Previously...
"Sweet! No school Monday!" Cohen said, offering her sister a high five. Levy just stared at her.
"We haven't even stepped foot in a school for like a week; it's getting kind of boring." The taller twin said, pulling out a stool and sitting across from Laura. Cohen scoffed.
"Pssh, right. I forgot you were Levy-lame-sauce." The shorter blonde taunted. Levy rolled her eyes.
"You insult like a toddler."
"And you're still a Levy-lame-sauce!" Cohen dared to poke Levy in the eye and darted out of the kitchen.
"OW!" Levy exclaimed, clutching her right eye, "MORON!" in the distance, the adults heard a door slam and Levy quickly ran towards their bedroom. Angela chuckled and Gina smirked, looking at Carmilla and Laura.
"Congratulations," Gina said, getting up from her seat, "They are your nightmares now."
-About Two And A Half Weeks Later-
It was a quiet afternoon in the Hollis-Karnstein apartment. Today, Laura was supposed to be working on an article for The National Post about a Canadian diplomat committing fraud alongside a U.S. Federal agent. An anonymous tip, from a Canadian politician, had gotten through to Laura's sources and she was called about an interview with said politician. The interview was at a local restaurant but halfway through the interview, the politician decided to reschedule because they had received a call about a family emergency; something about their kid having to serve detention and what not. Laura hadn't really been paying that much attention after the politician started rambling about their children because she started reflecting about her own time with the twins. It wasn't horrible per say…it was just very awkward.
Cohen, having known her from the "vandalism mess", warmed up to Laura and Carmilla relatively quickly. After their first day of school, the short-haired blonde went on non-stop about their first day at Greenwood. As hilarious as it was to hear about 10th grade shenanigans, Laura's favourite memory, so far, had actually taken place during the second week of the twins starting school.
-Two Weeks Ago-
Cohen came home with a handful of consent forms for school activities and clubs. Carmilla refused to sign them because the kid was technically listed as "Hollis", so she thought it would be more appropriate for Laura to do it. Also, Carmilla had negative one thousand percent interest in band, choir and dance squad. Laura, on the other hand, was almost as enthusiastic as Cohen.
The short blonde tossed all of the forms onto the kitchen table, successfully covering all of Laura's documents and laptop. Laura smiled and began to sift through the pile of consent forms.
"Is this for every club, or what?" Laura asked, proud and nervous at the same time.
"Well, I've always wanted to join a dance squad." Cohen explained, "Ballet, according mother dearest, was the better choice and she had me en route towards dancing for the National Ballet of Canada." Both of Carmilla and Laura's eyebrows shot up hearing this new information. They had reviewed the file of the twins beforehand but nothing was indicated about Cohen's apparent level of nation-wide talent.
"Had no idea you were a prima ballerina, Mary-Kate." Carmilla said, opening the fridge to get some Hemo Soy.
"Meh, it lost its fun." Cohen said, shrugging her shoulders, "I've always wanted to do modern dance." Laura smiled and grabbed a pen.
"Well say no more, Miss Cohen. I'll just look through these and sign them." The older blonde realized that each activity had an enrolment fee, which should have also been a part of the discussion, but she couldn't ignore the smile on Cohen's sweet face. Laura was done for.
"Oh. My. GOD! Thanks Laurie!" Cohen wrapped her arms securely around Laura's shoulders and held on to her guardian for dear life. Laura just laughed and hugged her back.
"Not that I'm complaining," Laura said, "but why are you so excited about extracurriculars?" immediately, Cohen's face drained itself of any excitement as the smaller blonde slowly released her grip on Laura and shrugged her shoulders.
"Mom…well…" Cohen began, "she wasn't a fan of my creativity. I was always forced to do the activities that she wanted for me. Like I told her I wanted to sing and she stuffed me in the church choir. THE CHURCH CHOIR." Carmilla laughed at the girl's dramatic emphasis of 'Church Choir'. "When I told her that I wanted to do dance, she forced me into ballet. I mean I'm not complaining – they were tots fun – I just wished I did other things."
