New Start (Morganville Vampires)

Chapter 17

I walked downstairs. Eve and Michael were tidying up - they had just had dinner.

'Hey,' Eve said, turning around form the sink where she was washing the dishes to face me. 'Is Myrnin still upstairs?'

I nodded. He had said that it was too early to be up, so I had left him alone. It wasn't early for me; it was eight, which was a pretty normal time to be getting up to me.

'Well, I don't need the details.' Eve said and laughed. Michael had done well in ignoring me so far.

'Where's our parents?' I asked him. 

He turned around. He looked upset - his eyes were red and bloodshot as if he had just been crying. 'They're through on the couch.' He said.

Why had he been crying? 'What's wrong?' I asked Michael.

'Nothing,' He said defensively. 'Just go and talk to Mom and Dad for a bit, yeah?'

Eve looked at me, wide eyed. She knew what was wrong with Michael. She was warning me to do as he said.

I took the hint and walked through to my parents. They both turned around on the settee as soon as I walked in.

'Hey, honey,' my mum said as I walked around the settee and sat down.

'Hi,' I said. 

'It was a good wedding,' my dad said.

I nodded awkwardly. It was still hard to talk to them. 'Do you know what's wrong with Michael?' I asked.

My parents looked at each other. They knew - I could tell from the way that their pulses sped up when I mentioned it. 'I think you should just talk to him,' my father said, looking back towards me. 'It's not our place to say anything.' 

What was wrong with Michael? Why would he hide something that my parent's thought was serious enough to not tell me? 

There was a knock at the door, and I got up and went to answer it. 

Oliver was stood at the door, with a gift bag. 

'Oliver.' I said flatly.

'Truce.' He said, handing the bag towards me. 

I kept my arms folded in front of me. 'Do you think I would fall for something like that?' I said. 

'It's just a wedding gift.' Oliver said. 

'And why would you bring me a wedding gift?' I said.

'Like I said,' Oliver began. 'I want to call a truce between us.'

I was confused. Why would Oliver want a truce? He hated me. 'Okay,' I said, and nervously reached out and took the gift bag off of him. 'Thanks.' I said.

Oliver smiled - something that I really wasn't used to. 'I best be going,' He said, and turned around and walked off. 

Oliver had just called a truce between us. Of all things I had expected of him, that was not one. 

My thoughts were disrupted by a scream from the kitchen. It was Eve.