Page 39 of Vivian

CHAPTER 20 – Viv

They dragged Ace inlooking like death.

“He needs to feed,” one to of the drones insisted. “He refuses to take blood from anyone.”

I didn’t hesitate to move my wrist underneath his mouth, but he hadn’t the energy to pierce my skin. I bit my wrist and then held the bleeding arm out to him, and finally, he latched on. It was as if I could see life being poured back into him. I gave him as much as I could and then Brendon pushed me away insisting on giving him the rest.

I watched as Brendon did the same thing, sticking his wrist to Ace’s mouth.

Ace pushed back eventually, and I noticed that Brendon looked as pale as I did. Ace had needed a lot to come back from whatever had happened to him. Brendon went over to the fridge and picked up some bagged blood for each of us.

It wasn’t ideal, but it kept us alive, and at this moment, I was thankful for the stuff. I sucked my bag dry and then turned to sink at Ace’s feet.

“What happened?”

“Your parents,” he winced, “Bill and Susan, they attacked the hive.”

Brendon tensed, “Casualties?”

Ace nodded.

I felt the Earth drop, and if I hadn’t been sitting on the floor, I would have fallen. He was talking about my parents killing vampires. It just couldn’t be possible.

Ace pulled out a note, “They left this for you, Viv. I am sorry.”

“How many?” Brendon asked quietly.

Ace shook his head as if to say that they would talk about it after I read my note.

I opened the crinkled paper and was at once overwhelmed by my mother’s perfume.

Vivian,

When you were a baby, we saw the sweet innocence in your eyes. We thought that if you were raised with the right influence, away from the terrible things that your birth family did. Well, we thought you would be like us. Vivian, we were wrong, so wrong.

We are to blame for the ‘monster’ you have become. We knew that you would at some point develop the Satanist tendencies, and therefore, should have destroyed you when you were an infant. Your father and I tried to raise you as our own. We loved you. Every moment since your disappearance we have worried about where you are and who you might be hurting. It’s tearing us up inside. We know that you aren’t aware of the evils that you are a part of.

Vivian, who you are now, that is never who you were meant to be. The beautiful girl that was once ours, she is gone. The girl we loved would never have harmed Jimmy. The girl we loved wouldn’t drink blood, kill, ravage, or plunder as all vampires do. This isn’t your fault. Please come home. We will take care of this like we should have all those years ago. You don’t have to live this way.

Love,

Mom & Dad

I choked as tears clouded my vision. The paper in my hands crinkling as I crushed it in my hands. Then Brendon was there taking the letter from me. I wasn’t sure if he was reading it or what. My body felt cold, and I began to shake. Then Ace’s arms were around me, comforting me.

“They aren’t worth your tears, Viv,” he whispered.

But I didn’t know how to make him understand. These were the people that stayed up with me when I had nightmares. They sang me lullabies and taught me how to tie my shoes. I thought they loved me unconditionally, and in their own weird sick way, I think they still did.

I think Susan and Bill thought if they killed the monster that they would be doing what was best for me. They had no interest in finding out what vampires were really like. They only wanted to kill what they didn’t understand. My stomach revolted, and I fought to keep the blood down that I just drank.

“How many?” I said through clenched teeth.

I could feel Ace tense up, and he looked at Brendon over the top of my head.

“I am not a baby,” I said shrilly. “How many did they kill?”

“Almost everyone at the hive, drones and vamps alike,” Ace’s confession was enough to make me lose the tender hold on my stomach.

---