His laughter followed me all the way down the stairs, mocking me.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I sat on the floor with my back to the wall and stretched out in front of me. My feet were crossed at the ankles. They were sweating and felt like they were burning inside my socks. I shouldn’t have picked a spot to sit that was so close to the fireplace because this was torture.
When I’d come down the stairs with Ty right behind me, everyone was in the dining room and they were all talking. Tyson and I stood back in order to watch the show.
“Don’t look at me,” Quinton said angrily. “I’ve never watched a movie with her before, there hasn’t been time for stuff like that. I have no idea what she likes.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “You would have to ask Ty about what she likes.”
Quinton had looked embarrassed by his lack of knowledge of me, and I’d felt so bad for him that I had actually taken a step towards him in order to help him in any way I could. Tyson had stopped me by placing a hand on my arm and I’d stepped back into him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me close to him. I got his silent message. He wanted to watch, and he wanted me to not interrupt and potentially ruin it for him.
“What about a horror movie?” Damien had asked.
The entire room had exploded in a chorus of very loud no’s.
I had wanted to laugh.
“Scary is out,” Julian had muttered. “She doesn’t need any more scary shit in her life.”
“That sucks,” Damien had muttered sullenly. “I love scary movies. What, are we going to have to watch chick flicks or something from now on?”
I’d had to put my hand over my mouth to keep any noise I might have involuntarily made inside.
“We could watch the Titanic,” Julian had suggested.
“What is it with you and that fucking movie?” Quinton had barked at him. “The second half of the movie is the best part and then it’s ruined when that bitch lets him go, after promising she’d never do that. Who ends a movie like that? And, who the fuck watches that stupid thing like once a month? Titanic is out. I refuse to be forced to endure three hours of that bullshit.”
“We are not watching the Titanic,” Addison had growled. “My twin can’t watch movies like that anymore. It will give him nightmares and he already had enough problems with sleeping, he doesn’t need more. All those people in the water…” He’d taken a deep, shuddering breath and shook his head.
I had been holding my tongue every time something got said that I had no clue the meaning of because I hadn’t wanted to be nosy and I felt like they would share things with me on their own time. That was the nice thing to do, the thing the old me would do. The me who would run away and hide at the first sign of trouble. I was trying to be stronger, bolder, less of a scaredy cat.
I’d slipped out of Tyson’s arms and stepped further into the dining room.
Binx darted out from under the dining room table and curved his tiny, little body around my ankles. I bend down and scooped him up in my arms.
I’d cradled Binx in my arms and he immediately started purring. Goodness, I didn’t even have to pet him to get him to purr for me. I’d cuddled him close to my chest and murmured, “Awe, what a sweet, sweet little boy you are.”
I had looked up and caught them all watching me. I sighed. Oh well, it was likely something I would have to get used to until they got used to me.
“I’m with Quinton,” I had told them in a shy, quiet voice. “I could only stand to watch Titanic the one time. I couldn’t stomach watching the ending more than once. I more than positive there had been room for the both of them on that makeshift raft. Poor Jack died because he had the misfortune to fall for a rich, spoiled brat. And, then she just goes and marries another dude and has kids with him. What did it take her, like, two minutes? I mean, come on.” I paused to shake my head.
I singled out Damien and gave him a small, half smile. He’d actually talked to me today and he
hadn’t been a dick. I could be nice to him, if he could try, then I would too. “And, I actually do like scary movies. I don’t watch them much because I tend to do it late at night when I’m all alone. I freak myself out over every little noise, and I end up not sleeping. I tried to watch one in the middle of the day once and it just wasn’t the same.”
There.
That was nice, and I’d even shared a little about myself without having to be asked first.
I could do this.
“What’s your favorite horror movie?” Damien asked me. I was glad to see his eyes weren’t cold or bored but warm and interested in hearing what I had to say.
“Strangeland,” I told him, and I didn’t even have to think about it. That movie freaked me right out. It also made me never, ever want to meet someone off of the internet. There were a lot of freaky people out there and you never really knew who you were talking to. That movie, just, ugh.
Damien’s eyes sharpened as he focused solely on me. “You’ve seen Strangeland?” He asked me in a surprised voice.
“Yeah.”