Criminal

Chapter 3: Understanding

The reality of Nick being my only parent now was setting in. I bit my lip to force myself to not cry in front of him, but I couldn't help some tears coming out. Ever since he left, I was the strong one looking out for her. Being on guard and not showing weakness was all I knew, but I failed. I let Fay did as she wanted and I relaxed, so now she's dead and I was alone.

Nick panicked as he drove toward his house, making many driving mistakes even I wouldn't make. Even though he seemed upset, I still distrusted him. "Shelly, what happened last night was a vampire attack."

"What? Vampires don't exist. It was a sick intruder." I scratched my neck, which healed. My neck should be wrecked like Fay's, but it's fine. It matched a stereotypical vampire attack, but it must be someone imitating one.

"It's real, but people don't know of it. I'm one, along with Cecil and Darren, and you must be one as well." He hesitated as he spoke, seeming secretive about it.

I remembered Darren was his son he had with Cecil. Now I saw him as a brother instead of a stranger. "Why are your family vampires? Is this why you left us?"

"I left because I might hurt you or your mother with the abilities and urges that vampires have. I wanted those abilities, but I mostly became this way for Darren..."

"What do you mean 'for Darren'? Was he a vampire before you? Why did he become one?" I annoyed him with my questions, but I was finally getting answers for questions I had for years. I wondered why he left us, but we must not be to blame. The whole situation was complicated with this vampire thing.

"I'll explain everything at my house." He stayed silent to calm down. He's too upset to talk anymore, and I needed time to process what happened. Even now, I couldn't believe my mom died, and all I have was Nick and his untrustworthy family.

Pulling up in his driveway, I shook, realizing my predicament. My only family was Nick, who's a vampire, which attacked me and killed my mom. How would I know if he or someone in his family did it? How many vampires were there? My body healed from an attack that'd take weeks to recover, so I must be one. What would that mean for me?

I sat shaking, unable to do useful movement. Nick opened the door for me with great concern on his face. I unbuckled and forced myself to walk inside with him. He's been so caring toward me, but it may be an act.

I sat across from him at the wooden, round table in the white room at the entrance of his home. "Cecil and Darren are upstairs, so we can talk in private about whatever you like."

He forgot the last thing he said, and I wasn't ready for the vampire subject. "Why weren't you around when you saw Cecil?"

He sighed, bracing himself to talk about this subject. "I love Fay, but sadly, I fell for Cecil too. I felt guilty, but that guilt pales in comparison after we had Darren. The poor boy was always sick, and I abandoned you because his condition kept getting worse. Eventually, he couldn't live much longer, but his doctor did an experimental treatment. It turned him into a vampire. We didn't understand the implications, and were glad he's better. Until he began attacking animals, we understood we needed to work together to help him."

I crossed my arms and stared at the floor. It must've been horrifying what he, Cecil, and Darren went through. If I was a parent, losing my kid would have ruined me. I understood why he did what he did. He had been struggling with a tough situation. He's trying to fix his mistakes while I've been rude and judgmental. I sighed. "Wow," I muttered.

"It's okay, Shelly, you didn't know. From your perspective, I was a horrible father, but I'll be better. Darren has recovered, so I wanted you and Fay back. It's horrible it worked out like this."

I pondered who would want me and Fay gone. "Do you think Cecil is jealous of Fay?"

"She's unhappy with the situation, but she would not hurt her, especially you, since you remind her of her son."

He denied it quickly, which didn't make me any less skeptical of her. I moved on to getting more information about vampires. "Do you think I'm a vampire now? What exactly do they do?"

"I'm glad you're curious, since I'm still learning about them. You could only survive that attack if someone turned you into a vampire. It is a witchcraft ritual where magic takes over and animates the body. It allows immortality, quick healing, being faster and stronger than normal. However, the soul leaves the body once it gets taken over by witchcraft. Without the soul, the body seems dead, and to keep magic animating the body, it needs soul essence, which is contained in the blood of non-vampires."

I lost the urge to breathe this morning, which confirmed I was dead, but alive as a vampire. This meant my soul wasn't in my body anymore. A hallow sensation came over me, wondering what that meant. "I will need soul essence, but why did you say non-vampires instead of just humans?"

"You can get it from animals too, plus there are werewolves. They have their human soul along with a wolf soul. All I know about them is they can shift into a wolf form. I had a short conversation with one a while ago."

The gashes on my mom must've been the perpetrator trying to trick people into thinking a werewolf did it, but the missing blood made it obvious it's a vampire. Maybe I had those gashes, but it healed overnight. "What will you do about Fay now?"

"I'll clean that place and take care of everything. If I tell the authorities, then they'll suspect vampires and werewolves to be real." He got up to leave. "Also, I'm terribly sorry for what you're going through. I'll do everything I can to help you through it. Are you okay waiting here until I come back?"

I nodded before he left and contemplated what he had told me. If a ritual turned someone into a vampire, then someone used witchcraft on me. I assumed the attacker did, but they acted determined to kill me. They set the scene to make it look like a murder. Darren had been a vampire longer than anyone else here, so I'd ask him. I looked forward to finally seeing my half-brother.