“But I’m thirsty!” April whined, stomping her foot.
Faith was losing her temper. “I’m not going hunting, April. If you’re really that thirsty, have one of the pouches.”
“I’m not drinking that stuff!” April screeched.
Faith sank her head into her hands. Even Joy wasn’t this much of a brat and she was only seven.
“If you won’t come with me, I’ll go by myself,” April retorted, stomping towards the door.
“Fine.” Faith shrugged.
April slammed the door behind her and stood on the porch. She didn’t need Faith. She didn’t need anyone. She’d go up to the main road and she’d pull over ten cars, just because she could. She’d roll home, fat. She didn’t know if vampires could actually get fat, but damn it! She was going to find out.
Faith remained on the sofa. She’d started counting slowly from one. April was sheepishly sitting beside her before she’d reached twelve.
“Changed your mind?”
“Please, Faith,” April begged. “It’s really dark and scary.”
“Seriously? You are the scariest thing in these woods—“
“You don’t have to drink, just stop the cars. Please. Please. Just this last time. Please.”
April’s pleas, and the screams from the television, were interrupted with the jingle announcing breaking news. The girls turned to read the new headline.
“You definitely can’t go out now, April. What if one of the guys from the bar sees you? What if we bump into Will again?”
“We won’t. We’ll be super careful. Pleeeeeeeease,” April said, in her most irritating little girl voice.
“Nope. That may have worked with Daddy, it doesn’t work with me.”
April leaned in towards Faith’s face, lips pouted, but Faith shoved her back.
“What’s wrong with you?!”
“I’ll give you a hundred simoleons.”
“Fuck off, April.”
“Two hundred?” April was running out of tactics. “I won’t shut up until you come with me. Please, please, please,” she said over and over and carried on for a few minutes.
Faith felt like her head was going to explode. April was hardly going to run out of breath, or get tired.
“Please, please, pretty please, please with peas—“
“Fine!” Faith snapped. “If you want to be a complete fucking idiot, fine! But there’s something we need to do first and you are not gonna like it, Blondie.”
–
Caleb jolted back to the present to find Melinda staring at him and gently tugging at the sketchbook in his hands. He relaxed his grip and allowed her to take it.
“I don’t usually show people,” she admitted.
Somehow, he managed to smile. “You’re very talented.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled.
Caleb wondered how he would ever be able to look at Melinda, Jenny, again without thinking of Rose.
He could recall in perfect detail how he’d searched the forest for hours to find her. How little she’d weighed when he’d carried her home to Lilith. The look on Lilith’s face as she’d gently told him what he already knew; there was nothing they could do.
He should have compelled Rose to go with him. He should have chased her straight away when she ran off, instead of hesitating.
Should have, should have, should have…
He wondered how to tell Melinda what had happened.
“You were adopted?” he asked. His voice didn’t sound like his own.
“Yes,” she said. “I was about four when I was officially adopted but I was in care for a while, at first. Maybe they thought Rose might come back for me.” He didn’t miss the hope in her voice.
“Your life with your new parents, was it happy?”
“Yes,” Melinda said, sadly. “It really was. I never wished for anything. I know this is strange, having a book full of drawings of her. And I really love my parents, I do, and I know they love me… I just wonder. Did she love me? Did I ruin her life?”
“I’m sure she loved you,” he said. He didn’t know how to answer the other one.
“Maybe I’m better not knowing what happened. I’m sure my parents know and they just haven’t told me. It must be a horrible story that I just won’t want to hear,” she said. “And if she’s dead, then what does it really matter, anyway?” She was quiet for a while, looking at the image Caleb had been staring at. She stroked her finger down the page, closed the book and slipped it back into her bag.
Caleb wished that Lilith was in his head because he had no idea what was going on in there. Melinda could tell something was bothering him; she worried she’d touched a nerve. Wondered if he was reminded, perhaps, of his own parents. “Do you have any other family, Caleb?”
He shook his head.
Melinda thought for a while. Is this a stupid question? “Were you born or were you spawned somehow?”
“I was born,” he managed.
“But vampires are immortal, right? So what happened to your parents?”
