Pretty When They Collide (Pretty When She Dies 0.50)

“No, really. Everything is fine,” Cassandra promised.

She brushed past her mother and into the darkened living room. Her mother’s years living with vampires had instilled her with a healthy dislike of sunlight. The house was always dimly lit and the trees were rarely cut back. Cassandra wasn’t too fond of sunlight either. Her last girlfriend had always insisted on having the curtains open to let the sunlight stream in through the windows. Cassandra should have realized the relationship was doomed.

“I had such terrible nightmares,” her mother said, her voice wavering. Pressing a hand to her forehead, she sank onto the overstuffed pillows decorating the shabby-chic couch.

Cassandra tossed her bag on the floor and settled beside her mother. The look of confusion that often graced Galina’s features settled over her face. Another aftereffect from spending so much time with vampires was that her mother’s mind was quite fragile. Dr. Summerfield, the man who had helped Galina escape Austin and hide from Cassandra’s father, had explained that the vampires had often wiped her memories of their atrocities to keep her compliant and the end result was that it was difficult for her to retain memories or deal with unexpected events. Medicine didn’t help, but structure did. Galina lived quietly in the small house Cassandra had bought her and had a housekeeper who came to help her three times a week.

“You were gone for so long,” Galina said, her bottom lip trembling.

“I was gone for two days,” Cassandra reminded her.

“Did Felicity go with you?”

“Felicity broke up with me a month ago,” Cassandra answered. She gently took her mother’s hand and squeezed it. “Remember?”

“Oh, that’s right.” Galina’s voice was doubtful, but she didn’t argue. “She didn’t like your traveling?”

“She didn’t like me.” Cassandra shrugged, but the sting was still there. Felicity had left her for a woman she had met online. She supposed it was for the best. Felicity had been a very jealous and suspicious girlfriend. Cassandra couldn’t blame Felicity for being upset with her. Cassandra did keep secrets. They just weren’t the secrets Felicity thought they were. “She said I was keeping things from her and that she didn’t like being cheated on. So she cheated on me and moved to Phoenix.

”

Shaking her head, Galina stared at the notepad on the coffee table that she usually kept close at hand. Picking it up, she pulled the pen she kept tucked into the spiral and made some notes. “I need to remember that I do not like Felicity.”

Giggling, Cassandra lightly stroked her mother’s hair. She loved her so much, but she often felt their roles were reversed. It had been that way since she had been a child. Dr. Summerfield, a vampire hunter and paranormal investigator, had arranged for Galina to have full-time help when Cassandra was a child because Galina would simply forget to do simple things like feed her daughter. When Cassandra had become old enough, she had started watching over her mother. She didn’t mind it though. Her mother was everything to her.

Galina finished her notes and underlined a few words, her brow scrunched. “I also put down a reminder that you were only gone for two days. I don’t know why I got so worried.”

“Because you’re my mother.” Cassandra nudged her with her elbow before leaning her head on her mother’s shoulder.

“I was dreaming about your father and he was trying to find you,” Galina said, changing the subject abruptly.

“He doesn’t know about me,” Cassandra reminded her. “And he’s far away in Austin. Dr. Summerfield told me just last week that Cian’s dating some cute little blond human girl now and trying very hard to be human.”

Galina’s eyes filled with tears and she tugged at the sash of her bathrobe. “He’s forgotten me.”

“Mom,” Cassandra said in a gentle voice. “It’s just thirty years ago since he killed the cabal and sent you away. That’s like a blink of an eye for a vampire. I’m sure he remembers you.” Silently cursing herself for her insensitivity, she embraced her mother. “He loved you. He sent you away to keep you safe.”

“But now he’s dating someone else.” Galina covered her face with her hands.

“Mom, you were with him a very long time ago.” Cassandra struggled to think of a way to comfort her mother. Galina was still madly in love with Cian Lynch, Cassandra’s vampire father. She would probably love him until her last breath. A few times Galina had attempted to go to Austin to find Cian, but had been stopped in time. Vampire fathers killed their dhamphir offspring and it was the only solid argument that kept Galina from risking everything to find the vampire.

“It was a very long time ago. Look at you, all grown up and looking so much like him.”

“I look like you,” Cassandra said gently. She had no idea what her father looked like and wasn’t sure she wanted to. Dr. Summerfield and her mother both claimed she looked like her father, but when she looked in the mirror she saw her mother’s genes stamped into her features.

“You do look like me,” Galina said with delight. “But much more beautiful.”

“Oh, no! You’re much more beautiful than I will ever be!” Cassandra kissed her mother’s cheek and snuggled into her side. She felt her mother tense and peered into her face. “Mom?”

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” Galina rubbed her brow. “You’re keeping something from me.”

“Mom, it was a simple job. Nothing dangerous.”

“I should have taken Cian’s money. Then you wouldn’t have to do these things.”

“Mom, it’s fine. I’m fine.” Gripping her mother’s hand tightly, she said, “I’ll always be fine. I’m too smart and too much of a bad ass to not be okay.”

“You sound like him when you talk like that,” Galina said with a pout.