Violet

25. All Vampires Are Liars.

I had lived in the same apartment, my home, since the day I was born. My family and I had never moved anywhere, not even temporarily, even during renovations. I barely knew any place outside my neighborhood too. Let alone other cities. I once went on a school trip to Germany, Nuremberg. It lasted three days. We ate various shapes and kinds of gingerbread there. And that was it... I never traveled farther than that. No more than three hours from Poland, if you took the train. But now, everything was about to change all at once, and after a few days of thinking it over, I woke up one morning — and had to grow up.

Because, somehow, for a brief moment, that same morning, I doubted everything. I reconsidered listening to Arthur, paying heed to his threats. And my mom, as if a vampire had possessed her, spoke to me with an unfamiliar voice while flipping a pancake in the pan. She stood with her back to me, on that significant morning:

"Soon, I'll come too, Violet. Dani has new prospects at work, and you'll be starting your college. These are important, serious changes," she declared, recalling out loud the plans of my stepfather and my own plans, for the nearest future. "And I... I didn't want to say anything, but I haven't been feeling well this past week. The doctor insisted I get checked out. But don't worry, by the time you settle in, you won't even notice I'm not around."

Arthur had arranged things in such a way, that his identity and his actions remained completely anonymous. Everything he had a hand in seemed perfectly ordinary, the kind of things that happen to everyone, at least once. My stepfather— was transferred at work. I—was suddenly accepted into a college, in the very same area, in a small town. And my mom... fell ill. I only found out that morning, over pancakes, and before that, I had been subtly changing my plans, trying to escape from the ''system'' that had been put in place. Well, I could've just told them, that I was going to a different college or not going at all. And my stepfather—he could've turned down his boss's offer. But my mom became the immovable obstacle.

I had no doubt that it wasn't without the involvement of the vampire—or vampires—that she suddenly fell ill, and "conveniently" so. I was terrified. I grasped the seriousness of the situation and took responsibility for my mom's life. Maybe I even turned gray by one strand of hair that day—from that, I grew up.

"I've already reassigned you to a different clinic and registered you online," Mom continued her monologue. "But that's for you. You've got serious treatment, and you're on the list for free medication. You'll need to go there. Your check-up is coming up soon. You won't forget, will you?»

Still holding the pan, my mom turned to face me. I saw her tired face and the way the hand gripping the handle trembled, the veins on her wrist standing out. She looked as if she'd already gone to the far north on my behalf — and at the very least, had met the Yeti there.

That's where they live, right? Those shaggy monsters who quickly ski through the snow, scaring people, chasing after them.

The hot pancake landed on my plate, and my mom turned back to the counter, stirring the thick mixture for frying with a spoon. A silence settled, and I could feel that she wasn't expecting an answer to her question, which was more of a command anyway.

"I won't forget. But will you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You won't forget me, will you?"

***

That evening, I locked myself in the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror and began combing through my hair more thoroughly. I was searching for a gray hair, and knowing it would take a while, I decided to multitask: I called Ava. Putting the phone on speaker, I set it down on the edge of the sink. It was important for me to say goodbye to her, and also, casually ask why she didn't call me after the pool that day. Or at any point since.