“Vampire hunters,” he said, another grim thought adding itself to the swamp in his brain.
“So… vampires aren’t immortal?”
“I don’t think there’s any creature that can survive a beheading.”
Melinda’s eyes seemed to take up most of her face. “That’s awful. How did you survive?”
Caleb had often wondered this himself.
Melinda nodded at his silence, feeling the need to change the subject. “I don’t know much about vampires. I didn’t think they even existed until, like, a week ago. I certainly didn’t know they could have babies. How does that work?”
If he hadn’t been drowning in a hundred gruesome memories, he might have laughed. “You want me to tell you where babies come from?”
Melinda blushed so hot she felt her hair catch fire. “No, I know that, but I mean… do we have that, um, function?”
He gave her a strange look. “Are you trying to seduce me? Because I can’t say that I’m really in the mood.”
“No! Oh my gosh, no!”
Caleb couldn’t help but smile. She was so darn cute when she squirmed. “Vampires can’t have babies, we all start as humans.”
“You were adopted too?”
He chose his word carefully. “Liberated.”
Melinda scoffed, “Stolen, then.”
“That was just the way it was. Vampire families selected their offspring based on attributes; looks and… well mostly just looks.”
“How vain of you.” Melinda didn’t want to hear any more. She could imagine the poor village woman who’d had her baby stolen by vampires. They probably took a good drink from her too, just to really spoil her day. “So who turned you into a vampire?”
Caleb tilted his head, the bitterness evident in his voice. “My father.”
“It’s painful, isn’t it? Turning,” she said quietly. “Like being invaded by despair.”
“I don’t remember. It was a long time ago.”
Melinda nodded, lost in her own memories. “Do you ever think about your birth parents? About what life would’ve been like if you’d stayed with them?”
“No,” he said, bluntly.
She couldn’t hide her surprise. “Really? You’re not even curious? What they look like, who they were? What you could have been?”
His tone was short. “I would have been food.”
“Right. Food.” Melinda looked at her lap. “I’m sorry, Caleb. I’ll stop talking. I’ve clearly upset you.”
He sighed, his eyes darkened. “No. Please don’t be sorry. You have every right to ask. It’s only that… I’m not exactly proud of any of it.”
“I know. I can only imagine what you and Lilith have been through. But it’s OK; it’s all behind you now. You can’t change the past, Caleb, so you’ll need to forgive yourself at some point and move on. I guess, maybe, we both do.” Melinda reached out and held his hand.
Caleb froze at her unexpected touch. He hadn’t even sensed her moving. How had she managed to do that?
“Besides,” she went on, her voice playful, “there are some perks to being a vampire. I’ve barely slept in a week; I’ve had loads of time to draw and catch up on all the latest cat videos.” She idly stroked his knuckles with her thumb. “That’s not to say that I don’t miss the taste of food or feeling the sun on my face. Or being warm, of course.”
She’s still warm. “I don’t really remember anything about being mortal,” he admitted, eyes fixated on their hands. “It all seems quite laborious, though.”
Melinda blinked, confused. “How so?”
“All the different things they have to do to survive. Remembering to beat their hearts and breathe and then there’s getting old.”
She laughed. “You really don’t remember being human at all, do you? The breathing and heartbeats just happen naturally. And the ageing. I mean, you can get surgery and stuff for that, but you’re just delaying the inevitable. Why not just let it happen? Although, I suppose that’s easy for me to say, as I’m permanently baby-faced, now. Thanks to you. And I suppose if people weren’t getting cosmetic surgery then we’d be pretty screwed, wouldn’t we?”
“Yes,” he agreed, linking his fingers with hers, “we would.”
–
“Do I look ridiculous?” April asked, gazing into the empty mirror.
“It actually looks sort of cute on you,” Faith said, not wanting to mention that it looked a bit lopsided. To save money, Faith always cut her own hair, as well as her sister’s, but she didn’t have to use garden shears to do so. As well as being incredibly cumbersome, the blades were rusted and they’d seized shut twice, forcing Faith to take off more than she’d planned. Especially at the front.
