How to Save a Hero [ManxMan]

Chapter Three - Father Unlike Son

~Chapter Three: Father Unlike Son~

After Aldis leaves, I do not linger in the kitchen for long.

A quick glance at the clock reveals that it is later than I thought; my dad will be arriving within the next few hours, if traffic is good. Which means it is time to clean up my apartment properly. Change all the sheets, clean the counters, scrub down the bathroom, and remove all signs that I had a guest last night because, if I don't, my dad will know.

Ten minutes into cleaning, I open the balcony door to let the breeze from outside slowly air out the room. I manage to shoo out any bugs that find their way in, as the main downside to the apartment is the lack of a screen on the door, giving bugs the freedom to fly or crawl into the room at their leisure. Eventually, the number of flies chasing the scents left over from breakfast becomes too large and I close the door again. Instead, I settle for opening the bathroom window, which does have a screen, but airs the apartment out less.

While wiping down the kitchen counters, I remember to put a small bowl of baking soda in the refrigerator so it can help remove any odors that might have been left by foods long since removed. Last time, my dad kept bringing up how much the fridge smelled like old Chinese food and rotten fruit, despite neither being in the kitchen. I am not sure if it will clear up all the smells in a couple of hours, but it should fix it enough to be deemed acceptable.

After a moment of consideration, I put a bowl of baking soda in the bedroom, too, though it will only stay there until I am done cleaning. Otherwise, it would be kind of obvious that I am hiding something. And while I rarely hide things from my dad, there is a line I am not willing to cross when it comes to one-night stands or friends-with-benefits. Even if Aldis and I never had sex, the fact that he was here and I was planning for it to end in that fashion means it is on the wrong side of that imaginary line for my dad to find out about.

When cleaning my bathroom, I catch sight of my hair, which looks like a mess now that it is dry. I quickly comb my fingers through it and use some gel to make it look intentionally messy. I also apply my deodorant, since it is in my line of sight and I might forget when my dad appears. However, as I am applying it under my arms, I pause.

I wasn't wearing it when Aldis was here this morning.

I flinch.

However, after taking a deep breath, I remind myself that Aldis is a) human and b) not in town for long. It would only really matter if my partner or a coworker caught my scent. Because even witches have non-human scents, though a witch's scent is pretty vague compared to a Were, demon, or just about anything else. It is indistinct enough that special shampoos, body wash, and deodorants make me smell perfectly human.

And I used that special shampoo and body wash this morning, so it wouldn't have mattered even if Aldis isn't human.

I take pride in being a witch, but I try not to mix work with species identity. I was a known witch at my last precinct, at least to the other non-humans working there, and it did not end well. It is the whole reason I transferred from Washington to Oregon. My dad knows this, too, which is why I am not afraid of him knowing that I use scent-hiding products. Even if I had not told him, he knows my scent well enough to know when it isn't mine.

Because while witches can't smell much more than a human can, vampires can pick up just about anything.

Twelve years ago, my dad died in a car accident. Fortunately – or perhaps unfortunately – my deceased mom was my witch parent and my dad was human, which meant that his coworker in the car with him, a vampire, was able to save him before he bled out. This was good for me, as I was fourteen and had only one parent, but bad for him. After all, my dad's worst fear is outliving me.