Rennie
Carlie laughed a beautiful silvery laugh that made me think of bells as she entered a room on the third floor.
"This is my father's room," she explained, sitting down at a large piano.
"Your father?" I repeated, surprised. There was no humans here....other than me, of course. Then it dawned on me. "Your father's a vampire?" She nodded. "Who's your mom?" I asked, then I realized that, too. The woman at the end of her memories.
Tears welled up in her chocolate eyes and splashed onto the ivory keys. I ran towards her and crouched down so I could stare into her face.
"Carlie, I'm so sorry," I bit my lip.
"It's not your fault," she replied, brushing a few tears away from her cheeks. "It's just, Edward, my father, when she was officially...dead....he blamed me. He ran away and killed loads of humans - how many I don't know. We're worried.... He's going off the rails. And then you came along."
I was surprised by the last part. "So?"
"You wouldn't realize, of course," she said, smiling. "But...." She shook her head. "Never mind."
"Pl-" I bit hard down on my lip. I didn't want to make her upset.
She smiled, then tugged her curls out of the way. Then began playing. It was so beautiful that a lump swelled in my throat. Then I had a question.
"Wait, what does that make you?" I asked.
"A half human, half vampire," she answered. "A hybrid if you please."