"Well as long as your grades are fine, you can do whatever you set your mind to. OH! And also try your best and have fun." Laura told her. Cohen's excitement was radiating off of her and the term 'beacon of light' couldn't possibly hold a candle to her in that moment. Carmilla merely shook her head, just observing the short blonde's happiness. The moment seemed great until Laura noticed how Levy quietly disappeared into her room without saying a word.
-Present-
Laura frowned as she reflected on her experiences with Levy. After the three weeks, that the twins were living with her and Carm, there would be no point for a legitimate flashback considering most of her interactions with the taller twin consisted of one-worded responses and various nonchalant body gestures (including but not limited to: shrugging, nodding, shaking of the head and eye rolls).
Carmilla kept insisting that Laura shouldn't take anything to heart because adoption wasn't easy. The vampire would share stories about how she only got along with Mattie and Will, out of all the vampire "children" that their "mother" had rounded up. Over the centuries of henchman-like duties and servitude, Carmilla admitted that it took months for them to even say more than one word, unrelated to work, to anyone.
Regardless of the process, Laura just wanted to feel like she was helping and that she was making an actual difference. It was easy with Cohen because of her bubbly personality but Levy's…Laura couldn't even properly describe the girl as she almost never spoke to her. The blonde sighed and shut her laptop, noticing that Carmilla would be home with the girls any minute now.
She walked to her bedroom and placed the laptop on her bed when she heard the front door unlock. She expected Carmilla to shout "Cupcake, we're home!" but much to her dismay there was shouting about other things.
"What's your problem kid?!" Laura heard Carmilla ask. She then heard shoes being kicked off followed by aggressive stomping. "Kid I'm talking to you!"
"Isn't it obvious I don't wanna talk?!" Levy's voiced sounded aggravated and distressed as Laura finally made it to the foyer. The scene before her was rather uncomfortable as Carmilla and Levy stared intensely at one another, in a vicious stand-off. All the while, Cohen was whistling casually; kneeling on the ground, untying her burgundy Doc Martens. The shorter twin was so obviously trying to avoid whatever mess was going on right beside her. "Just leave me the hell alone!" was Levy's final contribution to the fight as she trudged to her room and brushed passed Laura. Laura wanted to reach out and stop her but thought better of it and watched as the angry teen rounded the corner and slammed her door, causing some frames on the walls to shake.
Laura turned back to look at Carmilla who was steaming mad. With a loud grunt, Carmilla waked into their living room and collapsed onto the sofa. The blonde woman walked over to the sofa and sat near Carmilla's head as the vampire lay face first on the comfy piece of furniture.
"What the hell was that about?" Laura asked, running her fingers through Carmilla's dark tresses. With a sigh, Carmilla sat up and looked at her girlfriend.
"Let's start at the beginning, shall we?"
-About Four Hours Ago-
Carmilla was at a local coffee shop with Mel and Kirsch. She had just finished up her tutorial for one of her classes at the University of Toronto and had some spare time before she went to pickup the girls. She absolutely hated reiterating the basics of Kantian Ethics to a bunch of whiny adolescents who still have no idea that there is, indeed, an actual difference between ethical and moral reasoning. She begged to teach an upper year class but the only ones available to her, with a schedule that worked well with the twins' schedules, were second year courses.
Shitty day or good day, Carmilla enjoyed the time that she got to spend doing absolutely nothing with Kirsch and Mel. Over the years Carmilla had developed a sort of preference towards these two. For Carmilla, Mel was just as sarcastic and bold as she was which presented a sort of "friendly rivalry" thing. Kirsch was just very entertaining; kind of like the animal sidekick in any given Disney film.
"So how was proclaiming deontology to the masses, this afternoon, Santanico?" Mel asked, unwrapping her newly purchased "fresh" sandwich from its wrapper. Carmilla shrugged fiddling with her car keys.
"It was fine. Not too many of the slackers showed up so it was quite nice. Turnout was a steady 21 kids."
"That's good, right?" Kirsch asked, mouth full of his own sandwich.
