Broken Ties

Chapter 4

Becka~

I was at my desk, doing my homework, when I heard a knock at my window.  I immediately headed towards it and opened it. “Hey, Sis,” she greeted me. “ Sorry for coming so late. I just couldn’t stay at home…” “It’s not a problem at all, love,” I told her sincerely. Faythe called me while she was on the bus and told me that there was an emergency, and asked if it was okay if I came over. We snuck into the basement, even though my parents were probably taking a nap, after grabbing two spoons and a couple of bowls. As Faythe took a seat on the couch, I went to the deep freezer and grabbed some ice cream, just in case she wanted some. She seems really upset though, so she probably isn’t going to eat any. My prediction was on-point - she declined my offer of the sweet frozen treat. I set the bowls to the side for the moment, leaving the ice cream out so it could soften up. I then joined my little sister on the couch and gave her my full attention. I didn’t push her to say anything, but I could tell that she needed to talk. “Wait,” she said. “I need to call Palo as well.” I nodded and took her phone.  She logged into her Gmail account and called him on Hangouts. After a few rings, he picked up.

“Palo already knows this, since we literally just had this conversation less than an hour ago, but I still have to tell you.” She sighed. She kept her head down as she shared her news. “I’m a vampire.” Whoa, I thought. As expected, Palo didn’t say anything. He waited patiently until he asked, “Wait. How come you’re at Becka’s house?” “My mom tried to kill me,” she replied calmly, since she already knew this would happen. Well, in a technical way, she did. But none of us were expecting this to actually happen. How were we supposed to know that vampires existed?

“I’m sorry, Sis,” I said. She began to cry, only because she could not hold it back anymore. “Where am I supposed to go? I can’t stay at home anymore, and it’s not like I can afford to stay at a hotel or anything!” More tears fell, her body shaking from her uncontrollable sobs. I took her phone from her so she wouldn’t drop it, and we hugged each other. Palo remained silent on the other end, knowing that we just need a bit of time so Faythe could let it all out. She fought to stop the crying, which was mostly effective. She managed to calm her wet tears into dry sobs, which eventually subsided.

“I’m sorry, guys. I-”

“No, don’t apologize, silly!”, Palo and I said at the same time.

She smiled shyly. “Yeah, but I kinda broke down for a minute there. I don’t mean to put all this on you both. But thank you for listening. I can always depend on you.”

I spun her so she was facing me before I hugged her. “We’re always here for you, babe. How many times do we have to tell you? Ahaha!”, I smiled at her, picking up the phone so that we could see Palo again. She laughed a little bit with a small smile. “I know, I know, but it just doesn’t feel right to cry a river in front of you guys and not acknowledge it.

“But...I still don’t know where to go. If I stay here, someone else might eventually find out and try to slay me as well.”

“Well,” I started. “Why don’t you spend the night here in the basement, and then we can figure it out tomorrow after I come home from church?”

“Can I? I won’t be too much of a problem, will I?” “Of course not!” “Well, if you insist. Thanks, Becka. What would I do without you?”

“Hey! What about me?”, Palo asked cheekily. Faythe turned her head towards the screen with a smile. “You know I wouldn’t be any good without you either, mou.” I laughed at my friends’ banter. “Oh, Faythe?”, he said, getting her attention. “Yeah?” “Can you stop by my house tomorrow night? About nine o’clock?”, he said, his voice slightly rough. Faythe’s smile dropped from her face almost immediately. “Um...would that be a good idea? I don’t mind, but your mom might not let me come over that late...” I knew that she has mixed feelings for him, and I wasn’t sure how Palo felt, but even so, I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea.  “But what’s up?” “Well,” he started. “Remember when you asked me if I would turn you away if you turned into a vampire?” She immediately caught on. “Yeah. You said you wouldn’t, and said you would want me to turn you.” Oh...I see what it is now. “Are you sure you want to go through with it? It’s going to be difficult after the transformation, especially with the first blood. Even now, I’m still craving blood after taking some from squirrels and birds before I got on the bus.