about. But I do remember one thing. It had something to do with you, Betty,” Anton said, looking at Betty with a serious expression.

“Shut up, Anton!” Joyce snapped. “You don’t know jack s**t about anything.”

“If I’m wrong, can you please clarify what happened that night?” Anton asked Joyce, with his strong Russian accent.

Joyce backed down and fell silent, biting her lip nervously. She avoided Anton’s eyes, which were piercing through her.

“You know what, Joyce? I don’t give a s**t about what you think of me. But don’t jerk me around, especially not in front of my son.” Anton said, staring straight back at Joyce.

Betty felt a surge of panic and decided to intervene. She nudged Mike’s foot gently and said, ‘Okay, so…’ She trailed off, forcing a smile.

"This was such a lovely idea, but I think we should get to school. The Thanksgiving event is starting soon, right, Mike?"

"Yeah, yeah, right,’ Mike agreed, sounding nervous. ‘We should get going. Dad, can you drop us off at school, please?"

Anton nodded at Fred, then at Joyce, who looked away. He followed Betty and Mike out of the house. They walked slowly to Anton’s truck, which was parked on the sidewalk.