"What are you? Three?" Mel asked, noticeably disgusted as she observed the tall human devour his pastrami on rye. "Chew your Goddamn food." Before Kirsch could answer, Carmilla's phone began to ring. The vampire took the device out of her pocket and looked at the Caller ID. It was Greenwood Secondary school.
This should be interesting, she thought as she used her thumb to answer the call.
"Carmilla Karnstein speaking," the vampire said into the phone.
"Hi, Miss Karnstein," a new voice said back. "I'm Donna Christiansen, one of the guidance counsellors for Greenwood Secondary." There was a pause before the woman continued to speak. "I'm just calling to inform you of a little…incident involving your daughter, Levy." Carmilla rolled her eyes at the term 'daughter' but didn't bother with any corrections because this seemed kind of serious.
"What happened?" Carmilla inquired; the concern in her voice was hard to ignore. "Is Levy okay?" At the mention of Levy's name, Mel and Kirsch leaned in closer, watching the way Carmilla's face became focused and distant all at once. It was a face that they recognized as "serious" after all their years of meddling with the supernatural.
"Oh, um, Miss Levy is just fine." Donna soothed, "But she had gotten into a…pickle today." Donna took a deep breath before going into further detail. "She was caught, with a group of seniors, smoking in a prohibited area while skipping her sixth period class." Carmilla rolled her eyes as she heard this. "Because this is her first time, causing trouble, there will be no fines. The principal has decided to just suspend her, from school, until next Tuesday. We just need you to come in and sign the authorization of her leave, if you don't mind." Carmilla sighed. Laura was going to have a fit.
"Yeah, I'm just a few minutes away. I'll come over there now." Carmilla said, slowly rising to her feet and taking her leather jacket off of the chair she was using.
"Thank you and see you shortly, Miss Karnstein." The call disconnected and the vampire shook her head.
"Son of a bitch."
"What's going on?" asked Kirsch. Carmilla chuckled solemnly.
"Turns out I have the troublesome child."
…
"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Karnstein." Donna said, shaking Carmilla's hand.
"Not a problem. Thanks for informing me rather quickly." The vampire responded. Donna smiled at Carmilla one more time before returning her attention to the teen who was standing beside her.
"Now don't forget that you have to type up an apology, to the principal, when you come back." Donna's cheerful smile was a stark contrast to the expression of absolute malice that was currently plastered onto Levy's features. Carmilla smirked; Levy's expressions could rival her own any day but she chose to withhold her pride due to the kid's suspension. Levy rolled her eyes and plodded towards the door, disgruntled and furious. Carmilla said one last "Thanks" to Donna before following after the blonde.
Once they were seated in the car, Carmilla started it and rolled the windows down.
"We're gonna wait here, for the next few minutes, until school's over." Carmilla informed the blonde girl, sitting in the passenger seat. Out of her peripheral, the raven-haired woman saw the vaguest shrug from Levy, taking it as a positive indicator. "Cool. Great."
They sat in silence for about 4 minutes, listening to soft rock on the radio when Carmilla began to lose her sanity. She turned to Levy and decided to get some more information about the day's events.
"I didn't know that you smoke." Carmilla said, in hopes that her open-ended questions would be received well. Levy turned to her and shrugged her shoulder.
"Just wanted to try it." Levy said, reaching for the volume dial of the radio. She turned it up to a ridiculous volume and just sat back, watching some pigeons that were in the vacant parking spot right next to their car. Carmilla usually didn't mind absurd music volumes but she found this girl's behaviour quite rude and unnecessary. She briefly thought about apologizing to all of her friends for giving them the same cold treatment but quickly dismissed it. Carmilla reached out and turned the dial back down causing Levy to look at her with an expression that clearly demonstrated the likeness of 'Dude, WTF?'
"Not to be that person, but I'm just letting you know that you're gonna have to organize yourself for when you tell Laura about all this." Carmilla forewarned, "She's a bit of a neurotic when it comes to delinquency." Levy groaned rather dramatically before saying:
"Why would she? It's not like it matters; she's not my mom or anything," Levy reasoned, "it won't affect her." Carmilla groaned and rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that day.
