No Matter How Dark It May Be, There Is Redemption

Call Me, Beep Me, If You Wanna Reach Me

FIVE DAYS EARLIER

  “If I ever see another gingerbread cookie again, it’ll be too soon,” Laura whined.

“This might actually be the first time I’ve ever heard you say something against sweets, hon,” Carmilla said, wrapping her arm around Laura.  “Maybe I should hunt down a witch that turns children into chocolate chip cookies or drowns them in hot chocolate.”  She gave a small chuckle, which became visible in the cold winter air outside the diner.

Laura gave an overdramatic gasp.  “Don’t you dare!”

“Besides,” Lafontaine said, coming out of the diner, “she’d probably wind up almost being turned into said chocolate chip cookie or drowned in said hot chocolate, and then you’d have to save her and kill another witch.  And you’re obviously only allowed to murder people for Laura if it’s for Christmas.”

Perry was the last to exit the diner.  “Why are we all waiting outside in the cold?  We could be inside where it’s warm and still see the car when it pulls up,” she huffed.

After the debacle with the Gingerdead Lady – a label Laura gave her that stuck – the group had checked out the rest of the diner, only to find a completely functional phone booth in the back.  Laura called her father, who quickly forsook asking detailed questions and focused on the essential information: “where are you?”  After some vague descriptions and a couple of Google searches, her father found what he believed to be the diner’s location and promised to drive there to pick them all up in the morning.  By then, everyone was too wired to sleep through the night.  The mob had since completely dissipated, their bitten mayor forgotten.

“We’re about to be cramped into a car with Laura’s father for several hours, Perry,” Laf answered. “I don’t know about you, but I want to enjoy this last bit of fresh air.”

“I thought you would’ve had more than enough fresh air by now,” Carmilla playfully snapped. 

Lafontaine was about to make a comment about how it had taken some time for the air to be “fresh” considering the stench that surrounded Silas University for miles, given the zombie situation that followed the tremors on campus, but Laura’s father’s van pulled into view.  Carmilla could sense Laura’s heartbeat quicken at the sight of the car and removed her arm.  When the car came to a stop in front of the group, her father rolled down the window and stuck his head out.  “Wouldn’t it have been better to wait inside the––”

“I TOLD YOU SO,” Perry boomed.

Laf clicked their tongue.  “Take a pill, Perry, jeez.”  Laura’s father gave a small laugh and unlocked the car.

Laura beamed as her dad stepped out of the car and ran to him for a hug.  “Oh, princess, you don’t know how relieved I am to see you,” he whispered into her hair.  “After I saw the rioting and that the Dean went missing on the news, I had no idea what to do when I couldn’t reach your phone.”  So that’s the story the world’s getting, Laura thought as she squeezed her father.

“I know, dad, and I couldn’t have made it through without my friends Perry and Lafontaine.  And I definitely couldn’t have made it without my girlfriend, Carmilla.”  Laura let go of her father so he could get a better look at her friends.  His eyes scanned over Perry and Lafontaine’s faces and then settled on the girl his daughter had indicated as her girlfriend.

“Hello, my name is Richard, nice to meet—” Laura’s father cut himself off as something clicked in his brain when he looked long enough at Carmilla.  A look of confusion came over Laura’s face as she tried to figure out why her father had interrupted himself, and grew more confused as she saw a similar look flash over Carmilla’s face.  Carmilla’s mouth dropped open slightly, but she closed it quickly.

“N-Nice to meet you, Richard,” Carmilla said, now looking at the ground.

Laura’s father, however, continued to stare at Carmilla.  “Yes, nice to meet you,” he said stiffly, then visibly forced himself to relax as he added, “Thank you for looking after my daughter.”  Carmilla muttered a response.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Hollis – erm, Richard,” Perry chimed in.

“Yes, please call me Richard,” Laura’s father replied, smiling at Laura’s friends, before opening the driver’s seat door.  “Now let’s get started on this trip outta here, hmm?”  He reached into his pocket.  “But first, before I forget, here,” he said, holding something out for Laura.

Laura looked down and her eyes widened.  “Oh my gosh!  Oh my gosh, ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod!”  She squealed and did a little jig, which made Carmilla and her father laugh.  “An iPhone?”

Her father smiled warmly at her.  “After we lost contact for so long I decided maybe it’d be worth the dangerous selfies to get you a phone that doesn’t have physical buttons if it means a better chance at communication,” he explained.

So, naturally, the first thing Laura did was take a selfie in which she was beaming with a scowling Carmilla, who was already grumbling before Laura could even open the camera app.

“Okay, now it’s time to get started on our trip,” Richard said, getting into the car.

Laura went to enter the van next, but Carmilla stepped in front of her.

Laura let out a slight huff.  “Carm, what are you—”

Carmilla swiftly opened the door and then stepped aside, indicating for Laura to enter first.

“Did you— are you opening the door for me?” Laura’s annoyed pout turned into a grin.

Carmilla rolled her eyes.  “For the love of Satan, Hollis, get in the damn van before I slam the door on your fingers.”  She did not miss the glare Richard gave her and just kept her eyes trained on Laura.

Laura continued grinning as she did as she was told.  The van was such that there was a driver’s seat in the front, and then three seats along each side of the van.  Lafontaine and Perry settled on one side of the van, while Carmilla and Laura sat opposite them.

“Are we good to go?  Seatbelts on?” Richard called from the front.

“Yup, dad!  We’re all good!”  Laura beamed at Carmilla.

A few minutes of silence passed before Laura leaned her head on Carmilla’s shoulder.  Perry and Laf had already nodded off, snoring softly.  Laura wove her fingers into her girlfriend’s.

“Y’know, cupcake, maybe after things settle down, we can go somewhere on vacation,” Carmilla said quietly to avoid waking up their friends, but unsure if Richard was listening.

Laura’s grip tightened.  “That sounds amazing!”  She let out a slight squeal.  “We could go to London and do the Doctor Who tour!  Or, like, go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!”  Carmilla smiled at Laura, who was now bouncing on her seat like a small toddler.

“Ooooookay, creampuff, calm down, we don’t need you spontaneously combusting in the middle of the van.”  Laura grinned up at her girlfriend, wondering when it would be that “things settle down.”  She slowly drifted off to sleep, and her wondering turned into dreams of drinking butterbeer with her girlfriend.