The Vampire Slayer

Chapter 3

As the days went by incredibly long, lazily, and monotonous, Maeve was only doing one thing, packing. Most of the boxes were her clothes, many piles of shirts, dresses, jeans, skirts, shorts, and sweatshirts.
             Maeve had a mix of grunge, chic, edgy, and 90s fashion styles. She had a pair of converse shoes in black, red, white, and grey. Also, she had more than ten 90s chunky platform loafers, three pairs of platform boots, two pairs of classic mary janes, and all of them in black. Maeve was obsessed with the 90s; she owned more than a hundred chockers, scrunchies, and snap clips, which all were in various colors.
             Her favorite hairstyles were the 90s-inspired classic looks. She commonly did the side buns with the hair down, the middle-parted with many hair clips at the side hairstyle, and a high ponytail with a scrunchie hairstyle.
             In makeup, she wanted to use only as little as possible. Her daily makeup routine was mascara, rouge, lipgloss or lipstick, and a cat-eye eyeliner look. She wasn't a perfume girl because most perfumes gave her a headache because of their intense scents, but her absolute favorite was the Black Opium from YSL.
             When she was packing up essential equipment, Maeve peeked around her bedroom. It was a total mess. Also, she could barely move; empty or full boxes enclosed her.
She did leave some clothes in her wardrobe, cause on holidays she would stay, and didn't need to take her whole closet to college. Suddenly it hit her; it might not have space for all her possessions in the dorm. Anxiety, stress, and worry started to creep into Maeve's mind.
             She recalled that the upstairs area is the dorms where the girls and boys share rooms inside the college. The rooms seemed spacious in the pictures and could fit two to three people. However, she doesn't remember if it can provide a whole pile of boxes with Maeve's clothes inside. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and tried to remain calm, meanwhile thinking of all the possible good-looking guys who would never flirt with her, being that she's not very openly inviting.
              Maeve opened her eyes again and sighed hard enough that her father might hear. They haven't talked a lot these days; he's been busy with work, furthest quiet and avoiding, almost like something is bothering him.
              He did, though, cancel the horrendous barbeque party, which was terrific news for Maeve. Yet, it seemed like he still wanted to do something for her.
              She shrugged, continued to fold her clothes on the ground, and put on some headphones to listen to music. Music was streaming through her headphones; one of her favorite rock bands, Evanescence, was on high volume. Her second favorite was Linkin Park, and thirdly, Panic! at the Disco. Though she was a 90s freak, she loved many artists, bands, and songs from that decade too.

Cian knocked on Maeve's door after hours of her packing. Also, he cooked, baked, and worked. He made dinner, an Irish coddle which Maeve cherished also prepared a dessert, Irish lemon pudding.
             Her father wanted to be at his best and bring up the mood because they've been off lately. She hadn't responded to his knocking, yet he stepped inside. Maeve was sitting on the floor, checking on her phone with headphones on. The music beaming through the headphones was loud enough that he could hear it. Her rock band was screaming or singing through.
             Cian smirked because she was a lot like her father when he was young. He listened to rock bands and had the same grunge to rock fashion taste as her.
              Maeve hadn't realized that her father had stepped inside her bedroom; she was scrolling down her Instagram feed.
"Hey, dimples, it's dinner time and dessert!" Cian said out loud so she could hear him.
              Usually, her father called her dimples; a sweet nickname because she had dimples on both cheeks when she smiled. However, her mother used to call her cookie, inferring that she loved chocolate chip cookies.
             Maeve looked up and took one headphone off her ear.
"Oh, dessert? Nice, I'll come downstairs soon." She implied without reacting the way Cian thought she would. He thought she might be excited or anticipating, though she was neutral. Too neutral, almost not caring, or maybe was tired.
             Cian went downstairs to set the table though he was slightly nervous. He was about to give her a gift. That gift meant everything to him and his family, being that it was an heirloom.
             As he set the table, Maeve appeared and sat down immediately. Her father sat on the opposite side. They started eating, chit-chatting, and enjoying the meal together.
"So I thought you'd have to travel with me. You know how much I hate airplanes!" Maeve said as she was about to drink her water.
          "More likely, you have aerophobia." Cian chuckled. "Don't worry; I'll be with you and help you out with everything. Even though the way back would be dreadful without you." He continued and made a fake sad facial expression.
"Dad, I'm going to college; relax. How are you going to be when I'm moving out forever? Or even get married?" Maeve joked, putting her last piece of food in her mouth.
           "I would never allow it. You'll live with me forever and ever and ever..." Cian implied also smiled big at Maeve.
"Oh God, stop it!" Maeve laughed hard.
           "Jokes aside, dimples, you'll always be my little girl!" Cian said with his voice cracking at the end of the sentence. Maeve sympathized, stood up, and went to her father. She hugged him tightly, reassuring him that she loved him deeply.
            "Sit here. I want to give you something," Cian whispered, although loud enough so she could hear. He pointed her to sit at the chair beside his seat. Cian pulled out a rectangle cardboard jewelry box from his jeans pocket. The jewelry box was in velvet material and red. He gave it to her carefully; it was precious, near and dear to him.
             Maeve sat down and took the gift in such excitement. She was utterly surprised; this gift took her aback.
"It's a family heirloom. Your descendant from the end of the 1800s wore it. All the firstborns wore it generation after generation. They obtained it as a gift after they reached a certain age, accomplished, or are about to become something great. Though, your occasion is unique because all of my generation's firstborn were boys." He explained thoroughly.
             Maeve looked wide-eyed, astounded at her father's disclosure.
"So this is an Irish heirloom?" She asked, meanwhile opening the jewelry box. Inside it was a gold vintage crucifix with some strange red dots.
             "Not exactly Irish, more likely Dutch that was mixed with Irish later on." He answered, which took Maeve totally off guard.
"Wait... What!? Dutch?! Why haven't you told me anything about this?" Maeve complained. Her father didn't respond. "I feel like my whole life was a lie. Why didn't you tell me that you have dutch blood in you?" She frowned.
 "You know how valuable history is for me. Especially my ancestor's or descendants' past. Not knowing about this and finding it out now makes me upset, dad." She continued furiously.
             "I know, and I'm sorry. I thought you weren't interested in our relative's past. Although I want you to know that this is very special to me." He implied calmly enough to assure her that he was remorseful for not telling her. Yet, her silence made him far more nervous. 
             "I have many questions." She stated, irritated.
"I know that you have, but first, let's clean everything up, take some dessert and sit on the sofa. There, can you ask me whatever you wish for." He said casually.