"You're gonna play that card this early in the game, Tweedle Dee?" the vampire asked, prepping herself for a battle of wits. Without taking her eyes off of Levy, Carmilla straightened her posture and put on her best poker face. Both Levy and Carmilla were so invested in their impending argument that neither one of them noticed Cohen happily and excitedly making her way from the school to the car.
The shorter blonde opened up the backseat door and slid right in, oblivious to the tension in the vehicle. She very merrily settled into the backseat, clutching her backpack to her chest while closing the door. As she put on her seatbelt, she greeted her twin and pseudo-mother.
"Whaddup, banana bundle?!" Cohen greeted cheerfully. Regardless of the dead silence she received, Cohen felt it necessary to explain her entrance line. "Don't mind me, I'm trying out nicknames for our little group-living situation without using the F-word…guys?" Cohen began to look between Carmilla and Levy, uncomfortably, and quickly learned that she was in for one of, if not the most, awkward car ride of her life.
-Present Again-
"So yeah, we got into the whole 'stop trying to control me' versus 'I don't have to be your mother to care about you' thing and – GAH! I hate teens." Carmilla whined, crossing her arms in a huff. Laura sighed and slumped beside her girlfriend just as confused and as helpless as her.
"Well, I'm not sure what to do. She's…coping with this as best she can I guess?" the blonde reasoned and Carmilla looked at her like she had three heads.
"By skipping class and becoming an emo-rebel? Nuh-uh, I've gone down that alley tons of times and I don't quite think it's the best idea ever." The vampire said.
Unbeknownst to the couple, Cohen had been overhearing everything and just shook her head. This new Levy was not, in any way shape or form, her twin. Out of the both of them, throughout their life-spans, Cohen had always been considered the troublesome one. She had all the whacky ideas, all the weird hobbies and always said weird things. Levy was the smart one who was well-rounded. The taller blonde was on rep teams while maintaining her status as a junior student council member and other prestigious things. Levy was supposed to be the one who was comforting and the one who always had a logical reaction to situations. But the pattern, as of late, has Cohen rotating on an opposite axis; their parents ruined everything.
Cohen sighed and decided to take matters into her own hands. If Levy wasn't going to listen to Carmilla or Laura because they weren't "family", then the right thing for the blonde to do would be using her familial leverage as an appropriate approach technique. She walked to her and Levy's room with purpose, boldly opened the door and tossed her bag at her sister. The unsuspecting victim, of Cohen's backpack, was immediately caught off guard by being assaulted with an aerial projectile.
"OW!" Levy shouted in response to having a backpack launched at her. "What the hell is your problem?!"
"My problem?! I wanna know what the hell your problem is!" Cohen exclaimed, stepping right up to her sister. Levy was taller than her by about four inches and the height difference was having an impact on the intensity of Cohen's death glare but nevertheless, drama was going to be served. "Please, Lev! Tell me why you're doing this crap! You're not like this! This isn't you! Smoking? Skipping class?! Seriously?! We have two people who care about us and adopted us just so that we can be together and be safe!"
"It's not their place to care!" was Levy's heated response and Cohen just looked at her, in disbelief.
"So, who's place is it then?!" Cohen asked, "Huh? Who, in your brilliant mind, is suitable of giving a shit about us?!" the shorter blonde just stared intently at her sibling before continuing. "If you say mom and dad, I will slap you." Levy just shook her head.
"If I'm gonna do something, it's not their business! They don't have to care about me! They had a life before us, and they should stick to it! Yeah, they're nice and shit, but when it comes down to me and doing what I want, they shouldn't say shit!"
"WE'RE FOURTEEN, YA DUMB SHIT!" Cohen yelled, inches away from her sister's glare. "WE aren't even old enough to care for ourselves which is proven by your lovely performances this month!" Cohen let out a sarcastic chuckle, "Do you know what Carmilla was doing before she had to pick you up?" Cohen kept silent until she was certain her sister wouldn't answer. "She was chilling with her friends. Caring about her own life. I was overhearing her talking to Laura about today and she totally could have just said 'oh, cool, I'll just come when school's done'. BUT SHE DIDN'T! Tell me, Levy, what would our parents have done, hm?" Levy just stared at her sister, finally letting the argument settle in. she already knew she was losing but kept her blank façade.
