Page 12 of Blood Taken (Blood Mafia 2)
"You mentioned food?" I ask in deflection. I need to remember not to waste any more time making her feel bad. She doesn't deserve my energy.
Maria twists her lips to the side, obviously holding in whatever she was about to say. She clears her throat and steps back. "The cafeteria is in building one."
I pull on my Chucks since the boots in the closet are too big and follow her down the stairs and outside. She starts toward the first building we passed when we came in this morning, and I glance over my shoulder, seeing a small number three on the one we just left.
Gravel crunching underfoot is the only sound filling the yawning void between us. Maria doesn't seem to know what to say. Perhaps I've rebuffed her advances enough to get my point across.
A few people pass us on our way, but once they see Maria leading me, they avert their gaze. She walks with power and purpose, and I bet if I saw her face, her lips would be in a thin line as if to saytry me.
I will admit it's kind of satisfying to know Maria isn't a wimp. It also explains a lot about my attitude.
Building one has a garage style entrance; large flaps of plastic block the air and bugs from getting inside. Maria pushes through them, reaching her hand back to hold them aside for me.
"Thanks," I say because my real mother didn't raise an asshole, well, not a huge asshole. Maybe she raised a tiny, itty bitty asshole.
Seven long tables fill the dining area, which is set up next to a buffet style line up of food. Those eating at the table pause and turn to look me over.
I clench my fists and stand tall, not letting their collective scrutiny get the better of me.
"Come on," Maria says, placing her hand on the small of my back for just a second. "They'll lose interest soon enough."
She doesn't bother to glance at my gawkers as she leads me to the plates. I take the one she hands to me and follow her down the line, letting my hunger distract me from the eyes drilling into me.
This is by far the best buffet I've ever been to. There's brisket, shredded turkey with a light drizzle of barbecue sauce, steamed vegetables, fresh dinner rolls. There's even peach cobbler.
Despite wanting to take huge helpings of everything, I only take a small bit of each so I don't look like an obnoxious entitled brat in front of everyone.
Do I want to make a good impression on these Hunters?
Yes. If what Nicole and Maria said is true, these are my people. I can't exactly sayfuck 'emand burn bridges on day one.
We'll save that for day two when I learn who's an asshole and who isn't.
Maria sits down at the furthest table, the one where the least amount of people sit. Besides her, there's a behemoth of a man and a girl who looks about eighteen. Neither one greets Maria and Maria doesn't say hi back.
"You're well liked," I chirp as I place my plate across from hers and sit.
Her answering sneer makes me smirk.
The girl glances over at us, flicking her eyes quickly away from my mother and lingering on me.
"Hey," I say.
She scrunches her face together and frowns, tucking a piece of short blonde hair behind her ear. "Hi."
Maria sighs. "Demi, this is Lana. Lana, this is my daughter, Demi."
Lana's gray eyes widen and she smiles. "Maria's mentioned you before. I see the resemblance."
I pin my mother with a look and she squirms in her seat.
"Lana's parents died in an unfortunate run-in with wolves. They were unprepared and sloppy." The words are spoken so quickly I almost think she didn't mean to say them.
The girl's face grows angry, her lips pulling back into a sneer. "And you wonder why no one likes you, Maria."
"No, I actually am aware of why people don't like me." My mother tips her head, pretending to be unaffected by Lana's words. I can see her eyes though, and there's a small spark of hurt.
Lana huffs. "Whatever." She stands up and snatches her plate, hissing the wordbitchunder her breath before storming away.
