make me

55- mother

"She reminded me of myself... I saw her scared eyes and my heart ached, it was like, I had to save her so I could be at peace with myself and people that left me in the dark... I had to prove to myself, that I could still be good."

"So what did you do?"

"I told her it would be alright and that I would take care of her. And I did. I took her under my wing, I taught her how to defend herself in case something ever happened, I educated her... I did everything I could, everything I would've wanted to receive as a child. But she had something I never could imagine of getting back. She had hope..." a tear slipped down her cheek, only to end on her lips. I thought of it as a symbolism... as if the love that Raven had for Elizabeth was born into her eyes the moment she saw her and died as they last kissed.

"She believed I could be good again, that I could make up for everything bad I had ever done... but I never believed her. I just hope she's proud of me, now..."

"I'm sure she is, Liv... I know I am." She looked at me surprised, with her eyes full of tears.

"It's been quite a long time someone had called me that way... but that doesn't matter, I need to understand first, why would you be proud of me, Bee?"

"You know, when I was younger, my grandma used to tell people about how much hope I had for our world. I spent days imagining a life where humans and vampires would be at peace, and people thought I was crazy... my grandma called me a monster tamer, and I was determined to prove to people that vampires could be our friends. I never made the connections before, but I guess that's why I always forgave you... I looked into your eyes and something made me think that, you had something that most vampires don't . I knew there was something hiding under your shell, and I was determined to understand why you were the way you were." I looked at Raven and gave her charismatic eyes, some that gave off a sense of comfort, but not of pity, "you proved to me, that sometimes I don't hope for nothing... that sometimes, people do change for the best, something I had never seen of my own eyes yet..."

"Bee, I-" she looked at me, seeming completely wordless, "it means... so much to me." She let another tear fall down her cheeks and let out a sigh of relief.

I got up and sat on her lap, straddling her. I looked into her eyes, and the only thing I could think of was...

"I love you." My thoughts came out before I could even think of what I was going to say.

"You will forever surprise me." She smiled and pressed her lips against mine. I could taste the saltiness of her tears, but I didn't mind it, this feeling was worth anything.

"Raven?" I pressed my forehead on hers.

"Yeah?"

"You really won't turn back to the way you were before?"

"Never. Not if I have you..." we kissed again, leaving a sent of passion and love in the air around us.

Was this real love?

"Can you talk about your life more?" I asked Raven. I loved hearing about it, and it gave me a lot of insight on what her situation was.

"Why would you want to hear about it?" She asked, taking me into her arms.

"I love hearing you talking... your voice really calms me." It had been ever since day one that I noticed that when Raven was good, her voice was like a stress relief to me. It's like I already knew her before, like even through all the pain, I was meant to find her again. I often found myself believing that I was Elizabeth before. With what Raven had told me about her, we seem to have a lot of traits in common. It's not like me to believe in things like reincarnation though.

"Then, what do you want to hear about?" She asked me.

"How about your mom?"

"Well... my mom was pretty much my bestfriend, but my dad always tried to make her abandoned me. He said I was useless, that I didn't bring anything to the family. He had always wanted a boy. My mom though, she always took care of me and defended me against my dad. Until she got sick... no one really knew what she had caught, but the doctors said that she wouldn't survive in her condition for long..." I was kind of astonished by the fact that Raven always lost the ones she loved, but I guess this was the sick game that we all call life.

"And they were right. A week passed, and so did my mother. That day, I knew I hadn't only lost my mom, I was losing my home, my dad, my security, the access to food... I was losing everything. And that's when King came in. I was hungry... and he promised me that if I followed him, I would have food forever and I could become strong enough to never be mistreated again. It was the biggest mistake I ever made. I wished of dying on the streets after realizing what that deal really meant. When I got taken, I dreamed of awful things happening to me so I would be able to die. To be free..."

"I'm so sorry you had to live through that, Raven..."

"It's not your fault, if anyone had to apologize, it would be King, but I doubt he will ever do that..." Raven took my face in her hands and looked at my eyes, analyzing me.

"You're tired, aren't you?" She asked me.

"Just a little bit... it's fine."

"No, it's not. Come, we'll go sleep." She took me in her arms and brought me to the bed. She laid down next to me for the second time that night and I laid my head on her chest.

She played in my hair as she held my leg that I had stretched over her, and slowly, we both drifted into sleep.