Chapter 17: Dinner Party

Rose leads me through the front lawn, her eyes lost in thought as we walk.

I rub my arms, feeling a little nervous with the situation. I’m not the best in polite situations, all too often I’ll say something silly, or ridiculous, or outright crazy, you know? It doesn’t help that I actually care to impress Rose’s dad.

Rose opens the door for me, and we enter the mansion. My mouth opens slightly as I take in the large home. Now that I don’t have Rose’s possible death in my mind, I notice the expensive paintings, the crystal chandelier, a marble staircase and the extravagant architecture. It makes me feel like I’ve been transported back a hundred years.

This house is so… expensive.

Rose pulls on the straps of her dress and makes an annoyed sound. “I hate this dress.”

I blink in surprise, looking closer at the custom dress that probably costs more than my dad’s car, each butterfly blending in with another to create beautiful patterns.

“It screams ‘I’m expensive’. It reminds me of those arrogant rich girls you see on TV.” She shivers as if remembering something, then adjusts a strap.

“Aren’t you an arrogant rich girl?” I say without thinking.

Her eyes narrow at me, and I feel a shiver run down my spine. “Haha, very funny.” She says in a monotone voice.

“Sorry, yeah, I hear you. I was worried I’d be overdressed myself.”

She pauses, and finally seems to take in what I’m wearing. “No, you look… you look beautiful honestly.”

I giggle in response to the compliment.

Oh. Ohhhh.

Brain, work.

Initiating system reset.

Resetting in 3. 2. 1.

Brain is functioning under normal parameters.

Oh god, did I just giggle?

She didn’t notice, right? My face is normal, not blushing at all, right?

“Well, I think your dress is really pretty.” I say, trying to cover up the brief hiccup.

Her face brightens, and she looks at me. “Oh! That’s perfect. We’re about the same size, right? Follow me.”

She runs up the stairs to the next level, and I hurry to follow her.

She leads me to her room, which is a surprisingly cute place, with lots of fluffy critters resting on a large bed. The wall is covered in posters depicting different punk bands, only some of which I recognize.

She turns to me “You like this dress, and I really want to annoy my dad and Sofia, so… would you wear it for me?”

“I’d do anything for you.”

Rose’s face reddens and I realize what I’d said a second too late.

“Right, well uh. I’ll just change out of this into something more comfortable, then you can… yeah. Haha. Oh god.” She grabs me, turns me around and pushes me out the door, then slams it closed behind me.

So that might’ve been a little cringe. But! Okay, there’s no but. That was kinda cute though.

A few minutes later, Rose walks out as if nothing had happened, wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt that says “I only kinda care”. She clears her throat, then points to the dress on the bed.

“If uh, you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it.”

I hide a smile, then walk into the room. It’s a quick change into the dress, and she’s right that we’re surprisingly similar sizes.

I open the door, to find her waiting by leaning against the wall.

“Are you ready?” She asks.

“I feel a little overdressed compared to you.” I put on my serious face, “But I’m ready.”

She laughs. “Don’t worry, you look great, and dad’s opinion doesn’t matter.” She looks towards the stairs, “Speaking of him, we should probably go downstairs for dinner.”

She leads me back down and into a room where Mr. Demor greets us.

He’s sitting at the head of a beautifully carved table. Behind him is a large mural of a rainforest. The chairs are neatly arranged around the table, their backs reaching higher than my head.

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Mr. Demor stands up as we enter the room, his eyes staying on his daughter for a long second before turning to me. “Welcome to our home, Elena. I’m glad you agreed to join us. I sincerely hope you can tell me more about the super human that rescued my little Rose.” he pulls out chairs for the both of us. “My wife has a meeting, but she should be joining us for dessert.”

I sit down next to Rose, feeling a little awkward at the formality of it all.

Huh, I love this cushion. I’ve never felt so comfortable in a wooden chair.

A young man enters the room, placing salads in front of all of us.

I eat the salad slowly, looking to Rose for cues on which fork to use.

The salad is surprisingly good, with a nice balsamic dressing. It makes me look forward to whatever else is coming.

“Are you planning to share exactly what happened?” Mr. Demor asks, raising an eyebrow.

I put my fork down and dab my face with a napkin. “Nope.” I say, then I pick up my fork and take another bite of my salad.

A laugh escapes Rose, only for her face to be completely neutral when Mr. Demor looks at her.

“Rose has been keeping things from me lately.”

“Strange.” I say, finishing up the last bite. “That was delicious by the way.”

