Quality Time Spent

Table of Contents

Caleb had always told his daughter they were different. Not broken, not cursed but different. They had needs that others didn’t understand, and the world would never accept them. They moved constantly. Small towns, cities, suburbs. Never long enough to grow roots, never long enough for neighbors to ask questions. They left behind trails of half-gnawed bones and missing person posters, but by the time anyone connected the dots, Caleb and Lila were already gone.

That night, they were in a cheap roadside motel. Lila brushed her hair in front of the cracked mirror, her reflection glowing beneath the buzzing fluorescent light. At sixteen, she carried the kind of beauty that turned heads. Caleb had trained her well. How to smile without showing too much, how to look vulnerable, how to draw prey close.

“Remember the rules,”

He said, pacing.

“Two nights, no more. No souvenirs. No mistakes.”

“I know,”

She muttered. She went out to the neon lit strip, pretending to be lost. It never took long. A group of college boys slowed in their truck, laughter spilling from the windows. One of them jumped out, lanky, acne scars, desperate for validation.

“You okay out here?”

He asked. She feigned a nervous smile.

“Just moved here. My dad’s working late. I hate being alone.”

His grin widened.

“Want some company?”

Minutes later, he followed her inside. Caleb lay on the other bed, pretending to be asleep. The boy relaxed, thinking himself clever. Lila giggled at his jokes, touched his arm, offered him a soda. Her fingertip split just slightly as she poured it, letting a single drop of blood slide in.

Within minutes, the boy’s speech slurred. His eyes drooped. He collapsed sideways, breathing heavy.

“Perfect”

Caleb said. Their mouths stretched impossibly wide, teeth jagged and long. They fell on him together, ripping flesh, cracking ribs, drinking blood as it pulsed. By dawn, nothing remained but scraps of denim and a garbage bag filled with bones.

They were gone before the cleaning staff arrived. By the time his friends reported him missing, Caleb and Lila were already two towns away, smiling at strangers, planning their next meal. And behind every smile, hunger lurked.