Chapter 9

Return to Motherhood: Rated Immortal

It took a total of three minutes for us to get here. Luke landed us in an empty ally behind an abandoned warehouse not far from the stores. A regular human would think twice about walking around in this area at night. But Luke and I were part of the darkness and the world that inhabited creatures that go bump in the night. It was a walk in the park for us. And I loved every part of Hipsterville.

Everywhere you looked there were Goths, punk rockers, skaters, hipsters, and vampires. I felt normal here, and would have considered moving here too if I could ignore the fact that Dullsville would always be home. Even Luke liked it here. So did Alexander and every other vampire I knew. My kids however, thought differently. They didn't think of the people who inhabited the towns, but of the places they were going. They loved Aunt Lily, but didn't like being home schooled. In Dullsville, they were always eager to go to the mansion. I tried showing them the other mansion where Alexander stayed when in town. They enjoyed it for some time, but both agreed that nothing was better than the Sterling Mansion on Benson Hill.

We sped past the stores, since I was anxious to unite my darlings with their father, when I saw Onyx coming out of The Coffin Club. The Coffin Club is another nightclub Jagger started before he came to Dullsville to startup The Crypt. She didn't see me and I wasn't in the mood to have another fight with her. Plus I didn't want anyone else knowing the reason for my visit. But maybe later I'll entertain the thought of getting her and Luke reacquainted. Luke was directly behind me keeping pace, being protective. Would he be interested in getting hooked up with Onyx again? I asked myself. They had a pretty good thing going for a month and he told me that he really liked her. But then he had to ruin it by bringing her home without telling her beforehand whom he was living with. I can't believe all he told her was that he had a roommate who he used to bed. Thank the seraphs he wasn't stupid enough to mention that he never stopped. Onyx knew I wasn't talking to her because she wouldn't help when it came to Alexander, but she never stopped trying until that night. I felt bad for her. But I was selfish and wanted Luke's attention too. Now look where that put me.

We reached Aunt Lily's apartment building and buzzed for her door. The main door buzzed back to signal it was being unlocked. I didn't get a foot on the first step when two twins came rushing into my arms. "Mommy!" Lexy squealed. "You're here, you're here, you're here!" she chanted. I giggled and hugged them to me tight. I could hear Aunt Lily trying to run down the stairs to catch up. "Luke! I missed you too." Lexy released me to run into Luke's arms.

"Mom," called Alex.

"Yes, handsome?" I asked.

"What's wrong?" I never forget that Alex is empathic. He can sense other people's emotions. I do what I can to control mine, but I'm feeling happy to see him and his sister now. I'm also excited about what's to come for them as well. But the sadness in me has lingered. And Alex has witnessed the emotion in me more than I wish, so he could never ignore it when it was there. "I'm sorry, mom. Whatever is making you so sad, I'm sorry." I sigh and held him tighter.

"Don't be Alexander," I assured him, "I just missed you guys so much. But I've got a surprise for you both when we get home." His face brightened.

"What is it mommy? A dress? Can we go to the movies?" Lexy had a chain of questions about what the prize might be. Alex wasn't far behind either.

"Did you get me new pencils? Lexy broke mine!" he reminded me.

"Lexy that reminds me we are going to have a very serious talk tonight, so I hope you've already apologized for breaking his stuff." I warned her in my motherly tone. Lexy's eyes widened and she went over to her brother and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sorry about your pencils, Alexander. I promise not to do it again." She apologized. Alex nodded in acceptance and went over to high-five Luke and feign punches at him. Luke pretended to go down in pain. Boys will be boys, I told myself. Aunt Lily came down and I saw she was trying to bring the kids bag down.

"You guy's help Aunt Lily with your things." I told the kids. Poor Aunt Lily looked like she was going to throw out her back. I tend to forget about her human limitations, Billy's too. Alex, Lexy, and Luke grabbed the bags with ease, and my aunt told us about their studies this weekend, and the homework they had for the week. I thanked her and she wished me luck, on Alexander, before we left.