"…mom would've sent a servant to come get me and dad would've e-transferred money to the school so we wouldn't have a record." Levy mumbled, barely audible.
"See? They don't have to be our parents – HELL – they shouldn't be our parents. Just give them a chance, Levy. They're giving us a chance. I feel like there's more to your shitty stuff right now, so out with it!" Cohen paused her rant to just stare into her sister's eyes for a moment; their bright blue eyes meeting intensely for the first time since they had moved in with Laura and Carmilla. The intensity wore Levy down a little and Cohen could see the slightest surrender in her sister's expression. After releasing a breath, Cohen placed a gentle and calming hand on Levy's shoulder. "I feel like you don't even fully understand what's going on with you, dude." Levy just shook her head, keeping her tears at bay. She swiftly slapped Cohen's hand off of her and went to lie down in her bed. Cohen just followed her and laid down beside her. "You ready to answer my question, ya big cry baby?"
"I just…" Levy started, carefully analyzing her though process before she spoke. Her voice was shaking slightly and her fingers trembled. "I'm not sure how to feel. I miss mom and dad but they were horrible people. Not even because of the conviction or anything, they just didn't care. I guess I'm just not used to this shit." Levy sighed, wiping her tears. "I know I shouldn't miss them, but I do. I wanted them to care for us; I wanted mom and dad to be there for us."
"Same, but they'd always pick you over me." Cohen admitted, "They'd be like 'our Levy is so smart' or 'our Levy is gonna be so successful'. But no matter how much they praised you, that's all you were to them: a trophy. They didn't care about how much you wanted to become the holder of the highest GPA and they never asked you how you felt." Cohen let Levy's head rest on her shoulder and they both just relished one another's presence. "I'm not sure that you'll ever get that relationship with these guys either, but it's worth a try." Cohen said and Levy released a shaky breath.
"She hates me, doesn't she?" the taller blonde asked in the smallest voice. Cohen's face scrunched up in thought.
"I don't think Laura could hate anything if she was paid to do it."
"No," Levy corrected, "Carmilla."
"Oh." Was Cohen's reply, "Yeah…that one…good luck, friend." The shorter blonde patted her sister on the head, got up, and began to pickup the debris from throwing her bag at Levy earlier.
"You're the best pep-talker, dimwit."
"At least I don't suck at being a delinquent." Cohen said, laughing, "Seriously, cut it out – you suck; you keep getting caught."
-Two Days Later-
It was now Friday. Cohen had gone off to school, Carmilla went to speak with one of her professors to ask about her dissertation, and Laura was just out, doing some grocery shopping. Tagging along with her was Levy, who didn't have anything else going on because of her suspension. Since their totally dramatic Wednesday, Levy and Carmilla hadn't spoken to one another. Laura came to the simple realization that Levy and Carmilla were, in a weird way, kind of the same. Both had parental issues, troubles with expectations and were snarky and sassy beyond belief.
Anyway, Laura also came to realize that Carmilla and Levy actually had somewhat of a relationship before their fight. Laura remembered how Levy would be watching some weird History Channel documentary, on any given day, and Carmilla would join to make fun of whatever the historians were trying to figure out. They had common ground and Laura was sad that the vampire and the girl weren't speaking right now. As a solution to Levy's funk, Laura decided that she should up her game and begin to develop some sort of relationship with her in case Levy and Carmilla fought again. This way, Levy could rely on her as well.
This particular idea came to her, last night, when Laura was on the phone with her father. That was a conversation that really should have happened at the beginning of this month, but she had completely forgotten about it.
-Last Night-
Levy had taken her dinner to her room in another obvious attempt to avoid the vampire. Laura noticed how upset both Carm and Levy looked, and felt bad that they were fighting. After dinner, Cohen and Carmilla decided to watch 'Match Game' while Laura tried to get some of her article done. She was in the middle of writing another paragraph when her cellphone rang. Laura checked the caller ID and her breath caught in her throat. She slowly slid her thumb across the screen to answer the call and hesitantly raised the phone to her ear.
