Valentine's Day Sucks

“I’ll take care of it,” he said. “You are Mom and Dad’s first priority.”

Why hadn’t I demanded Matt tell me more about the vampire world? I’d taken his food, his reassurance, and the tidbits of information he’d divulged. I had no idea what my existence was going to mean for the Johnsons. Would I be a liability? Would they forbid Matt from helping me? I trusted Matt, but his parents? I wasn’t so sure.

***

I had only managed a solid twenty minutes of sleep when my mother came in and woke me up.

“I’m going shopping,” she informed me. “Your father and uncle are watching football all day. I left a chore list in the kitchen. Have them done by two. Don’t leave the house.”

I rolled over to face her.

Mom was glancing around my room, and for a minute, I thought she was going to search it again. Then she bent and retrieved the crumpled note. “You are grounded forever,” she said.

“I know.”

“You were really with Tara?”

“Yes.”

“Well,” my mother said, putting her hands on her hips. “You are going to Matt Johnsons’ house for dinner tonight. His mother called.” She stared at me for a moment. “She indicated that the two of you were close. I didn’t know you knew Matt Johnson. Isn’t he in Travis’s class?”

“We’re friends, I guess,” I said.

“He’s an awfully cute boy, Natalie. Too cute to be just a friend.”

“Mother!”

“I’m just saying…”

“Mom!”

“If you guys are good friends, why haven’t I seen him around here?”

I just shrugged.

“We’ll talk later.” She turned and walked to the door. “Oh yeah,” she said over her shoulder as she left the room. “You’re babysitting your brothers today. You might want to get up and cook breakfast before they burn down the kitchen.”

I knew she’d be back to torture me if I didn’t comply. Grumbling, I crawled out of bed and made my way to the bathroom.

***

Mom’s chore list had eighty-seven items. Between scrubbing every inch of the house and chasing the brat-lets, I had very little time to stress about dinner.

When Mom finally let me off the hook for the day, I’d crossed through items one through sixty-two. My hands were red and sore from scrubbing, and I could barely grip the bottle of water my mother handed me. I truly hoped dinner was all you can eat. At least I’d be able to eat without hiding in my room. Matt’s family all had my taste for the synthetic blood.

Matt’s family. I didn’t know what to expect. I’d met his parents twice. Both times, I’d paid them little attention. They were just a paycheck for me. They probably hadn’t thought much about me either. And then there was his sister. I had to admit that I was harboring some serious animosity toward the little girl. She had bitten me! And I had done nothing to deserve it. I could have died, but I didn’t. Instead, I was a freak in a world full of humans. I literally depended on Matt for my survival. If he stopped bringing me sustenance, I’d…

I guess I’d have to hunt. I shuddered. I couldn’t bear to eat people. It was morally wrong and evil, and I wouldn’t ever do it. But what were my options? I was so not going to suck on a squirrel. Ever! Or a rabbit. I struggled to identify any animal I could eat. What did I eat now? Chicken? Those things were super-gross when they were alive. The smell alone would make me hurl. Pigs? Cows?

“Natalie?” my mother said, passing by my room. “Aren’t you in the shower yet? You’re going to be late.”

I jumped up and ran for the shower. The good part about having three brothers was that I got a room with my own bathroom.

I can do this, I muttered to myself as I shampooed my hair.

Matt’s parents are perfectly normal. Except for the one itty-bitty detail that their genes had mutated to make them vampires. No biggie.

Just think of all that yummy synthetic blood you can drink tonight, I thought to myself. I had to keep it together. I couldn’t panic. Panic was a strong emotion, and strong emotions were bad. I couldn’t believe the cleaning had actually calmed me. I abhorred cleaning, and now I might have to do it on a regular basis, not because of my parent’s orders but in order to preserve my sanity and humanity. Dear God, was I going to have to abandon my career aspirations and actually clean for a living! Calm down, Natalie. Calm down right this second or you’re going to have to scrub the toilet with your freaking toothbrush. Somehow, the image helped. Pull yourself together, I ordered. Now.

After blow drying my shoulder-length hair, I slipped on my favorite jeans and one of my current favorite tops, one of the few that couldn’t be called a t-shirt or sweatshirt. I studied myself in the mirror and practiced my “Please feed me” smile. Maybe I should try my “Please don’t kill me smile.”

“Natalie,” my oldest brother yelled from downstairs, “Matt’s here.”

