"What do you mean 'we're keeping Ari?'" I repeated. It couldn't sound like what I thought it did. "She's human. We can't keep a human baby! We're vampires! Vampires don't raise babies."
"Dawg, trust me, I'm on your side," Dinah soothed, though her gigantic grin said otherwise. "It was all Demi. You should've seen her." She eagerly replayed the memory for me.
Her face twisted with fury, Demi slammed a fist down on the officer's desk. It looked frightening but required a lot of restraint on her part. She could have easily shattered the wood. The man behind the desk must have been accustomed to dealing with tempers because his stern expression didn't budge. He gave Demi an unimpressed look.
"There's nothing I can do."
"You didn't put in much effort!" Demi growled at him. "All you did was type a few words into a computer! Her mother's dead. I accept that. But she must have some other family. I refuse to let you toss her aside without looking."
"I'm sorry, but she has no family that fulfills the state's requirements," the officer said in the kind of polite monotone developed over years of dealing with stubborn people. "In Ms. Grande's will you are listed as the child's lawful guardian in the event of her death. If we can't find an immediate relative of the deceased and/or the child who is willing to care for her in your place, the child becomes a ward of the state and therefore a candidate for foster care. Ms. Grande chose not to list the child's father on her birth certificate and she has no other living relatives who fulfill the State's requirements. I'm sorry it upsets you, but that's the law."
"That is such bullshit," Demi snapped. "Dinah, is what he's saying true?"
Dinah nodded, apologetic. "'I’m afraid so. If her father's relatives were around, we might've been able to build a case for them but since his identity is unknown, I'd say we're shit out of luck."
Demi's nostrils flared. "Fine. If that's how it is, I accept guardianship." She snatched the papers she'd placed on the officer's desk earlier. Pulling a pen from her pocket, she scribbled her neat signature on the required lines.
"I assume that's all that's required of me at this time?" She straightened, glaring at the man behind the desk. "If there's anything else, please contact my lawyer."
Demi dropped a business card on the desk with an arrogant flick.
"Come on, Dinah, let's get out of here."
"It was awesome," Dinah recounted fondly, slapping an embarrassed Demi on the back. "She was such a badass. It made me proud to call her my best friend."
"Wait a second," I said, still trying to play catch up with everything I'd seen in Dinah's head. "Ari's mother is dead?"
Dinah sobered. "Yeah. Suicide. She dropped Ari here, went home and shot herself. The cop said the whole of an apartment they found her in was swept clean of any belongings except the gun. I guess that's why she didn't leave much of anything with Ari. There was nothing left to leave. She didn't have a cent to her name."
I glanced at the little girl on the couch playing with her new dolls. She was a healthy weight and seemed to be a happy baby, not that I really knew much about how babies normally acted. Regardless, she didn't seem to have come from a poverty-stricken household.
"But she seems so normal," I hedged. "I'd never have guessed."
"Ms. Grande loved her," Demi said simply. "I'm willing to bet she made sure Ari was taken care of, even if it was at her own expense."
"So that's it?" I clarified, still watching Ari. "We're her legal guardians now?"
"Well, technically I am," Demi offered a sheepish smile, "but yes, I hope you'll help out. Speaking of which, how was she while we were gone?"
I smiled, surprised to realize I'd actually enjoyed my time with her.
"Great. We only had couple minor issues. We went shopping for food and diapers. Guess that's a good thing, now that she's staying with us."
Demi's tone dropped in suspicion. "Issues?"
I pointed at the white loveseat, holding back a smirk in remembrance. It was a lot funnier in hindsight, when I wasn't in panic mode.
"Ari had a little accident."
Demi sprung up, inspecting the yellowed mark with a sigh.
Dinah burst into uproarious laughter. "OMG, all the times you grumbled at me about putting my feet on your loveseat because it would get 'dirty.' This is karma telling you to loosen the hell up. I can't believe you didn't notice. I was wondering what that smell was."
Demi shot her a stare. "Ari isn't even two yet. She has an excuse. You, on the other hand, should know better."
Dinah shrugged, too pleased by Demi's misfortune to take offense.
"By the way, Dinah," I added casually, "I hope you don't mind, I borrowed one of the sweaters you bought last week."
