The Vampire Cure

Chapter 2

We made it safely back, and once inside my apartment, I engaged the deadbolt, still a little creeped out. My neighborhood wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that great, either. I fed Thundarr, who happily chomped down the kibble in his bowl. Then I turned my attention to the fridge and found the meal labeled "Thursday." It was soup, which I wasn't really in the mood for, but I reheated it anyway. It was easier to plan out all my meals and package them on the weekend, so I could consume the optimal nutrients every day and not have to bother with meal preparation on a work day. Did a potential boyfriend run from my apartment when he saw this? Maybe. But it was a good system, and in a world full of uncertainty, it made sense to control what I could.

I grabbed the now hot soup and brought it to my small dining room table, where my Kindle sat upright. I can get in another chapter while I eat, I thought. I was just getting to the good "quivering member" part when my cell rang. I recognized the number and debated whether to answer it.

"Hi, Mom," I said after hitting the little green accept call button.

"How's my favorite daughter?" she said.

"I'm your only daughter."

"What difference does that make? Still my favorite."

I smiled, her cheerful optimism breaking me down. She had a way of brightening my day and getting under my skin in the same conversation.

"How are things at home?" I asked.

"It's okay. We both miss you so much!"

I had only moved out about a month ago. It made more sense to live at home during college, since all of my undergraduate years occurred before I could drink. Having skipped five grades of elementary school, I went to college to study, not fraternize. When the grant for my doctoral degree fell through, I almost had to drop out. Now that I was twenty-three and had a job that paid well, I could afford to live on my own. But if I was being honest, I missed the cheerfulness, the history there. I missed home.

"Is Dad around?"

"Yes, he's right here. I love you, baby. I'm so proud of you!"

"I love you too, Mom."

"Hold on, here he is," she said.

"Is that my Dizzy Lizzy?" he said, his warm laughter ringing through. It was a name he came up with when I was four and loved to spin around and fall down. It was before I was tested and labeled a genius, before my penchant for science was discovered, before I suddenly had to grow up. I remembered all those fun times with him, laughing until my sides hurt.

"How is your breathing, are you doing all right?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, darling. You needn't worry about me." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "See? Never better."

He must've known that wouldn't fool me. I'd researched COPD for years and knew it wasn't always a constant thing. For some people, it was the flare-ups that made life miserable.

"Fine, I'll ask Mom about it." Though I didn't get along with her the same way I did with my father, I knew she wouldn't try to bullshit me.

"Oh pet, it's just the same. Good days and bad days. It is what it is."

That kind of ambivalent answer only made me worry more. "Have you had an attack?"

The silence on the other end was answer enough.

"It was outpatient, so not so bad," my mother said, taking the phone back. "The doctor's trying a new prescription."

"What is it?" I asked.