Shadowing Me
Page 21
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I toe on my slippers and walk downstairs towards the aroma that woke me. With all the noise I hear, I know that my grandma Berry is cooking breakfast for the entire family before I’m even in view of the cluttered tables.
“There’s the sleepyhead,” Grandma Berry chirps. “You missed one heck of a dinner last night, kiddo.”
I stretch, and when I go to sit, my eyes deceive me. I do a double take, turn, and look at Winter before she motions for me to lean down to her.
“It’s Lana’s sister. She knows what happened, and we’re welcoming her,” she whispers. “So, wipe that surprised look off your face.”
I take my seat as my grandma hands me a plate stacked high with eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. My stomach growls with joy at the amount of food on my plate. Sleeping that long has really unbalanced me, but as I dig into my food, my eyes wander back to the beautiful Lana look alike. It’s strange but also calming. It almost feels as if she’s back here with us.
When Shadow takes his plate to the sink and kisses my grandma on the forehead to thank her for a delicious breakfast, my heart pitter-patters. He can be so sweet at times and yet, such a dick too, but when I see him interacting with my grandmother like this, it makes the feelings I’ve developed that much stronger. Shadow makes me weak without him even realizing he’s doing it. He holds so much power over me, and no matter how angry I am at him, he still makes me tremble in the knees every single time I lay eyes on him. It is the most aggravating thing I have ever felt.
“You guys… I’m taking a wild guess here, but based on my sister’s letter, I’m assuming this extra quiet behavior is unusual.” Akela laughs nervously as she draws my attention from Shadow.
The bacon stops midway to my mouth at her statement. It is a bold one, that is certain, but it is also a true statement.
“We’re letting the guys practice hospitality.”
I laugh out loud at Winter, and the rest of the room follows.
“Would you guys like to hear a story about her?” She takes a deep breath. “It’s one of my favorites.”
When she asks that, Pyro tenses up. With a sad smile, I look over at my uncle. To know he lost her, right around the same time he fell in love with her, is enough to make me weep for him.
“I’d like to hear it,” he mumbles after a few quiet moments.
Akela places her orange juice down on the table and inhales deeply again before taking us on a Lana filled journey.
“The sun was shining so bright this day. You couldn’t even look up and see the beautiful clouds in the sky, because when you tried, the sun’s beams would blind you. Lana was about fifteen or so. My parents were rather strict when it came to letting Lana go to the beach. She was four, almost five years younger than me. So whenever she wanted to go, she would call me up.” Akela’s lips tilt up to form a smile as she laughs at the memory.
“This day was different than our other trips. Something about the atmosphere, I guess, or maybe because it was one of the many surf seasons, and the beach was extra packed, but whatever. Something made me watch her like a hawk. It felt completely off.” She stops, picks up her glass of orange juice, takes a sip to wet her throat, and then sets it back down on the table.
“Not even an hour after we got there, all hell broke loose. Sharks had invaded the surf. There must have been at least a dozen of them. With all the people in the water, it drew so much attention to the surfers who were out in the deep, waiting to catch some waves.” Her head shakes back and forth like she still can’t believe it. “My stomach was in knots. I paced this little patch of sand back and forth, trying to keep track of her in the crystal blue waters. Every single time I would spot her, she would disappear again. It was nerve racking. When one of the sharks attacked—” she cuts herself off and then starts again, “well crap, this isn’t a story to share while people are eating. I apologize.”
Smiles light up the room as Godfather speaks. “You do realize you’re in an MC, right? Go on, darlin’. You aren’t offending anyone.”
She smiles back and nods at him. “The first attack happened so fast. I decided to swim out to find Lana, because the screams were so loud, there’s no way she could hear me calling for her. My body was shaking, and I was panicking so bad that I’m surprised I didn’t drown myself. When I finally laid eyes on her, she was paddling this guy in on his surfboard. That’s when my heart stopped, right then and there.” Her hand flies to her heart, and her fingernails dig into her shirt as if she can still feel the pain in her chest.
“This guy’s leg was gone below the knee. It had been bitten off by one of the sharks. The water around them was filled with blood. It was so thick, all I could think was the next attack would be on my sister. By the time I reached them, she was screaming for me to paddle him in, and right beside us, a shark attacked another surfer who was trying to catch a wave to get to shore. She pushed the guy on the surfboard to me and yelled for me to get him help, and then she swam back out,” she says while wrapping her arms around her chest to comfort herself. I’m surprised she is still speaking, let alone telling a story of her sister. The memory has to hurt.
“My fifteen-year-old sister was risking her own damn life for complete strangers. I couldn’t dwell on that, at the time. Later on, I would be proud of her, but at that moment, I was anything but. It is amazing what you feel when your own flesh and blood puts themselves in harm’s way for complete strangers. I was so damn angry, and I’m not proud of the fact that I wanted to leave the guy to fend for his own life, so I could drag my sister to shore.” She shakes her head back and forth as if she is completely disgusted with herself over the thought.