April pouted. “Do you think Caleb will like it?”
Faith shrugged, “I don’t know what three hundred year old vampire men really look for in women. But his hair is stupid, so he can’t talk.”
“I like his hair.”
“I think you’re in the minority. Anyway, the point is, you look different. You look much less ‘Del Sol Valley’ and much more ‘Willow Creek’. So, mission accomplished.”
April looked back towards the mirror, a force of habit.
It felt kind of nice not to look ‘Del Sol Valley’ anymore. She liked that it was so short, that she wouldn’t have to keep brushing it off her shoulders. It felt so light, so messy. She felt so free.
“Hi,” she said into the mirror, in a strange accent, “I’m April Moss from Willow Creek. I would like a spirulina smoothie, please.”
“What are you doing?”
“Practising being common.”
“Nobody in Willow Creek would ask for a whatever-the-fuck-that-is smoothie. And don’t call yourself April bloody Moss.”
April tried again. “Hi, I’m Amy err… Algae and I’m from Willow Creek.”
Faith laughed, played along. “What drink would you like, Amy Algae?”
“I want peach kombucha.”
“Yeah… no. We’ll work on that. So, do you like it?”
April had no idea. But she had a fringe. That fact alone meant that Mother would’ve absolutely hated it.
“I love it,” she said.
< Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter >
Almost Eternal 
April worked extra hard on being unsufferable this chapter. Why is she so hellbound on hunting when even her love interest doesn’t do that anymore? Is it really just the jealousy that prevents her from drinking those packs, or does she actually have more taste for hinting them the other two?
Her new hair is quite, though they should really dye it too if they really want her to be harder to recognise. I did enjoy that she loved it because she new Sandy would hate it. Oh April…
Wimpy vamps were cute. And a lot of information in lore in this, interesting. Does this mean Caleb and Lilith are not biologically related, or were they “liberated” from the same family?
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Why indeed.
Ha! One thing at a time, Plumbob. Faith had to cut it with garden shears so I doubt Marjorie had a selection of Manic Panic colours stashed in her cupboards. It’s not like they can just pop to Tesco, either.
I thought you might enjoy a few crumbs of lore. 😁 You’ll get your answers, but not from me.
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Haha, I see they finally got themselves a proper modern mirror! Can’t keep messing up their hair and makeup with one that doesn’t show their reflection, after all ^^
My gods, April is such a pouty toddler when she doesn’t get her way. And it actually worked on Faith, too. Eventually. I wonder – does she legitimately not care what happens if she’s caught, or does she simply not realize the consequences if she would be? I want to say it’s the second one, but with the way she reverts into a child to get what she wants, maybe she honestly just doesn’t realize or think it through. For all the hardship that her mom threw at her, perhaps April never had to live with the consequences of her own bad decisions before. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s never been allowed to make any, and if someone has always been there to “catch” her, and that’s why she isn’t thinking about consequences at all now.
Also don’t tell her this but she looks a lot like her mother in that last picture. Ironically. xD
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I know. Now they’re doing each other’s hair and makeup I’ll actually have to try harder in CAS to create cohesive looks, I guess. No more slapping on that MAC crap.
Proof that listening to someone going ‘please, please, please’ for ten minutes will break the most resistant of vamps. April is nothing if not insistent. Also, you raise some interesting points here.
She does but of course *she* can’t see that.
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Oooh Put me down on the MC train if you haven’t already. 😍 I imagine that train is huge at this point. Also, what if Caleb withholds that information from Mel about Rose and she finds out about it and gives him hell for it. I’ll be so sad if that happens. 😢
I agree with everyone above on April’s persuasion strategy. LOl. so I’ll save you from reading again.
I’ve decided that Faith should open a styling salon. If she can do that with garden shears, she’s defo talented there. Just need to offer extra services. Like scalp and ‘neck’ massage. Yeah. Done. Now she got a livelihood and questionable meal.
Is violent killer vamp Caleb’s dad? That’ll be the crappiest thing ever.
Spirulina smoothie? Omg is that a thing? Have you tried it? Kombucha tastes like crap sorry.
