It's Okay to be Different

15

Mitch, Avi, Kirstin, and I are all conversing when suddenly, Mitch's front door opens.

A woman with blonde hair, cut into a bob, and bright blue eyes like mine walks in. I've never seen this woman before and I don't appreciate the fact that she interrupted our conversation. Or the fact that we didn't hear her coming.

"Who is that?" I ask and Mitch's head whips around to look at me. Concern is evident in his expression.

"You really don't know who this is?" His voice is laced with worry.

"No. Am I supposed to know who she is?" Mitch looks extremely puzzled.

"It's okay, Mitch. He wouldn't know who I am. He's never met me." The woman speaks and places a comforting hand on Mitch's shoulder.

"How can you not know who your own mother is, Scott?" Mitch questions sadly.

"My mom is dead." I answer simply. "She died a little after I was born apparantly."

The woman chuckles slightly. "Scott, I am dead."

"You're not my mom! M- My mother is dead! Are you deaf?" I'm livid now. I was the cause of my mother's death. She died giving birth to me.

Suddenly she's in front of me. She attempts to hold my hands and I snatch them away.

"Don't touch me!" My voice involuntarily drops an octave and I can feel my eyes changing colors.

"Holy shit." Mitch says quietly. "Your eyes... they're different."

"It's because he's one of mine." The woman speaks and I find myself getting even angrier.

"I don't belong to you." I growl through my clenched teeth.

She pulls out her cellphone and taps the screen a couple times before whipping the screen around towards me.

My eyes... they're so bright that if you turned the lights off I'm positive my eyes could light the whole room. The thing that frightens me, though... is that my irises aren't surrounded by white like normal eyes. They're surrounded by black. My entire eye has turned black. I stare at myself in horror, my sharp teeth bared while my jaw hangs slack.

"You and I are the only people in the world with these eyes." The woman says and lowers her phone. Her eyes look just like mine. Bright red surrounded by black.

I just stare at her in amazement, feeling my blue eyes come back into play.

"You and I are also the only people in the world that can do this-" She places both of her hands on the side of my face and I am transported to... a hospital bed?

***** Flashback

"Come on Mrs. Hoying one more big push! He's almost out!" The doctor exclaims.

The woman, she's screaming and she has tears streaming down her face.

A few moments later, the small child can be seen. The entire room starts celebrating and a split second later, the celebration turns to silence. The baby starts crying and the doctor stares in pure horror at it.

There is a man standing next to the woman that just delivered this baby. He looks familiar... my... my father? "Is something wrong, doctor?" He asks.

"The baby... he's a human."

"And that's a problem? Why wouldn't the baby be a human?" The doctor gives the woman a worried look.

"You really don't know?" The doctor asks my father.

"Know what? You seem horrified that my baby is a human! Why?" My father is almost screaming at this point.

"Mr. Hoying please calm down. Mrs. Hoying, why isn't your husband aware?"

"I've never told him..."

"Told me what!?" My father cuts in.

My mothers grabs my father by his chin and turns his head to face her. She stares into his eyes and her eyes turn dark red.

As she's staring into his eyes she speaks to the doctor. "I'm leaving. Tell him that they took me into the OR. Tell him to wait in the waiting room. Precisely two hours later, come out and tell him that I didn't make it. He has full custody of Scott Richard Hoying. Tell him that I love him. I'm wiping the last 5 minutes of our conversation."

"Question, though. Why doesn't he know what you are and how did you concieve a mortal child?"

"I fell in love with him. He told me he's terrified of vampires so I never told him. I didn't want to scare him away. We got married. I had sex with a mortal and concieved. And now we're here." She smiles a little bit at the child in her arms. "Scott Richard Hoying... I love you." And then suddenly, she's gone.

Rick snaps out of his trance and picks me(?) up in his arms. "Hi Scott... I'm your daddy."

The doctor recites the lines of the woman perfectly. A few hours later, Rick is sitting in the waiting room bawling his eyes out. "I lost her... she's gone... Connie's gone." He sniffles. "But at least I still have my baby."

***** Flashback over

I snap out of the trance I'm in and wipe a stray tear that is falling down my cheek. I stare at the woman in amazement.

"Momma?"