Life Within Crystalfort [COMPLETED]

Chapter Ten

Clawd had been here all morning, trying to talk Veronica into letting me go to the dance. I check my phone for the time; 4:00. Only a couple hours until Clawd and I were supposed to leave for pizza.

"You want Frankie to go to the dance? I'll get her a date if Draculaura can go to the dance."

"Fine. You have an hour to get a boy for Frankie. And not just a boy that you paid to go with her, someone who actually wants to," Veronica said quietly. Although they were talking downstairs, I could still hear them like they were in the same room that I was. Clawd opened the door with a smile on his face. He walked over the bed and grabbed my hand in his.

"Veronica says I can take you. I'll be back in time to take you out for pizza, but I have something else I have to do first. I'll see you in a little bit, Laura," he kissed my head before he jumped out the window and dropped to the ground below. I had been playing games on my phone for over forty minutes when I heard Clawd outside.

"Just ring the doorbell."

"And then what do I do?" I knew it was Jackson by the shakiness in his voice.

"Then you ask her to the dance," Clawd whispered.

"What if I mess up? What if I stand her up?"

"You worry way to much, bro. Let's do it this way," the next thing I heard was the doorbell go off.

"Oh, hi, Holt," obviously Frankie had answered the door.

"You and me at the dance tonight. What do ya say?"

"Of course. I'd love to!"

"See you at seven, Frankie FINE Stein!" Holt let out one of his loud screams as he walked away from the door. I wasn't exactly sure how Clawd planned to keep Holt in line at the dance tonight.

"So, you told Clawdeen that I was taking you to the dance?" Clawd asked as he appeared in the doorway.

"Well, I wasn't going to lie to my best friend. It shouldn't matter, right?"

"She threw a huge fit last night after you texted her. Broke my door down at one point."

"I'm sorry. Can you get Veronica up here?" Clawd threw his head back, like he would if he were to howl at the moon.

"Veronica! Draculaura wants you!" His shouting shook the house, well, the bed. It shook the bed. Veronica came to the doorway, looking at me.

"Can I have a sleepover tonight? After the dance? I was supposed to go over to Clawdeen's for a group sleepover after the dance, but I can't now."

"I have to work in the morning. You can go over to Clawdeen's, but I'm just ordering someone to look after you the whole night."

"I can watch her. I don't necessarily need to sleep, so I could check on her every hour of the night," I smiled at what Clawd had said. He actually did care about me. Veronica looked at Clawd and shook her head.

"No, that's not what's happening. I'll call Dracula and ask him what he wants done," Veronica walked out of the room with her phone in her hand.

"So, not only does your dad hate me, but so dies Frankie's mom. Wow. That's a lot to take in," Clawd put his hand on his neck as he lowered himself into the chair next to my bed. "Did I do something wrong?" He grabbed my hand in his and looked at me. I only shrugged.

"I don't see anything that you could've done wrong. You're too sweet to purposely hurt anyone, physically or emotionally."

"Thanks, Laura. But, I'm thinking that at some point, I did something wrong, here. Is it just me that you dad doesn't like?" I shook my head.

"No way. It not just you. It's pretty much your whole family and any others random werewolf we might see along the way. The older folks around here don't understand that we all accept each other now. I wish they did, but they don't," I paused when I heard a knock at the door. Within seconds, my father was standing in the doorway.

"You wish to watch my daughter while she sleeps? Is this true?" His Transylvanian accent came through his voice strongly. Clawd squeezed my hand a little tighter and looked at my father.

"I'm not going to put it that way, but, yes, sir. Mrs. Stein says that Draculaura can go over to my house for a sleepover with Clawdeen if someone is there to watch her. I could be that person to watch her, make sure nothing happens."

"Can I trust a werewolf with my daughter? Last time she was alone with a werewolf...." He didn't finish his sentence, but he looked down at the IV that was connected to my arm. He closed his eyes and gently shook his head. He came down to my side in one swift movement, grabbing the hand that Clawd wasn't.

"Can I trust him with you? Do you feel safe about this?" I actually had to think about it for a couple seconds, make sure I wasn't saying yes just because I like him. I didn't want to lie to my father more than I already had.

"Yes, Daddy. I feel safe around Clawd. It's just a safety precaution. Veronica just wants to make sure nothing goes wrong," my father look at me and then at Clawd. He stood up and headed for the door. His hand lingered on the door knob for a couple of seconds before he spoke again.

"I'll go tell Veronica it's all planned out. And you, you take care of my little girl at the dance tonight," with that, he walked out of the room. Clawd looked at me and smiled.

"I'm beginning to think your dad doesn't hate me as much. Maybe he's learned a thing or two from you."