Eternal Ties

“You coming?” my mom asked, coming into the kitchen.

“Mmmm…” I mumbled, digging my head into my arms, slumped on the kitchen table.

“You feeling okay honey?” my mom inquired, stroking my hair.

“It’s my head again” I groaned, resting my chin on my arms.

“You want me to get the food to go?” she asked.

“No…no I wanna go” I said, standing up.

“No…I’m going out and getting the food and you’re laying down on the couch and we’ll watch a DVD, He’s Just Not That Into You can wait” she snapped, slinging her purse over her shoulder and walking out quickly before I could object.

I sighed and walked into the living room, turning all the lights off before collapsing on the couch. I turned on the Simpsons, cringing away from the light by putting the pillow over my face.

I must’ve fallen asleep listening to the television, because when I woke up the house was completely dark with no light coming thru the windows.

I got up and stretched, at least my migraine was fading.

“Mom?” I called, walking into the kitchen.

No answer.

“Mom?!” I repeated, raising my voice.

Still no answer.

Maybe she’d gone out for something. Mom was unpredictable like that, but not so unpredictable as to not leave a note or something that showed she was gone.

I looked around the kitchen, spotting that the red light on the message machine was beeping. I smiled, Mom was just fine.

But the voice on the message machine wasn’t my mother. It was a police officer, “Miss Hanover, I’m sorry to inform you that your mother was hit by a tractor trailer on the parkway, her car flipped over three times and she is being taken to St. Barnabas’ Medical Center and we need you to fill out some papers there, so if you could come as soon as possible, thank you”

I couldn’t move. This was my entire fault, if I had just gotten up and gone with her maybe this wouldn’t have happened. I have headaches all the time, why was this time any different? But before my internal rant could go on, the phone rang.

I picked up hastily, thinking it was my mother, “Hello?”

“Hello Maria” I heard a deep voice whisper.

“Wh-Who is this?” I stuttered.

“Let’s just say I’m the man who decides if your mother lives or dies” the man chuckled.

“God?” I whispered, wide-eyed.

“What? No!” the voice growled, aggravated, “Now I have a couple of instructions for you”

“And why should I follow them? How do I know this isn’t a trick?” I said, shakily.

“I’ve known you since you were very small, I know more about you than you do yourself” the voice chuckled.

“Oh yeah? Tell me something about myself” I said, pursing my lips.

“Well…” he said, obviously humoring me, “Your name is Maria Hanover, you are sixteen years old, you have dirty blond hair and green eyes, your birthday is April 4th, when you were 3 years old you got bit by a Rottweiler, you still have the scar on your neck, and I am losing my patience, are you satisfied with my response?”

“Uhm…yes” I mumbled, shocked. How did this man know so much about me?

“Good, now go to the hospital and visit your mother and tell the doctors and nurses to leave you alone with her, I will be there to give you further instruction” he said in a low voice.

“O-okay”

“Go now” he demanded, voice suddenly harsh.

I hung up and ran upstairs and into my room. I slipped my boots on and pulled on my jacket. If there was any chance to save my mom, I had to take it, no matter how dangerous or shady it was. I put on my knit beret, grabbed the keys to the Taurus and ran down the stairs so fast I nearly tripped on the stairs.

I had memorized the way to the hospital, mainly because I’ve been there too many times to count. I pulled into the visitor’s parking lot and sprinted into the emergency room.

After checking in at the front desk, I walked into my mother’s room, afraid of what type of condition she was in.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I laid eyes on my mother. Her neck and leg were in braces and every inch of her body was covered in bruises and cuts. Tears began sliding down my cheeks and I was overcome with emotion by just watching her damaged body lay there, virtually lifeless except for the slow rhythmic beeping coming from the monitor.

“Hello Maria” I heard a familiar deep voice whisper from behind me.

I turned around shakily to see a man around 25 standing around 6’4 with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes and pale skin. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black tie, and khaki pants. He was staring at me with a peculiar look on his face, like it was the first time he’d seen me in years.

“You have grown into a quite a woman” he murmured, a smirk creeping across his face.

“Who are you?!” I exclaimed, aggravated.

“Shh…” he whispered, taking a step towards me, ”That’s not important right now, what’s important is the issue of your mother’s health, don’t you agree?”

I straightened up and nodded indignantly.

He chuckled and said, “Alright then, down to business”

He sat down on one of the chairs and motioned for me to sit next to him. Reluctantly, I did, making sure I was positioned between him and my mother.

“Maria, did your mother ever tell you how your father died?” he inquired.

I shook my head slowly, “She doesn’t like to talk about it”

“Maria, what I have to tell you may cause you some shock, so it’s best I not tell you here, fill out the doctor’s forms, I will be waiting for you outside” he said, getting up and walking out before I could say anything

The doctor told me that she’d have to be in the hospital for at least two weeks and that there was a 50 percent chance that she might die…all that fun stuff. My only chance was this mystery person who claimed he’d known me since I was a kid and was extremely handsome. I am such a sucker.
“I trust you are ready to go home?” mystery-man asked as I walked out of the ER doors.

