Obsession Starts with a V

Chapter 16

Sorry for not posting yesterday! I had a killer migraine and went to bed at 6pm....but to make up for it, you will get two chapters today! Woo!

                                ● Ɲσω Ɓαcк тσ тнє Sтσяу ●

Later that night Lucy came home and Sam caught her up on all that had happened. He expressed his concern with Veronica still being locked in the bathroom. Lucy was finally able to lure her out with the promise of hot chocolate and a hug. Veronica didn't say much, except to ask if she could take a warm bath before going to bed.

"Sure sweetie, anything you like. Now head to the kitchen and I'll get started on that hot coco."

When Veronica was out of earshot, Lucy turned to her son and whispered, "Make sure she comes out of the bathroom after that bath. I have to leave and go speak to Max in a little bit."

"Don't worry mom, I'll make sure she's okay."

Lucy smiled at her worried son and thought about how grown up he looked just then. It saddened her to think of him being turned into a vampire and having his innocence replaced with violence. Her thoughts snapped back to David- something had to be done about that boy.

After making the coco and kissing both kids on the forehead, she quickly headed toward the video store. She blessed her good luck that the store was empty when she arrived. She would be able to speak with Max right away.

"I already know," he stated as Lucy walked in. "I have already spoken to Star and I'm going to speak with David tomorrow."

"You need to talk to him now."

"I'm going to give him a night to cool off."

"From what Sam told me, he wasn't the one that was angry. He was 'cool as a cucumber'."

Max looked up at her and smiled at her use of a teenage phrase. "You amuse me so much sometimes."

"Max! This is serious! And that was just how Sam described him..."

"Yes, yes it is serious," Max purred as he slipped around the counter and came closer to her.

"My son's heart has just been broken."

"And he will learn to move on. Heartbreak is a part of life. Right now he probably just wants to be left alone and not have his mother hound him about Star. I can help you get your mind off of it for a while if you like."

"Max," Lucy's face flushed red as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her little kisses along her neck.

"Maria," Lucy whispered, looking over Max's shoulder.

"Sorry!" Maria giggled. "I don't mean to be a buzz kill. She quickly finished putting recently returned tapes back in their appropriate spots. She was quickly struck with an ingenious idea.

"Can I take the rest of the night off so you and your lady can boogie all night long?" She giggled louder this time as she placed Saturday Night Fever back on the shelf.

"That depends, are you going to 'boogie all night' with Paul if I let you go?" Max asked.

"What do you think?" She replied suggestively, inching closer to the door.

Max sighed. "That boy is bad news."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard your speech before. I'll see you later alligators!"

"Oh, Maria!" Max called to her before she slipped away.

"Yeah?"

"Stay away from David for the night. He's not going to be in the best of moods."

                                   ()()()()

Veronica made it out of the bathroom again, fresh, clear-headed, and ready for bed. She started heading to the guest room that had now become her second bedroom, but Sam called for her from his room. She came in and noticed a sleeping bag on the floor and Sam's bed was made.

"You can sleep in my bed tonight and I'll take the floor." Sam explained.

"I thought I was in the guest bedroom?"

"I don't feel safe leaving you alone. You never know, you might go crazy and lock yourself in the room and start writing things on the walls with your blood." He laughed feebly at his joke.

Veronica chewed the side of her mouth before answering. "Couldn't I do the same thing in here, only use your blood?"

"I suppose, but I don't think you have the heart to kill me. Hey, what was that thing you wanted to tell me about? He sat cross-legged on the sleeping bag and looked up at her.

Veronica closed the door and sat down across from him, still hugging her Count Chocula plushie. It was a surprise she didn't take it into the bathtub with her.

"Max isn't home?" She asked in a whisper.

"Nope, I don't think anyone's home right now." Suddenly, it dawned on him. "Nobody is home. Dwayne's been watching Laddie all night, Michael ran out, and Mom went to go talk to Max. Nobody's home! After you tell me this deep, dark secret, wanna trash the house and raid the fridge?" He smiled, trying to pull Veronica out of her depression slump.

"No, I don't think you'll feel like doing that after I tell you this. The Frog Brother's weren't lying about Zapper Center. A fire really did happen and there were rumors about vampires being involved. I think David and them are real actual vampires."

Sam's smile disappeared. "I don't think you know what you're talking about. Rumors are not facts and vampires are not real."

"I think you've been keeping this a secret from me, and I want to know why."

Sam inhaled sharply. "They're not real Veronica. Now leave it alone."

"Why are you getting irritated?" She poked him in the chest.

"I'm not irritated."

"Yes you are. You have attitude in your eyes."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means you're irritated."

"I'm not irritated!" Sam said, clearly growing irritated.

"I'm right, aren't I? David's a vampire!" Veronica's voice started getting higher and she could feel her heart pick up pace. "Oh my gosh, he's a vampire, isn't he!"

Sam didn't reply and looked away. It was hard to lie to her when she was so enthusiastic about the topic.

"You're not answering me, so I must be right! What about Max? Is he a vampire? Is Laddie?" Veronica gasped. "Are you a vampire?"

Sam scrunched up his face and shook his head. "No, I'm not a vampire. Why don't you go to bed? Too many things have happened to you tonight." He got up and headed for the light switch.

"Goodnight, Veronica."

"Sam, I ran away from home."

Sam paused his pursuit to the switch and froze in place at her confession.

Veronica continued, "David helped me. I wasn't planning on it, but Kirby would not let David bring me over, so he stole me and my mom doesn't know I'm not home. That's basically me running away, right?"

"Did he steal you willingly?"

"Yeah."

"What's Kirby going to do if he finds out?" Sam asked as he slowly came back and sat down in his original position.

"He'll probably attempt to kill David."

☢ ♥‿♥ 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝒇𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝒆𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰! 𝓓𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝒇𝓸𝓻𝓰𝒆𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓿𝓸𝓽𝒆 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝒇𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀 𝓲𝒇 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝒆𝓷𝓳𝓸𝔂𝒆𝓭 𝓲𝓽 ♥‿♥ ☢