After Dark

After Dark (24)

--chapter 24--

Cindy Hunter

Oh God. I hope he's okay. Oh Lord please let him be okay. I paced up and down our living room. It's quite big, with a light brown sectioned sofa, a flat screen TV, a coffee table and assorted accesories around. Most of them are family photos. We believe in putting them up for show, not hidden in musty old photo album to be forgetten.

"Mum, calm down. Dad'll be here. He probably decided to stay another night." My sixteen-year-old daughter Julie said.

She was always so calm about everything, just like her father. She also got the black hair from him. But her dark blue eyes are from me. My son, Timmy, was ten-years-old. He had my light brown hair and his fathers deep brown eyes. He lay on the sofa reading a comic while Julie was sitting on the table listening to her iPod.

"Okay, okay." I looked at her. "Julie! Sit on a chair or the sofa like a normal person!" I scolded.

She stood up reluctantly and went upstairs to her room. Sigh. Sometimes I think Tom and I spoil these kids. There was a knock at the door. I nearly ran to the large wooden door. I opened it and there was Tom with a huge smile on his face.

I hugged him and said, "Oh honey! I'm so glad you're back! You had me so worried!"

When we broke of the embrace, he looked slightly in pain.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Y-yeah. I'm f-fine. I'll tell you later." He said. "Hey kiddos." He hugged Timmy and Julie.

"See? I told you that you had nothing to worry about" Julie told me.

She was right, but I was a bit concerned with the 'news' Tom needed to tell me.

***

I sat on the edge on our double bed, while Tom was pacing back and forth. We were in the bedroom and I knew it was something serious because he didn't want the kids to hear anything.

"I don't know how to say this" He started, still pacing.

He kept no eye contact with me.

"Just let it out dear" I said.

I was a bit scared. Was he seeing someone else? Was he about to divorce me right here and now? Those questions flooded through my head in an instant.

"I'm... I'm... a ... vampire." He announced.

"What?!! What on Earth are you talking about Tom?! Have you been drinking again? I thought you promised not to since we had the kids!!" I cried out hysterically.

Then I started laughing.

"Oh God... Tom... you nearly had me there... a vampire?! I see Julie's got to you with her books and movies!" I said in between breaths.

"LISTEN!!" He boomed.

I automatically shut up. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out on to our balcony. He's skin was ice-cold and rock-hard. Maybe he wasn't joking. The sun came out. It's been pretty bright this late summer/early autumn in Forks. Tom took off his jacket and let the sun touch the skin on his forearms. His skin sparkled. Like it was made of hundreds of thousands of diamonds. I gasped.

"See? I'm not joking Cindy." He said.

I was still in shock. I even had to sit down on one of the wooden deck chairs.

"Who did this to you?" I asked. "Because you weren't like this when you left."

"There are vague, unclear memories... I remember two girls, a blonde, and a brunette, I gave them a ride in my car, then the blonde one bit me on my neck, the extreme pain, the feeling of both my legs going numb, then I blacked out and found myself in the boot." He replied.

Then, I remembered what vampires feed on... humans.

"Are... are you going to hurt me?" I asked.

"No, of course not Cindy. I would never hurt you or our kids!"

I relaxed. But it only lasted a few seconds. I tensed up again.

"If you're a vampire..."

"Which I am."

"...then that means that there are others! Oh Tom!" I started crying.

He put his arm around me. He knew what I was thinking. If there were others, then that means that the kids and I are still in danger. Unless...

"Maybe..." I started off.

"What?"

"Maybe, you could track down another vampire... like the one that changed you! Do you remember the girls' names?"

"Yeah... Brooke and Crystal."

"Any more clues?" I asked.

"I remember... the blonde one... Crystal... she goes to... um... Forks High School."

My frown deepened. 

"B-but, that's Julie's school." I said.

I was scared. There was a vampire (maybe even more) interacting with innocent humans in the local school!

"Should we tell the police?" I asked.

"No, that won't help. One, they won't believe us. Two, vampires are stronger than humans. And faster."

I felt safe with him now. Nothing bad would ever happen to any of us. Maybe, if he changed us all, we'd be completely safe from the other vampires!

"No. Way. Not now anyway." He said.

"How did you--"

"I can read minds. Its kinda wierd, cause I have to concentrate on what the person is saying, not what they are thinking. But the main thing is, I have to stay hidden. Thank goodness its Autumn, rarely any sun then."

"But, look. If you change all of us, you'd never have to worry about our safety anymore!" I tried to convince him.

"The truth is," Tom looked at his feet. "I don't know how to."

I went to him and hugged him. It was like hugging a rock. A cold one at that.

"It's gonna be okay." I promised. "Cause all we have to do is find Crystal, which would probably lead us to Brooke. We corner them, we ask them all the questions we have, then we kill them."

Tom looked at me with a confused look. I usually was the 'peace and love' person, so it was kind of strange hearing me talk about killing someone. I'll never forget the look of pain Tom had when he walked in through the door, and thos two girls --no, vampires-- are going to have to pay.

*****