Author Note
Hi. Let me just warn everyone that reads this - this is not a happy story. This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make and one of the most difficult stories I've ever had to write. I did it because there had to be something to shake the story - and my series - up a little; it was very happy families if you know what I mean.
Anyway, this skips a good few years. Sorry for the laziness, but I don't think I could get away with vampires constantly coming into Lexi's life. That and nobody really likes hearing about what other people's kids do every day.
I would love to hear any critisism or reviews in general. Thanks in advance for reading.
WARNING: Contains thoughts of suicide.
Story Start
Blanche took a quick peek into Lexi's bedroom. She was curled up in bed, fast asleep. With a smile, she closed the door.
'Out for the count.' She said, turning to Edgar.
He was standing in front of the blender with an egg in either hand and garlic in front of him.
'What're you doing?'
'Experimenting.' He said.
He cracked the eggs into the blender, which were closely followed by the now peeled and chopped garlic. Then he took a bottle and squirted the contents in. Securing the lid, he switched the machine on, only turning it off when the mixture resembled a strange version of a milkshake.
'Let's see. Raw eggs, garlic... I'm guessing that's holy water as well?'
Edgar nodded, pouring himself a glass.
'I came up with this the other day. I thought that this might protect us while we're asleep.'
'But we're not going to sleep yet, Edgar.'
He smirked at her. 'We've got to try it out somehow.'
Blanche stared in disbelief as he swallowed the whole concoction in one go.
'Well?' She said.
'Hmm... It's not bad. Now we'd better go and see if it works.'
He left to start the car as Blanche returned to their daughter's room. She must have woken up; she'd switched her bedside lamp on. Shaking her head, Blanche looked out her daughter's tarot cards and the notebook that explained them. Grabbing a pen from the bedside table, she scribbled a note on a blank page.
'Don't worry. We'll be fine. If you get scared, look at your cards or watch TV. Keep yourself occupied and DON'T PANIC! Love you. XXX'
With that she left the room, leaving the notebook open and the light on.
...
Another job well done. Edgar had killed a lot of vampires tonight with no complications. Maybe it had to do with the new invention; but what to call it... Frog juice?
...Perfect. Now he just needed to find Blanche and -
A loud scream echoed around him. One that sounded a lot like...
'Oh, no!'
He sprinted off in a desperate search to find her.
...
When Edgar found Blanche, it was already too late.
She was gone.
Her neck had been ripped open, not by teeth, but by claws. Blood had poured out of the wound and now stained the floor. Her eyes were once wide in shock and fear. Now they were glazed over.
A surplus killing.
Edgar dropped to his knees, mouth wide open in shock. He shoved his hand in his pocket and gripped something.
He looked down. He had a switchblade in his hand. Staring for a moment, he opened it, pointing it near his neck. Someone grabbed his wrist.
'Don't even think about it, Edgar.' Alan said, staring at him.
'No signs of blood.' Edgar thought. 'He probably didn't do it. Wouldn't put it past him, though.'
He glared up at his older brother. 'What the hell are you doing here?'
'That dosen't matter. Just put the knife down.'
'Why?'
'You know why.' He leaned down to his brother's level, maintaining eye contact.
'There's a young girl out there who's just lost her mom. She'll be upset enough. How do you think she'll cope if she loses her dad too? Who's gonna look after her if you do that, huh?'
'She can look after herself.'
'She's just a little girl! We only managed because of our neighbours and the comic book store. She needs you, damn it!'
Edgar hesitated. Although he hated to admit it, Alan was right. Lexi would fall to pieces if she lost both of them. She'd be bad enough learning about her mother. Hell, she was twelve years old. Sure, she knew what death was and what he did for a living besides shaping boards, but she needed them.
It would be difficult now, but he had a responsibility; one he hadn't really payed that much attention to.
Now he had to be a father.
...
Christ.
It was difficult enough talking to Erika about it. He had had to explain exactly what had happened over the phone. He'd buried Blanche in a safe spot - as an ordained minister, he had the right to do it; plus, she deserved a proper sendoff - and was now even more blood-drenched - not to mention tear-stained. After a quick shower and fresh clothes, Edgar took a deep breath and opened the door gently, walking into Lexi's room.
She was fast asleep, slightly curled up on her side. Edgar had never realised how much like her mother she was. She had his eyes and the same hair colour as him, but everything else was like Blanche. Staring at her just made tears well up in his eyes. He knelt at the bedside and broke down, his head on top of his crossed arms.
Lexi's eyes fluttered open. Looking up, she saw her father, the great Edgar Frog himself, leaning on her bed, crying.
Something was wrong. Her dad never, ever cried. Hell, half the time he never revealed any emotion besides the rare smirk or small laugh.
She touched his shoulder gently.
'Dad?'
He looked at her for a few seconds in absolute sorrow. Then he wrapped his arms around her.
'I'm sorry.' He whispered.
'Dad, what's going on?'
He held her a little tighter. There was a small, confused silence for a few minutes. Then he sighed shakily.
'Lexi, mom's gone. She's not coming back.'
Lexi sat for a second, not understanding. Gone? Not coming back? What could he mean by that? Usually if someone wasn't coming back they'd gotten a divorce; but they'd been fine this morning, nobody ever really argued unless it was a joke, they worked together when they went vampire - Uh oh.
Tears ran down Lexi's face as realisation kicked in. Gone was a nicer way of saying dead.
Her mother had been killed by vampires.