Eternal Ties

“Could you maybe tell me more about my father?” I asked quietly, as Christopher dug through the refrigerator, pulling out a pitcher of orange juice. He closed the door, his eyes never leaving mine, and then he answered with another question, “What do you want to know?”

“Well…I don’t know…everything” I mumbled, sitting down at the countertop as he poured me a glass of orange juice.

Christopher looked down at me, eyes appraising, “You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember what he looked like and how he always took care of me, but what did he do, like for a living?” I asked, quietly.

He sat down next to me, staring at me with a hesitant expression, “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes!” I exclaimed. Ten years of thinking my father was dead, and now I was ready to know every single thing about him.

“Well, he basically kept tabs on all of the vampires and makes sure we all stay in secrecy, this may sound impossible, since the world vampire population is around 2 million” Christopher explained, rapping his long fingers on the table.

“So he mostly makes sure the whole world is safe?” I asked, resting my head in my hand.

“Don’t place him on such a high pedestal, my dear” he smirked, “You are forgetting his true nature, to live off of the very fluid that runs through your veins”

“I don’t care” I mumbled, “He’s my dad…and I need to see him”

“All in good time, sweetheart, all in good time” he murmured.

I heaved a sighed and asked, “Well what about the vampires? How does nobody know they exist?”

“Us vampires are known to the human world as mythical creatures, who only come out at night and suck on human blood, the first part is partly true, the second part, as you know by experience…” he reached out a hand and brushed his fingers against the bite marks he had given me, ”…is completely true. Since we look so much like humans, it is not hard for us to live with humans side by side, we usually feed off of people at night while they are asleep, most don't remember by morning”

“What about the bite marks?” I inquired.

“Vampires have minor healing powers, we are able to heal bruises, bites, broken bones…stuff like that” he explained.

“Then why don't you heal mine?” I muttered, narrowing my eyes.

“Just leaving a friendly reminder of what might happen to you if you don't listen, also to show other vampires that you are my property” Christopher said, a slight smile on his face.

His property. I was his property. Tears began welling in my eyes as I stared up at him, his blue eyes teasing. “I’m not your property” I whispered, holding back my anger.

“Yes you are, Maria” Christopher said, a harsh edge to his voice, “Ever since you agreed to work for me, you became bonded to me”

“No! You have crossed the line…I’m no one’s slave” I exclaimed, standing up, ”I’ll find another way to save my mother”

I walked out off the kitchen and was about to race out the door when I heard Christopher call my name, “Maria…come back here please”

My legs suddenly halted right outside the door and no matter how much I willed them to keep going, they were slowly turning around bringing me back to the kitchen, back to Christopher, who was sitting still there at the counter, his eyes angry.

As soon as I was close enough, he raised his hand and slapped me across the face, so sharply that I fell to the ground with a loud yelp. My head collided with the marble floor with an almost unreal crashing sound. My whole head seemed to throb. I shut my eyes tight as tears poured down my cheeks, willing this all to be a dream.

“Get up, Maria” Christopher sighed, his voice slightly frustrated.

But I just stayed still, my knees pressed against my chest. It was times like these when I wished Dad was here to talk to me and make the pain go away, just like he used to, back when things were simpler and nothing was too dangerous.

“Maria, I don't like to wait…” Christopher growled.

“Daddy…” I whimpered as I broke out into quiet, wet sobs.

“Damn it Maria, Daddy’s not here right now! Now get the fuck up!” he shouted, kicking my side, making me scream out in pain.

“Get up” he repeated, much more softly.

I rose to my feet, slowly and shakily, my face red and tear-stained, my eyes refusing to leave his. My hands were clutching the side he had kicked.

Christopher stared at me, his eyes blank. “I hope this has made an impact on you, Maria, you don't disobey me”

“I…I hate you” I stuttered, pressing my lips together and letting out a gasp as a rush of pain shot to my side. I know I sounded like a bratty fourth grader arguing with her parents because they wouldn’t buy her a toy or something, but there were no other words to describe how I felt about Christopher right now.

“I hope that can change, my darling” Christopher murmured, reaching his hand to stroke my hair, causing me to stagger away from him.

“Please don't hurt me” I whimpered.

“I want you to go downstairs” he said, gesturing to a door next to the cupboard, “Sandra will be there to show you how this house is cleaned”

I nodded and silently walked to the door and walked down the stairs into a dark and dingy cellar. Sandra, still wearing that business-like outfit, was at a huge sink, almost the size of a tub, wringing out a cloth. The whole place smelled of bleach.

Sandra turned around to face me, lips pursed, her face solemn, “I heard”

“He’s such a bastard” I mumbled, averting my eyes from hers.

“He likes you…a lot” Sandra said, throwing the towel into a bucket.

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh, even if it did bring sharp pain to my side. “He has a funny way of showing it” I muttered.

“Just wait till he tries to seduce you” Sandra smirked.

