Vampire Sister

Chapter 44

It was about 10 on a fine Saturday morning. I had just woken up and went downstairs to brush my teeth. Mom had her serious tone 'ON' and was discussing something with Katie. Dad was off at work but mom had taken the day off, I guessed. I heard mom's voice rise as she said, "No way, Katie! You, you can do it here, darling." My eyebrows pinched together as I made my way to the living room. Katie was sitting on the couch and mom was sitting opposite to her. Katie had buried her head in her palms and was murmuring something to herself. Mom had her hands on her knees and was staring at Katie. I sat beside Katie and asked, "Okay, what's going on?"

Mom started, "Your sister wants to go to-"

"Mom, wait." Katie had said. "I want to be the one who tells her." Mom nodded and gestured for Katie to start. She did. "So, you know, I used to say that I wanted to become a doctor?"

"Yeah?" I said.

"Well, that's exactly what I'm gonna do. But not here."

"Wow, I really didn't think you'd pick that as your career but what do you mean 'not here'?"

"Not here in the sense, not in New Orleans. I was thinking of going to-"

"Nope, not happening." was all I said. I had already reached my room and was about to slam the door when she scrambled up the stairs shouting, "Ky! Wait, listen to me!"

"There's nothing to listen to, Katerina." I never used her full name unless I was dead serious. "You are not going anywhere." Katie was 6 years older than me and she was always the responsible one. Yeah, I am accepting that I am not as responsible as her.

"Okay, you like solving crimes, right? Let's assume that there's a university that you long to go to. And it's not in New Orleans. But if you go there, you can finally achieve what you want. That's exactly my situation. Try to understand. I'll visit you each year if possible. I'll call you everyday. I-I promise I'll make up for the time lost, okay?" She held my hand and pressed it to her cheek. Her cheek was warm, probably from arguing. I was not a bit convinced but I said, "I'll think about it." Katie smiled and left me with my thoughts. 

I had thought a lot about it. On one hand, my mind was constantly giving me ideas on how to convince her to stay. On the other hand, it was giving me glimpses of how it would be to not see Katie properly for about 6 years of my life. But it was her dream after all and I had to respect that. It was a big fight, which did not involve physical contact or pain. But mentally, each member of our family was beyond hurt. For almost a week, we didn't talk to each other, Katie and I. I thought I was the worst hit by her decision but mom was the one. At night when I crawled down the stairs to fetch myself a glass of water, I could hear her sobbing and crying. Dad was doing his best, trying to comfort her but he was hurt as well.

Katie, who never caused trouble to anyone, had stirred up so much pain in one single week. I hated her for that. Hoping she'd realise that and stay, I did nothing. Literally nothing was all I did. But it seemed that she hadn't changed her mind. On the night when she announced that it was her final decision to go to London, my parents had to reluctantly accept, but I went to her room and shouted, "YOU DO KNOW THAT WE'RE HUMAN, RIGHT? AND HUMANS, REQUIRE THEIR DAUGHTERS OR SISTERS TO STAY WITH THEM AND NOT RUN AWAY. I'M NOT SURE YOU'RE EVEN MY SISTER." She looked absolutely taken aback and tears fell down her cheek. But I didn't stay to wipe them away. Instead, I stuffed a few of my clothes into a duffel bag and went to Carla's house.

My mind snapped back to the current situation. I was sitting at a table in Starbucks. My head was pounding. My head was in my hands and I looked up as the woman at the counter called out to me. She was holding out the coffee that I ordered, along with the bill. I walked over to the counter and stared at the bill. I had ordered a Caffe Latte - Tall which cost $2.95. I pulled out a ten-dollar bill from my pocket and handed it to the woman. She said something about how people refuse to give the exact amount and disappeared behind the corner. I leaned on my elbow as I waited for her to return. Tristan had gone inside the meeting and was about to return when I left, not wanting to see him. That jerk was a vampire. But that wasn't the reason I was mad at him. He didn't tell me that he was a vampire even after I told him I knew about them. You should've known. When you told him about vampires, he said, 'I know, my uncle's one.' That was probably true. Then he must've decided that maybe me not knowing that he was one was better and played the fool. I closed my hands around the warm coffee cup and the warmth immediately spread across my palms.