A dampir's heart

the reunion

During the walk at some time later on she heard shouts, she went to see it only to find three black guys with knives in their hand pointing at a guy, she looked hard at him and felt a connection like she knew him before, and it hit her full force as his full red lips stretched into a nervous grin, his dimples going in, his white teeth shiny, dark brown stubbles of beard, his hair cut short with waves, his crystal clear blue eyes dark, he looked frantically around as his eyes settled on her, his eyes full of surprise stared at her and ignored the guys, Shontel walked taking her eyes from him and staring straight at the three guys, she walked toward them as if floating, they never noticed her until she was behind, she crossed her arm.
         “ Three against one is such a sleazy act, now two against three, now that sound so much more fair” she said laughing a nasty cold laugh, the humor never reaching her eyes, they turned around at her, then when the guy they were robbing moved, one swiveled around pointing a gun at him, he froze looking at Shontel.
         “ Well, well, well, this is great, you came to party babe? We can give you a lot of partying” one guy with a chipped tooth said as his alcohol breathed reached her, it reeked, ‘ this guy probably hasn’t brush his mouth for a year’, she held her nose
         “ Boy, when was the last time you brushed your mouth, your mouth reeks, damn” she said frowning, the guy taking by surprise by her coolness stared mouth gaped open. “Close your mouth man, you clouding up my air with your nasty ass breath, what you been eating out of any haws? Garbage cans?” she said waving and snapping her hand, he shacked his nappy Afro hair that looked like it hadn’t been combed for a long time
         “ What tha’fuck? Bitch am ma fuck you up you little mother fuck…” he took his knife to slash her but before he could she’d moved away to stand behind him, she held his knifed hand behind his back as he gasp in pain and surprise, she effortlessly broke his right arm, all four guys hearing the break of his arm as she let him go, he collapsed holding his right hand in pain, his cloth too big to show the protruding bone of his arm but never less making it known it was broking the way it was all twisted, Shontel could smell the blood as it itched her nose, she glanced at the guys as they stared in horror at her, she smiled at them, sweet as candy.
         “ What? He was going to cut me, now you running or you staying?”  She asked in a low soft drawl, they first looked at their friend as if wanting to go help but soon changed their mind as they looked at her; they ran as far as there legs could carry them
         “ Should I run too?” the guy asked looking at her, his eyes full of excitement yet she knew deep down he was scared
         “ Frank, sweetie, Do what tha’fuck you feel like, it’s your life,” she said as he looked at her in surprise, “what? You think I would have helped you if I didn’t know you, good God, what do you think I am, some charity ca…”
         “ You mean you only helped because you knew me?” he asked in surprise
         “ Now ain’t that what I said?” she snapped
         “ I don’t know you,” he said slowly
         “ If you did, you’d have a photographic memory” she laughed with no humor, “ which I do, the last time you saw me I was seven, now am 23”
         “ I don’t remember…”          
         “ Don’t give yourself a hernia, the name’s Shontel, Shontel Donovan, oh and I should tell you your aunts dead,” she said carelessly
         “ Shontel, little Shontel” he said in amazement
         “ Not so little” she mocked
         “ No” he said looking her up and down, “wait, auntie Koala is dead?”
         “ Tonight” she nodded with no trace emotion
         “ And you’re around here, this place when you should be trying to get her a funeral?”
         “ How can I? I was out of Boarding house at eighteen, today was my first time at seeing her”
         “ You mean only after five years you came to visit your mother”
         “ My mother sent me to boarding school for unreasonable reasons, a crush on you, I mean come on, I was seven, seven yrs old, never let me out in the sun without…” she stopped and ran her hands through her hair, she smiled, “ this is stupid, she’s dead, and am talking bad about her, I heard that its not good to talk bad about the dead, I don’t have money, the money I have am trying to live a life with, now since I helped you not get jacked how bout giving me a ride?” she smiled, he smiled a little although the smile never reached his eyes
         “ Sure, get in” he said and opened the door to his car, she entered sitting in the front passenger seat, she locked the door
         “ Where to?” he said starting the car, she changed to music that had 98.9 to a soft rock song, she lay back closing her eyes, he clicked his tongue
         “ You like this stuff?” he said glancing at her
         “ I love them, they have meanings to them,” she said barely moving her mouth, her eyes never opening but feeling the way he looked at her
         “ I’ll call 911 to make sure the guy is awright” he said taking out his cell phone, her eyes snapped open, her head swiveled toward him
         “ Why tha’fuck for? He was goanna kill you” she snapped
         “ You don’t know that” he said without glancing at her
         “ Fuck yeah I do, I know everything he…”
         “ So suddenly you’re psychic? Look I don’t care, I will not leave somebody out there to die like that, the pain of a broken arm is enough, and too much of what I’ll I input on anyone” he said as someone answered the phone asking for what they could do for him, “ there was an acid…” as he was saying Shontel tuned him out.
         “ Go straight” she said, “ am staying with my girl, then am going back to Reading, Big cities ain’t my thang” she said not opening her eyes, he turned stared at her in confusion, he didn’t think she’d seen the road at all to be making an assumption that he’ll be ready to make a turn.
