The Vampire Slave

Chapter 30: Friendships

“Raven!” a familiar voice exclaimed. 

Immediately, I broke out into a wide grin. “Mom, how are you doing with Vlade?”

“I’m just fine, but I need to tell you something,” she said, her voice still as light as I remembered.

“Yes?”

“Well, I should first let you know that I have talked to Vlade a bit,” she said, “and I’ve been learning more and more about your bond with Blaze. It’s more spiritual than anything, but I’ve learned that in order for both of you guys to benefit from this bond, you must be close together.”

Sighing, I pinched my eyes closed. “I don’t want to be near him right now, mother.”

“Just listen,” she continued, a bit of scolding within her voice, “Blaze will be effected worse than you will, and eventually, he could break down. You don’t need to talk to him now, but you need to remember, he tried to save you. Even if you don’t see it that way, I do. I know he is better than what you see.”

“Mom,” I warned. “If he wants to talk to me, then he can. But I need my space.”

She replied softly, “I know honey, I’m just letting you know the longer you keep your distance, the worse both of you will feel.”

Frowning, I changed the subject. “How are you getting along with Vlade?”

If she noticed my discomfort, I wouldn’t know because she didn’t comment on it. “Oh, Vlade isn’t around much, dear. He’s always busy you know. I mean, he is the ruler of their government.”

“But you are being taken care of, right?” I asked, feeling the anger once again bubble up inside of me.

“Calm down, Raven. Of course I am being taken care of right now,” she started, but by the pause in her voice, I knew there was more she wanted to say. “How’s your father?”

I frowned. I was thinking about how much I would be hurting my father if he didn’t know about my mom but I never really considered how she felt. “He’s doing fine,” I answered softly. 

What I didn’t want to tell her was that he’s starting to date other people. The last time I had talked to him, he was nervous because he was about to go on a date. Albeit, it was a blind date set up by one of his co-workers. 

That probably wouldn’t help my mothers’ case, though. If I’d known about my mother—which would probably have been impossible—then I’d have stopped my father. But when I called him a few days ago, he told me about the woman he met. The whole time I wanted to slap him for trying to move on, but I knew I couldn’t do anything--especially since I was the one to encourage him to move on.

But, the least I could do was spare my mothers’ feelings. “He’s pretty busy with work,” I added, trying to hide the guilt in my voice. 

The only answer I received was a sigh, and I knew my mother still loved my dad. Suddenly, I got angry again. It wasn’t fair for her to endure this type of torture when it wasn’t even her fault. 

“I’ll fix this mom, I swear,” I responded wistfully. 

As if sensing the edge in my voice, my mother replied softly, “Honey, don’t worry. This isn’t your problem to deal with. I will find a way, just trust me and calm down.”

Gritting my teeth, we finished our conversation which seemed to have calmed me down a bit. These sudden hot flashes of anger were starting to tire me out. By the time I glanced at the time, I knew I had to start getting ready. It was already 5 in the evening and I did not want to be in the middle of a shower when he knocks on my door.