Lume di Luna: 2

The room was beautiful.
It had the same crimson carpet as the hallway, and several antique-but-not-tacky-
looking lamps placed around the room. The bed was large and matched the carpet.
The bedposts were a dark brown polished wood, and small gold and red pillows
decorated the upper part of the bed. The room seemed like a really really expensive
hotel room. Like, the five-star ones that celebrities sleep in. There was even a
bathroom, with a wide black tub, and black and white tiled floor. I dropped my bags.
I could get used to a place like this.
But in the back of my mind, I could still feel that burning anger.
You see, I had been a vampire for only four months, and then my parents kicked
me out, to the Covenhouse. Maybe I should take a minute to explain further.
I was a victim.

***

It was like any other day at NIU; I had classes, hung out with friends for a bit, then
decided to go home around nine. Of course, students had been warned about walking
the campus alone at night, but I was visiting my parents, and I didn't want to be late. So I went. Somewhere on the way to the house, my car sputtered and died.
I got out to check it, and wham. I was hit from the back.
I was attacked.
He had fangs, so I knew immediately it was a vampire. A real one. You saw them
around sometimes, but it was uncommon. Even with the laws saying they're
citizens, some people still don't really accept vamps as such, so a lot of the time,
they stay away from humans. Anyway, I was knocked down, and I felt him tearing
at my clothes, at my skin. I screamed, but the road was empty.
I'm going to die here. was pretty much my only thought, but I kept fighting.
I remember the fangs, those sharp little daggers, digging and slicing into my neck,
and I remember the feel of my blood slick on my struggling hands.
Then, nothing.
A hospital room. Recovery, recovery, yadda yadda yadda. I went home eventually.
Understandibly, it took time for me to get over the fact that I was a vampire.
No longer human, no longer mortal. I was strong and fast, and I could hear things
and see things I never could before. It was amazing and terrifying. My parents
treated me like a victim; careful yet comforting, and I was glad for that. My state
of mind was a bit fragile then, and I broke down more than once.
But I began to cope. I began to test my limits a little, to try to get used to being
a vampire. Eventually, I could sleep without having nightmares.
I had gotten better, but my parents had done the opposite.
The grew distant from me. They barely spoke to me, let alone looked at me.
I could taste their fear like a bitter acid, eating me away, while disgusting me at
the same time. These were my parents. All I had.
And they feared me.
I confronted them eventually, pissed and ready to argue.
They said I had changed. I said, no shit.
They said they couldn't deal with it. I said, I couldn't at first, either.
They said I didn't understand. I said, and you do?
Where's our little girl? The happy kid we raised? they asked.
I said I'm right here.
They said get out.
I left.

***

I sat on the bed, fists clenched. No way, I wouldn't lose it here.
To be honest, when I felt my parents' fear of me, I began to hate myself. I can't
lie and say I've gotten over that. I haven't. But maybe now...
I sighed.
"Alley?" It was Toby's voice from the other side of the thick door.
I tried to talk, but it took me two tries before anything came out. "Yeah?"
"Julietta will see you now."
I took a deep breath, and relaxed my hands. The were bleeding from where the
nails had bitten into them when I had squeezed them shut. Damn.
"I'm coming." I called.