cry little sister → t. l. b.

05. watch out for the tripping hazard

After we finish eating, me glaring at David the whole time, Star tells everyone that she and the little boy, Laddie, are going to get some rest.

"I'll join you," I say to her, still eyeing David.

David stands up. "I'll help you make a bed up," he says quickly.

I groan but don't object.

He gathers up some sheets and a duvet for me and smooths them out on a canopy bed in the far corner of the cave.

"Don't worry," he whispers to me. "I'll keep watch. If any of the other guys try anything, I'll rip their throat out."

I press my lips together. "Nice. Aren't you gonna sleep?"

"No. Us boys only sleep when the sun comes up." He grins.

"OK. Goodnight then," I say, but David looks like he wants to tell me something else. "What?" I ask.

He opens his mouth, then shuts it again. "No. Never mind. I'll ... I'll tell you another time. When it's more ... private." David glances over to the other three boys, getting way too into a game of snap.

I roll my eyes and lay down with my back to him. This is so weird. But I'll get out of here as soon as the sun is up. Star said she couldn't afford to give me a job at her tattoo and piercing parlour, but maybe I can find another job and get a little house or something. Maybe. Or maybe I'll move on. But not just yet. There are too many secrets for me to uncover in Santa Carla. Who are these strange boys, really? What does the tattoo on my wrist mean?

I get scared that David is going to stare at me like a creep the entire rest of the night so I pull the covers over my head and finally drift off to sleep.

The next morning I wake up to sun filtering into the cave through cracks in the walls. It's dead silent apart from the waves softly crashing against the rocks outside. I get out of bed and quickly take a look around. No one's here, which isn't too odd. The boys might be sleeping in another part of the cave, and Star's probably working at her tattoo parlour.

"Hello?" I hear a small voice ask from Star's bed. I was wrong. There is someone still here.

I walk over, pulling on my denim jacket in the process. I hate that I have to wear yesterdays clothes, but it can't be helped.

It's Laddie. He's peeking out from under a blanket. "Star left me here. She always leaves me here. She tells me to stay put in the cave and only comes back at night to take me to the boardwalk. But it's so boring. Are you here to play with me?"

I smile at him, wishing he wasn't so cute. I can't be stuck babysitting him. I've got a mission to take care of. And besides, I won't be coming back here. Will I? I do hate David, but something deep inside my soul feels a certain attachment to him that I haven't felt with anyone in the past. Perhaps that's what he meant last night when he said he had a connection to me?

"Oh, please will you?" Laddie clasps his hands under his chin and pouts. He knows manipulation as well as David. I can't say no to this poor boy. He reminds me of my little brother, who I haven't seen in years now, and I miss him so much. I wonder what Laddie's connection is to the vampires. He might be Star's brother, but why wouldn't she take him with her if that was the case?

"Okay, sure. As long as you're good, you can come with me to the boardwalk." I take his hand. 

He beams up at me. "Yes! I will be ever so good. Promise."

We head up the stairs and out into the sunlight. 

"I'm Laddie," he says, even though I already know that. "What's your name? The only girl I know is Star. And she's OK. But you're much, much nicer."

"My name's Emma," I say. "Laddie, do you have a mum? Or a dad?"

He shakes his head. "No. Just Star."

Weird, I think. But I'm distracted when I trip and fall on my face and barely avoid geting a mouthful of sand.

"Oops! Sorry," says a boy's voice from underneath me.

Laddie giggles. "Hey, you fell for a boy, Emma!"

I roll my eyes at the age-old pickup line he probably learnt from David and push myself to my feet. "No, I'm sorry," I say, brushing my long, tangled dark hair away from my face. "I should've been watching where I was going."

I put my hand out to help up the boy I tripped over. My heart almost stops when I lay my eyes on him. He's so cute. He has longish shiny honey blond hair that falls just to his shoulders. He's wearing loose clothes and is in bare feet.

"No way, I'm sorry," he says, smiling a little, looking me in the eyes. "I was just lying here in the sand. I should've realised that people would be heading down the beach by now. Don't you just love the sound of the ocean?" He notices Laddie and bends down to his level. "Hey, is this your big sister?" the boy asks him kindly. 

I'm about to tell him he's not, I'm just looking after him, but Laddie nods enthusiastically. "Yeah. We're going to the boardwalk! I hate it in the cave, it's so stuffy and boring. And there're no toys to play with."

"The cave?" the boy asks, chuckling.

"Yeah, it's where me and Star and Emma and—"

"Hey, that's enough, Laddie," I say, squeezing his hand, not wanting to be mean but also not wanting him to give too much away to this stranger.

The boy stands up again. He's a bit taller than me but looks to be around my age. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Where are you from?"

I shrug and smile at him. "Nowhere. Everywhere. What about you?"

"What a coincidence! Me too," he says with a smirk. But it's not the same smirk as David has. David curls his lip when he does it like he's a cat about to pounce on its prey. This boy smirks in a way that radiates warmth, melting my icy heart. 

I hear someone calling in the distance. The boy turns his head, looking in the direction of the noise. I didn't notice how close we were until he does so, allowing me to smell his earthy scent of sea salt and vanilla. Nothing like David, with his heavy smoky, sharp metallic smell that I could never quite place.

The boy gestures behind him. "Sorry, Emma. It's been nice meeting you, but my sister demands my presence." He throws me one last smile, then goes running off down the beach.

"Wait!" I call. "At least tell me your name!"

"River!" he yells back. "My name's River!"

Then he's gone, almost as soon as he appeared, just another silhouette against the sun, making its way across the sands.

I wish he'd stay. 

For once in my life, I wish someone would stay.