Dinah grinned, kicking up her feet on the antique coffee table, purposefully pouring salt into Demi's wound.
"Always trying to jack my style, Lauser? No biggie. Mi sweater est tu sweater and all that jazz."
"I hope you know that was neither Spanish nor French," I cringed. The wordsmith in me was ashamed we are best friends.
Dinah tucked her arms behind her head. "Whatever. My point was you can borrow my stuff. See, I'm so nice."
"It wasn't for me," I explained. Forcing down a smirk, I lifted the blanket covering Ari's lower half. The navy pattern of Dinah's former sweater was just barely visible beneath the numerous bands of duct tape. "It was for Ari."
Dinah's jaw dropped. "Tell me you didn't use my sweater as a diaper."
"Oh, but I did."
Payback was a bitch and it hit Dinah where it hurt.
"You were saying something about karma, Dinah?" Demi interjected with a smirk of her own.
"Fucker. It was limited edition." Dinah growled at me, before peeking at Ari with an abashed expression. "Uh, I mean, shithead. Wait, no, asswipe! Fuck! Are all insults curse words?"
"You shouldn't have left it lying around," I snapped. "It wouldn't kill you to put stuff away, you know. Oh, and since I took first diaper duty, you can change her this time."
Dinah growled at me.
"If you hurry, you might be able to salvage your sweater," I added, just to irritate her; it wasn't true, the duct tape ensured that. She'd been such an ass about Demi's soiled couch that I didn't feel guilty rubbing it in.
Demi laughed, picking up Ari. "While you two sort out your differences, I'm going to get this thing off of Ari."
She carried her into the kitchen to retrieve a pair of scissors. Dinah cringed at the snipping sound of metal shearing through fabric.
I gave her a smug look. "That's what you get for leaving me alone with her knowing I would have to change her diaper."
Dinah's lips thinned into a tight line, though her thoughts held admiration for my audacity. "Well played, ass."
I crossed my arms. "You deserved it."
Dinah rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
Demi returned with a freshly changed Ari, setting her on the couch next to me. She seemed happy to no longer be wearing the monstrosity that was Dinah's former sweater.
"Sorry D, but I had to toss the sweater," she explained.
I laughed at Dinah's woeful expression.
Demi nodded to her office. "I'm going to make a call to my lawyer to check everything's squared with the guardianship. I trust the three of you will survive without me?"
We nodded and she disappeared.
Ari crawled across the couch scrambling over my legs to reach the little bowl of cereal I'd put to the side when she had abandoned it in favour of her dolls.
I handed it to her and she grabbed a handful of the cereal, trying to stuff it all in her mouth at once. Needless to say, it didn't fit.
"Ummy," she said, offering me the remains.
I cringed and took the soggy mess, not wanting to offend her. I dumped them back in her bowl the moment she turned away.
"How did you know what she would eat ?" Dinah asked. "She's too young to eat normal shi– er, stuff, right? Did a store clerk take pity on you?"
I was very glad my face was incapable of turning red. "A girl I know from school helped me," I said nonchalantly, hoping I sounded indifferent. "We bumped into one another and she offered."
Predictably, Dinah's interest was piqued. "She offered, eh?"
I sighed at her suggestive tone. Dinah had a one-track mind. Everything led straight down a one-way road to sex. She desperately wanted to know if the girl was hot; she was trying and failing to picture someone I would find attractive.
"She's beautiful," I said, pointedly replacing her choice of word before she could ask the question aloud. Camila Cabello didn't strike me as the kind of girl who would want to be called hot.
"Same damn difference," Dinah smirked. "If you'd bang her, she's hot."
"You know I don't–"
Dinah rolled her eyes. "Bang anyone. Yes, I know. How could I forget? You're waiting for your 'mate.' Between you and Demi, I feel like I'm living in a nunnery. There's nothing wrong with looking and appreciating what's out there, you know."
I shrugged, feeling defensive of Camila though I couldn't articulate why.
"I said she was beautiful. What more do you want? I'm not going to objectify her just because you were hoping for something more pornographic."
"Appreciating, not objectifying, Lauren," Dinah corrected with a smirk a mile wide.
