Cranberry Juice [ On Hold ]

7. Friends, Enemies, Floral Dresses

Quick warning - there's a lot of discussion of religion and parents in this chapter. I want to make it clear that I, the author, will always respect beliefs, so long as they're not hurting anyone.

Also a warning for transphobia. I forgot to put that in when this was first published, my bad

"Can you knock?"

"Dude, it's your mum, you knock."

"I don't want to," Soren hissed, fiddling with the strings of his hoodie. "You probably shouldn't have come. She's not gonna like this," he mumbled. Crow and Soren stood on the doorstep of Mrs Halloran's house, the sickly scent of roses wafting past them. And bees. A lot of bees.

Crow stood on his toes to peer through the stained glass set in the door. "It can't be that bad," he said, puzzled. 

"I don't even know if it's safe for you to go in there. There's crosses on every wall. Hell, she probably keeps bottled holy water in her fridge. It could hurt you," Soren said, head pounding. He was practically squirming. He didn't have any idea how she'd react to... everything?

"Look, it doesn't matter. Can we just knock? It'll be over before you know it," Crow encouraged, though he sounded unsure.

Soren sighed. He didn't have much of a choice - his mother would just reschedule over and over again, and then berate him no matter his excuse.

He gingerly knocked on the door. He could hear faint, rapid footsteps before the lock clicked, and he was face to face with his mother.

-

Mrs Halloran was the type of person to give you a lollipop, and then lecture you on how bad it is for you. 

The woman was tall - taller than both her son and Crow, and she kept her hair in a curly, blonde bob. She wore a floral dress, and the sort of smile that could have been either evil or affectionate. She was the polar opposite of her son, and Crow had a feeling that the two might have had some arguments over that.

"Hello! Hello! Sar- oh, sorry! Come inside, come inside!" Mrs Halloran pushed open the door and  gestured for the two to come inside. There was something grossly saccharine about her tone, but Crow just gritted his teeth and smiled.

Soren was not exaggerating about the crosses. There were a heap of religious motifs plastered on the walls.  Crow could feel his skin prickling, and he sunk further into his turtleneck.

"So, young lady, we haven't been introduced. What's your name?" Mrs Halloran asked Crow, motioning for the two to sit down on a moth-eaten, flowery couch. 

Crow laughed awkwardly as he sat down. "Uh, I'm actually-"

"His name is Crow, Mum. He's my roommate," Soren said in the politest tone that he could manage. He flashed an exasperated look towards Crow.

Mrs Halloran offered another mawkish smile, and shoved a tray of steaming tea across the coffee table. The pot had a painted design of cherubs around its brim, and as Mrs Halloran poured some rose-scented tea into a cup, the vampire couldn't help but feel out of place.

"Uh, Mrs Halloran, you have a lovely house. It's very... Floral," Crow said, taking a sip of tea. He was shaking as he lifted the cup to his lips. It was nauseatingly sweet.

The woman nodded. "Very nice of you to say, Cora! And please, call me Kirsten," she said, sitting down on an obnoxiously-hued armchair.

Crow nodded slowly. "Uh, thank you, Kirsten. It's Crow, by the way, I-"

"Oh, you can call me Mrs Halloran. My apologies, Clover. I forget things nowadays," Kirsten said. "Anyways, my child, how have you been?" She turned towards Soren.

Soren forced a smile. "I've been okay. I've been getting pretty decent scores in college, despite the fact I have to work-"

Mrs Halloran - Kirsten? - interrupted him once more. "Oh, Cleo, you have some tea running down your chin!" She hastily extracted a floral handkerchief and handed it to Crow, along with a makeup mirror.

Crow nodded in thanks, and took the items. He pretended to inspect the mirror, and tried to wipe in the correct spot. Even if he couldn't see his reflection, he did get a good view of the crosses behind him. Deadly as they were to him, they were pretty cool. Good craftsmanship and stuff.

"Mum, we're kind of on a tight schedule here, I don't know if we can stay for long-"

Yet again, Mrs Halloran interrupted him. "Nonsense! You can make time for your old mother. Try the tea, wouldn't you?"

Soren obliged. Better than to have to talk to her. He took a cup and sculled it.

"So anyways, Joe, what are you studying?" Mrs Halloran turned her attention back to Crow.

Crow tittered, staring at his teacup. "Oh, I'm just..." He scanned the room. There wasn't really anything except for old furniture, flowers, and-

"Jesus. Sorry, religion. I study religions around the world."

This seemed to please Mrs Halloran. "That's excellent! I do a lot of work at the local church. If you need any inside information, I'm your gal! Always happy to share the love," she chirped.

Soren snorted into his teacup, earning a glare from his mother.

"Sorry, I'm not sure what's so funny about Crew's studies?" Mrs Halloran said, glaring daggers towards Soren.

"It's nothing. I sneezed," he lied, pouring himself another cup. "Jeez, how much sugar's in this shit?"

"Watch your language, Sarah!" Mrs Halloran snapped. Soren froze. The room was silent for a moment. It was only a minute, but it felt like an hour.

Crow finally spoke up. "Thank you for having us, Mrs Halloran, but I think Soren and I need to go now. I'll keep in touch with you with the study thing. Thanks," he said. He rose to his feet, and placed his teacup back on the table.

Soren got up too. He didn't say goodbye. He just stared at his mother. Mrs Halloran didn't look at him.

-

The walk home was a painful one. Somewhere, deep down, Soren loved his mother, but she always poured salt on the most agonising wounds. 

He knew she tried. When she felt like being nice. And he was pretty used to being deadnamed. But the combination of awkwardness and anger was just too much. 

Soren had become everything Mrs Halloran didn't want. He couldn't tell if his life was better or worse for it. 

"Could I hold your hand?"

Soren turned his head. "What?"

"I don't know. I just feel powerful after that. I want to share that with you. It sounds really stupid saying it aloud," Crow mumbled.

"No, that's okay. You can hold my hand. I think I need it," Soren said. Crow took his hand and clasped tightly. "Your hands are cold," Soren laughed.

"I'm dead," Crow replied.

A/N: Sorry if this one was a bit confusing. I'm so sleep deprived. Anyways, hope you have a decent day - I appreciate you. Please consider voting, gotta love the numbers sometimes yknow