"Hey, dad," she greeted nervously, "what's up?"
"Hey, honey! Just checking in to make sure that you and Carm are still good to come up to Collingwood for Thanksgiving!" Sherman said cheerily. Laura just sat there, not really knowing how to tell him about the twins. She hadn't even thought about texting her father – which was a horrible thing to do! "Hey, sweetheart, everything okay? I can hear you thinking from over here."
"No – uh – I mean yes! Yeah! I'm okay…things are okay. I – I'm just wondering if…" Yep, she had no idea how to bring up this topic. "…if you had any spare mattresses, or something, for when we head up."
"What for?" Sherman questioned, "Did you invite some of your friends? Laura I've only got one extra room up here."
"No…that'll be fine…"
"Laura…" Sherman inquired, "come on, what are you not telling me?"
"Carm and I…may have…adopted."
"Adopted what? A cat?"
"No."
"Then what are you –!" Sherman cut himself off when he realized what she was talking about. "Laura."
"Dad."
"Laura."
"Dad."
"Laura…"
"Dad?"
"YOU TWO NUMBNUTS BECAME PARENTS AND DIDN'T TELL ME?!" he screeched into the phone while Laura just cringed at his reaction. She really should have done this sooner. "Were ya just gonna show up at the cabin with a baby like 'surprise!'?"
"It…they're not a baby…and there's two of them." Laura cringed again as her father basically unleashed into full freak-out.
"LAURA EILEEN HOLLIS –!"
"OKAY! Don't middle name me! I'm sorry!" she said, cutting off her father. "I really am sorry dad, I meant to tell you, but I got so carried away with the documents, enrolling them into high school, paying for all of the activities and my latest article –!" it was Sherman's turn to cut her off.
"Okay, I get it – not really – but yeah, you would be busy with the, um, the kids and what not." He felt incredibly odd, learning that his daughter had become a parent seemingly overnight. But he learned to take everything one day at a time, especially when it came to his Laura. His little, irrationally driven Laura. "So…" Sherman began, trying to get some more information, "wanna talk about all of it?"
"Yeah, thanks dad." She said gratefully, "So, remember that couple, who was convicted of all those terrible things?" Laura smiled as she told him all about the twins from start to finish. She told him about Cohen's noble act to protect her sister's reputation (despite what transpired this week), Levy's run-in with a gang and how Carm and their friends saved her. Laura even gushed about her relationship with Cohen and Sherman couldn't help but smile about how comfortable his daughter sounded. The blonde began to tell him about Levy's recent incident and how her and Carm weren't talking and Sherman just laughed.
"Welcome to parenthood, sweetie." He said as he laughed, "It's gonna happen. You skipped like all the other steps, but it doesn't matter; teens are a different type of species and I firmly believe that." Sherman's chuckling subsided as he got serious. "If you feel completely helpless, that's fine; it was bound to happen. And from what you told me, about what they went through, I would expect all of this. It'll pass and even get better."
"I just wish I knew what to do." Laura whines, "I just want to be able to connect with her as well as I do with Cohen."
"Keep at it, honey. All relationships are work. Remember how you and Carm were?" Laura's silence was an obvious indication of her answer and Sherman laughed a little more. "See? Just relax and take it as it comes." And here was another moment where Laura was extremely thankful for her father.
"Thanks, dad."
"No problem, honey." Sherman said. They revelled in their daddy/daughter moment before he began stressing about the logistics of everything. "So…are all four of you coming up to the cabin or what?" Laura just laughed; of course, Sherman would stress out about this. "Is anyone vegetarian? Any allergies? Quit laughing, Laura! I need to know this!"
-Present-
So now here they were, at the seasonal outdoor marketplace. Just Levy and Laura, strolling along looking for homemade goodies and fresh fruits and vegetables. They had a crap ton of meats at home so the natural thing to do would be to even out the ratios a little bit.
