“That why your so upset?” he asked, calming down. he wasn’t angry at her. He wasn’t even annoyed at her, he was worried about her, he had thought she was lost. Thought they’d gotten her after everything he had done to stop them... But they had not.
“...I got you breakfast.” She muttered again, holding up the bag and looking up at him, fear etching across her features.
He smiled, something about her big blue eyes just melted him, she was like a kitten, you just couldn’t help but go awww, and now he was really regretting his outburst.
He took the bag and placed it on the little table. “I’m sorry.” he said, “This is all my fault anyway. If I hadn’t... In washington, I should have done something different, I could have saved him without letting them know... but...” he sighed and placed a hand on the girls shoulder. “Sorry. Just... don’t do that without leaving a note or something, ok?”
“No, it was my fault, I didn’t bring the fog up to shield you... I... I was just so scared...” She said, moving to the knife-less chair and falling into it. “On the news their calling us armed and dangerous.” She sniffed, her nose had run a little from the rain, but she was drying off quickly.
Dante smiled, sighing as he took the knife and put it back onto the table. “Me- Tess.” he corrected. “You’re not to blame for my compulsions. It’s not like I’d warned you or anything.” He sat down and looked down at the meal. “Well I do have the knife, and even without my... natural abilities... I’ve only ever lost one fight. I guess they’re right... in a hypothetical sense. Then again, so are the police, they have guns, using them would kill... but they don’t... and neither do I.” Dante looked up at the door, where a light shone in through the splinter edged hole. “except to scare my only friend in the world apparently.” He smirked. “So what breakfast did you soak for me?”
She smiled at his joke and leaned forward to grab the soaked paper bag. She moved to open it, though accidentally tore it in half, allowing the two polystyrene boxes to slide onto the table. She pulled open the first box to reveal the bacon and eggs, still warm, still dry, still edible, or at least as edible as a little eighties diner in the middle of nowhere can make bacon and eggs. Tess pushed the bacon to Dante and reached for the other box.
Dante smiled at the bacon, he loved it, American bacon was so strange though. On the one hand it was crispy and delicious, just the way he liked it, on the other hand english bacon had SO much more meat on it. He looked up from the polystyrene container, at Tess’ breakfast.
“Great... now I want pancakes.” he sighed, leaning back in his chair. he looked up at the small kitchen at the end of the room and pushed himself out of his chair. Dante walked across the room and stepped into the kitchen, all of the cooking implements were in place, dirty as hell with spiderwebs linking them together, but in place. Dante frowned, it was so strange that this house had been abandoned with all of the stuff left where it was, not even the clothes had been disturbed, not more than natural causes at any rate. He shook his head and started pulling out drawers, finding slightly dusty cutlery in the third one. Dante pulled out a pair of knives and a pair of forks. He wiped them off on his jeans and stepped out of the kitchen. Dante handed over a knife and fork to Tess as he sat down and sunk his fork into his eggs.
“So what do you think happened to them?” Tess asked, looking around the room, a piece of pancake hanging loosely from the fork in her hand.
For a second Alexander Fault and Megan Swift’s families popped into Dante’s mind, his mother and father, his twin, her uncle and her uncles best friend... but he didn’t say anything. “Maybe they won the lottery.” Dante suggested. “If I lived here with all this crap I’d probably just pick up and leave at the first sign of a bright horizon.”
Tess looked down at her food, a little sadness on her face. “I hope so. I get the feeling something bad happened here.”
Dante looked around. “What gives you that impression? I mean... nothings broken, well except the bedroom doors and I did that. No sign of a struggle...” he stuffed a piece of egg into his mouth.
“I don’t know... one of those feelings I guess.” she sighed. “Wish there was a tv here.”
“I wish there was electricity here... or water...” Dante offered, sighing.
Dante finished his bacon and eggs with a sigh and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. The paint that had once matched the wall paper was now stained with water damage and mould. “Finish your breakfast, I’ve already done my Tai Chi and it’s time for your lessons.” He said, looking across at her. She pouted, clearly not thrilled by the idea of getting bruised again. “I’m gonna get changed, why don’t you grab the canteens and fill them and I’ll meet you out back in a few minutes.” He said, standing up and stretching. he grabbed his rucksack, which he had left in the living room the night before, and wandered back into his own bedroom. |
