“You look familiar,” one of Dallas’ buddies says as he squints in my direction, coffee cup in hand. “You related to someone here in town?”
My eyes dart uncomfortably from the guy to Luke. Who just gives me a little I told you so look back.
“Wait a second,” the guy says, still studying my face. “You’re that girl who moved into the Conrath Estate, huh? You’re that freak’s daughter.”
“Now, Corbin,” Fred says, fixing the guy with a cold stare, even as my stomach settles somewhere in the vicinity of my feet. “You’s a grown man now and should know words like that isn’t nice. I think you ought to apologize to this nice young woman.”
But I’ve been outed. And there are two other people in the shop looking at me now like I’m about to tear into their necks at any second.
“I’m sorry,” I respond snarkily. “Did you think you know who I am?”
Dallas gives an “oh!”—fist to the mouth and everything. I offer Corbin a peeved off smile as I walk back into the kitchen.
And it’s like that for the next week. People talk about me in low voice like I can’t hear them. They speculate. There’s constant talk about the House. About the year 1875. About blood and missing or dead loved ones.
But never once do I hear the actual word vampire.
My shift is from four to eleven. It’s not many hours or days, but I don’t need the money. Not at all. I need the normalcy. But this is hardly normal. When everyone looks at you with disdain or fear. When you’re constantly judged for the sins of your father.
I’ve just finished putting the cinnamon rolls in the display case at six-fifteen when the little bell above the door rings. I look up, dusting my hands off on my apron. In walks a woman, maybe in her upper forties. She’s rail thin, almost skeletal. Her cheekbones are sharp and prominent, her lips too full for her face. But it’s instantly her eyes that draw me.
She wears sunglasses, but behind them, I can see hollow eye sockets. Her blindness explains the walking stick.
“Good morning,” I say to her politely. “You’re up and about early.”
“I’m afraid I don’t get much sleep these days,” she says with a pleasant smile. “I’ve been up too long already this morning.”
She bumps into a table, nearly knocking a chair over. I duck around the counter and help guide her to the display case. “Sorry about that,” she laughs at herself. “I’m a lot clumsier than I used to be.”
“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “We’re not quite open yet, but we’ve got some stuff out. What can I get you? I just brought out the cinnamon rolls. We’ve got raspberry scones, bran muffins, fritters. Just about any breakfast pastry, we’ve got it.”
“Mmm,” she says in delight. Her accent is heavily Southern Belle. “It all smells heavenly. How about a cinnamon roll?”
“Excellent choice,” I say as I scoop one out for her onto a little glass plate. “That’ll be two dollars.”
The woman digs around in her bag and pulls out a wallet. When she opens it, I see different bills folded in different ways. Smart. She hands me a five and I make change for her.
“Thank you, my dear,” she says as I take her plate to one of the tables and guide her to it. “I just moved in to the edge of town and hoped I might find somewhere comparable to my old regular. Y’all are very sweet here.”
“I haven’t been in Silent Bend too long myself,” I say, sitting at the table for a minute because I don’t have much else to do in the back at the moment.
“That right?” she says with a smile and manages to fork some of the roll off.
“I’ve only been here at Fred’s for a week,” I say. It’s nice, having a normal conversation.
“How do you like the town so far?” she asks.
“It’s…” How the hell do I answer that question? Dark. Manipulated. Totally crazy. “It’s a town that will keep you on your toes.”
“Good to know,” she says.
“Well, I better get back to work,” I say, standing from the table. “You have a nice day.”
“You too, Miss…?” she asks.
“Alivia, Alivia Ryan.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Daphne, and I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more of me.”
“I hope so,” I respond politely. Fred calls for me from the back, and I go to help him.
Flour. Sugar. Eggs. Chocolate. Berries.
All of this is normal. And when I have my headphones in, listening to my old playlist, it’s like I’m back in Colorado and life is what it used to be.