My jaw dropped, no way was that bastard coming anywhere near me.

“What? Don't act so surprised! Why do you think he only employs attractive females? Just because Christopher is a powerful vampire, does not exempt him from having male needs, and trust me, he expects you to fulfill those needs…and more” she explained, her British accent blaringly present now.

I still couldn’t find anything to say that made sense, so I just settled to continue to stare at her, mouth agape.

“The main reason he picked you for his assistant is because you’re a virgin, and you’re gorgeous” she muttered the last part.

“Did he seduce you?” I stuttered.

“Oh yeah, I actually believed it for a while too” Sandra said, letting out a dry laugh, “Until he got Theresa, he had a huge thing for her, that is, until he found you” she sighed.

“You make it seem like he’s in love with me or something” I smirked.

“He’s in love with the unattainable” she said, simply, before picking up a bucket and beginning to explain, “Now the entire house must be cleaned with bleach…”

Throughout the whole day, Sandra and I cleaned the whole house. I learned how every nook and cranny must be scrubbed with bleach then rubbed down with this lavender solution to cover up the stench of the bleach. The bruises on my side didn't hurt as much as they did in the morning, but I still had to lean to the side a bit when I walked. My head, however, never stopped throbbing, but I learned to ignore the pain.

I also learned lots of things about Sandra. First off, she was a vampire…and a lesbian. She ranted about how she thought it was so stupid that, just because she was a lesbian, women automatically thought she was attracted to them.

“I mean…it’s not like I’m a whore or something…like Christopher” she muttered, making me laugh.

By the time dinner came around, I was thoroughly exhausted.

“What the hell is his problem? Does he have OCD or something?!” I exclaimed, sitting in the kitchen with Sandra, eating microwaveable lasagna while Sandra sipped chilled blood mixed with cranberry juice and Red Bull.

“That was my first thought, but no, without us this whole house would be a disaster zone. He just finds it amusing for us to be working our asses off all day” she grumbled.

“Where are the other maids? He doesn’t expect us to be doing this by ourselves all of the time does he?” I said, my eyes widening.

“There used to be 5 of us, but Christopher fired all of them, except for me, of course. God I would love to be rid of that man-whore, but alas, I have nowhere to go” she explained simply, “He’ll probably hire some more this week”

Before I could ask another question, the door opened and Christopher’s voice called, “Sandra, Maria, come here please”

My face froze.

“Come on, I’ll kick his ass if he tries to hit you” she soothed, locking her hand around my wrist in a vice grip and bringing me into the entry room where Christopher stood, a sly smirk on his face.

“Hello girls” Christopher murmured, eyes glued on me.

“Good evening, sir” Sandra mumbled, curtsying slightly.

I, however, didn’t say anything, just stared down at my feet. Sandra gave me a sharp nudge as Christopher stared down at me expectantly, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. The satisfaction of knowing he had broken me.

Christopher sighed and said, “Excuse us, Sandra, Maria and I have some talking to do” He snaked his hand into mine and pulled me up the stairs. I looked back and gave Sandra a pleading look. “I’m sorry” she mouthed.

“Maria, I am losing my patience with you” he growled, pushing me into his room with extreme force.

I fell to the floor with a loud groan, gripping my side, my face screwing up in pain.

“You’re a good girl, Maria, but way too obstinate, I should have killed you by now; consider yourself lucky that I’m planning not to” he whispered, “because every time I look at you, I still see that little girl who came home crying from preschool because she was bullied again, and now you’re just pathetic” he hissed, stepping closer to me, an evil glint in his eyes.

I got up as quickly as I could and tried to run into my room, but he caught a fistful of my hair and pulled me back, making me shriek, still retaining his painful grip on my hair.

“I know what goes on at school, Maria, Greg hurts you doesn’t he? He’s the reason for your migraines isn’t he? The way he pulls your hair…” he gave my hair a sharp yank, making me scream out in pain, “punches you…” he moved his hand from my hair to my face, holding my cheek in his hand, “it all drives you crazy, and yet you still let him call you his girlfriend, you are so weak, what would your father say?”

Tears slid down my cheeks as I thought of what a disappointment I would be to him. “I’m so stupid” I whimpered, letting out a huge sob.

“Shh…Maria please don't cry” he whispered, enveloping his arms around me, pulling me against his chest.

“How do you know about that?” I stuttered, hiccupping.

“I’ve been watching you for weeks” he explained, looking down at me, his arms still locked around my waist, “I wanted to know how you turned out”

“I really don't wanna talk about it” I whispered, averting my eyes from his.

“You’re going to have to talk about it eventually” he purred, stroking my hair.

“Not right now…please” I whimpered, looking straight into his piercing blue eyes, pleading for him to sympathize with me just this once.

He sighed and said, “Get a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning. I promise”

I nodded shakily, wiping some stray tears away from my cheeks. Christopher smiled and kissed my forehead, whispering, “Just hold on”