She sounded suspiciously prideful. Was I really so pathetic that she was proud I'd made a friend who happened to be beautiful in my eye?
"You like her," she stated, her smirk growing impossibly larger.
"She's human," I said in lieu of an answer, averting my gaze. I reminded myself that nothing good could come from thinking about how attractive I found Camila Cabello.
Ari and her empty cereal bowl were suddenly very fascinating. I busied myself going to the kitchen to refill it. I took my time, hoping Dinah would drop the subject if I took long enough.
"Did you get her number?" Dinah pressed the moment I returned.
I sighed, resigning myself to her questioning.
"Yes," I admitted reluctantly, handing Ari the refilled bowl. "It was purely for educational purposes, though. She said I could call her if I had any more questions about Ari. She said we could set up a playdate for Ari with her friend’s son who she’s babysitting, too."
Dinah grinned. You would have thought that I'd just declared we had won the lottery.
"That's great."
I had only a fraction of a second warning before Dinah launched herself at my phone, which I'd made the mistake of leaving on the coffee table. It wasn't long enough. Dinah's hand clasped around it a moment before mine grasped emptiness.
She was across the room in an instant, scrolling through the contacts with one hand and holding me off with the other. She was a lot stronger and had a good forty pounds on me. I didn't stand a chance. My one advantage, speed, wasn't much use when she already had the phone.
"Camila Cabello," she read off the screen. "Very beautiful name. For a beautiful girl, right, Lauser?"
"Give it back," I demanded.
She grinned, enjoying having the upper hand.
"I think we should text her and see what's up. See if maybe she's into you, too?"
"I don't think so."
An invisible knot twisted somewhere deep in my stomach. I had a feeling this was going to turn out very badly for me. I tried to swipe the phone again but Dinah held me off. Typing something with one hand, she made a concentrated effort to think about something else so I wouldn't know what she was writing.
When she was finished, she tossed it back at me.
"There. You're welcome, dawg. Don't worry, I made it sound like you. She'll never know the difference," she proclaimed proudly.
I fumbled through the screens to see what god-awful things she had written, wondering if I'd ever be able to face Camila again.
Hey, Camila, thanks for your help today. You're a goddess. Ari is eating the stuff we got. P.S. We should set up that play date. Ari is getting bored with me.
It wasn't as bad as I'd expected. At least she'd used proper spelling and grammar. The relief was short-lived as what she'd written registered.
"You're a goddess?" I quoted, grumbling. "Who says that? I sound like an idiot from a romantic comedy. Also, you're implying that I'm boring in the postscript. Thanks a lot."
"Chill out and trust me on this," Dinah beamed. "I know how they think."
"No, I know how they think," I snapped. "You just think you know how they think."
"Just because you can hear what they think, doesn't mean you know how they think," Dinah challenged. "Trust me, she's gonna be thrilled you cared enough to send her a thank you text. And she'll be even happier you called her a goddess."
As it turned out, the asshole was right. A couple minutes later I got a reply.
I'm hardly a goddess, but thanks :) A playdate sounds like fun. Justin is going to love having someone to play with. I'm free thursday afternoon after class if you are. Let me know.
Dinah read over my shoulder as I responded, settling the details with Camila. She slapped my shoulder.
"What did I tell you? You got yourself a date."
"A playdate," I corrected. "It's for Ari, not for me."
Dinah shrugged. "Either way, a hot girl is coming over to spend time with you. She would've said no if you repulsed her. She likes you. Isn't that right, Ari?" She crouched down to ask Ari in her creepy baby voice.
Ari waved one of her dolls at her. She took it, devising an even worse voice for it.
"Camila likes Teddy," she said in her stupid voice. "Teddy likes Camila." She bumped the dolls together making kissing noises. "And they lived haaappily ever after." Ari's responding giggles made her break character with her own laughter.
"She's only doing it for Ari and Justin. They'll be there, too," I reminded Dinah flatly, though arguing was pointless. Dinah's mind was made up and nothing I had to say was going to change it.
"Don't forget about me," she smirked. "I have to witness this. It's going to be fudging priceless."
"In that case, you should probably know that Camila thinks you're Ari's mother," I told her.
