The girl became obediently silent. Sasha glanced at her repeatedly out of the corner of his eye, hands still fixed on the wheel and his head still facing forward, although they were now parked. The air was heavy with the afterburn of a harsh reprimand and the threat of violence, but both of them sat still, hearing little but the ring in their ears and the soft chatter of the humans inside the tiny diner. 

Sasha strummed the wheel. He felt like he’d just throttled a puppy to death after it wouldn’t stop barking. Sighing, he released the wheel and glanced away, gradually looping his hand through the door release. It wouldn’t do him any good to show remorse now. Might as well just get on with everything.

“That’s a girl,” he said without feeling. He unlatched the door but lingered inside. “Stay here a moment. I’ll get you something to eat. Remember what I said about screaming, and think about how many people are inside that diner. Don’t make me hungry.”

As Sasha stepped out of the car, the salty smell of potatoes and breaded fish fried in oil wafted in, sickly to the vampire but deepening the emptiness of most human stomachs. Unceremoniously, he strolled in front of the car, pulling out his wallet and picking out a couple of bills. As if he were a person like any other.

He stopped short behind some small framed girl and her young boyfriend, the pair of them laughing over who knew what. Glancing upward, Sasha sighed again and rubbed his forehead. The line to the counter was out of the door. He was clearly going to be here awhile.