“No he isn’t,” I grumbled looking to the window behind me. Oh, right. Front door. He’s officially here to pick me up. “I’m coming,” I yelled.

***

Matt opened the door for me and waited while I climbed in. Then he went around to the driver’s side, got in, and said, “You look terrified, Natalie. It’s going to be okay. You’d think we were eating you for dinner or something.”

I took in a deep breath. I didn’t like that image one bit.

“We aren’t,” he rushed to say. “I shouldn’t have tried to make a joke. Come here,” he said, and he put his arm around me as I leaned into him. “It’s all good,” he said.

“I’m fine,” I said, but it came out as a squeak.

“You’re so stiff.” He started rubbing my back.

“I’m fine,” I said with better success this time. “We should go.” I was tightly wound all right. I couldn’t even enjoy a pseudo-hug from the guy I dreamed about.

His pinched expression told me he wasn’t reassured, but he buckled his seat belt and started the car. “Are you afraid of my sister? Because Mom and Dad have her under control.”

I didn’t answer him. I wasn’t being coy. I was just trying to breathe.

He reached over and took my hand in his as he drove. I squeezed so he’d know that I wasn’t catatonic, and he squeezed back.

We pulled up in front of their brick, two-story house, and I jumped out of the car as soon as he killed the engine. “Let’s get this over with,” I said. I could chug dinner, and we’d be out of here in minutes.

I scarcely had time to brace myself before the hurling ball of third grader slammed into me, knocking me back a step.

“Natalie, I’m so so sorry. I didn’t mean to do it. I really didn’t. I was mad at Matt and I was tired of minding him. Then I didn’t eat because he told me to eat, and I’m so so sorry.” The little girl held me tight, her head down.

“Ashley!” Matt yelled. He grabbed his sister and tried to pry her off of me.

“Stop it, Matt!” Ashley screeched. “You’re hurting me!”

“Then let go! Ashley, you’re scaring her!”

“It’s okay,” I said, finally getting a word in. “I’m not afraid of her anymore.”

“You aren’t?” Matt asked, no longer tugging.

Ashley finally let go and looked up at me with tears in her big blue eyes. “You’re not?” she asked with sniffle.

I turned to Matt and saw concern. His eyes were the same color as his little sister’s, but the similarity ended there. Matt’s held wisdom, empathy, and a little spark of something that made me hope he would one day return my feelings.

“Please forgive me, Natalie,” Ashley pleaded, drawing my attention away from her brother.

“Ash,” Matt warned. “Don’t push it.”

I held out my arms, and she rushed to hug me.

“I forgive you, Ashley. I know you didn’t mean to do this to me.”

“Thank you, Natalie. My parents want me to be a big helper to you from now on. I’m going to be your best friend.”

“Sorry, Ash,” Matt said. “I’m her best friend.”

Ashley scrunched up her nose at her brother. “We’ll see about that!”

His parents, who for all appearances were typical suburban mom and dad, opened the front door as we came up the walk.

“Natalie!” Mrs. Johnson said, her rosy lips curved into a smile. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“Yes, yes,” his father said, “come on in.”

They moved to let us in and his mother closed the door behind us.

Mr. Johnson stood there with a big, fake smile pasted on his face.

When I took a step back, Matt said, “Dad, you’re creeping her out.”

He quit smiling. “I’m sorry, Natalie. We’re doing our best. It’s a lot to process in a day.”

“We are so sorry that Ashley,” his mother shook her head, “behaved so deplorably.”

“We never…thought,” his father said as we all stood awkwardly in the foyer.

“No,” his mother agreed, “we would never have believed she was capable had it not happened.”

“She already forgave me,” Ashley said, crossing her arms in protest.

“It’s not that easy, sweetie,” her mother said. “Go to your room until we call you.”

“Come in and have a seat,” Matt’s father said.

Thankfully, Matt sat right beside me on the couch. His parents each chose a leather chair across from us.

“We homeschool her,” Mrs. Johnson said, tucking her skirt under her leg. “We homeschooled Matt until junior high.”

“We put safety first,” his father said. “We work hard to ensure that no harm comes to anyone.”

“I suppose I’ll be homeschooling Ashley through grad school,” his mother lamented. “When you mix her stubborn streak with the Vampirism Gene.” She sighed. “Well, things aren’t always pretty.”

“But we never would have believed she could bite her babysitter,” his father reiterated.

I didn’t know what to say. Were they waiting for me to tell them it was no problem?