When they were at her house.
         “ Wanna come in? Come on I know you ready to make all kind of excuses bout not being able to” she said smiling at him her tooth as a clean sheet of printing paper
         “ Well, I guess it won’t hurt me” he said looking cautiously around, the place wasn’t grate looking, there were trash cans everywhere and all the buildings were close to each other, it looked like a town of ghetto
When they entered shontel’s friends house, a little girl with dark hair and dark brown skin came running to her with a hug, shrieking
         “ Mama” she said with a soft voice
         “ Hey there baby girl, I want you to meet my cousin Frank Parker, say hi”
         “ Hello” the girl said shyly as frank stared open mouth looking from the little girl to Shontel and back to the girl, they didn’t look anything alike, the girls eyes were brown, friendly and full of innocence while shontel’s were hard, cold and now staring at the girl lovingly.
         “ Hi there kiddo” he said as the little girl giggle
         “ Her name is Showana, come on girl go call auntie Flo” she said lightly putting the girl down and tapping her bottom careful as the little girl ran her feet rambling
         “ Who’s the dad?”  Frank asked casually
         “ No one” Shontel said going to the living room knowing the appreciation of franks look, she was a totally beautiful girl
         “ How old is she?”
         “ Four”
         “ Don’t she go to school?”
         “She would, if she was old enough, I pay for her to go to day care am trying to get her a babysitter so I could go to work without worrying about her, any kids?” she asked looking at him
         “ Never got married” he shrugged
         “ How come?”
         “ I didn’t feel like it”
         “ How old are you now?” she asked although she knew
         “ 32” he said in exasperation as he ran his hand threw his hair; she nodded as they walked to the living room.
         “Sit down, I’ll get you some water, that’s all we have”
         “ No…”
         “ What No? You know you thirsty”, she said and walked to her friend’s small kitchen, suddenly a small delicate arm wrapped around her legs, Shontel bent down and kissed Showana’s forehead
         “ What’s up baby?” she asked taking out the water making sure she don’t hurt little Showana
         “ Am hungwy mommy, auntie Flo don’t got no food” Showana at four couldn’t say the letter R in any sentence
         “ What you wanna eat?”
          “ I want Buwguw” She wined
         “ And what else?”
         “ And some juice, and coukie, and Banana, and cocownut, and some Chiwken” Showana always added a W to everything replacing R. Shontel nodded
         “ How bout you eat some rice today and tomorrow I’ll buy all that for you”
         “You Pwomise?” Showana asked her wide brown eyes staring at Shontel
         “ I pwomise” Shontel mumbled lightly kissing Showana’s forehead as she moved away toward the living room with Frank’s drink, Showana did not let go of Shontel’s leg as she fallowed with her thumb in her mouth. Shontel found a dark haired Flo sitting down deep in conversation with Frank; Shontel felt a jealousy but did not show it.
         “ Hey there Flo, here’s your drink Frank, so what’s up?” giving Frank his drink Shontel took hold of Showana and sat her on her lap playing with Showana’s long ponytail hair, she looked at Flo as Flo’s dark eyes were filled with humor.
         “ He was just telling me bout you, well what you use to be like when you was younger, so you really weren’t allowed out in the sun without big cloth and sun block?”  Flo asked, Showana leaned against Shontel
         “ I had sensitive skin”
         “ I’ve never heard you say more than three big words since I met you and Frank says you were like a dictionary, you knew more big words at 2 than he did at 11” Flo said amazed, Shontel looked at Frank then at Flo
         “ My mom thought my number one quality in life was to study,” she said slowly
         “ Oh damn, you must have felt weird, well at last you dropped that” Flo said in disgust
         “ I’d prefer you to adjourn this particular subject without farther questioning” Shontel said in a tight voice, “ just because I don’t use my upbringing manner does not mean I’ve droped it, ya’ll drop it”, they blinked at her, then she laughed and little Showana giggled holding on to her hair.
         “Thought I knew everything about you” Flo said
         “Don’t nobody know everything about nobody” she shrugged, “any how’s, what’s up Frank?” she stared at him through her gold eyes, he looked nervous
         “Nothing” he wondered if she’d already forgotten about her own dead mother. “ What are you gonna do about your mom?”
         “What about your mom?” Flo asked
         “She’s dead, what can I do but make sure her funeral is taking care of, I don’t have no money, the money I have I been saving it for my baby girl, and I cannot spend it right now so I’ll have to take a loan”
         “I’ll help you out,” Frank said
         “No, you don’t have to”
         “I know I don’t have to but she is my aunt and I have known her since I was a kid, and I love her and I want to make sure she rests in peace with an acceptable funeral” how can she not even cry? He wondered
         “Tears are blood to my eyes” she murmured, they looked at her she smiled and suddenly holding her daughter tight to her she jumped up, her eyes flashing red, Frank and Flo gasped in shock and fear as a full hatred, mean and nasty carved on Shontel’s pretty face and her full blood red lips thinned, calmly putting a scared Showana down whom started screaming with tears coming down her face, Shontel walked swiftly but fast to the door where she disappeared in a flash.
         “What tha’fuck?” Frank murmured wide-eyed grabbing the screaming child.