Dinah dropped the doll she was holding. I snickered, amused that the tables had turned. Even Ari glanced up at her, curiosity coloring her tiny features. Maybe that had more to do with the fact she'd stopped playing with her.
"Kitty!" she demanded, clonking her doll against her knee.
"Why would you tell her that?" she sputtered, picking up the other doll. "What would possess you to think that was a good idea?"
I shrugged. "I had to give some explanation why someone would trust me with their baby. She was wearing a sweater as a diaper, Dinah. I was worried I would be locked up for child endangerment if I didn't explain myself," I defended. "The whole baby on the doorstep thing seemed contrived. And you look more like her than Demi does."
"Who cares if it sounds contrived! It's true!"
I chuckled at her indignation. "Well, it's done now. There's no point in complaining about it… mommy."
Dinah glowered at me. "Dawg, that's not funny."
I pointed at Ari who was giggling about something totally unrelated, though she didn't know that. "She thinks so."
Dinah shoved the doll she was holding into my hand. "Shut up and play with Ari."
I took the doll, but Ari thrust the other one at her. "Kitty pway," she insisted.
Dinah and I both adopted voices for the dolls, putting on a show for Ari, who giggled endlessly. Dinah was especially animated. She'd never had someone think she was so hilarious before.
I halted mid-sentence as a familiar scene took shape.
It was the same one I'd seen in Ari's head, except now it was reality. I glanced around, checking that all the details matched. They did. Somehow, the little girl in front of me had seen this happening. There was no denying it. My memory was perfect and the two scenes matched like identical photocopies.
"Ari is a precog," I muttered, to myself more than anything else, as I made the association. I knew it sounded strange but I was a vampire for god's sake. Strange was my reality.
Dinah laughed, thinking I was joking.
"No, really. She saw this," I waved between us and the dolls, "happening three hours ago. Maybe that's how she knew our names," I speculated, as the connections formed in my head.
The more I thought about it, the more sense it made.
"Maybe she's seen us before. That's why we're not strangers to her, even though we've never met her before today. That's why she's so comfortable with us. She knew this was going to happen."
Dinah sobered. "You're not kidding are you?"
I shook my head. "It makes sense if you think about it, doesn't it?"
"I guess," Dinah conceded. "I mean, assuming she can see the future. Which you have to know sounds effing nuts, by the way."
"Is it really any different than me being able to read thoughts?"
"You're a vampire," Dinah pointed out. "She's human. A human baby. She can barely talk, yet you're saying she can see the future?"
"Demi said my gift was probably established before I was changed," I reminded her. "Maybe it's the same for her. Maybe this is a lesser form of what she would be capable of if she was a vampire."
Over the next couple days, it became apparent I had been right about Ari's ability.
A dozen times a day, she would envision something happening that manifested itself later in the day. Occasionally there was a vision of something that appeared to be further in the future, though those weren't as frequent.
We settled into a routine with Ari more easily than any of us could have expected given our inexperience with children. Though we weren't perfect, Ari seemed to be happy and that was what mattered.
On the days Demi was at work, Dinah and I alternated watching her. On the few occasions when our classes overlapped, we flipped for who would be her babysitter. To Demi's shock, Dinah had even taken to volunteering.
She had discovered Ari was a surefire way to attract the attention of sympathetic women and she reveled in the attention. So did Ari, she claimed. Ari was outgoing, so I didn't doubt it, but still, she was a baby not a trophy. Demi had told Dinah flatly that she could only take her out if it was necessary after that.
The food supplies I'd picked out with Camila's help were still keeping her fed so her excuses to get out were limited. Occasionally we had to pick up new things to keep her clothed and entertained but those things were easy enough for Demi to pick up on her way home.
Baby clothes were categorized by age, which made it easy for her to find the right size. Dinah had been amazed, pointing out how much simpler it made finding clothes that fit. I think she was a little jealous. I didn't need to remind her that if she had been looking for clothes based on age she'd be looking in the one hundred section.
Ari had developed an astounding selection of clothing for someone who had only lived with us for half a week. Though the amount of baby clothing we'd acquired was excessive, the number of toys that had found their way into our house put Ari's closet to shame. In four days, the amount of toys Ari had amassed had effectively turned our living room into a playroom.