Laura and Levy walked to the market, since it was only 15 minutes away from the apartment. There wasn't much to talk about except for the nice weather and that one guy who didn't pay attention to his red light and almost ran them over, about 10 minutes ago. Laura kind of appreciated the silence as it wasn't awkward. They were out in public and no one really cared.
"I've heard of this place before," Levy suddenly said nearly causing Laura to almost drop the cinnamon candle she was sniffing, "Amelia, our old nanny, wanted to bring us here but our mom thought it was a waste of time."
"She sounds great to be around with, at parties." Laura commented, "I – I mean, no offense, but –!" Levy cut off the older blonde's rambling with a laugh.
"No, yeah, she was kind of terrible. I don't doubt that." Levy said with a smile. Laura thought the teen looked rather relaxed with her jean jacket, beanie and hands in the pockets of her track pants. "I'm sure you've heard about mom from Cohen a bunch." Laura shook her head.
"I mean, I know that she was very particular about what Cohen did. I don't know much from your perspective though." Levy nodded her head and shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, my experience isn't too different from that." The younger blonde admitted. "It was more of them expecting me to be fine all the time. No one really checked in with me. They were like 'Oh, Levy's smart, she's fine on her own'."
"I definitely had an opposite experience. My dad was always hovering over me; the perfect definition of a helicopter dad." Laura said as they both walked to the next stand.
Conversation began to flow between them pretty easily and Laura was over the moon. She couldn't believe how well she and the taller twin were getting along, today. She didn't exactly know what changed but she was glad that Levy was acknowledging her a little more. They mostly talked about their parents while they also voiced their opinions on all the food and knick-knacks that were in the marketplace. After finding their desired fruits, vegetables and other assorted goods, Laura and Levy made their way back to the apartment.
They made it back to the apartment in about the same time in took them to get to the market. Hands full of groceries, Laura carefully yet skillfully unlocked their door with one hand. They walked into the kitchen and began to sort through everything. Levy was about to place some jam in the fridge when she realized something.
"Shit," Levy said, as she quickly began patting her pockets down.
"What?" Laura asked worriedly. "What's wrong?" Levy just shook her head.
"Nothing, nothing. I think I may have dropped my phone, out in the parking lot." The younger blonde said frantically. Laura just snickered.
"Oh, maybe it fell when you almost dropped the sweet potatoes."
"Hush, don't be mean." Levy said as Laura chuckled. "I'll be right back." And with that, she was out the door. Laura shook her head and continued to sort through the groceries.
Five minutes had passed and Laura looked towards the front door, from her spot in the kitchen. It was still left wide open from when Levy left to get her phone. Laura looked at the kitchen island; everything had been put away and the teen had not been back. Laura figured that Levy may have gotten into a conversation with a neighbour or possibly wandered a little further than the parking lot, in search of her phone. I should help her, Laura thought as she quickly grabbed her house keys off of the island.
As she locked the door, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Swiftly turning around, it was Mrs. Ames, from across the hall. Laura smiled as she turned towards her neighbour.
"Hey, Mrs. Ames!" Laura greeted, "How are you doing this afternoon?"
"Just fine, thank you. What about yourself, dear?" the old woman asked.
"Oh, I'm great! Just about to look for one of the teens that have been living with us." Laura replied.
"Right, you are fostering!" Mrs. Ames exclaimed, smiling widely.
"A-actually –!"
"Well," Mrs. Ames began, cutting her off, "the young girl living with you – the taller one – I saw her outside, speaking with a handsome young man." Laura's face fell and quickly got worried. Mrs. Ames didn't notice her expression and kept going. "He looks a little too old for her but teens will be teens, right? You know my eldest daughter, Melody –!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Ames, but I'll just go and meet Levy outside!" Laura immediately brushed passed her neighbour and scurried down the hall. She waved goodbye to Mrs. Ames, when she got to the end of the hall, and quickly ran out into the yard.
Now in the visitor's parking lot, Laura looked around and saw no sign of Levy. She began to panic. This is how dad felt, all those years, Laura thought as she continued to search the premises. She vowed that as soon as she found Levy, she'd call Sherman and apologize for scaring the living crap out of him all her life.
