Mistfall Read Free Page A

on
one side and David put his hand on my waist, nudging me to sit down
on the other side. I swatted at his hand but he just laughed,
making some comment about, “liking them feisty.” I could feel one
of the knives in my boot itching to be used.
    “We’re going to the bar,” Owen addressed us.
“What do you girls want to drink?”
    “Rum and coke for me,” Melissa replied.
    “Don’t worry, I got you covered,” David cut
me off as he walked off with Owen.
    Maybe I could just stab him a little.
    “What the hell?” I admonished Melissa, my
voice rising in decibel. “This guy is a total piece of work and if
he touches me one more time he’s going to find the business end of
my boot!”
    She looked sheepishly down at her hands.
“Honestly, I didn’t know Owen was going to set you up, but when he
introduced you to David, I didn’t think you’d mind. He’s usually
pretty laid back. I’m not sure what has him acting so
foolishly.”
    She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“Mags, do you think you could hold it together for one drink?” she
pleaded. “It’s so loud in here you won’t have to talk to him that
much and after were done, we can go and dance without the boys.
Please? I promise I will make it up to you. It’s just that I really
like Owen and I don’t want to end the night early.”
    I was purposely avoiding eye contact with
her, entirely way too interested in the invisible lint I was
picking off my pants. If I didn’t owe this woman my life …It
took me a few minutes, but I relented and glared back up at her and
nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
    “Thank you. We’ll have fun tonight,” she
assured me.
    “I’ll take your word for it.”
    The boys returned with our drinks. David sat
down next to me and handed me a martini glass with some mauve
colored liquid that I couldn’t identify, replete with umbrella and
cherries.
    “What’s this?” I asked.
    “It’s called a Purple People Eater,” he
replied.
    Melissa choked on her drink. While Owen was
patting her back, telling her to slow down, I whipped my head up
towards David and looked him straight in the eyes, looking for any
hint of recognition on his face of what I am. Only a cocky grin,
that had nothing to do with my identity, showed on his face. I
turned my attention back to my drink, tossing the frou-frou stuff
aside and downed it in two gulps. Slamming the glass back down on
the table, I grabbed Melissa and we high-tailed it out onto the
dance floor.
    We didn’t get far enough into the crowd as I
would’ve liked. Melissa wanted to stay on the outer edges so Owen
could see her dance for him. He was eyeing her like she was his
favorite bone which caused the bile to rise in the back of my
throat. Avoiding the sex-hungry stare David was giving me, I looked
up at the second floor. That’s when I saw him.
    Someone was staring at me, at least, that’s
what it seemed like. I grabbed Melissa’s arm and pointed towards
the guy.
    “Do you see that guy?” I asked her. “I could
swear he was staring at me.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t see anyone.”
    I turned to the spot where the man was
moments earlier and saw no one there now. “Maybe he was just
looking at the crowd and it seemed like he was looking at you,”
Melissa shouted over the music that had just gone into a screeching
new decibel level.
    I shrugged my shoulders, looked up one more
time to make sure. Maybe I’m just still keyed up after the ghoul
attack and David’s choice of drink for me. I gave up and
returned to dancing. Three songs later, I was slightly more
relaxed, having fun dancing with my best friend.
    Melissa nudged me with her elbow halfway
through the next song, “Owen and David are headed this way, if
you’re still avoiding him.”
    “Thanks girl, I’ll see you in a little
while,” I told her and headed deeper into the crowd on the dance
floor. After the song finished, I was a bit warm, so I headed up
the stairs to the second floor where it was