6

"I said I'm sorry!"

I rolled my eyes as I listened to Adam complain on the phone, having my cell phone pressed against my ear and shoulder as I searched through my purse for the keys to the house.

Adam was angry because I had gotten his mother a gift certificate for a couple's massage for her birthday, and that made his gift look, in his words, lame.

"You know, I actually worked hard to get a gift this year! But compared to yours..."

"I said I'm sorry," I repeated, "I'm sorry I didn't get her a crappy gift; next year I will."

"Thank you!"

In the end, I ended up not needing my keys, since Isabel ended up opening the door for me. I smiled gratefully at her. "Hey Adam, I got to go, I'll talk to you later," I told him before hanging up the phone and stuffing it into my purse.

"Hi," I greeted Isabel as I stepped into the house.

"Hello," She smiled, "You arrived later than expected."

"Yeah well, I decided to stay later so that Anne could go home sooner, and celebrate her birthday with her family," I explained as I took off my shoes, "Gwen gave me a ride home."

She nodded her head as we walked into the living room. I opened my mouth to ask her a question but stopped myself when I saw who was standing in the middle of the living room. A huge smile appeared at my lips as I ran forward, tackling my father into a hug.

"You're here!" I exclaimed excitedly, "I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow!"

"I thought I would surprise you," He hugged me back before pulling away, "How are you?"

"Good," I responded cheerfully, "I missed you."

He chuckled lowly as he ruffled my hair. Okay, I don't care how long it's been since I haven't seen you; it is never okay to ruffle my hair. I let out a quiet sigh as I tried to rearrange it.

"Oh, hi Godric," I smiled, feeling bad that I hadn't greeted him sooner.

He nodded in response. Eh, what else did you expect? Well, at least he was smiling a little.

"So," I looked back at my father, "How long are you staying?"

I hadn't forgotten that the last time we talked on the phone, he told me he'd be returning, but for a very short period of time. I also hadn't forgotten that I had quite a few questions for him; and this time I wouldn't settle for 'vampire business' as an answer. He must have known what I was thinking, because he smiled faintly, and suggested we go outside to talk.

So, there we were, in Godric's backyard, sitting down and gazing up at the dark sky and the shining stars. "Can you tell me what's going on?" I asked him, never lowering my gaze from the sky.

"It's a long story."

"We have all night."

I heard him sigh quietly. "Do you remember the night of your mother's death?"

I couldn't help but wince at the memory. It was the night before her birthday that my mom was brutally murdered by a vampire; and I still remembered her lifeless body outside, lying on the grass, red with blood. "Yeah," I whispered, "I remember."

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, and felt my heart break when I saw the single, bloody tear that was running down his face.

"It was my fault she died," He murmured quietly, "She died because of me."

"That's not true!" I protested immediately.

I knew why he thought that. It was because my mother's murderer wasn't just any vampire; she had been my father's companion for hundreds of years, before he met my mother. This wasn't a secret; he had told me because he thought that I deserved to know the truth about my mother's death.

"Druscilla," He said the vampire's name like it was venom, "She never would have gone after your mother if it wasn't for me."

"Dad," I cut in, "Stop it; you're torturing yourself!"

Again, he sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly as a brief moment of silence took over. I knew how this story ended; my father spent weeks searching for Druscilla, and when he found her, he killed her. There was no mercy.

"Is this about Druscilla then?" I guessed.

"Her maker, Joseph, was not pleased when he learned about her death, actually that's an understatement," He chuckled humourlessly, "Especially when he found out that she died over a human."

"Does he...Does he know that...?"

"That I'm the one who killed her?" He finished, "Yes, he does, which is why he has spent the last four years trying to get his revenge; an eye for an eye."

I frowned. "But, Druscilla started the whole thing!"

"He doesn't care about that," He continued, "All he cared about, was the fact that Druscilla was killed because of, according to him, an insignificant human."

As I began putting pieces of the puzzle together, I realized where the story was headed. "I'm the eye for an eye," I guessed, "He wants to kill me, to hurt you like you hurt him."

He didn't respond right away, but finally nodded to confirm my thoughts. "That's correct," He said, "That's why I've always been keeping such a close eye on you, been so protective."

"But, why has it taken him four years to act?"

