The theater room was dark as the movie started. Roman took Irene's hand and led her through the dark to their seats.
It was a small, intimate gesture, like he really cared about her well-being. As the movie began, Irene jumped at something happening on the screen and found herself drawing closer to Roman.
He cuddled toward her, a little scared as well. Irene didn't know how she was supposed to act around him.
She wanted to be sincere with Roman. But after all that's happened to her, she wasn't sure if Roman was sincere himself.
Feeling the girl's gaze on her, Roman looked over at her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You're watching me instead of the movie," Roman pointed out, and a blush crept up Irene's neck.
"Haha! Sorry, I guess I'm just a little scared," Irene lied through her teeth, while Roman put up the armrest and curled his arm around her.
Irene nuzzled easily into the crook of his neck. She took a long, slow breath, savoring his scent. He smelled like cedar and cinnamon, and she couldn't help but love the scent of him.
On the screen, one of the characters endured a grisly transformation into a werewolf and attacked his friends. But Irene barely flinched.
Her gaze was fixed on Roman as her thoughts raced, 'I'm so drawn to him, but I can't explain why.'
"Are you following this? The movie?" Irene asked, not interested in the movie.
Roman hummed at her, "What's up?"
"Did you go to Ava's party the night I disappeared?"
"Nah, not really. I just stopped by to pick up my sister after she started freaking out at me over a text."
"Your sister?" Irene repeated.
"Yeah. My sister, Ava," Roman said, then shrunk back at the shocked look on Irene's face. "Right! You probably don't remember that…. I'm really sorry I didn't mention it before. It honestly just skipped my mind. Have you talked to her at all after what happened to you?"
"I've run into her once or twice," Irene said. She didn't see the revelation coming—that Roman was actually related to Ava.
"What are your thoughts about her?" Roman asked, wanting to know what she thought about his sister.
Irene shrugged and answered him as honestly as she could. "She's a complete drag to be around. I hope that isn't a surprise to you."
"It isn't, but she's still my sister! Nothing I can do about that," Roman said, and Irene took a deep breath as she decided it was now a good time to sneak away.
"Sorry, I'm a little distracted. I just remembered that I left my bag in your car."
"Want me to go get it for you?"
"No, that's okay. I think I need some air anyway."
"Okay. Here, take my keys," Roman said, and Irene smiled gratefully at him as she stood up and went to the parking spot where Roman's car was.
She unlocked the car, then darted her eyes around it. She popped the trunk open and checked inside, but it was completely empty.
Irene went ahead and popped open the console in front of her. All that spilled out were manuals, registration papers, and old sticks of gum.
'Damn it! Maybe Ava tricked me, and there's nothing here after all,' Irene mused, and that's when she heard it—the whispering.
She turned around, feeling like the voice came from just behind her, but no one was there. She was bent over the center console, reaching under one of the back seats, when her hand brushed something cold and metal. 'A cache?' she wondered.
She opened it to find an old set of tools, and underneath them was a book.
Irene picked it up. The book felt familiar somehow to her. She was overcome with an intense need to open it, but at the same time, she dreaded what she might find inside.
'I can't! I don't know what power is inside this… I can't risk something happening to me while I'm with Roman. I'll have to go back for it,' Irene concluded silently, stowing the book back where she found it, then took her bag and headed back into the theater room.
Back in the cinema, Irene sat down again next to Roman. "Everything okay?" Roman asked.
"Yeah, fine. What did I miss?"
Roman tried to catch up with the plot as he explained that the main character's best friend, who was killed midway through the story, came back in a heroic way.
The credits rolled, and the movie came to an end. Roman held Irene's hand as they left the theater room and went out into the parking lot.
They ran into two familiar faces in the parking lot. "Hey, Kevin! Hey, Ava! Were you guys watching Midnight Moon too?"
"The werewolf movie? No way. I'd never watch that," Ava answered with a scoff.
"We saw another movie," Kevin replied, then started talking about it with Roman, while Ava said nothing, narrowing her eyes at Irene.
Irene saw her rolling her eyes. When there was a break in the conversation, Ava butted in to ask clearly what was on her mind the whole time.
"So how long have you two been dating?"
"Why do you care, Ava?" said Roman.
"Oh! You know… Us being Salvatore and all, we have to be careful that the people we're with aren't interested in us for the wrong reasons," Ava said, and Irene's heart skipped a beat.
'Jerk! She's going to tell Roman about the book, isn't she?' Irene wondered.
"I don't think I have to worry about that with Irene here," Roman said in a confident tone.
"Are you sure about that? You mean she doesn't even know?"
"Know what? What 'wrong reasons' are you talking about?" Irene asked, eyeing Ava with displeasure.
"How rich our family is! We practically own this town… Everyone wants to be our friend. Seems like a pretty convenient thing to forget so you can get close to someone who's way out of your league," Ava said, and Irene clenched her fists tightly.
There were a lot of things she wanted to say to Ava, but she didn't want to say them in front of Roman.
"Whatever, Ava. I don't have to prove anything to you."
"Yeah, you're right. Roman's the one dating you, after all. He's the one you have to prove everything to if you want to stay together. Whatever! Have a good night, losers. If you can remember to," Ava said as she took Kevin by the hand, dragging him with her.