Page 16 of Claiming Her Vampire

He stays home, keeps the house, and awaits whatever scrap of attention she decides to give. He’s not much better to me than she is, but I can understand his need to be seen by her. Her job and life away from us were always more important than spending time with us. She had a way of making everything my fault or my dad's fault, never taking the blame. Because of me, she lost her looks; having a baby damaged her body. Taking care of me ruined her dreams. She wanted to be a dancer. She took lessons through school and even had a scholarship to dance. But she met my dad and got pregnant, so she lost it. She never forgave me. Now she’s a miserable woman who takes joy the only way she knows how: bitching about her daily life.

I was a cheerleader for three years in high school. She didn’t come to one game. Dad tried once in a while, only staying for a few minutes, but at least he saw me in my uniform. It’s pretty bad. I have to compare parents who saw me in my uniform more.

Who am I kidding? They were both crap parents.

All they cared about were their own needs, never asking about my life. I think they were grateful when I graduated and moved out. That’s why they liked Tom so much. He represented their freedom. Their freedom from thinking about me and pretending they care.

I can credit them for feeding me, clothing me, and making sure I made it to school every day, but that’s about it. Once I was old enough to take care of myself, they breathed a sigh of relief, brushed their hands off, and carried on with their lives.

Mom started traveling more, gone all week most weeks. Dad was jealous of her boss, a man old enough to be her dad who went on most trips with her. I didn’t buy into them having an affair until one day, I caught her on the phone with him, laughing, blushing, and talking in a super sweet voice. She glared at me when I looked at her with shock and went outside, slamming the door. That was the first time I saw her laugh. Seriously. Her whole face transformed. She went from looking like a spinster with a stick up her ass to an attractive middle-aged woman.

She never cracked a smile in front of me again.

My dad went deeper into depression and alcoholism. He let his misery and jealousy eat away at him, living with it instead of changing it.

I refuse to be like them.

Now, look at what happened. I got caught up in a life with Tom, letting him direct my path, so in need of love that I fell in love with the first man to give me a little bit of attention. Until the attention he was giving me turned dark. If I find a man, he will be the center of my world, and I hope I will be his. I learned my lesson with Tom. I lost myself for a bit and forgot who I was. I became his puppet, his plaything to bring out when convenient for him. This is my chance to be the person I want to be.

No more being a pushover. Harmony was right. I had to refuse to let him take my power.

***

My phone rang for the tenth time while opening the door to Ava’s house. He refuses to stop calling. I answered it the first time he called after I left, and then I blocked him. He had nothing I wanted to hear. He must be using different phones—his calls always come up with different names or unknown numbers. At first, his messages were full of sweetness and promises of changes and love. Now he threatens me and curses at me.

“Are you going to answer that?” Ava's voice coming from the dark house scares the shit out of me, making me jump and drop my keys—the sound loud in the silent house.

“Ava, what are you doing sitting in the dark?” I hit the light switch, revealing her lying on the couch and several beer bottles on the coffee table.

“Waiting up. Then I decided it would be more fun to have a few drinks and scroll through my dating app.” She sits up and waves her phone.

“You're on a dating app?” I sit down beside her.

“Sure. Girls must take control of their sex life. You have no idea the number of men out there ready to have a good time.” She grins.

“I can imagine. With you, probably tons.” I slide my purse to the floor. “Why did you stay up?”

“I have tomorrow off. Thought I should get the scoop on your first night.” She takes another drink.

“How many have you had?” I laugh, looking around at the empty bottles.

“A few. Don’t change the subject. How did it go?”

“Good. Everyone’s nice. The excellent part is the money. I made four hundred in tips. Now I can help out.” I reach for the remote to turn on the tv.

“Awesome. But you know you don’t have to worry about the money. Save it for your new start,” she says.

“I will, but I feel bad. I should at least buy some groceries. Maybe then Beth will scowl at me less,” I say dryly. I grab the beer from her hand before it can make it to her mouth.

“Hey, I thought you didn’t drink.” She frowns. “Are you lying? Did it go crappy?”

I take a drink and cringe. “Beer is gross.” I give it back. “I’m telling the truth. It was just a little weird.”

“Weird how?” she asks, and her eyes narrow.

“I met some interesting people. A woman that’s a friend to the owner. She was nice. I actually could picture us all hanging out,” I say.

“Okay, she doesn’t sound weird, though.”

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