"Four years is nothing to a vampire," He chuckled, "And, it took a while for him to even discover your existence. I've been purposely moving us around since so often so that he hopefully wouldn't be able to find us."

"Wow," I frowned, "I can't believe all this was going on and I had no idea. So, why doesn't...Joseph, just come after me himself?"

"Because he is a coward," He replied icily, "He is younger than me, and he knows he doesn't stand a chance; so he's having others do the hard part and saving the easy part for himself. It's one of the reasons he won't come after me directly."

I turned my gaze back to the sky, trying to register everything that I was being told. It was strange that someone out there wanted me dead for the past four years, and I was only now learning about it.

"So," I breathed out, "What's the plan?"

"I've been trying to find him for years," He informed me, "Because the only way to end this is by ending him. Unfortunately, he is very good at hiding. But..."

I immediately turned to look at him. "But what?"

"I believe I have found him," He said, something in his voice changing as his blue eyes narrowed at the sky, "And I'm going after him to end this, once and for all."

I pressed my lips together at the familiar aching pain in my heart. "Do you have to...? I mean, what if you...I can't lose you."

He was in front of me in an instant. "You will not lose me," He said, placing a kiss on my forehead, "I am much stronger than Joseph; I can handle him."

"But..." I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"It will all be over with soon," He assured me, "And we will be able to move on with our lives."

"...You promise?"

"I promise."

"I can't believe you're leaving already."

I pouted as I stood outside Godric's house, saying goodbye to my father again when he had only arrived last night. He let out a low chuckle as he wrapped his arms around me into a hug, pulling me into him.

"I'll be back before you know it," He placed a kiss on the top of my head.

"Dad," I began as he pulled away, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

It was a question that had been on my mind constantly for the past four years, but I never brought it up. I wanted to ask it now, because I didn't know if I would ever have the chance again. I know that my dad said not to worry, that he was stronger that Joseph and that he would return home safely, and he was even taking reinforcement with him. But still, when your loved one heads towards a dangerous situation, no matter how much they assure you that they will be fine, you can't help but worry, and the worst always crosses your mind.

"Why did you keep me?" I asked quietly, "After mom died, why did you keep me? Was it because you felt guilty, did you do it for mom...?"

"Hollie," He placed his hands on the sides of my face, forcing me to look at him, "I loved your mother with all of my heart; she awakened something within me that I thought was long dead. And you, I did not keep out of guilt. I have always loved you like my own daughter, and I always will; that is why I kept you."

Despite having promised myself that I wouldn't get emotional, I couldn't fight the tears away. He pulled me in with for another hug, and I burried my face into his chest.

"There is no need to cry," He smiled, "I promised you I'd come back, remember?"

"Right," I sniffed, wiping the tears away, "Be safe."

"I will," He placed an affectionate kiss on my forehead before turning around and getting into the car. I forced a smile, waving at him as I watched the vehicle take off. God, I was such a baby sometimes.

"You shouldn't cry," Godric's voice came from next to me, "Your father is amongst the strongest vampires I know."

I used my sleeve to wipe away the rest of my tears. "Yeah, I know," I forced another smile. I really didn't want anyone to see me like this.

"I never thought I'd see the day where a human would cry over a vampire," Godric admitted quietly.

"People cry over their loved ones; whether they be human or vampire."

He didn't say anything. I let out a sigh as I sat down on the grass, gazing up at the sky much like I had done last night with my father. To my surprise, Godric sat down next to me. A comfortable silence took over, until my stomach growled loudly.

"Stupid stomach," I muttered in embarassement, and I thought I heard Godric chuckle quietly.

"You must be hungry, you should go inside and eat," He suggested kindly.

I shook my head. "No, I want to stay out here," I told him, "You know, my mom and I use to do this all the time, just sit outside and stare at the stars. You see those two stars?"

I pointed up towards the sky; where a big star, glowing particularly brightly, was located next to a star that was smaller, but shined equally as bright.

"Mom use to say that the bigger one was her star, and the smaller one was mine," I laughed at the memory, "I wanted the big one, but she said I got the small one because I was smaller."

"You must miss her," He noted quietly.

"Yeah, I do," I admitted, "I use to sleep with one of her sweaters, because it smelled like her. But as time went on, the sweater began smelling more like me, and her scent started to fade. I think about her every day, because I'm afraid that if I don't, the memory of her will just...fade. And that scares me, alot."