“Practicing being common.” That line alone lol.. April..
I love this chapter.
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There’s so many trains now I’m gonna need to draw up a timetable. Luckily, your ticket is valid on all services on the AE line.
I did that scene with five different hairstyles; some showed more of Faith’s talent than others. That’s not a bad idea! Maybe a vamp salon might be on the cards for her down the line, y’know, when things stop blowing up.
That would be crap.
Yes, lol. I put spirulina in all sorts of weird things. It seemed like an April thing to order. But yeah, kombucha is just wrong. Hopefully Faith will teach ‘Amy’ to order cola or something that those common folk drink. I wouldn’t know. 😉😁
Ah, I am glad that you finally love a chapter!
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? What do you mean? I’ve been loving your story since time immemorial now. So much so I nagged you to make a banner for it and get too emotional invested in your characters to react lol. I was like obsessed fan #1 so I toned down on it for a bit.
I think the blowing up bit will keep coming for awhile right? 😂 But its a nice to dream!
My favourite weirdo spirulina drink is Cereal Spirulina. Ooof… that is tasty (yes I’m totally recommending it to you) ❤ I'm not fancy though, i take the instant packs but I feel like I'm in heaven. Oh, if you told me you liked kombucha I'd ask for a 1k word essay on why you like it. I need to know lol. I can't wrap it around my head. Life's biggest mystery in that glass of undrinkable drink. Cola.. ha! xD
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Ha! I only meant that you’re free to switch which romance you ship whenever you like. Not that you should leave me. You shouldn’t, I’ll get all April obsessed on you if you leave me, Foamy. 😐
Maybe, maybe. Or maybe nothing will blow up and the rest of the story is just light-hearted tales from Faith’s Slaughter Salon?
Cereal spirulina? Want to try! I have a big sack of spirulina and just add it to random foods. I’m not fancy either, lol I just like weird food. 😁
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OOoh well you know my ships. MC, AL and faith.. Idk nobody seems cool enough for her yet. The bartender seems like he got his stuff together. And I’m thinking across multiple simUniverses… Lol naw no guys in my story suit her. All my guys are pretty crap. I’ll wait for you to introduce a good guy 😀
Geeez lolol. April obsessed is a real threat. I wonder if that will become April’s super vampire power. 😂
omg Faith’s Slaughter Salon = Sweeny Todd!!
Big sack of spirulina??? Holy moley. It must taste really good. 😯
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Hoping for someone cool enough for Faith. OK, noted. Hmm, Joe the bartender is like, 70. He’d die from exhaustion the first time she got him in the sack.
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Oh … April is really a spoiled brat. Her endless torment and threats show that she only thinks of covering her own immediate needs.
I like that Faiht compares her to her seven-year-old sister. April’s mental development has stopped long before that age.
I don ‘t think she’s stupid … it would almost be too obvious to make her a stupid blonde.
Now she has had her hair cut for a start and I really think it does something to her appearance. Check (V). Then we just lack her inner development … and here I think it can be a very long story 😅
Don’t worry,… I’m hanging on to the end because I’m so excited about how she ends up 😄
I love Melinda’s and Caleb’s dialogues. You can almost see them both growing in the meantime. Both their mutual trust and their understanding 💕
I amused myself during the sequence where they talked about how children are conceived.
Hm! Caleb and Melinda have something in common? They both lost their biological mother when they were very young.
Caleb has a terrible knowledge of Melinda’s mother. Melinda has made it clear that she does not need to be aware of her mother’s horrible fate.
Caleb carries a heavy burden with his knowledge of both Rose’s and his parents’ deaths.
Now society’s sense of justice has once again been awakened and I fear that the Vampire Hunters are gearing up for the final hunt 😨
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She is a brat but it remains to be seen if she’s a dumb blonde.
I thought where better than a conversation about dead parents and past regrets to throw in a light-hearted talk about vampire conception.
Or, it might all work out fine and everyone skips off into the night, hand-in-hand to unlive happily ever after. 😀
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April is a spoiled little princess, but she does know how to make it work. And I am liking her new look, Faith did a good job.