Mr. Demor studies me, trying to understand what I’m thinking.

People try that a lot, it usually doesn’t work.

After a few seconds, Mr. Demor laughs, “Thank you, I have one of the best chefs in the city.” On cue, several platters are brought out. Is that Chinese food? I should eat here more often.

“It must be nice to have people come at your every beck and call.” I say, grabbing the dish that has noodles in it and giving myself a large helping.

Yeah, I know it’s fattening, but it’s also delicious. Sue me.

“There are stories.” Mr. Demor says, “People with strange powers, videos of things that shouldn’t be possible. Maybe your tale of a superhero held truth to it.” He picks up his glass, and takes a sip, his eyes never leaving me.

“Mhm. He had the tights and everything. There was a giant T on his shirt. I think he called himself Testificate man.” I say, taking a bite of food to hide my smirk.

Rose starts coughing, and I pat her back. Her lips are quivering with laughter, and she turns away from her dad to hide the expression. I’m surprised she got the reference.

Mr. Demor looks at us curiously, “Testificate man? The name is familiar, but I can’t place it.”

It takes all of my effort to stop from laughing; a sentiment shared by Rose if her shaking shoulders are anything to go by.

The doors open, and a woman walks in. She’s a petite latina woman with long wavy hair. Her face reminds me of an actress, and I spend several seconds trying to place which movies I’ve seen her in.

“Hello hun, the meeting ended early.” She says sitting in Mr. Demor’s lap and giving him a passionate kiss.

He breaks off the kiss and tilts his head in our direction, “Darling, we have company.”

She looks at us, and her gaze zeros in on me “Oh dear, you look gorgeous in that dress! Even if I did mean it for someone else,” she looks at Rose and shakes her head, “esta chiquilla.” She stands up and walks over to me, holding out her hand “What’s your name dear?”

I stand up and shake her hand, “Elena, and yours?”

“Sofia Demor,” she smiles, her teeth pearly white.

“You look beautiful yourself, Mrs Demor.” She’s wearing a feminine business suit without a tie. It fits her.

“Please, call me Sofia.”

Rose clears her throat. “How’d your meeting go, Sofia?”

Mr. Demor stands before she can respond and pulls out a chair, “Darling, please join us.”

She moves to the seat, and the conversation moves to inane things. Mr. Demor asks some probing questions, but doesn’t push too hard when I avoid answering. Something tells me this isn’t the end. He doesn’t seem like the type to give up that easily.

After dessert, they call a driver to take me home.

Rose rides in the car with me, but the drive is quiet as she just rests her head on my shoulder. I can feel as she relaxes into me, and I take the chance to also enjoy the silence. After everything that’s happened, it’s therapeutic to just close my eyes and savor the moment.

The car pulls up to my driveway too soon. I’m careful to not wake Rose as I leave the car, but she still reaches for me all the same. She holds me tight for a long moment before letting go. It's only after the car peels away that I realize I'm still wearing her dress.

I unlock the door to find everyone quietly doing their own thing. Dad is probably asleep, but mom is sitting in the living room reading a book, while my sister watches something on her tablet.

I take off my shoes and tiptoe towards the stairs, hoping to make it before my mom gets a chance to see me.

“Elena is home.” My not-so-cute sister says.

“Trying to sneak away?” Mom looks up from her book with a knowing gleam in her eyes.

“Of course not.” I say. I try to act natural as I place my hand on the handrail of the stairs.

“Did you have fun with… what’s her name?”

“Rose. And yeah, her parents were, “ I pause, pursing my lips, “nice.”

“Mhm. So it was a good first date?”

“Date? As in a time where two people meet up to hang out?” I smile as sweetly as I can.

“Be careful honey. I’ve heard some bad things about the Demor family.” Her eyes move back to her book.

“That… that’s all?” I ask.

She looks back up from her book, “Of course I’m not exactly happy. I’d hoped you’d end up with a good guy, like Blake. But I’d suspected for a while.”

“That’s surprisingly cool Mom.” I say, tilting my head in confusion.

She snorts. “I’m a surprisingly cool person,” her mouth tilts into a half smile, “and I’m not one to judge. I don’t need to give you the sex talk again, do I? Doing it with another woman is a little different.”

I flinch, “No! No, you really don’t. The first time was traumatizing enough. I’ll use the internet for this one, thank you very much.” I don’t wait for her to respond as I make a hasty retreat. Best not to wait for her response.

I open the door to my room to find Dee floating in the air, waiting for me.

Dee motions me into the room, her expression serious. “We have a problem.”