-Meanwhile-
School had just finished for Cohen and Carmilla decided that they both deserved some ice cream. With her motorcycle still parked at the school, the vampire and the small blonde walked down the street to a bakery with the "best gelato in town", according to Laura's extremely knowledgeable sweet tooth. They were now sitting outside, on the bakery's patio, looking at some of the sheet music for Cohen's audition.
"You play the saxophone?" Carmilla asked as she finished her strawberry gelato and placed the spoon in the now empty cup. Cohen was still stuffing her face with a regular mint chip ice-cream cone. Carmilla just shook her head when Cohen peeled her face away from the cold treat, revealing mint-coloured liquid around her mouth, flowing down her chin.
"Yeah," the blonde replied, "I've played it since I finally convinced the old man to buy me one, two Christmases ago." Immediately after answering, she dove right back in to her dessert. Carmilla smiled; this one was entertaining.
"Do you still own one?"
"Yeah, dude." Cohen answered, mouth full of mint chip.
"Where?" the vampire asked, very confused. "I haven't seen it."
"It's the only thing in my big yellow suitcase." The blonde answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"So, all your clothes were in the other suitcase and your duffle bag?"
"Yuh." Cohen answered, "I only wear like…seven things."
"Odd." Before Carmilla could say anything else, the vampire's phone rang. Carmilla took her phone out and looked at the caller ID; it read 'Levy K.' The dark-haired woman was very confused considering she hadn't spoken to Levy at all since Wednesday. Regardless of their fight, Carmilla answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello Mercy," Came a man's voice. Carmilla leant forward in her seat, clutching the armrest with her free hand.
"How the hell did you get this phone?" the vampire seethed into the device. A dark chuckle was heard and Carmilla could feel her stomach churn.
"Well, it belongs to your daughter so you tell me." The man said, still chuckling.
"I don't have a –!" Carmilla paused when she realized what was happening.
"Uh, uh, uh," the male voice scolded, "don't lie to me. By the way, Mercy, how dare you neglect to tell me about a niece. You know, out of all of us, I didn't know you'd be the one to follow after Maman; adopting the needy."
"What have you done?!" Carmilla snarled. "Where is she?!"
"Oh, your precious little one is safe and sound, right here." The voice teased, "Would you like to say hi?" without waiting for a response, he proceeded to give the phone to the girl in question. "Sag hallo for your mother, little one."
"CARM!" Carmilla heard Levy's cries through the phone and she felt her stomach drop and her muscles tense. It was a type of pained cry for help that Carmilla had heard many times, as girls would be pawned off to her mother, all those years ago. "CARM, HELP! I-I-I'M SORRY, I –!" Immediately, after the phone was taken away from Levy, Carm felt her insides twist in a way that made her want to vomit.
"What do you want?" the vampire asked through her teeth.
"You know exactly what I want, Mercy." The voice said, "You'd better hurry. She smells rather appetizing and –!"
"If you lay a finger on her, you son of a –!"
"Mircalla, you know better than to swear in the presence of your little one." the man said, in a teasing tone. "Now meet me this evening or, by this time tomorrow, I'd have a full stomach…and one less niece."
"You're going to invite me over without an address?" Carmilla quipped, trying to hide the fear and worry in her voice. The man laughed again, their tone still very much a condescending one.
"I'll be honest, Mercy; I'm not familiar with this part of town. There's water…some condos…and I can see the island from here." Carmilla made note of his clues. She trusted that they were accurate since he was attempting to lure her in anyway. "You'd better hurry, Mercy. I need a snack and your daughter smells…very refreshing."
"Don't you dare –!"
"What? It's your own fault the thing is still human!" before hanging up, the man said, "I hope to see you tonight, Mircalla. Time's a ticking." And with that the line cut and Carmilla was left with the phone's 'disconnected call' tone. Carmilla inhaled sharply, and slowly, as she closed her eyes and tightened her grip on the chair.
"What's going on?" Cohen asked, pulling Carmilla from her enraged trance. The vampire gave Cohen an apologetic look before standing up. She just shrugged her shoulders and motioned for the girl to follow after her.
"We've got to get home, right now."
