I walked around the scarp yard trying to find something strong enough to hold the Steefang while mentally cursing Slash. He had woken me up this morning an hour before we had to leave and growled at me as I got ready. I thought it was because he wanted to do something better than going to a scrap yard but turns out he was just eager to get here. He's currently chasing a lot around the yard. We warned the workers that he was with us. However, he can't blame me if he gets injured. I picked up a piece of iron fencing. "Hmm," I murmured. "This might hold him."
Vincent came over. "It might."
I looked at him. "There's plenty here. We could use it to make our trap and put leaves and sticks on it for camouflage."
He nodded and we loaded his truck with it. He added some iron poles that he found too. "To hold the fencing up," he explained.
I nodded trying not to feel ashamed that I had forgotten that. "Makes sense."
We got into his truck (Slash climbing onto my lap after I shut the door and got buckled.) "We finished that faster than I thought we would," Vincent said. I snorted because it was three o'clock in the afternoon. He flushed a quick grin then it disappeared. "Would you like to go to dinner with me?" He asked nervously.
I stared. "As a date or as friends?"
"Date," he muttered.
I hid my smile. I hadn't known he liked me. "Hmm, that sounds perfect."
His eyes brightened. "Really?"
"Of course." Slash purred his agreement. "See? Even lardo agrees." He growled. "What? You're heavy." He crawled into the back seat.
Vincent gave a sigh of relief. He drove us to the Ray Diner. We got a table by the front window and Slash laid down under the table. He ordered a Coca-Cola and I ordered an iced tea. Then I added a cheeseburger with friends while he added meatloaf and mashed potatoes. "Thanks for coming with me," Vincent said as the waitress went and placed our orders.
I smiled. "Well, I do like you. Why would I say no?"
He blinked. "You like me?"
I nodded as I looked out the window. "Since I first saw you."
"Huh, I've liked you since Scott first told me about you."
"Even though you hadn't met me?"
"Yes."
"Wow." I paused. "I notice no one calls you by a nickname. Did you forbid it or something?"
He snorted. "I didn't. They're afraid of me and Eve told me once that they couldn't think of anything."
"I can at least think of two."
"Oh yeah? What are they?"
"Vin and Vinnie. I personally like Vin better."
He smiled a little. "My mom used to call me Vinnie and Theo did until he was older. Then he started calling me Vin when it was just the two of us."
"Then I'll call you Vin," I said firmly.
"Okay." We fell silent as the waitress put our food and drinks on the table and walked off. "How did you know Slash wasn't evil?" Vin asked.
I chewed on a fry as I thought about that. "I suppose I knew because he wasn't attacking us even though he was injured. Usually, an injured animal won't let you get close and, if you do, they attack. There was also something in his eyes as he watched us. Just looking into his eyes convinced me he wasn't evil."
"Was it a look of pain?"
"That and a sort of pleading look." A growl under the table made me chuckle. "Which I could understand because he was in a lot of pain," I added and the growling stopped. I dropped a piece of my burger onto the ground for him and he ate it quickly. I sighed as the same thought I'd been pushing to the back of my head surfaced again. Maybe I should tell Vin. "If I tell you something will you keep it a secret?"
He finished his mouthful of food and said, "Sure."
"I don't think my father is dead." There, I said it. I've been thinking he might be alive but I thought it was just a hope but maybe it isn't.
He choked on the food he just put in his mouth. I patter his back. "What do you mean?" He asked when he could breathe again. "You saw his dead body and the report says they found both bodies."
I bit my lip. How to explain? "I read the report and the guy they found wasn't my father."
"What do you mean?"
"My dad had emerald eyes like mine, not brown. He had brown hair, not blond like it said in the report."
"But you saw his body."
I shook my head. "Not really. I barely looked at him. My attention was on the thing eating my mom."
"Okay, but what else makes you think he's alive?"
I frowned. Was what I said not enough? Well, I have more. "They never sold the house and I found that it's still in the Hemlock name. The electricity is still on and Mrs. O'reilly disappeared."
"Scoot said she moved."
"Because that's what everyone thinks. Her house is completely empty like she moved."
I saw the beginning of horror slide into his eyes. "You don't honestly think your dad fed her to a monster?"
I nodded slowly. Should I keep going? "I think he found out that she took me to the Slade Orphanage and got pissed."
"So after feeding her to a monster, he went to her house and got rid of everything there? Why?" His was frowning now.
That's obvious, isn't it? "So people would think she moved," I said patiently. "He didn't want anyone to know she had been kidnapped and killed."
"What about her friends? Wouldn't they know something's wrong when she doesn't pick up their phone calls and stuff?"
I snorted. "What friends? She was mean to everyone and had a short temper. My mom used to say we were her only friends but I knew better. She hated us too."
He took a sip of his soda. "We could go to your house and see if there's fresh food in there. If there is then we'll know he's alive."
"We could but I don't think we should."
"Why not?"
"Because if he's alive I don't want to see him and if we go to the house we're bound to run into him." He wasn't at the barn because he was sleeping that night. I bet he knows some people were there by now.
He thought for a minute. "Do you know his phone number or email address?"
"Yes, why?"
"You could send either an email or a text to him. Make sure you say something only he would know about so a stranger can't answer. If he responds then we'll know he's alive."
"He could be alive and not respond," I muttered.
"True. If he responds what do you want to do?"
"I don't know."
He paid for everything (over my protests) and drove us to the hotel. "We won't build the trap until Eve gives us a location," Vin said.
I nodded and went into my room. I sat at my laptop and wrote a quick email:
Dear Dad
Scott's alive and with me though I doubt you care. The boy mom was pregnant with is too. It's wrong that you gave Scott up and were planning the same for my unborn brother (his name is Morgan now.) But that's not what this email is about. Why didn't you come get me from the Slade Orphanage? Why did you create monsters? And the most important question, Why did you let the FleshEater kill Mom?
From Sapphire
I sent it and looked out the window thinking. Slsh was watching me from the bed. Should I tell everyone that my dad's alive if he responds to my email?