Chapter 27 | THE TRIO OF REGULARS

My eyes widen as Nina deliberately looks between Vaughn and me, then back to Luna.

The woman standing directly to my left doesn't even get a chance to reply before she continues on: "You've flirted desperately with him for years only for him to ignore you. You've tried to bring him homemade food and everything...only for him to shoot arrows at you!" Nina laughs, "And then she comes along, he lets her stay with him, and within not even a week...he's coming with her to town. That must hurt."

My mouth drops open slightly, and I awkwardly decide to just avoid all eye contact and stare at the table as I try to process what was just said.

He didn't even shoot any arrows at me.

As I feel many eyes on me, my cheeks start to heat up, even though I wasn't the one Nina was talking to directly.

I can't help but feel really bad for Luna. Imagining myself in her place...it's humiliating, honestly. I hope she's-

"You think I'm jealous of her?" Luna scoffs, and immediately my thoughtful thoughts towards her stop. I lift my head to look at her, planning to listen intently on what she says next.

She continues, "She probably seemed so pathetic to him that he had to take her in, and he probably only lets her sleep in...in a cave or something. And so why would I be jealous of an acne-prone little girl with a boy's name? I mean, 'Mikaere'? Really?"

Oh, so Luna does remember my name!

Everyone in the room is silent as they look at me, awaiting my reaction.

But, honestly...I really don't care. The first two sentences of Luna's little rant were pure assumptions, even though I did have to sleep in a cave for one night. Acne? Luna's on my left side, so she probably saw that one little spot. I mean, my skin's not as beautiful as hers, but I personally think it's looking just fine at the moment.

But then again...it was a dirty window, and it was just a glimpse I got while walking...maybe my skin isn't looking like I thought it was.

I decide to shrug off that bit and hope for the best.

And as for the last part...is she aware that unisex names exist?

I think about mentioning how Nina literally just said why she would be jealous, but in the end, I choose not to.

However, someone else apparently has the same thought, because a moment later, Vaughn says nonchalantly: "I do believe Nina just told you why." His voice is a normal-people tone, not as relaxed as usual, and it's not what I'm used to hearing.

However, I can't help but smirk a little bit. Great minds think alike.

Everyone in the room except for Vaughn seems to be tense. They're all wide-eyed, looking back and forth between one another.

I stay leaned back in my seat, fiddling with my fingers.

However, my slightly amused look fades and I flinch slightly as soon as Luna turns around and walks out the door, making sure to loudly slam it shut after her.

However, I don't fail to miss the final glare she directs towards Henry, which I find to be odd.

Or, maybe it wasn't directed at Henry, I could be wrong. He is standing right next to Nina, after all.

Nina immediately disappears to the kitchen again, and Henry leaves to go to the room with the rocking chair near the staircase.

And then, the room is silent.

That is until the three regulars to my left start cracking up. The older man who helped me with my quest, David, the tired-looking, not-nice-to-meet-you Benjamin, and Jacob, the younger-looking one with the more noticeable cheekbones.

I slowly turn my head to the left to gaze at them oddly.

Eventually, they quiet down, looking back at me.

David nods a hello, and I nod back.

Jacob smiles, so I smile back.

"So, you're not dead yet," Benjamin remarks.

I nod, "Astonishing observation."

He scoffs, "I'd of thought a wolf would've eaten you by now or something."

"Why's that?" I ask as Nina returns with my cheeseburger and a bottle of rootbeer.

"Thank you," I tell her before she nods and follows in the direction Henry went.

Benjamin replies to my question, "You seem kind of...helpless, that's all."

I laugh through my nose lightly, not at all amused as I look directly at him. "What is it with people in this town not liking me?"

"Do people need to like you?" He questions back.

David and Jacob look back and forth between us, taking sips of their drinks every once in a while.

"No, I'd just like to know what I did to piss them off."

"People need a reason to dislike you?" Benjamin asks.

"If people disliked you, wouldn't you want to know why?"

David laughs, coming into the conversation. "People already do dislike him. And he knows why."

Rolling his eyes, Benjamin opens his mouth, "I-"

"Would you all just be quiet?" Vaughn interjects out of nowhere, speaking, once again, at a normal tone rather than how he did out in the woods. His voice is still deep, but now, he's not as softspoken as before.

Immediately, Benjamin and David stop talking.

I, however, swivel around in my seat to look at him. Smiling, I answer, "Nope."

Vaughn doesn't even glance at me, though. Instead, he keeps his eyes on the other men for a moment before looking straight ahead at the back wall of the bar.

I look at him oddly for a moment, and then I look at his scruffy jawline for another. Then, I turn back around to look at The Trio of Regulars.

"So, are there any people in this town besides the seven I've already met, including you guys?"

No one says anything.

I frown, "What's the deal between Luna and Nina, anyway?"

Silence.

So, I lie, "I seem to have forgotten your guys's names...what are they again?"

