Sullen and Haunted

III: Child

There was this feeling in the air as we drove down the interstate. It was something pleasant, something I haven't felt for a long time.

"What is that place?" Connor pointed out his window.

I glanced over his direction as I watched the traffic.

"That's the Summer Day ice cream shop. You wanna go there?"

He nodded. I maneuvered the car into the turning lane and turned around. We approached the modestly sized building with young parents and children seated on its outdoor picnic tables under a large canopy.

"Do you chocolate or vanilla?" I asked him.

He replied with a blank stare.

"Oh, right. Um...I'll give you both."

I ordered vanilla for me, and the swirled chocolate and vanilla for him. I handed him his cone as I paid and we found an empty bench against the building. I watched him analyze his ice cream. I took a bite off of the top like I always do, knowing he would watch and study how I ate it. He followed suit.

"Which do you like better?"

"The brown side has this rich flavor whereas the white side has a modest, pure flavor." He said between licking his lips and the ice cream.

"The brown is chocolate. It seems you like that best." I explained as he nodded. "The white is vanilla. It's what I like best."

He looked at me and my cone and smiled. "White suits you. You're both pure."

I felt my face flush, mentally blaming it on the weather.

I finished my cone and threw the napkin in the trash. Connor was finishing his up.

"One day I'll have to take you to the local park. It's just a few blocks from here."

"What's a park?"

"It's a place that has these contraptions that kids like. There are swings, slides, jungle gyms and other things that are fun. I loved the park I went to as a kid."

"Where are you from?" He asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin before throwing it away.

"Florida. It's on the other side of the country. I'll show you a map when we get home. It was a small town but it has its positives."

"Florida..." He whispered thoughtfully.

I drove us home. He loved looking out the window and seeing the scenery, the businesses, the people, the traffic. He always mentioned how people here have things on their minds that keep them from really knowing what surrounds them.

"This is a beautiful place. The sky is a perfect shade of blue. It's not a bleeding red with gray clouds."

"Was that the sky in Quar-Toth?"

He nodded.

"Do you miss it there?"

"No. It was an awful place. The only thing I really miss is my father."

I reached over and touched his shoulder, keeping my eyes on the road. "I'm sorry, Connor. He truly loved you as you loved him, I'm sure of that. You have to believe that he's in a better place."

"What better place is there?" He asked out of innocence, not sarcasm.

"Well, you were raised in a hell dimension, right?"

He nodded.

"Then there must be a heaven dimension. For good there is evil and vice versa. Each thing has its opposite counterpart."

"I think I understand. So you think he's in this heaven dimension?"

"If he was as good a man as you say he was, Connor, I'm sure of it."

"He was a great man. A great human."

We reached my apartment and something in Connor tensed up. I locked up the car and entered the building.

"I'll be right up, Alexa. I want to look at this painting."

"You remember where my room is, right?"

"How could I forget? It was the first real place I've stayed over night in and didn't have to watch my back."

Why would you have to watch your back, Connor? I'll question you when you come up.

I went to the second floor and walked down the hallway. I saw the man that saved my life.

"Hi, you don't know me but..."

"Yes, I do know you."

His head tilted to the side from confusion.

"You saved my life one night."

"Oh! You're the lonely artist! Well, that's what I've called you in my mind because I never knew your name." He smiled, laughing lightly from remembrance.

"How did you...?"

"Your paint brushes and paints spilled on the concrete when you were attacked. Don't you remember?"

"Well, I mostly remember screaming and watching that beast turn to dust. Thank you, by the way. I never got to really say it." I laughed a bit nervously. He has this vibe coming from him...it felt like importance and power.

He nodded then went back to what he was saying. "I'm looking for my son. He's about this tall," He rose his hand to his shoulder. "With blue eyes and unruly brown..." He looked up form behind me. "Connor."

"Hi, Dad." He smirked. "What took you so long?"

My throat felt like it was swollen shut. I couldn't speak and I couldn't breathe.

"This is your father?" I struggled to speak.

"My real one? Yes. The one who gave birth to me? Yes. The one that raised me? No." He said stoically.

"But vampires...they...they..."

"Connor, please..."

"You were supposed to rest on the bottom of the Pacific, Dad. You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in a box for the rest of your life to live forever with your guilt! You're supposed to pay for his death!"

Connor lashed out at the vampire, but he caught him by the wrists.

"All right, you two. None of this in the bloody hall. Come inside."

I ushered them both in and locked the door behind me.

"No one is leaving until..."

Connor dove for him again. The large vampire firmly held him down, but did not harm him. "No, son. Please don't fight me. I didn't kill Holtz. I dind't do it."

"You expect me to believe you?!" He squirmed under his father's grip. "You expect me to believe your lies?!"

"All right, guys."

They were still fighting.

"Guys..."

"Alexa, this creature killed the man that raised me." Connor yelled above the fighting. "I will not stop until he is dead."

"You most certainly will stop!" I stood between them. "No one is fighting in my home. Shoot all your reasons to hell for all I care. You most certainly will stop!" I shot sharp looks to both the vampire and Connor before focusing on the vampire. "I think you should leave. Don't worry, he's safe here with me."

He nodded and gave me his business card with the appropriate phone numbers and left without another word other than "Thank you."

Connor turned angrily to me. "Why did you stop us? Why did you let him walk away?"

"Because not only am I confused, but I am utterly on edge and pissed off with your relentless fighting. Not to mention that man, vampire, whatever the hell he is saved my life when he could've been the one to take it. When you cool off I would like to have some questions answered." My head was pounding. I placed my hand to my temple. "Right now I need to lie down. As you know you're welcome to anything in this place. Watch some TV. I have some books in my room you're welcome to as well. Just please promise me something, Connor."

He looked at me with a fire in his eyes that was calming down. "What?"

"Don't leave this apartment."

He nodded stiffly and I turned for my bedroom.