Luke walked behind us and I insisted we take a short cut to avoid being spotted. We seemed like a normal little gothic family to the eyes of the people passing by. I held Lexy's hand while Alex hung back to talk to Luke. Alex was more mature for his age. Some of it may be because he was the older brother looking out for his sister and mother, other times because he had a direct line to the emotions of the people around him. Lexy had her own power too. I figured you'd have to be born a vampire to have them, because I hadn't gotten any. Then again, Luna was the only one in her family not born a vampire, but once she was turned she had them. And she also had people around her to help her figure it out. Unlike me, I thought. I need to stop pitying my self; it's not good for the kids.

We got to the alley behind the warehouse and Luke released his wings again and got down on all fours to let the kids climb up. They positioned their bags on their backs and climbed on Luke's back. He was really strong to be able to carry all of us along with those bags. When they were secured, he gracefully stood up and extended his hand to me. I smiled and went to him. Instead of wrapping myself around him, I let him hold me princess style before he took off. We weren't flying as fast as Luke was with just me, because he'd never risk the kids falling off. But we were still faster than the human eye can follow. Not to mention we were high up.

Ten minutes later, we were back in the clearing where we started. Luke let us down, and grabbed the bags from the kids. We followed him out of the woods to our back yard when Alex and Lexy stopped walking. "What's wrong?" I asked them.

"Mom, look." Alex pointed toward the sky, "I didn't see them before. They're bats." I looked up to see the bats flying around. There were only a few bats in Dullsville, besides the vampires that changed into them. But we would only see them near the mountains where the caves were. Not flying around close to town near Benson Hill. Alexander's presence attracts swarms of bats everywhere he goes, even inside the mansion.

"That's apart of the surprise, but we can't stop here. We have to hurry so I can show you." I told them. They both smiled and ran the rest of the way home. "Just drop off everything and get in the car." I called after them. I saw Luke smile at them. "Thanks Luke."

"For what?" he asked.

"For always being there for me and looking out for the kids. And for putting up with me and my moods." He raised his brows as if to say 'that was an understatement'. "I don't want to hurt you Luke, and I'm sorry for what you're going through with him coming back." He stayed quiet as I continued. "You're right about us, about me being in love with you too. But Luke, you need to understand that we can't be." I stopped and looked him in the eyes, willing him to understand. "I have loved Alexander for ten years, and when he was gone, even though I was furious and tried to ignore the pain… I still love him. We are bound together forever, Luke. And there's no doubt in my mind that I'd still love him even if we weren't. When he left, I thought he didn't want me and regretted turning me, binding me to him. I was insecure and heartbroken. On his end, he only meant to finish what he was needed for then return for me. We had the worst misunderstanding possible. So when he comes back to find out about us… and I found out about him…" He never looked away from me and allowed his lips to remain silent as I let out my problems. "Right now, I want to make things work out for Alexander and the kids. I want him and I want to at least get past this miscommunication, to become friends again and then find a way back to how we once were. But, I don't want to lose your friendship either." We stood there after I finished venting. Luke bent down to kiss my forehead, and I hugged him close.

"That seems fair," he said and I exhaled in relief, "for now."

I couldn't help but smile at his stubbornness, as I pulled away to walked towards the driveway. The kids were already in the Nissan and I saw Lexy hold up my purse while Alex held up the keys. Anxious little rascals, I thought. Climbing into the driver's seat, I grabbed the keys from Alex and started the ignition. "What about Luke?" Lexy asked. "He's not coming to see the surprise?"

"Luke already saw the surprise and wants you to have it all to yourselves." I told them.

"He's lonely" Alex commented.

"That's probably because your Uncle Billy is hanging out with a friend instead of playing games with him." I told him.

"I'll play games with him when we get beck, then." He decided. Alex always wants to make things better when we're feeling down, and I love him all the more for it.

"That's a good idea sweetie. But just in case, we might be home late tonight." I said. We drove towards the mansion and past the open gates up the driveway. "We're here!" I chimed pulling up in front of the mansion.

"You got the lights turned on!" Lexy exclaimed. I wanted to laugh from thinking about how we always lived in candle light. Vampires are sensitive to bright lights, so I never turned them on or bought bulbs for the lamps. It did wonders on my electricity bill. Luke and Billy always had lights turned on in their room and when they were in the kitchen or bathroom, though.

The kids ran up the front steps to the mansion and threw the door open.