Beauty and the Beast

“I can’t believe a vampire came this close. And my own daughter.....”

“Sam, I think you should sit down. I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Relax. Obviously she’s still alive because she’s breathing.”

Everything sounded muffled. Like when you’re underwater and someone's trying to talk to you. It all seemed to blend together.

“I’m a terrible father. She’s going to hate me now.”

“No she won’t. And your not a terrible father. If you’re worried about her now, you’re doing a perfect job.”

“Here you go, Sam,” someone sighed. “She looks just like you when she’s sleeping.”

“I’m just glad Lafayette found her when he did. She still could have been out there now.”

“Don’t think about that.”

My back was starting to hurt, so I shifted myself on to my side. Everyone in the room stopped talking.

“Dakota?” Someone leaned down and gently stroked my face. “Can you hear me?”

“Hmm?”

“Oh thank you Jesus!” Someone who sounded a lot like Arlene shouted.

“Can you open your eyes?”

It felt like two pieces of lead had been glued on my eye lids. I pulled them open slowly, and looked up at my dad through my eye lashes.

“Oh thank God!” My dad pulled me into a hug.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. The greasy smell from the deep fryers penetrated my nostrils. Next the sweet smell of the woods and clean air. Then my dad’s smell. It was a mix of pine and shampoo. I could’ve stayed with my head buried in his chest all day.

But, he pulled away. It seemed like everything I was looking at was in HD. I could see all the dust particles floating though the air. All of the stubble on my dad’s chin. The clear grey blue color of his eyes.

“Dakota? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. Every thing's great.”

“You don’t hurt anywhere?”

“No. I feel fantastic.”

“Sam, Arlene, I need to speak with Dakota. Alone please.” Lafayette said.

That was the only time I would ever see Lafayette act serious. Everyone exited the office before Lafayette sat down my by feet.

“Sugar-baby, what happened back there? When I found you, you were a bloody, dirty mess.”

“The vampire didn’t attack me. Someone else did.”

“Did ya see his face?”

I shook my head. “No. He was wearing a hood and gloves. He tried to choke me to death, but the vampire saved me.”

“Did he give you his blood honey?” I nodded.

Lafayette sighed and looked down at the floor. “Your daddy’s not gonna be happy to hear this, child. You know he don’t like vampires. He was upset that you have bite marks on your neck, I don’t know what he’d do if he found out you drank the vampire’s blood.”

“Please don’t tell him Lafayette. You can tell him about who really attacked me, but please don’t tell him about me drinking his blood.”

“So the vampire’s a he.”

“Yeah. Don’t tell anyone, but it was the vampire I’ve been dreaming of my whole life.”

“The only way you could’ve been dreaming about him, is if you’d had his blood before and he’s had yours.”

“What do you mean?”

“When a vampire drinks your blood, and gives you some of his, it creates a bond between you. He can sense your emotions, feel you at any time. And vice versa. Your senses will also become stronger like sight, smell, taste, sound, and also you will be stronger, faster and have more durability. It will also increase your libido.”

I lowered my head so I was staring at the floor. Lafayette slid off the couch and moved where he was squatting in front of me. He gently cupped my chin and pulled my head up so we were looking each other in the eyes.

“There’s nothing to worry about, honey-child. Especially not if he’s a handsome vampire.” I grinned at him. “I need to get back to frying burgers and onion rings for drunk red-necks. The best thing for you to do is just go to sleep.”

I laid back down on the couch and closed my eyes. I felt someone place a gentle kiss on my forehead, but when I opened my eyes, no one was there.

The next night, my dad had me stay in the bar with him. He was pretty paranoid, even though Lafayette had convinced him that the vampire did not attack me, a person did.

I was behind the bar when they came in. It was a busy night and my dad had barricaded himself in his office. A dark haired vampire entered in front of Eric and two other vampires I didn’t recognize.

Sookie walked up to the dark haired vampire, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Eric’s eyes were on me. I stared back into his bright blue eyes, my heart skipping a beat. He smirked before turning away and walking towards the people seated in the restaurant.

“Do you know him?” Amy, the new waitress, said coming up to me.

“Sort of.” I mumbled, my hands shaking.

“Maybe you should go sit down.”

“Yeah.” I nodded before heading back towards the kitchen.

I sat down on the floor beside the boxes of beer.

“Can we talk about it now?” Tara asked a while later, coming back into the back where my dad was.

“Sure.” She pushed an envelope against his chest. “That’s not talking about it.”

They walked into his office.

“I can’t take it, Sam. I appreciate it, I do, but-”

“You’re keeping it.” I listened in on their conversation with my new found hearing capabilities.

“You can’t tell me I’m keeping it.”

“It’s my money, so, yes, I can.”

“You’re a stubborn son of a bitch.”

“Well, that makes two of us. You really believe you have a demon in you?”

“I think I got something inside me that is scared, and pissed off, and fucked up. Think it’s stupid, don’t you.”

“Look, two years ago, nobody even knew there was such a thing as vampires. Now we gotta deal with them every goddamn day. And who knows what else is out there?”

“Eight hundred bucks? That’s a lot of money, Sam.”

“Yeah, well, people in this town drink a lot. Well, I’m doing okay.”

“So I guess I’m having an exorcism.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Oh Sam, I don’t know how to ever thank-” Suddenly Tara stopped in the middle of her sentence.

I crept up and looked in the doorway. My dad was practically sucking face with Tara.

I don’t know why I was angry. Maybe it was the fact he chose the one person who hated me out of the entire town. Or maybe it was the fact that I am a selfish bitch and I had only seen my dad and mom being together.

I stormed through the bar. Almost all the customers had left except for a few in the lounge.

“Hey, Dakota, what’s the matter-”

I just shook my head and kept walking past Amy. I walked to the trailer with tears in my eyes. I unlocked the door with the key my dad had made for me. I slammed the door and slid down it until I was sitting on the floor.

I pulled my knees to my chest and cried into them. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me.