Life Within Crystalfort [COMPLETED]

Chapter Eighteen

I rolled over in my bed, Clawd's arm still wrapped tightly around me. My clock displayed the time of 3:04, the afternoon, but my window said differently. From the little part of the window that wasn't covered by the curtain, I could only see darkness. It looked more like the middle for the night. Clawd rolled over, a little too far over, and fell off the bed. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing, that would be rude. He sat up out of shock, his eyes wide and his breath heavy. I crawled across the bed and put my hand on his face, calming him down.

"You fell off the bed," he laughed as he stood up.

"Seems to be something I'm good at," he walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain a little bit. Enough to see out, but not enough that anyone outside would see him. "Have you looked out here? It's so dark..... I think we're going to have a storm," I stood up and walked over to where he was and looked out the window.

"Yeah, and a big one at that. Are you hungry?"

"Starving. What time is it?"

"Little after three," I said, making my bed. I walked out of my room and down to the kitchen, Clawd right behind me. I took out a frying pan and set it on the stove, turning the flame on underneath it. I dropped a pat of butter on the pan and walked to the fridge. I grabbed the strawberries and set them on the counter. I put four slices of bread on the pan, all that would fit on there at once, and put two strawberries on each one.

"What're you making?"

"Strawberry French toast," I flipped each piece of bread over, the strawberry basically melting into the middle of them. I leaned against the stove, one hand on my hip, the other holding the spatula. I turned off the flame and put each piece of bread on a plate. I poured syrup on each one and took two of the plates upstairs. I pressed my back against my father's bedroom door, pushing it open and walking in.

"Daddy, breakfast," he groaned and sat up. He looked at the food questionably and rolled his eyes. "Yes, Daddy, fruit. It's French toast. You've had it before. You know, you're like a child," I set the plate on his bedside table and walked back out of his room, closing the door behind. I walked into my uncle's room and set the plate on his bedside table.

"Breakfast, Uncle Vlad," he rolled over and sat up.

"Thank you, darling," I smiled when I walked out of the room. When I got back down to the kitchen, Clawd was sitting at the table, messing around with my phone.

"Can I help you, sir?" He stood up and set the phone on the table. His hand grabbed he edge of the table as he turned away from me, a look of guilt on his face. I laughed and walked toward him, picking up my phone. "You locked me out of my own phone."

"For two hours. You're welcome," I lightly hit his shoulder as a walked to the counter. I set a plate with the French toast on it in front of him. I, personally, jumped up on the counter and set my own plate on my lap.

"Is that where you normally eat?" Clawd asked, staring at me. I nodded as I stuck a forkful of food in my mouth.

"I find those chairs uncomfortable," I said, pointing my fork at the chairs around the table. "Why? Does it bother you that I sit on the counter?" He shrugged.

"No, it just reminded me of my mom. She sits on the counter when she has a late night snack and whatnot. Like ice cream and other desserts."

"Oh. Well, I guess I have a lot in common with you werewolves, then, right?" He laughed and looked up at the staircase, where my father stood. He stood on the middle stair, staring down at me.

"It's rude to linger, Daddy," he rolled his eyes and walked down the rest of the stairs. I used to only think teenagers rolled their eyes, but my father did it more than I did.

"I think Hellscream is gone, now. You should probably go home. Your mother must be worried about you," Clawd stood up and grabbed his plate, rinsing it off and setting it in the sink.

"Of course, sir," he walked over to me and wrapped me in a hug. "I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'll talk to you later, Laura," he whispered, lightly kissing my forehead. He walked to the door. "See you around, Mr. D," he walked out the door.

"So, the wolf...."

"We've talked about this, already. Last time I knew, you were fine with him being over because he was protective. And he's nice. A nice werewolf boy. Can't you just accept him for who he is, Dad? Does it matter that he's different than us? No, it doesn't matter. Just.... just be open minded. Alright?" He stood there, stunned. It was then that I noticed that my uncle was at the top of the stairs, looking just as stunned as my dad.

"Where is the wolf boy?" Vlad asked from the top of the staircase.

"His name's Clawd, Uncle Vlad. Dad sent him home because he can't stand a werewolf being over here," I put my plate in the sink and washed both dishes that were there.

"I bet that's not the reason, darling. I bet your father just wants to keep you safe. And the boy's mom was probably worried about him. I noticed he didn't even have his phone with him last night," I turned around, figuring that my father was just telling my uncle what to say. Instead, I found my uncle standing at the bottom of the staircase looking at me, my father nowhere in sight.

"Keep me safe? Safe from what? Hellscream is outside, not inside. That should be who he's protecting me from, not my boyfriend," the plate my uncle was holding dropped. "Oh, you didn't know?"

"A werewolf? Do you know how dangerous that is?" I felt the air move in the room as he sped toward me, stopping inches in front of my face. "What if the elders find out?" I knew exactly what the elders would do if they found out. Frankly, I didn't care.

"Doesn't bother me. Let them do what they want," I turned around to go pick up the shattered remains of the plate, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him.

"They'll destroy you, Draculaura. They will kill you. Do you understand that?" I pried his fingers off of my arm and walked to the stairs, bending down to pick up the pieces of the plate.

"Good. I really don't care what they'll do. You'll be fine, Dad will be fine, Clawd will be fine, and I'll die loving the by I love," he rushed back over to me, stirring the air around me. He picked me up and set me back down, my feet hitting the plate shards.

"You're father won't be fine. They may not touch him, but you're destroying him emotionally by doing this."

"What's your point, Vlad? Are you going to go tell the elders? Is that how this is going down?" He stood there, his hands pressing down on my shoulders, the plate shards digging into my feet.

"I would tell them if you weren't family. That's the only reason I'm not. I don't want to hurt your father like that. It wouldn't be fair to him. Consider yourself lucky," he continued to stare at me, waiting for a reply. "I do, however, expect you to get I'd of the wolf."

"You know, I always thought that you were the sensitive one. The nice one. The understanding one. Guess who was wrong? This girl," I pointed to myself and continued to look at him as he stared at me. "Tell the elders, don't tell the elders; doesn't bother me either way. I don't care how I go as long as I go knowing that Clawd loves me," he stared at me and I watched the pain, the anger, spark in his eyes. He let go of me, pushing me back slightly. My back hit the wall as the shards dug deeper into my feet. Vlad stared at me as he walked past me, angrily walking up the stairs. It was more like he was marching because of how much noise he was making.

My phone vibrated on the table. I slowly walked over to it, tiptoed over to it, and picked it up. Clawd. I took a deep breath to fight back my tears and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Are you ok, Laura? I heard some noise over there. What happened?" His worry for me made me cry. The physical pain from the plate and the emotional pain from the pain in my father's and Uncle Vlad's eyes. It was hard to take. "Laura?" I couldn't answer him. I could barely breathe, which, yes, was unnecessary, but, it was habit.

"Is she ok?"

"She could care less, right now."

"What'd you do to her? Draculaura? Darling, talk to me, please."