“There’s the sleepyhead,” Grandma Berry chirps. “You missed one heck of a dinner last night, kiddo.”
I stretch, and when I go to sit, my eyes deceive me. I do a double take, turn, and look at Winter before she motions for me to lean down to her.
“It’s Lana’s sister. She knows what happened, and we’re welcoming her,” she whispers. “So, wipe that surprised look off your face.”
I take my seat as my grandma hands me a plate stacked high with eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. My stomach growls with joy at the amount of food on my plate. Sleeping that long has really unbalanced me, but as I dig into my food, my eyes wander back to the beautiful Lana look alike. It’s strange but also calming. It almost feels as if she’s back here with us.
When Shadow takes his plate to the sink and kisses my grandma on the forehead to thank her for a delicious breakfast, my heart pitter-patters. He can be so sweet at times and yet, such a dick too, but when I see him interacting with my grandmother like this, it makes the feelings I’ve developed that much stronger. Shadow makes me weak without him even realizing he’s doing it. He holds so much power over me, and no matter how angry I am at him, he still makes me tremble in the knees every single time I lay eyes on him. It is the most aggravating thing I have ever felt.
“You guys… I’m taking a wild guess here, but based on my sister’s letter, I’m assuming this extra quiet behavior is unusual.” Akela laughs nervously as she draws my attention from Shadow.
The bacon stops midway to my mouth at her statement. It is a bold one, that is certain, but it is also a true statement.
“We’re letting the guys practice hospitality.”
I laugh out loud at Winter, and the rest of the room follows.
“Would you guys like to hear a story about her?” She takes a deep breath. “It’s one of my favorites.”
When she asks that, Pyro tenses up. With a sad smile, I look over at my uncle. To know he lost her, right around the same time he fell in love with her, is enough to make me weep for him.
“I’d like to hear it,” he mumbles after a few quiet moments.
Akela places her orange juice down on the table and inhales deeply again before taking us on a Lana filled journey.
“The sun was shining so bright this day. You couldn’t even look up and see the beautiful clouds in the sky, because when you tried, the sun’s beams would blind you. Lana was about fifteen or so. My parents were rather strict when it came to letting Lana go to the beach. She was four, almost five years younger than me. So whenever she wanted to go, she would call me up.” Akela’s lips tilt up to form a smile as she laughs at the memory.
“This day was different than our other trips. Something about the atmosphere, I guess, or maybe because it was one of the many surf seasons, and the beach was extra packed, but whatever. Something made me watch her like a hawk. It felt completely off.” She stops, picks up her glass of orange juice, takes a sip to wet her throat, and then sets it back down on the table.
“Not even an hour after we got there, all hell broke loose. Sharks had invaded the surf. There must have been at least a dozen of them. With all the people in the water, it drew so much attention to the surfers who were out in the deep, waiting to catch some waves.” Her head shakes back and forth like she still can’t believe it. “My stomach was in knots. I paced this little patch of sand back and forth, trying to keep track of her in the crystal blue waters. Every single time I would spot her, she would disappear again. It was nerve racking. When one of the sharks attacked—” she cuts herself off and then starts again, “well crap, this isn’t a story to share while people are eating. I apologize.”
Smiles light up the room as Godfather speaks. “You do realize you’re in an MC, right? Go on, darlin’. You aren’t offending anyone.”
She smiles back and nods at him. “The first attack happened so fast. I decided to swim out to find Lana, because the screams were so loud, there’s no way she could hear me calling for her. My body was shaking, and I was panicking so bad that I’m surprised I didn’t drown myself. When I finally laid eyes on her, she was paddling this guy in on his surfboard. That’s when my heart stopped, right then and there.” Her hand flies to her heart, and her fingernails dig into her shirt as if she can still feel the pain in her chest.
“This guy’s leg was gone below the knee. It had been bitten off by one of the sharks. The water around them was filled with blood. It was so thick, all I could think was the next attack would be on my sister. By the time I reached them, she was screaming for me to paddle him in, and right beside us, a shark attacked another surfer who was trying to catch a wave to get to shore. She pushed the guy on the surfboard to me and yelled for me to get him help, and then she swam back out,” she says while wrapping her arms around her chest to comfort herself. I’m surprised she is still speaking, let alone telling a story of her sister. The memory has to hurt.
“My fifteen-year-old sister was risking her own damn life for complete strangers. I couldn’t dwell on that, at the time. Later on, I would be proud of her, but at that moment, I was anything but. It is amazing what you feel when your own flesh and blood puts themselves in harm’s way for complete strangers. I was so damn angry, and I’m not proud of the fact that I wanted to leave the guy to fend for his own life, so I could drag my sister to shore.” She shakes her head back and forth as if she is completely disgusted with herself over the thought.
