Undead On My Feet
My new home was located on top of a large hill, overlooking a fancy suburb. I recognized it as Richmond, the fanciest neighborhood in East Lamia. From the outside, the house looked every bit as archaic and expensive as the inside. There was a large garage off to the side and I could only imagine the cars that were inside, seeing as we didn't actually go inside. Farrah decided that it would be more fun to walk. I doubted that.
"So who've you met so far?" Farrah asked. She was skipping beside me, causing the few humans who were out at night to give us odd looks. I didn't blame them. This girl was unusually hyper for someone who was a part of a race rumored to sleep in coffins.
"Well first I met Irene-" I began but was immediately cut off.
"Oh Irene!" Farrah enthused, "I absolutely love Irene! She is like the big sister I never had! She's like everybody's big sister. Like sometimes she's a bossy biotch but she only wants to help. So sometimes you hate her but then you realize she's right and you stop hating her and start loving her again! So who else did you meet?"
"Drucilla," I told her, not bothering to even try to form a full sentence, knowing Farrah would just cut me off.
"Cilla, Cilla, Cilla," she mused, "What to say about Cilla?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something," I muttered.
"Cilla is like a bad mother," she decided, "That sounds mean but it's not. You know, cause at least she acts like a mother in some way. Like she cares about us - but she picks favorites and cares more about her own affairs. But she still cares, ya know? So did you meet anybody else?"
"Just Sam," I said, my lip curling slightly from just saying his name.
"Oh! Sam! Don't be fooled by that luscious hair or those pretty . . . pretty eyes. He is devious. A foul tempered, moody, two faced brat."
"So it seems like I'm not the only one who doesn't like Sam," I said thoughtfully, "I can't even begin to understand why Drucilla would put up with him."
"Because she's fucking him," Farrah said with a dramatic eye roll, "Duh!"
"So they are a thing!" I exclaimed, "I knew it!"
"It's really not that hard to figure out," she said, "They're all over each other like all the time."
"Yeah what's the deal with that?" I asked, "And the whole her bossing him around thing." Even if I found it amusing, it was still weird.
"Upon first glance, it looks like he's her bitch," Farrah explained, "But after a while you begin to realize who's really whose bitch. The way Sam manipulates her . . .It's crazy. She lets him get away with murder. Murder, I tell you! All he has to do is bat his pretty little lashes and she'll buy him a Camaro."
"So she's his sugar mama," I said, nodding in understanding, "But enough about Drucilla and Sam. Tell me about the other fledglings."
"Well there's Daniel. He's so cute! And really really really funny. He's always giving Sam a hard time and it's just hysterical."
I already liked him. "Who else?"
"Eli! Eli is such a great guy! But don't bother making a move for him because he's a flaming homosexual," she told me.
"Good to know," I said, nodding.
"And last but not least there's Henry. He's not so sweet but he's nowhere near as bad as Sam. He's very serious about protecting Lamia though."
"Hmm, so it seems that living with you . . . people should be interesting," I mumbled.
"Oh it's great!" she exclaimed, "Everyone is so wonderful! I mean Sam's a brat but Drucilla keeps in line usually."
"That so?" I mumbled vaguely, distracted. I kept thinking of how with each step, I was getting closer to my mom and her imminent freak out.
"Yeah Drucilla keeps him on a pretty short leash and she won't hesitate to smack him if he gets mouthy," she assured me.
"Great," I said, ". . . Aw shit we're a block away from my house." I never remembered the walk from Lamia to my house being this quick.
"Oooh time to meet Heidi's Mama!" she squealed as we rounded the corner. I could see my house from here.
"Time to see my mom have a meltdown," I corrected, feeling sick to my stomach as we neared the house.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," she promised.
"Would you mind waiting by the curb. You don't want to see this," I told her.
"Okay!" she said happily, pausing as I made my way up my driveway.
I climbed my porch and stood in front of my door. I lifted my fist but lost the nerve to knock. I nervously looked back over my shoulder to see Farrah examining my mailbox. I sighed and turned back around and knocked on the door, bracing myself.
My mother opened the door a moment later, a phone in her hand. When she saw me, she immediately dropped the phone and engulfed me in a violent hug. Even to my slightly strengthened fledgling self, the hug was painfully tight.
"Heidi!" she cried, "Oh Heidi I was so worried about you baby!"
"I'm sorry mom," I said quietly.
"Don't you ever do that to me again!" she scolded.
"I won't mom," I promised.
She released me and took a step back, probably about to drag me inside and coddle me; get me some tea and a blanket so I could rest before she screamed at me for scaring her half to death. But before she got a chance she got a better look at me. Her face lost so much color she looked like she'd been drained by a vampire.
"Heidi," she said slowly.
"I know mom," I said desperately, "I know and I'm so sorry."
"Who did this to you," she demanded, seeming heated.
"A vampire, mom," I sighed, unable to keep from rolling my eyes.
"How . . . How could you let this happen!" she exploded at me.
"It wasn't my fault mom!" I shouted back, "This vampiress just chose me to join her coven! I had no choice! I can't overpower a vampire!"
