Blood Bonds (Vampire)

Chapter 39

Elliana

Telling my mother that I had to go home the next morning was not easy at all. I knew that I couldn't let Demi do all of the talking for me, so the excuse that the two of us had come up with earlier on was that Demi had had a family emergency back in Berkeley this time and I really wanted to be there to support her. Although my mother was clearly disappointed about it, she did understand and encouraged me to go. This was another reason why I really loved my relationship with my mother. Reading break was less than two months away and Demi promised to bring me back for a visit again. Also to my surprise, my mother and Demi seemed to get on very well.

The plan today was that Demi would teleport us back to Berkeley, but we wouldn't go to my dad's house. A plane ride from New York City to Berkeley would take several hours, so if we suddenly showed up at my dad's house, the timelines wouldn't match up. I was also meant to be with Demi because of her "family emergency", so Lana invited us over to her house for a few nights. Demi had said that I could meet the rest of her siblings at the same time. I was slightly anxious about meeting them, but she reassured me that everything would be alright.

While I slept the night before, Demi had already packed all of my belongings for me, so we were ready to leave right away. My mother drove us to the airport, but we convinced her to leave us at the entrance. Demi then took me around the back and teleported us to Berkeley. The process of teleporting back was not the most comfortable, but I really couldn't complain. I just imagined how much money I could save on plane tickets in the future. Thinking about this also helped me take my mind off of the current situation a little.

When we arrived at Lana's house, I was extremely surprised at two things. Rosie came bounding up to lick my face as we opened the door. "What's she doing here?!" I grinned widely and picked her up. Demi had literally not allowed me to carry any of my own luggage, so my hands were free.

Lana rolled her eyes. "I asked Adriana if I could borrow her for a week. She said it would be okay since she was going to be staying at her boyfriend's for a few days anyways. I thought it would be a good welcome home surprise for you." She shrugged and put her hands in her pockets. I squealed and threw my other arm around Lana, making her stiffen and pat my head awkwardly. Demi laughed at this.

Lana helped Demi bring the rest of my things in. The inside of Lana's house was huge. The second thing that really surprised me was when Kailey came running downstairs. "Elli! You're here!"

I gave Lana a nervous look because I wasn't sure what she wanted me to say. To my surprise, she laughed. "Oh right, I forgot to tell you. You know that Kailey and Brett aren't actually my biological siblings. Kailey told you that I was adopted but that's not the whole story. They're my cousins. My mother was the witch side of the family. She and Kailey's mother were sisters. Kailey's mother doesn't have the full gene, but she still lives longer than an average human. She took me in when my mother passed a few decades back. The twins know mostly about what's been going on." She nodded towards Kailey, who grinned.

"Why didn't you say anything to me?" I asked Kailey in surprise and she gave me a sheepish grin. "Sorry El, I didn't want to overwhelm you."

"I heard your vacation's been pretty stressful." Lana gave me a sympathetic look and I nodded before groaning. Demi's arms wrapped around me from behind and I leaned into her. All of my stress melted away almost instantly and I tilted my head upwards to smile at her.

"Why don't I get Elli and I set up in the spare bedroom and we'll come down in a bit?" Lana nodded and gestured for us to go. I waved at Kailey before following Demi upstairs.

Once we were at the top of the stairs, I admitted in a soft tone. "I feel better being back." I felt bad for saying that since I missed my mother, but I felt safer here with Lana and Demi's siblings, even though I hadn't met them yet.