affectionate

6

FALLON

    I awoke with a start that morning and a migraine that hurt so bad tears sprung to my eyes and my hand gripped the back of my head, a futile attempt at easing the pain.

The events from yesterday were still fresh in my head and confusion was all I felt. Everything from the odd conversation with him to my father practically confirming that he and my mother were hiding something. That thought alone had me springing up out of my bed and racing down the stairs where I knew my parents were.

Descending down the stairs and rounding the corner, I could see my father seated at the table, his back was facing me and my mother sat next to him, her hands covering his with a cup of steaming hot coffee sitting in front of her. She had a sad look on her face, wrinkles that I never noticed before lined the corner of her eyes and dragged down the skin near her mouth. Her lips were pulled into a frown so soft and so miserable that I felt my heart clench in my chest and a frown of my own replaced the tight line of indifference that had maneuvered its way onto my face. Even though my father couldn't see me, I knew he sensed my presence behind him with the way his shoulders sagged and an exasperated sigh slipped past his lips before speaking to me.

"C'mere, Fallon." I hesitated for a moment. I hadn't forgotten what he did last night and this was starting to feel like some type of weird intervention. Nobody sitting at that table was on my side or could ever understand my feelings on this matter and that made me want to run away. Leave Melrose and never look back.

I knew I took too long in making a decision when my father quickly turned around in his chair and motioned to the one next to him with an impatient flare in his eyes. I glanced at my mother who refused to meet my eye and I scoffed in response before walking over to the table and sitting down.

It was silent for a moment, my father's eyes bored holes into the side of my head and my mother looked like she had something to say. Her lower lip trembled and she wouldn't stop fidgeting.

"Listen, if no one here has anything to say then-" I was cut off by the abrupt noise of my father's hand slamming down onto the table. My mouth snapped closed and I jumped in my seat.

"Fallon, I know we haven't been truthful to you about everything but that is no excuse to speak to us like you don't got no sense." My father was getting on my last nerve. He was the last person I wanted to be lectured by considering the way he had been treating me for past few days.

"Then just tell me the truth. That is all I have ever wanted from you guys. Stop leaving me in the dark." My mom reached across the table, her warm hand covering my own and squeezing it gently. I flinched but after a few seconds I realized I could not feel anything. Her hand was on mine but it didn't hurt nor did it feel good. I could feel it but at the same time I couldn't.

I looked up at her, her golden eyes peered into mine, I could see tears forming but could not for the life of me figure out where this random bout of sadness was coming from.

"Fallon, I am going to tell you everything. But please, no talking until i'm done. You will have many questions, but I will not answer any of them until I'm done speaking." With every word my mother said, my heart began to beat faster and memories of heat surging through my body from innocent touches and the strange encounters with him revealed themselves once again in my mind.

"In this world, there are humans. The regular people you see and interact with everyday. They of course are harmless, nothing more than mere mortals who cannot hurt you. In our world, there are humans, witches, vampires, werewolves, the list goes on. These creatures can and will hurt you, Fallon. I want you to know that. With that being said, I am a witch and your father is a werewolf." She paused it seemed, to let her information sink in and seep into my brain. I tried to move to hand away from her but quickly realized I couldn't move at all. My body felt slow and heavy, like I was filled with lead. I couldn't open my mouth either. My breathing picked up significantly and I glanced at my mother who still had that sad look on her face. I glanced at my father too, his expression unreadable.

"Naturally, when you were born you had two choices, inherit your father's werewolf genes or inherit my witch genes. You're so different Fallon, you always have been. So when you turned five and didn't shift for the first time or show any signs of maybe being a witch, we knew something was wrong. Our suspicions only proved to be correct when you started rejecting touch from anyone who wasn't..." She stopped and swallowed but her explanation was finally starting to get interesting. I was so close to figuring out why physical touch ailed me in the way that it did. The need to know more about myself outweighed whatever was going on with my body and I opened my mouth.

"Anyone who wasn't who mom, tell me." She sighed and gave my hand another squeeze, my hand felt numb and her touch felt so close yet so far.

"Anyone who is not your soulmate. You and your soulmate belong to each other, were made for each other even. They're the only one who can touch you without your body rejecting it. And Fallon I need you to understand, no matter how good it feels, how drawn you feel to him, you can't indulge in it." I had a million questions. Nothing made perfect sense to me and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Only one thing was for certain and even then, that thought alone scared the shit out of me.

He was definitely my soulmate.

"He's dangerous Fallon, okay. Since you're human you can't protect yourself in the same ways that your father and I protect ourselves. And we're trying to protect you too, you just have to let us." I wanted to say something, anything, but once again my body was shrouded in lethargy and all I had the strength to do was sit and listen. I was starting to realize that my mother's hand on top of mine was more than likely the cause of whatever I was feeling right now but it was far too late to try and pull away.

"Your mother is beating around the bush but I won't. Your soulmate is a vampire, Fallon. They're dangerous and not to be messed with. They're the only beings in our world that don't conform to the rules that have been set in order to ensure peace and choose to live nasty, violent lives. Witches have agreed to heal, werewolves are supposed to protect, and vampires were too but now, all they do is kill and devastate. They let their bloodlust control them I've seen it happen. I won't let you get wrapped up in that. And I will not promise that I won't kill him if I ever see him around here or if I smell his disgusting scent on you again. Reject him Fallon, before it's too late." My father's rough voice sent a chill through my body and I couldn't muster up enough strength to respond to his cruel words. I had so many questions and they all pressed against the front of my skull, worsening the migraine from this morning.

Soulmates? Vampires? My body rejecting touch? And more importantly, how in the hell was I supposed to reject the one person's whose touch I craved more than the very air that I breathed?

-

if my parents were supernatural beings and i came out normal i'd be pissed asf