Page 12 of His True Beloved

“Let me put it to you straight, Dad.” I spouted out ‘Dad’ with distaste. It was a foul name to even have on my tongue. “Mom left you for someone that will treat her right. She finally got the courage out of all those years of you putting her down to leave your sorry ass.”

Yeah, I was nothing like my mother. Sure, I could be sweet and kind, but after Wyatt broke my damn heart, I’d become a vicious tigress ready to kill any man in sight. They all wanted women for one thing. Maybe Mom got lucky, but I knew luck would never strike my family twice. And well, Mom deserved to be happy.

Dad growled into the phone, “You tell that bitch she better get back here in a week and crawl up the damn driveway, and I may take her back,” he snapped. “Or I’ll leak every dirty little thing about her to the community and maybe add some things to it,” he threatened. I pulled the phone away from my ear. I knew mom was homeless, but that was the gist of it. Dad supposedly saved her from a life of poverty, and the whole community we surrounded ourselves with painted him as a hero.

“They will all think—” I tutted into the phone, not caring.

Maybe I should talk Justin into letting Mom visit Dad during her blood thirst and drain him dry.

“I think Mom stopped caring what other people think, but I’ll be happy to send along the message.” I picked at my hang nail. Christopher hissed into the phone, hearing my dad’s heavy breathing.

“So you are with her. Are you supporting her slutty behavior? Do you want to know what your mother did before I met her? Do you want to—” I took an empty candy wrapper from the side of my bed, balling it up next to the speaker of the phone.

“Dad? Dad? I can’t hear you. I think there is some static on the line?” Christopher pawed at the paper as I giggled.

“You bitch, you’re cut off. Don’t expect a damn dime from me in your account!” he yelled again. I’m sure his phone was swimming in his spittle as he spoke. I never had the balls to talk to Dad like this before, and I must say, it was pretty invigorating. Maybe it was because I was surrounded by a bunch of vampires.

Not that he would find us, anyway.

“You hear me?! Not a damn dime!” I cut the call and tossed the phone on the bed. Little did he know I had moved all my money to a new bank account. Justin was pretty savvy in that department. It was like he had everything planned out before I even arrived. He forced Mom to not take one single dime from her now ex-husband. Justin was supposedly rich anyway and said he would take care of us.

I mean, who ever heard of a poor vampire, anyway?

They were all rich. If I met a poor vampire, I think I might choke on my own spit. This place was oozing with money. Many of them were old and invested in stocks and bonds when they first came on the scene. They lived in the lap of luxury.

Of course, I wasn’t going to take anything from Justin. I’d find my way and pay back any expenses I racked up while I was here. I wasn’t one for handouts. I worked a lot through college at the measly taco shack off campus.

Shoving my phone into my pocket, I went over to my easel. Justin discovered how much I loved to draw and gifted it to me. Part of me felt like he was trying to buy me, but the other part tried to see the good in him. He took my mother away, and now I couldn’t see her. Sure, we were going to try and set up video chats until her blood lust calmed down, but it wasn’t the same, and he knew that.

He was trying to give me distractions. Couldn’t fault him for that.

I picked up my digital pad and pen instead of going with the traditional pen and paper route. The sun was slowly setting, and the picture of the landscape before me couldn’t be ignored. Getting lost in the brushstrokes on the screen would calm my nerves.

Grabbing my oversized black sweatshirt with a corgi butt on the front and the saying, “Feeling corgeous”, I slipped it on and petted Christopher before I walked out the door.

The living room was filled with the other housemates watching a scary movie. The jump-scare scene had everyone screaming with laughter as I put the hood over my head.

A warm hand touched my shoulder. “Hey.” A smile in the voice had me turn my head. It was Ashton, the vampire hater. There were days I could see the appeal of hating the vampires, but since I’ve been here, they have all been friendly, and I couldn’t complain too much. They set us up in this nice house and let us be near our parents.

“I know transitioning can be hard,” Ashton’s voice grew soft. “We were giving you space but would love for you to hang out with us.” The movie had paused, and everyone peered over the couch. The bleached blonde girl in the corner chair scowled, crossing her arms.

She looks friendly.

Ashton had that playboy smile and dark hair with hints of natural copper highlights. He had a pretty face, a bigger build than that of Wyatt.

Ugh, now I’m thinking of that douche again.

I shuffled my feet, not really enjoying the closeness. I had this bubble, and I only let certain people in, and he was definitely not allowed in it. “I, uh, thanks.” I managed to spit out. “I’m going to sit by the lake for a while, maybe some other time?” The blonde in the back smiled, sitting her prissy ass back in the chair.

Ashton’s smile faltered, his hand touching my shoulder. “It’s all right. How about tomorrow you join us for movie night?” The rest of the crew looked hopeful. Their smiles made me feel more welcomed.

“Sure,” I murmured. “Guess I got to make friends sometime,” I chuckled. Ashton’s smile grew.

“Trust me, having some human friends will do you some good. We are all going through the same scenario, and having others to lean on is a good thing.” He winked as I stepped back to the door.

“You’re probably right.” I held my tablet tightly to my chest. “My mom is going through her blood lust right now, and it’s been”—I heaved a sigh—“difficult.” Ashton gave a small grin.

“Like I said, we’ve been there. We can help you through it.” Ashton patted my shoulder and backed away. “Anytime you want to talk, I’m here.” Nodding, I turned to the door and escaped the house. Maybe it would do some good to talk to other humans going through the same thing. Even if Suron said I should stay away.

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