The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1)

Chapter 15

"Welcome to Paradise," Aden said, opening up the door to the restaurant. The smell of fresh lettuce, melted pepper jack cheese, and cooking hamburger meat invaded my nostrils. I inhaled deeply and ran my tongue along my lips. My stomach growled as we walked into the burger joint, and I scanned the menu with a smile. "Seriously? Vampires like burgers and fries?" This was the last place I thought I'd find in an underground vampire base.

"Yeah, cheeseburgers are almost as good as humans. Kidding," he added quickly at my look of horror. "We can go somewhere else, if you like..."

"No!"

I laughed when he jumped at my outburst. "I'm really excited, actually. It's been ages since I've had a good, greasy burger. My mother never let me have them back –"

I bit my lip in guilt, on the verge of saying home. Why did I just do that? Pittsburgh is my home, so why should I feel guilty about calling it that?

We ordered, and Aden reached into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet.

"You don't have to get mine," I said. We had set up a bank account upon my enlisting, since I would be getting paid for my training. But they only deposited checks – or whatever form of currency they used – at the end of the month, so I hadn't gotten paid yet.

"I'm not going to let you wash dishes," he said, smiling. "Really, it's not going to break the bank, I assure you. Besides, we're celebrating, both for you saving my mom and for your newfound freedom. Please, it's the least I can do."

I blushed slightly. "Thank you."

"Thank you." Aden pulled out a few of the odd colored bills and something white fluttered to the floor. I reached for it, flipping it over. It was a photograph, fairly old from how worn it looked. Wrinkles from the paper ran down the faces of a man and a woman, who stood on either side of a young boy. Their collective happiness radiated off of them. They practically glowed, a joyous American family against the cheery sunlit park in the backdrop. There was a tear in the photo running almost from one end to the other, nearly severing the man from the woman and child. My eyes remained fixed on the man. He looked familiar, though I couldn't figure out exactly where I had seen him.

"Oh," Aden said, taking the photo from my grasp and placing it back in his wallet. "I must have dropped that."

The image of the woman with the pale, blue eyed child lingered in my memory. "That's you, isn't it? And that woman is your mom."

"Yes," he said quietly, taking two empty glasses from the cashier and walking away.

I walked after him. "Was that your father?"

He stopped at the machine, sighing as ice cubes clinked into our glasses. "Yes."

I watched him, chewing on my lip and unable to stop myself from asking, "What happened to him?"

Aden's shoulders hunched up, and I was afraid I had asked the wrong question, that I'd pried too far. But a moment later, he turned around, smiling warmly. "I'll save you the whole tragic story. After all, this is a celebration. Pepsi?"

I blinked. "Uh, yeah, sure."

He filled up my glass, and I rubbed my arms, thinking about what he'd said. Mrs. Knight and Aden seemed so happy, perfectly content at being together. What tragedy could he be running from in his past?

After filling up our glasses with soda, we sat down at a booth to wait for our food.

Sitting there with him – alone, I might add – made me suddenly feel very self-conscious. I fiddled with my hair, which was pulled back in a flabby ponytail.