78 I'll Be Here Awhile
When I woke up the next morning I heard a knock on my door and in came Henry. He looked like he had been awake for a while; I suppose my vampiric nature allowed me to sleep for a good portion of the morning.
"Hey, what's up?" I welcomed him while sitting up on the bed and flinging my legs over the edge. He rushed to the curtains and was about to pull them open when I almost screamed at him. "HENRY STOP!"
He froze and I visibly relaxed. "I haven't put on sunscreen." I told him and he nodded and sat in the dark room with me as I coated my skin with the sun-protecting liquid.
"Sorry, I forgot." He said and messed with his hair. I shrugged it off and allowed him to open the curtains. "Juts hurry and get changed, fast."
He didn't let me ask him anything because he left my room and closed the door. I was confused but I didn't object. I changed into day cloths that consisted of dark blue skinny jeans and a red shirt with a black zip up jacket-like thing over it. When I got out of my room Henry took me by the arm and raced down the stairs and out the door.
"Where are we going in such a rush?" I asked and he kept dragging me.
"Vlad's." I didn't question him but instead looked around and grabbed his arm tightly. We raced to Vlad's house and Henry pounded wildly on the door. Vlad opened the door with confusion and I held my pained side from the run. If only they made treadmills for vampires.
"I thought of a safe way you can hand over the journal." Henry blurted out. Vlad looked at me and I shrugged. He let us in and he told Nelly that we will be in his room. But I saw that Nelly wasn't in a good state.
No matter what's going on with Vlad and me, Nelly was still my friend. I didn't follow the boys upstairs but I sat down with Nelly on the couch.
"Nelly, what's wrong?" I asked her. She met my eyes and I saw they were pink, from crying.
"Oh it is nothing." She rambled and when she looked back at me again she knew it was pointless to lie. "I feel like I'm not raising Vladimir the right way."
I moved closer to her and took her hands. "Nelly, you are Vlad's aunt and guardian. He loves you no matter how you raise him. You've been doing wonderfully!" I smiled at her. "Nelly, my family are slayers and clueless humans, you are helping Vlad by knowing what he is. There is no right way to raise him because there is no person like him."
"I understand that. I just...I miss his mother. She would know how to handle all of this." I didn't know what to say to that. Instead she continued. "Did Vlad really stay with you and Henry last night?"
"Yeah. Henry was with me when we ran into Vlad. When he came with us I gave him some of the blood I have, and we weren't as careful with spilling as we should have been. It's all my fault really, I shoved him. I'm sorry if it worried you."
I told the lie easily, which made me sad in a way. Did I not just call Nelly my friend, and now I just lied right to her face, in her own home, without even blinking an eye.
"Don't be. I was just scared that he...hurt someone." I nodded in understanding. She then smiled at me and playfully smacked my leg. "Go on up there and have fun."
"You sure?" She nodded and I did as she said. When I got to the second level of the small house I stood at Vlad's door and listened.
"What time are we leaving?" Henry asked and I smiled and waited.
"We?" Vlad asked and I opened the door and swung my head in.
"Yeah, what time are we leaving?" I asked and Vlad rolled his eyes. I closed the door behind myself and sat with Henry on the bed.