Dinah had gone a little overboard on her single shopping excursion to the toy store. I had a feeling it was as much for her sake as Ari's. It had gotten to the point where Demi had no choice but to buy a toy organizer if we ever intended to see the floor again. Dinah had to be reminded to use it frequently.
Though our selection of toys and clothes were plentiful, our knowledge of cooking human food was not. None of us remembered much from our human days and the few ideas Camila had given me were swiftly depleted. If it hadn't been for Google and the healthy community of mommy bloggers, god only knew what kind of concoctions Ari would have been forced to eat.
Shockingly, Dinah found she was a good cook – at least according to Ari – and took great pride in being her "chef" when she was present. Dinah spent an inordinate amount of time online planning out her "menus." Neither Demi nor I dared tease her, pleased she was helping out.
Dinah would keep Ari at home while I went to class and I would bring Camila back to our place afterward so Dinah could meet her while the kids played. We certainly had enough toys for them to share.
"Are you sure you're okay to take her?" Demi checked, handing Ari to Dinah, having just finished dressing her for the day. She was due to leave for the hospital any minute.
Dinah grinned. "Yup, Ari and I are gonna hang out and watch Blue's Clues. I ordered a few new channels for her. Besides, Lauren will be back by one with her giiirlfriend."
Dinah was really grating on my nerves with her refusal to accept my platonic relationship with Camila.
"She's not my girlfriend," I snapped for what had to be the hundredth time.
"Dinah, leave her alone," Demi sighed. "I've got to go. Play nice while I'm out, and for the love of everything holy, do not buy any more toys."
"Good luck with Camila, Lauren, " she added, offering me a small smile.
Was I the only one who thought that spending time with a girl and two toddlers while my best friend hovered in the background was far from momentous?
Dinah saluted. "No problem. I'll be plenty entertained watching Lauren and her laaadyfriend."
"Waady!" Ari repeated. She seemed to be in one of those phases where she loved repeating the things she heard us say, though she didn't seem to know what many of the words meant.
Dinah laughed, offering her a high-five, which she eagerly returned. She had learned that meant she'd done something good.
"Dinah," Demi warned.
Dinah nodded solemnly, waiting until Demi was out the door to smirk at me.
"You're so easy. I just don't understand why you insist on living in denial about liking this chick. There's nothing to be ashamed about. We all have needs, even if we can't always act on them. That's what showers are for."
"You better not be such an asshole when she gets here," I muttered, not wanting to admit I'd used the shower for that very purpose this morning. I'd been very careful about ensuring Camila Cabello never crossed my mind. "I don't want to have to kick your ass."
Dinah snorted. "You couldn't kick my ass if you tried. Isn't that right, Ari?" She cooed to her. "Say Kitty is stronger than Teddy."
"Teddy!" she called, recognizing my name.
"See?" I claimed. "She picked me."
Dinah frowned. "She has no idea what she's saying. It's babble. Aren't you going to be late to class?" She paused, her smirk resurfacing. "Don't forget to give Camila a kiss from me."
I pecked Ari on the head and left, not bothering to respond to Dinah's baiting. I'd learned over the years to scale back my reactions or she'd never give up.
Twenty minutes later, I slipped into the seat next to Camila's in our Latin class.
She smiled at me, her eyes warm. "Hey Lauren. Ready for our playdate after class?"
I returned the smile. "We've been telling Ari about it all week. Not that she understands or anything, but we're excited to introduce her to another kid. She doesn't have much exposure to other kids her age."
Camila laughed. "That's okay. I don't think Justin understands either. He doesn't speak much. He's kind of shy, especially around strangers. Can't really say that about Ari."
I nodded, thinking of how she knew Dinah and me before she had met us. "She does warm up to people pretty fast."
We quieted as the TA cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
Learning a new language had always been fascinating to me, so the period passed quickly. It was one discipline where it was beneficial to be taught by another person. Most other things I could learn faster from books. By the time Camila and I were packing up our bags to leave, I'd added a hundred new phrases to my vocabulary. I only had to hear them once to make them stick.
Camila tossed her car keys from hand to hand awkwardly.