He didn't say anything, and I realized that again, I was just blabbing my thoughts to him. I cleared my throat, feeling embarassed that I was allowing him to see me when I was so vulnerable. "Sorry, bad enough that you have to feel all my emotions, I shouldn't make you listen to my problems as well."

"I do not mind," He said honestly, smiling faintly. "I am happy to listen if you need someone to talk to."

"Thanks," I smiled at him, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

He nodded his head, so I continued. "How old are you?"

I have to admit, I've been wondering that ever since I met Godric. He smiled faintly at my question, and leaned slightly forward. "How old do you think I am?"

"Mm," I paused in thought, "Five hundred?"

He shook his head.

"Six hundred? Seven? Eight?" I frowned, "A thousand? More?"

The corners of lips his tugged upward, and I could see the amusement in his eyes. "Would you like me to tell you?" He asked, and I nodded. "Two thousand."

"T-Two thousand?" My eyes went wide, "Holy...That's amazing!"

"Is it?"

"Well, yeah, I mean; you must have witnessed some incredible things."

"You are correct," He nodded, "Unfortunately, most of it has been bad. My life has mostly revolved around violence."

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, finding him gazing forward, looking to be lost in his memories.

"That is unfortunate," I agreed, "Well, it's never to turn your life around, right?"

"Do you truly believe that?" He asked quietly.

"Huh?" I turned to give him a quizzical look, "Yeah, of course."

"Well, I certainly hope you're right."

"Has anyone here ever been to a vampire bar?"

I had been taking a sip of my coffee when Bridget spoke, and froze in the middle of my actions. I looked up, finding the rest of the group staring at her with interest; some seemed intruiged while the others looked at her like she was crazy.

"It's just," Bridget leaned back into her seat, "I was talking to one of the waitresses at my work, she went to one last week. She said she had alot of fun, and she had hooked up with a vampire, said it was the best sex she ever had."

"Wow, I think I threw up a little in my mouth," Gwen muttered.

"So, has anyone been?" Bridget asked again, to which we all shook our heads, except one.

"I have," Marc said, "We should all go together. It'll be fun."

"Yeah, it could also be incredibly dangerous," Gwen cut in.

"I'm with Gwen on this one," Matthew nodded, "Why can't we just go to a normal place?"

"Because normal is boring," Marc answered.

"I'd prefer boring rather than having the blood sucked out of me," Adam commented dryly.

I drummed my fingers against the table as Gwen, Adam and Matthew argued against Marc and Bridget. It was quite entertaining actually; that was why Ed and I just kept quiet, our eyes darting back and forth between the five.

"...What do you two think?" Bridget asked, looking at Ed and I.

"I don't care," Ed shrugged, "Humans go to vampire bars all the time, as long as we stick together, we should be fine."

"See, Ed's in!" Marc clapped Ed's shoulder before turning his gaze towards me, "Hollie?"

Pff. Godric wouldn't even let me go to the grocery store on my own, I highly doubt that he'd let me go to a vampire bar.

"Who's Godric?" Gwen tilted her head to the side in confusion.

Damn it. Had I said that outloud?

"Oh, isn't that the guy you were with at the mall?" Ed spoke up.

"Wait, what guy?" Bridget blinked her blue eyes, "Hollie! Do you have a hot boyfriend that you're keeping from all of us?"

Damn it. Damn it.

"W-What? No! Of course not"

"Look, she's blushing!" Adam pointed an accusing finger at me.

Adam; you idiot.

"I can't believe you're dating someone and you didn't tell me," Adam shook his head in disappointment, "I'm suppose to be your best friend!"

"No, I'm her best friend," Gwen cut in.

"What? Nuh uh!"

"Come on, she's not dating this guy," Matthew cut in, before glancing at me unsurely, "Are you?"

"No!" I exclaimed, "Godric's just a friend!"

A friend that I had sexual dreams about, but that's it. Besides, who cares about dreams?

"How come we haven't met him before?" Gwen asked, eyes narrowed.

"Because he's...really...shy," I finished lamely.

"So if this guy is just a friend," Bridget cut in, "Why would he care if you went to a vampire bar?"

"Well...He...Wouldn't...I guess," I muttered.

"Excellent! Then it's settled, this Friday night; we're going to a vampire bar!"

Oh no.