Thread: In the Family (DarkofNight & Searching4shadows)

For all the inconvenience it started with, third year at college was starting great. I'd managed to line up all my classes so that I had very busy Tuesdays and Thursdays, keeping the rest of the week free for a part time job and generally relaxing and enjoying being young and irresponsible. Last year I lucked into an amazing apartment on the second floor of a florist's in this university town's main square. It had two bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, separated by a kitchen and living room, along with a little deck attached to front door on the side opposite the main square. Sure, all the furniture was thrift store stuff, but I kept it nice and tidy and I'd gotten some great deals with the cash I'd had from my part time jobs, and I never needed to bug mom for money. Single moms go through a lot of effort just to get you to college, my mom had really stepped up to make sure I had a great childhood. Last year she met a guy, David, who was pretty well off. A bit stuffy, but nice all the same in his own way. She was really happy with him, they did eventually end up getting married, and good for her. The issue was David's daughter, from his previous marriage. Real rich girl attitude on this one. I was home for the occasional visit, so it didn't matter much to me, I could tolerate her here or there as needed. Then on my last visit, I happened to mention my best friend Will had decided to move in with his girlfriend instead. I mentioned offhand that I was going to have to figure out how to pay rent or find a new roommate fast, when David mentioned that daddy's little princess had gotten accepted to my university too, and he'd feel a lot safer if she had a grown man looking out for her. At first I was against it, then David offered to cover rent for both of us, and utilities, and really, I'm no idiot. So yeah, I don't think she cared for the decor, but really once we got into the swing of things, she was gone for a lot of the time I was home and vise versa. It all seemed to be working out ok. She was pretty tidy, even cooked dinner a couple times that week, which I appreciated. Friday night was a tradition in town, the whole square opened up to a big masquerade ball. There was drinking, bonfires, live music, food, it was a way to cut loose and celebrate being back at school for another year, and Rob had loved it ever since, as a young freshman he'd gotten silly drunk but still managed to come home with phone numbers of three different girls. One of his good friends was a design major, and had designed some fairly elaborate masks for himself, Rob, and a couple of their other friends this year, and Rob was eating the attention up. He'd had a few drinks, to make a long story short he met a girl. Pretty, actually just his type. From what he could tell anyway. She had a gorgeous purple lacy filigree mask that covered almost all of her face, apart from a narrow spot for her mouth and her chin. That mouth - she was a great kisser. At one point they found a quiet park bench and enjoyed each other's company. Clothes stayed on, though Rob tried to talk her in to coming back to his place for less of those. She told him he was a little too drunk to really enjoy that, which he though was silly, but that if he wanted to try getting to know her sober, she'd be waiting on the same park bench the next evening at 7. Wouldn't even give him her phone number. He eventually rejoined his friends and got a few congratulatory high fives before being dragged off for more masked shenanigans. He kept thinking back to that girl as the night dragged on, excited for the next night. Finally he made his way home and crashed, intent on sleeping off the beer and getting a fresh start the next day. While his hangover was minor, when he left his room the next morning, he saw something that froze him in his tracks. The intricate lacy purple filigree mask, laying right next to his step-sister's purse on the kitchen table.