Building A (Strange) Family

Learning And Coping

Mom was in bed when they all got there.
So Lilly slipped in the three vampires to the apartment secretly.
And it continued for the next four months.

Sometimes they would come and eat dinner, sometimes they would bring food.
Sometimes she made late night smoothies, other times it would just be massive amounts of popcorn. Sometimes, it was walking around the city and finding new things to see and do.

Usually, the nights consisted of really bad science fiction films and old horror movies.
Tonight was something they weren't sure if it was satire or really trying to be serious.

"Wait... are you guys okay with garlic?" She asked as she brought out the artichoke she just made.
Mark instantly recoiled, pulling a face.

David rolled his eyes.
"Lets be clear; as vampires, yes we can handle garlic. Mark however has the pallet of a five year old and prefers not to eat it."

Joel and Lilly laughed and even Mark smirked.

Mark took his usual spot on the floor.
Joel folded himself into Mom's over stuffed arm chair.
David and Lilly shared the couch, if you could call it sharing.
He kept pushing his legs over to her side just to grin when she rolled her eyes and let him take up the extra room.

Really, she loved the closeness with them. Not only did they like to hug and touch her, but with each other. Always an arm around another, a teasing shove, full on roughhousing.

"No way! I'm twenty three too!" Joel exclaimed upon hearing Lilly's age.

"Really? When? I'm April."

His eyes widened, "Me too! The second!"

"Eighteenth!"

"You guys are like twins..."
They both grinned at Mark, though not quite understanding.

"Well, same age, same month, and you both joined our family the same night," Mark said matter-of-factly.

David nodded, looking at the two.
"Make sense to me," he agreed, nudging her leg with his boot.

She couldn't tell if they felt her happiness, felt her joy at being called family.
In a few short months, these guys had worked there way into her heart and now it turns out she might have done the same with them.

She grinned over to Joel and squealed, "twinsies!"
She didn't say it, but she started to think up birthday party ideas for next year. Now, she just needed to find out Mark and Davids birthdays.

The next night, David and Mark came alone, a little melancholy.

"Where's my twin?" She asked, stepping aside to let them in.

"There was... and incident tonight," David started.
They didn't leave the hall. David just took her hand absentmindedly and explained.

"He's a wreck. He lost a little control tonight and almost drank to much."

"Almost! He didn't even do that much damage!" Mark burst out, looking miserable.

Lilly's free hand went to his shoulder and rubbed.

"He keeps going on about being a monster and self loathing," David continued.

"Where is he?"

"Back at the lair... Could you... would you go to him? We can't seem to get through to him-"

"Oh, of course!" She opened the closet to get her jacket and followed them out, running back when she realized she hadn't locked the door.

David and Mark let Lilly go on her own, using her phone flashlight down the dark steps.
Most of the lights were off in the basement as well and at first she wasn't sure Joel was even there anymore.
"Joel?" she asked, quietly.
There was no reply.
She started to make her way back to the stairs to tell them he was gone. She was a little afraid if he left, he might not come back.
No, he knew this was where he belonged.

She kept moving around the room until she stumbled on what looked almost like a cave mouth, low on a wall further back.
Taking a deep breath, pressing her claustrophobia down and back in her mind.
It was creepy and she almost turned back.
But before too long, it opened into a small room. It was trashed, as if halfway carved out and then abandoned as unworkable. There were pipes and exposed beams over head.

But there, on the floor curled up on his side, was Joel.
He had been crying but now just stared ahead into nothingness.
He didn't move when Lilly shined the light over him.
Hardly noticed when the light went away.
He did, however, jump when he realized she had crawled on the floor behind him, throwing an arm over his waist.

She didn't say anything. Just held him.
She soon noticed he was crying again.
Still, she just held him.

"I know I didn't kill them... but if David hadn't been there, hadn't noticed-"

"Dude! You've been doing this a couple months. It's not like you're used to all this. David was there. It's fine. I mean, the way he talks, it sounds like he had a harder time then you. David actually was a-"

She hesitated to say he was a monster, but it was true. He had killed. That was the past.

Joel kind of huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I guess... he really is okay? He didn't die?"

"That's what David and Mark said. Marks pretty upset. Said you didn't do much damage at all."

They were quiet for a while before Joel pulled himself up to sit. Lilly followed, throwing herself over his back, arms around his shoulders.
He brought up a hand to rest on hers, thumb absentmindedly rubbing her skin.

"They sent you to check on me, hu?"

"Yeah. They were worried... I'm fostering a cat tomorrow from work... wanna name him?"