Creep

When Mom first explained it to me, it sounded complicated, and furthermore, it sounded dumb. It sounded like the stupidest, most prejudice, most pulled-out-of-someone’s-ass law I’d ever heard, but the law was the law, and it was literally the only way for me to do help my mother and keep Tom out of trouble, even though I didn’t feel as if he deserved it.

The only time that anyone could get out of infecting someone else was marriage; new marriage. That was it. A mother couldn’t change her child, nor a child her mother, and even a husband or wife was not allowed to change a willing spouse who had not been infected; no circumstance besides a vampire falling in love with a human was acceptable. It simply didn’t make sense. I saw no reason why Tom would technically be allowed to change a woman he had just met, but someone who had been married fifty years could not change their spouse so they could live together.

Then mom explained it to me. “They’ve assumed that a human could never want to marry a vampire, but they want to give the appearance of compassion or some sense of equality. I would not be surprised if you were the first human to apply for this.”

Even under these types of circumstances, the marriage was supposed to be made legal before the human party was infected.

So already, he had broken the law and he would be in trouble. Not only that, but I would have to go down to the guard station—because there was no police station, just a big center by the entrance to town full of guards—and once there, I would have to convince them that I had initiated it, and I had wanted Tom, and I had begged him to do it. I had to make them believe that I loved him, and honestly in that moment, I’d never been so far from even caring about someone.

However, it couldn’t be delayed.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tom asked as the three of us moved towards the doorway. I was still feeling a little sick, which Mom told me was all part of the process, but after having a drink of a liquid I couldn’t even look at before ingesting, I was feeling a tiny bit better.

I turned and glared at him; I couldn’t help but looking angry whenever I was looking in his direction. “No, I really don’t want to do this, but I love my mom and she loves you, and for the past year I’ve been a shit daughter, so now I’m making it up to her. You’re damn lucky.”

He just nodded. We stepped out of the house, and I began to control my thoughts. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and because I had to, I changed myself.

I shoved my emotions to the very back, smallest part of my mind, and I wiped all expressions off of my face. I would convince these people that I was in love with Tom, and when I looked at him, I would see my mother.

I could do this; I could accept the hell that was my life.