"I've got to go pick up Justin before his mom goes to work. Do you want to follow me? Or maybe give me your address and I'll meet you there?"
"I can follow you," I suggested. "It's probably better if I lead the way to my house. It's kind of tucked away. The turnoff to our driveway isn't easy to spot."
"Fair warning," Camila explained, "I live pretty far out of the way. You're the one in danger of getting lost. I hope you have a good memory. You'll probably need it to get back to somewhere you recognize."
I didn't bother to explain that it would be impossible for me to get lost. I knew every single road in Seattle and had ever since I'd first laid eyes on a map of it. My internal compass was more accurate than any man-made one.
She wasn't kidding when she said she lived out of the way. Forty-five minutes later we pulled up in front of a modest, two story home. I admired Camila's dedication; she had never been absent or late to class, which was not something that could be said of most of the students who lived on campus.
"This is me," she called, stepping out of her rusty pickup and jerking her thumb at the red brick house.
I rolled down my window for appearances, though I could hear her perfectly.
"I'll be right back. Unless you want to come in for a drink first?"
I shook my head, not wanting to have to make excuses about my diet. "I'll wait out here. It's fine." I smiled reassuringly.
Camila disappeared, returning a minute later with a little boy. She strapped him into a car seat in her truck and waved for me to pull out before following.
Remembering the ordeal taking Ari shopping had been, I decided it was probably a good idea if we got Ari a car seat, too. I was surprised by how normal the thought was… like making plans for Ari to be a part our lives for the foreseeable future was an ordinary occurrence. I tried not to think too hard about the inevitable. She was human and that meant one of two things eventually had to happen. I didn't want to think about either of them.
Our house was in the same general direction as Camila's, just about twenty minutes back, so the second leg of our journey was a lot shorter.
"Wow," Camila muttered as we stepped onto the circular drive. "You didn't tell me you lived in a mansion."
I shrugged. "My housemate’s a doctor, and she’s my best friend, so..."
"My friend's, Justin’s mom is a nurse," Camila supplied, as she unbuckled Justin. "Though I suppose that's not really the same. Pay scale being a major point of difference, obviously." She nodded at the house with a smile.
"Trust me, the fact that my best friend is a doctor isn't the whole story," I said, immediately regretting doing so.
The real reason we were as well off as we were was that we were vampires with plenty of time to wait for investments to pay off. There was no way I could explain that if she asked. And she would ask; I'd practically invited her to with my statement.
She didn't.
"Insurance money?" she guessed, bouncing Justin on her hip. "You haven't mentioned anything about your parents… and the fact that you live with your Friends suggests you're still living at home."
I glanced at her, surprised by her intuitiveness.
"Yeah," I admitted. It was kind of true in a way.
"My mom, too," she admitted quietly. "That's why I live with my friend, Selena."
The conversation was cut short as Dinah burst through the front door with Ari in her arms.
"Hey Camila," she greeted with a smile the size of Texas. "I've heard a lot about you."
I sent up a mental prayer. What the hell had been going through my head when I thought allowing Dinah to meet Camila was a good idea?
"Hi," Camila smiled politely. "Dinah is it?"
She nodded. "You got it."
"Well, it was a fifty/fifty shot," she explained. "So that means you're Ari's mother. She's really adorable."
"It's in the genes," Dinah boasted, only to be interrupted by an excited Ari.
She extended a tiny hand to Justin.
"Justin!"
Justin buried his head in Camila's shoulder, looking terrified of the little girl reaching for him. Camila stroked his hair soothingly.
"It's okay, honey, that's Ari. She wants to be your friend."
He peeked at Ari hesitantly, still unsure. He thought she was too loud. I snickered internally; it had been a stroke of genius to claim she was related to Dinah.
"That was sweet of you to teach Ari his name," Camila told us.
I had done no such thing and judging by the look on Dinah's face, she hadn't either. I had a sinking feeling Ari had learned her name the same way she'd learned mine and Dinah's. Dinah seemed to realize it too.
Dinah smoothed her expression into a charming smile, covering for Ari.
"We wanted him to feel welcome. Come on in, guys. I made cupcakes. Ari's usually my little taste tester, but I could use a few new mouths."
AN : There's Justin's picture on the media section :))