Suburban Vampire Ragnarok

Chapter 4

"It's... been a while."

"You haven't spoken to her since the incident."

"Oh, is that what we're calling it, the incident?"

"You got a better name for it? What do you want to call it?"

"How about 'the time Scott screwed up and almost got an innocent girl murdered'? Or 'the time Dawn got psychologically scarred for life, no thanks to Scott'? Or 'the time Dawn found out Scott was a vampire, in the most unpleasant way possible, because he massively screwed up and endangered her life'? How about all those? Because they're a lot more accurate. More detailed, too."

"Now, Scott, we've been over this. It's pointless to keep blaming yourself for what happened."

"Then who do I blame? Whose fault is it, Larry?"

"Well, I for one blame that 'Jack' character. Remember, he turned you into a vampire in the first place, without your consent. And you say he had the nerve to come into this church and make veiled threats against my congregation?"

"Yeah, well, Jack was an asshole, pardon my French. Anyway, he's resting in pieces right now. It still doesn't help. I still carry the guilt, Larry. And I can't get rid of it."

"It might help if you actually talked to the girl. You know, she's in counseling with me..."

"Oh, boy. That's supposed to help me feel better?"

"No, it's just that, she's said... some things. I can't get into much of what she's said, that's privileged information of course, but there are a few things she said would be okay for you to know. And since you aren't really communicating with her, I thought I'd let you know a few things."

"Okay, shoot."

"Well, she's taking martial arts. Basic Tae Kwan Do. But apparently, she's advancing pretty quickly through the ranks, like she has some innate skill or something."

"Really? That's good to know."

"Also, she's been promoted to manager at Goalz! You know, that restaurant she's been working at. Mrs. Parker and I had dinner there the other night. The best burgers in town, let me tell you. And the service there is highly improved since Dawn took over."

"Also good to hear. When they add human blood to the menu, I'll be there."

"She's started taking some courses in journalism at Portland State."

"Nice to have future career goals, I get that. She keeps busy."

"And she misses talking to you."

"Okay, now you're just messing with me, Larry."

"I'm totally serious, Scott! This is what she told me. She would like to hear from you sometime. And your self-blame game is denying you the opportunity to maybe help her deal with this larger reality she's found herself in. Look, Scott, there are very few 'normal' people who know what you are now, who have been supportive of you, since all this went down. I count two exactly: myself and Dawn. Yeah, Dawn is struggling with what was a very traumatic episode in her life. But you have to know that she doesn't blame you at all for it. Talk to her!"

"Yeah, maybe I should..."

"Unless it's your own feelings you're trying to hide from."

Scott's brow furrowed in surprise, and a little embarrassment. Did Larry know how he felt about Dawn? How could he know? Was Scott that obvious?