My Roommate Isn't A Vampire

Sister Complex

"Caroline," a little girl called from a small yard. "Look! There's a caterpillar here!"

I jogged over to her and looked at where she was pointing. On a small blade of grass, was a red and orange caterpillar, crawling to the top. "That's a colorful little guy, isn't it?"

"Can we keep him, Caroline? I'll feed him everyday and then we can watch him become a butterfly."

I smiled and shook my head. "Come on, Renee. Would that be fair to the caterpillar?"

Her expression saddened and she looked down at the caterpillar. "I guess not."

I placed my hand on her back. "Look at it this way, Renee: There are thousands of caterpillars in the world with their own colors, abilities, and favorite foods. When they grow up, they'll become beautiful butterflies that will travel the world. You'll be able to watch them show off their colors in the shining sun and they won't have to be inside for you to see them."

"That does sound pretty," Renee whispered as she closed her eyes. "I want to see that."

"Caroline! Renee!" Mom called from the house. "Come on inside! Lunch is ready!"

"I guess we better go inside," I said with a smile.

"Will the caterpillar be okay?" Renee asked.

"As long as it is free, yes."

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I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the ceiling. I sighed and rolled off of the bed. "What time is it?" I asked. When no one answered, I knocked on the door and asked, "What time is it?"

I heard someone stir outside and a groan. "It's only 3 o'clock in the morning," a rough female voice replied. "Go back to sleep."

I sighed and went back to the bed, sleep easily conquered me.

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I heard shouting and sat up in my bed. Renee was tiptoeing to the door and was startled to see me sit up so fast. "What's going on?" I asked.

"I think mom and dad are arguing," Renee whispered.

I picked up my knife and stuck it in my pocket. "Stay here. I'll go make sure it's okay."

Renee nodded and quickly crawled back up into her bed. I opened the door and followed the sound of their voices down the hallway. When I peaked around the corner, I saw dad slap mom.

"You're the reason we're even in this mess!" he shouted.

Mom recovered and slapped him back. "You're the reason why we are in debt! I can't believe I married a man who gambled our first year of income on a horse race!"

Dad drew out his knife and he prepped for an attack. "Don't test me!"

I drew my own knife and ran out from the corner. As dad raised his blade, I managed to get between the two and deflected his blow. "Dad! What are you doing?"

"Get out of the way!" Before I saw it, his hand came around and slapped me hard enough to knock me into the kitchen counter. The world started to spin and I saw doubles of everything.

"Look what you did!" Mom shouted.

My dad grabbed mom by the throat and stabbed her stomach. She gasped for air and started to scream in pain. I got up and rushed dad but my knife missed his arm and he kicked me aside. I closed my eyes as I started to try to get up again. I felt sick to my stomach and the air started to stink of blood. A small hand took the knife from my hand and ran off. When I opened my eyes, I saw Renee stab dad in the back. He roared in pain and dropped mom. I tried to get up but I fell back down. When I looked back up. Dad had turned around and stabbed her in the neck. She fell silently and didn't move. I forced myself up and rushed dad. He turned toward me but he was too slow to react. I easily tackled him and he dropped his knife. The knife in his back went deeper and he continued to scream in pain. I started punching his throat and face as the adrenaline kept my aim steady while my vision blurred. Once he went motionless, I ran over to Renee and lifted her head up.