Bloodborn (sequel to 'Lucky 13')

Chapter 29: Like father, like daughter

Third person's POV

The next morning, Marianne was helping Remy put everything on the dining table for breakfast when they suddenly saw Catherine pass by. She seemed in a hurry.

"Catherine?" Marianne said, making Catherine stop in her tracks. "Where are you going? You haven't even eaten yet, dear."

Catherine sighed before turning around. She walked to the dining table, which was displaying a variety of foods. She took a croissant, took a bite from it, then nodded. She continued her walk to the front door.

"Catherine?" Marianne once again said, making Catherine stop yet again. "Where are you going?"

Catherine sighed. "I have to do something."

Marianne didn't like the sound of that and so slowly walked to Catherine. She put her hand on Catherine's shoulder. "Be careful," She made Catherine look at her. "Please."

Catherine looked at Marianne but didn't respond to that anymore. She simply took her jacket and left.

Marianne sighed deeply.

"What do you think is going on?" Remy asked, he obviously had been eavesdropping again.

Marianne shrugged before turning around. "I don't know," She released another sigh. "But whatever it is," She paused. "It's not going to end well..."

__________________________

Catherine usually gets driven around by Peter, her chauffeur. But, in some cases, she drives herself. It could be for special occasions, like when she takes Lily on dates, or when she simply wants to be alone.

Today, it was the latter.

Catherine was driving around, thinking. What happened last night, with Lily, was on her mind. The way Lily was broken by the news, the way Emily was broken because of how Lily rejected her... Her family was falling apart, and there was only one person to blame for this.

Catherine parked her car at the house she had great memories at though, with its newest resident, those memories meant nothing. 

She walked to the front door and took a moment for herself, to relax, to calm down. She then used her keys to get in.

She looked around the place, the place she used to call home. She noticed nothing had changed, everything was exactly the way she had left it. It was as if no one was living here.

"Catherine?"

Catherine turned around and then became serious. She gulped, trying to remain confident.

"What are you doing here?" Vernon asked, gently walking closer.

Catherine put up her hand, motioning him to stay where he was. 

He stopped immediately.

Catherine let out a sigh. "Why did you tell Lily?"

Vernon frowned.

"Why did you have to tell her about our bloodline? Why do you feel the need to destroy everything I have?" Catherine couldn't help but get angry, she felt so much anger towards her father. Anger she so badly wanted to let go off. "Why do you like hurting me?"

"Catherine," Vernon sighed, looking apologetic at his daughter. "I never want to hurt you or anyone in my family."

"Well, you failed miserably!"

Vernon looked down. "I told Lily because she was seeking help."

Catherine's eyebrows raised. "From you?"

"Yes," Vernon looked back up at her. "She really cares a lot about you, you know? She's looking for answers, for anything that would help her understand you."

Catherine didn't show any emotions, except anger. She should feel relieved to hear this, but she didn't. She felt angry that Lily would go to him for this.

"She needed help, so I tried explaining it to her," He went on. "What did you want me to say?"

"How about nothing?!"

Vernon sighed and let his head drop a bit. "Catherine," He paused. "Lily loves you more than anything in life, she'd do anything for you." He then looked her deeply in the eyes. "Why are you not doing the same?"

Catherine looked at her father, her eyes were like guns, ready to shoot him down. "You know nothing about my relationship with Lily, so don't you dare - "

"I do know," Vernon said, interrupting Catherine mid-sentence. "I know what it's like to love someone more than anything in life, more than yourself. Loving that person is all that matters to you, to our bloodline."

Catherine's frown slowly vanished as she listened to her father's words.

"I know that loving someone so much is hard to deal with," Vernon slowly walked closer, though this time Catherine didn't stop him. "Especially with our condition. You don't want her to get hurt."

Catherine slowly looked down.

"She won't get hurt if she knows about it," Vernon said gently. "I know we want to be strong and powerful, we want them to be able to count on us," He then, slowly, put his hand on her shoulder. "But we can't do this on our own, hianag."

Catherine looked up at her father, tears in her eyes. For long she had felt exactly the way her father was describing just now. Somehow it made her feel better, knowing that this was a common issue in her bloodline, knowing that she wasn't the only one.

"I know that opening up to her is hard," He showed her a small smile. "It was hard for me too to open up to your mother." He then paused, thinking about Lilian. "But once she knew, she knew how to help me and I had someone to talk to about my problems."

"She knows Emily will be my undoing..." Catherine looked down, shaking her head. "She'll never look at Emily the same again."

Vernon nodded, sad that he couldn't do anything about that situation. "I know," He slowly pulled Catherine in. And, to his surprise, Catherine let him. He pulled her in, holding his daughter close to him for the first time in years. "It's going to be alright."

Catherine soon realized she was being embraced by her father and pushed him away, though gently. She shook her head to which he knew enough.

"Shall I talk to Lily," He then suggested, trying to help his daughter this way. "About the matter? About anything?"

Catherine knew she needed help with this, but she hated having her father get involved in her family. She still saw him as the villain, the bad guy that took away her mother. Though, despite all of this, she agreed.