Hungry Love || Book 1

TWENTY ONE: "War Is Here"

In family portraits everyone seems very happy. Invincible, right? Just look a little closer and we can see it shake. They seem to be stripped of secrets, but they trust no one. All beings, humans or vampires, walk around with a certain sadness, suffering. They certainly don't show it, but it's there. We just have to look closer. At Christmas it's when the pretense reaches its peak, it's not allowed to be sad inChristmas. On other days it's normal, once in a while, but not in Christmas. Every family competes to see who can handle the most time smiling, without breaking.

The truth: Lydia's family had been broken for a long time.

"Lyds."

The red head put the Mathews' picture back in the drawer and turned around. It was Lily, looking at her with a warm smile.

"Let's go have dinner?"

"Yes, let's go." Lydia followed her.

Everyone was already sitting down at the table and she wasn't surprised when she noticed that the only empty chair was between Alec and her Mom. 

When Andrea finished serving everyone, the table fell into a comfortable silence. No one spoke during the entire dinner, except for the siblings that looked like children because of how enthusiastic they were. It seemed like they hadn't have a Christmas like that one in decades - and they hand't. 

"Well," Thome stood up with a glass in his hand, "I think we should thank for this amazing family we got and, of course, welcome Amelia and Lydia."

"Cheers!" Andrea exclaimed, excited.

So everyone stood up and toasted with the glasses full with wine. Lydia looked at the boy enxt to her and, to her surprise, he was already looking. It was a gaze full with care, but also fear; happiness, but also worry. So they drank the wine. They kept their eyes on each other right after they lowered the cup. Both sat back down without breaking the eye contact.

He smiled and that calmed her down.

"Who's ready for a Twilight marathone?" Lily proposed.

"Twilight?" Ryan complained.

"You've got to be kidding!" Wes sunk down on the chair.

"Ok and what about The Last Song?" Alycia arched her eyebrows.

"Ok, let's go with the Twilight!" Mard wuickly stood up.

Everyone laughed, including the adults. When the television lovers got up and walked to the living room, the table seemed empty.

"Isn't it weird... to watch Twilight when..."

"We're vampires?" Thome completed Amelia's thought with a smile, "My children were never normal. They were born half-vampires. What is normal about all that anyway, right?"

Lydia laughed with his words, and then felt Alec's approach right after.

"You think I'm weird?" He whispered to her.

"Hm, always." Jones replied, still not turning to face him.

"Why?" Alec pulled away, aparently hurt by her words.

So Lydia turned around and laughed, "You're a vampire, for a start."

"Ei, don't judge me by my interest in... blood."

Both laughed, without looking away.

"Would it be too bad if we got out of here?" She caressed his hand.

"Where do you wanna go?" Alec smiled.

"It doesn't matter, as long as it's with you."

"That sounded way to cheese and clichê." He laughed.