“Yeah” I said, trying to walk past him, but he caught my arm in a surprisingly strong grip.

“I think I will have the honor of driving you home” he whispered, grinning.

“What about my car?” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“Don’t worry about it” he murmured, his eyes gazing deep into mine.

I nodded, my words not seeming able to find me. He smirked and led me to a black, sleek Jaguar. I was extremely surprised it wasn’t a beat-up van. I climbed into the passenger seat, reluctantly.

He got in next to me and turned the car on so that it let out a low purr. He pulled out of the parking lot with ease; it would have taken me a year to pull in and out between those two Hummers.

We were driving down the highway at his ‘steady speed’ of 110.

“Are you gonna at least tell me your name?” I asked, fed up with his ‘mysteriousness’.

“Christopher” he retorted.

“And why are you doing this?” I snapped.

“All in good time, my darling, all in good time” he purred, gazing down upon me with humorous eyes.

Ugh, he called me his darling. I hated it when people called me things like that, things like, sweetheart, or honey, or the dreaded darling. Only mom could do that. Of course, I wasn’t sure if mom was going to be around long enough for her to talk to me one last time.
We finally pulled up at my house. I got out as soon as the car stopped. I could just tell Christopher was right behind me as I fumbled with my keys and jammed it into the door.

I walked in with Christopher’s quiet footsteps behind me as I walked into the living room throwing my bag and keys on the table and sitting down. I looked up at Christopher and motioned for him to do the same. He did so, sitting back on the couch and putting on leg over the other. There was a long period of silence where we just stared at each other, his blue eyes piercing.

“So are you going to shock me with your words or not?” I snapped, getting impatient.

He smirked and whispered, “I remember the first time I met you, just home from the hospital, staring up at me with your big green eyes, your father was so proud of you”

“Don’t talk about my father” I growled.

“I knew your father better than anyone” he growled back.

“Just like you say you know me?” I scoffed, crossing my arms.

“Would you like me to prove that?” he asked, his hand digging into his coat pocket.

I nodded, glaring at him.

He smiled and pulled out an old photo and handed it to me. The same Christopher that was sitting right next to me was in the photo, with me, as a toddler, on his shoulders, my hands messing his hair, both of us grinning broadly. One difference between my smile and his, however, was that at each end of this mouth, there was a fanged tooth.

“You…you haven’t aged one bit from t-this picture” I stuttered, “And why do you have fangs?”

He sighed and whispered, “Vampires, my dear, vampires”

“What?! Nice try, I may have been lured into your whole abduction scheme, but I do not believe in mythical creatures such as that” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

“Oh you don’t, do you?” he purred, standing up, his eyes never leaving mine. Suddenly, he took my hand in his vice-like grip, pulling me up so I stumbled into him. Before I could pull away, Christopher’s arms went around me, locking me against him.

“You’re body’s s-s-so cold” I stuttered, my teeth chattering slightly.

“Mmmm” was his response as I felt his nose against my neck, inhaling deeply. I let out a piercing scream of surprise and pain as I felt his fangs puncture my neck, going deeper and deeper into my neck. As soon as it had started, his fangs were out and he was smiling down at me, blood dripping from his fangs.

I stared up at him dazed.

“Glorious” he whispered, resting his forehead against mine, “Your blood is so pure, but your mind is cluttered with torment”

“W-what?” I asked.

“Your father, Maria, he was a vampire as well” Christopher mumbled, his hand touching my face.

“No…no, now you’ve pushed this way too far, my father was not a vampire” I said, trying to get away from him, but he just held on tighter.

“He was, Maria, your father was a vampire, he stupidly fell in love with your mother, and then along came you, a product of your father, vampire, and your mother, human” he said, his lips curling into a grimace, “And look at you, little Maria, one hundred percent human, you should have shamed your father’s good name”

“I thought you said he was proud of me!” I exclaimed, tears in my eyes.

“He was” Christopher muttered, letting out a dry laugh, “He loved you so much that he never wanted to let you go…”

“Then why did he?” I whimpered, tears pouring down my cheeks.

“Shh…don’t cry Maria, he didn’t want to, but he thought it was best for you” he hushed, wiping away my tears.

“Why would he die?” I sobbed, letting out a gasping breath.

“He didn’t die…he left” Christopher explained carefully, “Your mother fell out of love with him but your father never fell out of love with her, mainly because a vampire’s love is eternal, and of course, because of you, he will forever be eternally tied to you. Your mother thought he was unsafe for you to be around, so for your protection, he left. Many vampires think he died because he cut off contact with everyone, even me, his best friend”

"I'm...I'm sorry" I spluttered, not looking at him.

"You're sorry" he laughed, "My dear, none of this is your fault, you just lack any luck whatsoever to have been born with two human parents"

"Are you going to bite me again?" I asked, shakily.

"Why? Do you want me to?" he smirked, leaning in so I could feel his cold breath against my neck.

"No!" I exclaimed, making him chuckle and straighten up.

"Now let's get down to business...how is Maria going to save her mother?" Christopher cooed, holding my chin between his thumb and forefinger.

In one night, my whole life changed.