Nothing. The men only sit there, finishing up their burgers and drinks. However, I notice that once in a while, their eyes flicker behind me.

I hear Vaughn's, 'Would you all just be quiet?' comment in my mind again, and I start to consider it. Are they really taking that seriously? Well, I mean, even I was intimated by him at first. Still am. So, I can't really blame them, I guess...

I awkwardly swivel around to talk to Vaughn, who continues to look as uninterested as ever.

"Uh, would you rather I bug you with questions or harass them all with them?" I whisper to him.

Without moving his gaze from the back wall of the bar, he says, loud enough for the three men to hear: "I take it back. Talk."

Feeling more amused than offended, I look back at the regulars and see their eyes widen at Vaughn's words. Immediately, they start answering my questions at the same time.

"There're more in the town, they just don't like new people."

"Big deal between Luna and Nina. Goes years back. Not sure if I should be the one to tell you exactly what happened, though."

"David, Jacob, Benjamin."

Before I can even comment on their fear of Vaughn being quite obvious, Nina walks through the door again.

"Nina, we're ready for the bill," David says.

Sighing, I shake my head lightly, confused.

I'm extremely curious to find out what happened between Nina and Luna, though.

Once they've all paid and left, I focus my sole attention to the woman behind the bar.

"So how are you?" I ask.

"I've been better. This one," Nina nods towards Vaughn, "why is he here?"

Ignoring the quick subject change, I can tell she's confused, and seeing him here must have caught her a bit off guard.

I glance to my right, seeing Vaughn looking at Nina, listening to the conversation.

When I see that he isn't going to reply, though, I shrug. "He needed supplies."

"So how long will you stay in town?" She asks me.

"I'll be staying for a week or so."

At this, I notice Vaughn's gaze shifts to me, but I ignore him.

"And what about him?" Nina questions as we once again start talking about Vaughn like he isn't sitting right next to me.

"I think he's going to be here for a couple of days."

She nods. "Well, you can stay upstairs just like before." Then, she adds: "However, there's only one guest room, so he'll have to stay at the motel."

I nod, remembering how she warned me of him before. She doesn't trust him, so of course, she wouldn't want him staying under her roof.

What makes her distrust him?

And what makes her trust me more?

"I don't want to overstay my welcome, though. I feel guilty."

I think I hear Vaughn slightly scoff at that, but when I look at him, he's gazing ahead, silent.

"Nonsense," she replies. "You can stay as long as you'd like."

I smile, "What can I do, though? I want to help out in some way."

She shakes her head, "Just rest for now. You're a lovely guest."

Then, she motions for me to hand over my bag, "I can put your bag upstairs in the room if you'd like."

I think about my savings and identification documents inside, but then I think: How likely is it that anything will happen?

So, I hand over the bag, "Thank you."

Nodding, she turns and begins heading to the guest room, leaving Vaughn and me sitting in silence.

Deciding that I'm not going to be the first to speak, I sip slowly on my root beer.

Moments pass, and out of the corner of my eye, I see him look at me, almost expectantly.

I'm not saying a thing until he does.

There's a very long stretch of silence, but when he finally realizes that I'm not going to talk, he speaks up. "Do you think it will take a week to talk with everyone?"

Or basically, 'why are you staying a whole week?' I look back at him, shrugging. "Hopefully not."

"And if it doesn't take a whole week?"

'Will you be coming back to annoy me at my cabin?' I shrug again, "If it doesn't, it doesn't."

Silence returns once again, so I ask him, "What do you plan to do?"

"Get the needed supplies and return to the cabin."

"Today?"

"No. Tomorrow."

I nod, "Well, aren't you gonna get a motel room?"

"No." He looks at me, "Do you even know who runs the motel?"

My eyebrows knit, and I answer honestly, "Nope, who?" I faintly remember Nina telling me something about it before, but for the most part, I've already forgotten.

"That one woman Nina was arguing with. Her brother runs it."

I raise an eyebrow, "Luna?"

"Sure."

"Did you seriously forget her name already?"

"To forget it, I'd had to have bothered to learn it in the first place."

I purse my lips to keep from smiling slightly, "Why do you all dislike her?"

"There are differing reasons. One being that she's annoying."

"Okay...but so am I, and you talk to me, so."

"You're not as annoying."

I smile, taking that as a tremendous compliment. "Thank you!"

He ignores me.

And, I start to consider why he's still sitting here.

You'd think he'd want to get the supplies and get out of here as soon as possible. But, he's still sitting at the bar next to me.

However, before I can ask him about it, though, Henry returns, holding a set of keys and a camera.

He walks up to the man next to me. "Westergaard."

"Strand," Vaughn nods.

Holding up the keys, he hands them to Vaughn. "There you go."

"Thank you." Vaughn stands up, grabbing his bag and rifle.

Then he turns to me and nods once before walking out the door.

Huh?

I feel a gust of cold air on my face as the door opens and shuts, making me cringe slightly.