"You shouldn't have put yourself in a dangerous situation!" she went on.
"You don't even know the whole story!" I yelled, "How do you know I put myself in a dangerous situation!"
"Because you're always putting yourself in dangerous situations! Why do you think I have these greys?" she demanded, yanking her hair, "Because I've aged horribly sitting up night after night worrying about you!"
"It's not my fault that I have a social life mom!" I shouted.
"Well now you're going to have a budding social life sucking people's arteries!" she shouted back.
"God! You're so close minded mom!" I yelled, tugging at my hair in frustration, "Vampires aren't blood drinking demons you know!"
She sighed and took a deep breath, covering her eyes with her hand. "I know, I know," she mumbled. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too," I said, cooling down as quickly as I had heated up, "I didn't mean for this to happen."
"I know you didn't honey," she said, lifting her eyes and running her hand through her hair, "Don't worry. I'm going to handle it. First things first we need to call your father-"
"No," I said immediately, "Don't call Dad."
"But honey what am I supposed-" she began.
"Nothing," she said, "You don't have to do anything. I have everything under control."
"Under control?" she demanded, "How can you have this under control? There's so much to sort out! Like school! How are you going to graduate? You know fledglings can barely tolerate sunlight."
"Who says I need to graduate right now?" I asked, "I'm immortal now. I can graduate whenever. I can wait until I have better resistance to the sun and then I can finish high school. And with Drucilla's money I could go to college anywhere."
"Drucilla?" my mom repeated.
"My vampire," I explained.
She nodded but didn't seem fully placated. "But still - there's so much to deal with!"
"Not really mom," I tried to explain, "Drucilla's house is just a couple blocks away in East Lamia. I'll live there and learn how to be a vampire. And I can visit whenever. It'll be perfect."
She seemed a little soothed, hearing how close by I'd be. "But what will I do here without you?" she asked sadly.
She seemed like she was partially kidding but the statement itself made me feel guilty and selfish and on the verge of tears. "You'll be fine mom," I promised, "You still have a few more years before Kathleen will be a pain like me. Plus you have Vic and you guys are so great together."
"I know," she said, giving me a random hug. Feeling young and scared, I hugged her back just as tightly.
"Well, I gotta get going," I said, "There's still a lot of stuff I have to sort through. But I'll come by tomorrow. I promise."
"Do you wanna grab some of your stuff first?" she asked, looking at my outfit with a raised eyebrow.
"Um yeah," I said, "Sure."
I slipped by her and into my house and up the stairs. As I went into my room and began to pack I thought of Farrah, wondering if my mom would notice her standing on the curb. Had Farrah been human I would have never left her out on the street alone at night. But she was a vampire, in her own territory. She was perfectly safe.
Once I'd stuffed two duffle bags full of shorts, panties, bras, and offensive t-shirts I made my way downstairs. I could hear voices coming from the kitchen and found Farrah sitting at my kitchen table while my mother made tea.
"Hi Heidi," Farrah said, "You didn't tell me your mother was so wonderful!"
"Aw, thank you honey," my mom said.
"Well I'm glad you guys like each other, but we should probably get going," I hinted.
"You're right," Farrah said, "You're probably tired anyway. The first few days after you get bitten you're tired like all the time."
I thought about it for a few minutes. Now that I let myself relax for a second, I felt exhausted. I'd been so wired before; freaking out about this whole situation. But now that I had a chance to think about it, I could feel fatigue settle around me like a tangible thing.
"Yeah. I am pretty tired. Good night mom. I'll see you tomorrow," I said, going over to her and giving her a hug.
"Alright. Don't come by too late. I want Kathleen to be awake when you stop by," she told me.
"Okay," I said, "C'mon Farrah."
She got up and skipped over to my side. "Hope to see you soon Heidi's Mama."
She laughed. "You too Farrah."
"Okay. Bye mom. Love you," I said, heading for the door.
"Love you too," she said as Farrah and I left. As we walked back to the mansion in East Lamia, Farrah kept up a string of chatter. Mostly about the fledglings in the house and the various human boys she liked to visit. I was barely listening. I just felt so tired. My body felt heavier than usual and it felt like a struggle to just lift my legs.
When we finally reached the large house on the hill I was overjoyed. The trek up the hill felt like climbing Mount Everest but when we finally made it to the door I sighed in relief. I waited for Farrah to unlock the door before gratefully stepping inside. All I wanted to do was go up to my room and go to sleep.
"C'mon," Farrah said, "Let's go tell Drucilla your back."
I moaned. "Can you just tell her yourself," I said, "I'm dead on my feet."
"More like undead," she giggled.
I gave her an exhausted, annoyed look. "Just tell Drucilla that we made it back fine and that everything is taken care of for me. Okay?"
"I'll be sure to tell her," she agreed perkily.
"Thank you Farrah," I sighed gratefully, glad somebody was cooperating with me.
"Well goodnight Heidi," she chirped, "See you . . . Whenever you decide to wake up."
"Goodnight Farrah," I said, dragging myself upstairs. I went up to my new bedroom and threw myself on the comfy, unmade bed. I was out in seconds.