Valentine's Day Sucks

Finally, Matt stopped them. “Actually Mom and Dad, Natalie doesn’t really like to talk about it. The bite. Ashley.”

“Oh, of course.”

“Sorry, sorry,” his father said.

“Natalie,” his mother said, leaning forward in her chair. “How are you coping? Are you okay?”

“Um, I’m doing okay,” I said. “Matt has been helping me.”

His parents shared a look that made me nervous.

His mother shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “It’s so nice that you and Matt were friends. If it had to happen to someone, er, um.”

“We weren’t friends.” I glanced over at Matt and then back at her. “We barely knew each other.”

I thought I detected disappointment on Mrs. Johnsons face for a second.

“Matt says your parents don’t suspect,” his mother said.

I shrugged. “The vampire thing would never occur to them, but they think something is wrong.”

Matt’s mother winced. “We’ll never be able to fix this, Natalie. We’ll never be able to make this up to you. We all have no choice now but to deal with the consequences. You are part of our family now. We’ll provide for you like our own.”

“Thank you,” I said because it seemed like the polite thing.

“Matt has taken care of your sustenance so far, but other problems will arise. We’ll figure those out together. In the meantime, I will do what I can to help with your parents.”

The doorbell rang and Matt’s parents shared another look.

Mrs. Johnson frowned. “Oh dear. She’s early.”

“I’ll let Dr. Williams in,” his father said. “You fill in Natalie.”

I twitched at the word “doctor.”

“They just need to be sure you’re getting enough nourishment from the synthetic blood,” Matt assured me quickly.

His mother nodded. “Some people don’t take well to the synthetics, especially those that are turned rather than born to vampirism.”

“She just needs to do a quick exam. Check to see that you are healthy.”

Dinner was one thing. A medical exam was another. Should I really be putting my health in their hands? I glanced over at Matt. I guess I already had.

“I should have told you in the car, but you were so freaked out.”

Matt’s father led a rotund woman into the room. “Dr. Williams. This is Natalie.”

Dr. Williams smiled warmly, and something about her reminded me of my grandmother. “Welcome aboard, Natalie. I just need a few minutes of your time.”

I instantly liked her.

“You can use the library,” Mr. Johnson said and led us into a room off the foyer.

Old books lined the library walls. I’d wanted some information about vampire life. The library could be the place to start.

Dr. Williams checked me out like a normal doctor. She looked in my ears, made me say “ahh”, took my temperature. Then, she checked my weight. “Do you remember what you weighed when you were turned?”

“Not exactly. I had other things on my mind.”

“Of course you did. Do you know if you have lost or gained weight?”

“Lost. Definitely lost.”

She didn’t like the news that I had weighed more before my transition. “You shouldn’t be losing,” she said. “How much?”

“Maybe five pounds. Or ten. My jeans are loose but not loose enough to go down a size.”

She made notes on her iPAD. “Have you been feeling weak or tired?”

Stressed. Terrified. Like a freak, but weak and tired? “Not really. Just hungry.”

“Now we need to talk about birth control. What are you and Matt using?”

My jaw dropped. I hadn’t expected to sit in Matt’s house and be questioned about sexual activity. What happened to dinner? Were they even going to feed me?

“Everything you tell me is confidential,” she said softly.

“Nothing. We aren’t.”

“You aren’t using any birth control,” she asked with concern.

“No. We aren’t having sex.” I didn’t want birth control. I wanted blood. What was wrong with these people?

She didn’t say anything. Just stared at me the way a teacher would if I claimed the dog ate my homework.

I squared my shoulders. “We aren’t even dating. We’re just friends.”

Her iPad slipped out of her fingers, and she caught it just before it hit the floor. “Oh. Oh dear. I just assumed.”

I knew adults always assumed that teens were having sex, but even so, her shock seemed a bit much.

“He did turn you though? I haven’t been filled in on the whole story.”

“No, he didn’t. It was an accident.” I didn’t know if I should rat out Ashley. “You’ll have to ask the Johnsons.”

“He didn’t turn you?” She no longer met my eyes. “I’ll just give you some pamphlets then in case it becomes an issue. There are some differences for vampires. You’ll need to know if things change.” She sounded almost sad. “Let me get some blood from you for lab tests, and I’ll get back to you with the results tomorrow.” She glanced down at her iPAD. “Do I have your cell number?”

“You can’t call me. My parents might notice. You’ll have to call Matt’s parents.”

“Of course. So they are assuming full responsibility for you, despite the situation.”

“What situation?”

Her eyes widened behind the heavy frames. “Oh, I mean, nothing. I just misspoke.”

She hadn’t just misspoken. I didn’t know what “the situation” was but it must be important. I’d ask Matt about it later.

“I’ll call the Johnsons in the morning with the result.” Then with almost motherly concern, she handed me her business card and said, “You call me for any reason, Natalie. I answer this number twenty-four seven.”

I took the card and slipped it into the pocket of my jeans.

&nb

sp; She squeezed my shoulder. “Day and night.”

I think I got it. She was worried about me. If only I knew why.

***

“I hope it wasn’t too bad,” Mrs. Johnson said after Dr. Williams had left.

“No. It was fine.” I wanted to get Matt alone and ask him some questions. I didn’t know quite how to ask him such delicate questions.

“The good news is that it’s time to eat,” Matt said.

The boy knew exactly what would cheer me up.

When I saw the table, I stopped in my tracks. The table was set with plates and silverware and dish after dish of food. Meatloaf. Green Beans. Potatoes. And a glass of milk at each place. Where was the synthetic blood? Where was the powder to mix in the bottled water?

Mrs. Johnson saw the confusion on my face. “I used my own recipes, Natalie. Everything here will be nourishing for us. I’ve added the synthetics. This method allows us to masquerade as the average family and also prepares us for situations when we must eat human food in public.”

“Oh,” I said, studying the potatoes more carefully. “It looks good.”

“It doesn’t smell good though, does it? And it doesn’t taste good,” Matt assured me. “It tastes as bad as your dinner did last night, but it will fill you up and help your cravings.”

“He’s right. The stuff is terrible,” his mother agreed. “It’s taken a lot of time to make the food look right without altering the synthetic blood significantly in the cooking process. But flavor isn’t an issue.”

Yum, I thought. I’d rather have had my usual bottle.

As we took our seats at the table, I started to calm down. The Johnson family didn’t harbor any obvious ill will or murderous anger.

I carefully placed my napkin in my lap and realized one person was missing. “Where’s Ashley?”

“Oh right!” Mrs. Johnson jumped up. “I’ll get her.”

Matt’s dad scooped some green beans onto his plate and passed the bowl to Matt. “Tell me about yourself, Natalie,” Mr. Johnson said.

“Dad, you’re making it seem like she had to audition for her place at the dinner table.”

“I’m just trying to get to know her, Matt.” He gave his son a hard look. “You’ve spent months with her. The rest of us haven’t had the opportunity.”

I didn’t understand. He was upset that they hadn’t known about me because they wanted to spend time with me? I hadn’t expected them to be anything but resentful, or at best apologetic, about me becoming a vampire.