Oh man, now I must admit that I actually like kombucha, but I just have weird taste buds in general. I also have made it (that probably makes me even weirder, lol).
Okay, so I know I said I wasn’t jumping aboard the shipping train just yet, but Mel and Caleb are really convincing. But Caleb, dude, you got a girl to stare at and make googly eyes with, why are you holding hands with her friend? I’m beginning to think Caleb is really clueless with women.
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Well, she learned from the best.
Ooh, don’t tell Foamy you like kombucha, she’ll make you write a 1k word essay about it. My taste buds are also very strange but kombucha is just one step too far down the weird path for me. Although the fact that you make it is still kinda cool.
I will reserve you a seat on each train then, just in case. And you are not wrong with that last comment.
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I find it really sad that Caleb has the only thing Mel wants most – a memory of Rose.
I’m wondering if that’s why he picked April, because of her looks like other vampires used to and if he plans to start a family of his own with her. Or if he picked her for someone else. He’s genuinely nice one moment and then he has too many secrets. I don’t trust him yet.
Is April going to freak out when she realizes the vampire hunters are as real as the vampires? Tell me she is.
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It is sad, but is that a memory she really wants?
Maybe he’s simply that shallow. Ooh, who else could he have picked her for, I wonder. Not trusting him is probably a good mindset.
I will tell you no such thing. 😉
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lol omg April 😂
She’s def a hand full. But def cute with that new haircut!
Caleb sounds so bitter. As if there’s literally no more joy in his life. I guess 300 years can do that to you.
Mel is so mature and sweet, it’s funny it really looks as if Caleb could learn from her though one would have expected it should have been vice versa 😏
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April? Do you mean Amy Algae? She’s so weird.
Yeah, Caleb really should know more, shouldn’t he?
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Mwah. April /is/ a handful, but if the cops are offering a reward, isn´t it a bit too late to just stop hunting? The bar guys may have been drunk, but I don´t think they need to see them again to realize they´d seen April. Best thing to do is bail outta there, methinks.
So… vampire hunters, ech? No surprise those existed. Now the question is, do they still? Three hundred years is a long time for humans, the art may have been forgotten. Lilith does expect a hunt, though, so maybe not. Or maybe she´s being paranoid. Still clever of her to expect the more dangerous option, though.
Also, vampire families. It would seem there used to be /some/ kind of society at some point. Perhaps destroyed by the hunts… I would even go and guess that those vampire families had a good degree of power, if they used to get away with stealing babies. And making people food as a matter of course. Ha, we even get hints of some sort of history here, how exciting!
And yet another one – Caleb /doesn´t remember/ being human? Now that is concerning. I mean… is that another side effect of being a vampire? Do you just start forgetting things at some point? That would be awful.
April´s new look… I´m undecided. I guess it looks about as good on her as the old one did. It´s different, but equal levels of pretty, I think. Faith really is good if she managed to do that with old, rusty garden shears.
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Probably, but when have this pair ever made any good plans?
That is the question.
There was definitely some sort of structure and a significant threat to humans if vampire hunters were required, for sure. I’m glad you’re excited about history because I love me some backstory and lore. 😍 (I do tend to overdo it, but y’know, layers, haha)
Appears not. Forgetting things does seem to be a thing among vampires, but I couldn’t possibly tell you why that might be. Hm…
April has a strange face; she was born that way in game and I didn’t want to change her but it means that most hair looks a bit weird on her. Faith has many unusual talents; being a dab hand with a rusty blade is just one of them.
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Very fair assessment. 😀
I totally do love all of your layering. I´d even go so far as to say it´s the best part of the story for me… though, there´s still… would it be nasty of me to say distractions? I feel like that isn´t a nice thing to call someone. Even if I only mean it in the best possible sense. >.> ;D
*narrows eyes* Then, I shall not pry. Another thought to hang on to…
Hmm… a bit long and pointy, yeah. But it suits her well, makes her look a bit fragile. Eeek, that about Faith sounded… like it might not be such a good thing. But hey, that stylist job might work, if she ever gets a chance.
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