Chapter Nine-Wherein I Get Treated Like a Ten Year Old and Have Secret Conversations With Really Old Vampires PART TWO

After telling Stella to leave, Dave gestured for me to go into the kitchen with him. “What are we gonna do about my mom?” I asked. Dave sat down on a chair. “We tell her everything. See how she takes it. Then we decide.” I nodded in agreement. After putting Nathen to bed, Dave, Anna, Katie, Sarah and I sat down with my mom in the living room.
“No more secrets, mom. We’re telling you everything. But the first thing you should know is that...we’re vampires.” She looked at us all as if it were joking, but then her expression turned serious. Dave nodded, telling Mom that what I was saying was true.
“And now that you know that, we can all be honest. Starting with Dave, and what happened with Isobel.” Then we talked. We talked about all the vampire stuff. Dave talked about Isobel. Anna talked about Katherine and Alec, and all Damien’s people. I talked about the curse, and how I was a doppelganger. At the end of it all, my mom was kind of...at a loss for words.
“How is this possible?” she finally asked.
“It just is.” Dave said, trying to comfort her.
“My daughter is in danger, supposed to be used in some creepy sacrifice ritual, and I’m supposed to just sit here and let it happen?” I nodded.

Later that night, I had decided that this was all just too much for my mom to take. I was sitting on my bed, writing in my journal when she came in.
“Hey sweetie.”
“Hi mom.” she came and sat on my bed.
“This whole vampire thing... it’s changed you.”
“Mom, I know it’ll take some getting used to, but-”
“You’re just this confident, beautiful girl now. I love what it’s done to you.”I was taken by surprise.
“Um...thanks.”
“You can trust me. You know that, right?”
“Yes, mom, I know that. And I know you’ll keep our secret. It’s just...it’d be better if you didn’t know.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry. It’s just too much...you’re a liability now.” I looked deeply into her eyes.
“You don’t remember seeing Katherine. You came home, paid Stella, helped me with my homework, and fell asleep watching Vampire Diaries with me. Everything that happened was just a freaky dream. Some part of you still knows that I’m in some sort of danger, but you know it’ll all work out in the end.” My mom- in a trance with pupils dilated- nodded and went back to her room to go to sleep. I went over to Dave, who was on the couch watching “Extreme Cat Hoarders”.
“I erased her memory, she doesn’t know anything.” Dave nodded. Our cats Frisky, Snowball, and Andie were curled up in little balls on Dave’s legs and on the edge of the couch behind him. “I hate these dang cats!” he exclaimed, throwing Andie, our cream-colored long haired cat, off of his leg. “That’s what you get for moving in with your cat lover girlfriend.” I said. Dave rolled his eyes. “Look-I’m sorry for whatever I did to make you hate me so much. I just wish we could start over fresh.” Dave laughed.
“What it is that bugs me about you is something no one can change! Every time I look at you, I see the woman who killed my wife. And then I see how you act around Katherine. It’s like you two are best friends and I just can’t stand it!”
“We’re not best friends.” I defended. “And you can’t just change the fact that I’m the doppelganger. And look at it this way, if Katherine didn’t kill Isobel, you wouldn’t have met my mother. What you two have together- it’s something special, okay? I can see it.” Dave looked down at Snowball, who was curled up on his stomach. He petted the cat, then put her on the ground. Dave sighed.
“Look, it’s not that I don’t love your mom, it’s just-”
“You’re still torn up about Isobel, I get it.” Dave nodded.
“Well, I’m tired, and it’s late. I’m going to bed. And don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here tonight, I’m packing tomorrow, and then I am going to London.” I was reluctant to talk to Katherine again. I really was wondering why she was being so nice to me and why she kept calling me and coming over. Unfortunately, there was a quite dominant part of me that didn’t want to know the answer, the part of me that was just going along with everything because I was scared. I went upstairs to bed.

I heard the sound of my window opening and someone crawling in. I opened my eyes and looked at the time. 4:07 AM. I groaned. “Who’s there?”
“Katherine.”
“Ugh GO AWAY!!! Leave me alone! Geez, you’re like the little annoying sister I never wanted.” I pulled my pillow over my head.
“And I thought we were friends.” I lifted my head up to look at Katherine.
“We. Are. Not. Friends.” I growled.
“And after all we’ve been through...”
“We’ve been through nothing. You’ve been following me around since I got back home, and, quite frankly, it’s kind of creepy.” Katherine’s eyes were turning black. She was angry.
“Why are you being so nice to me anyways?” I asked, still half asleep. Her eyes returned to her normal brown color and she sat down on my bed next to me.
“ Because-believe it or not- there is a part of me that still feels, a part that misses people and needs friends. After Isobel died-I’m sure you’ve heard that story-I didn’t have any friends. I’ve been alone for 300 years. Then, your little friends came with their pencils and vervain. I heard them talking about you, how you were a vampire doppelganger I thought if you were like me-if we were like, the same person, then we could be friends.”
“We’re not the same, Katherine.”
“I know that now.”
“You’ve been forcing yourself on me.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” she stroked my hair.
“I’ll leave you alone for now. I’m here for you, though. And I’m still coming to London, by the way. You just won’t see me as much. If you need me, text 911 to this number.” she tore a piece of paper out of my journal and wrote something on it. She put the piece of paper on my bedside table and started to go back out my open window.
“Goodnight, kiddo.”

My alarm started beeping. 7:45 AM. I smacked the off button on my alarm clock and sat up. My dark hair was a mess and I had the imprint of the wrinkles of my pillow on my face. Great. I started to wonder whether the conversation with Katherine really happened. I checked my bedside table and, sure enough, the torn piece of paper was still there. I copied the number into my cell phone’s contacts and flushed the piece of paper down the toilet, as to dispose of it so no one knew of our previous conversation. After that I went downstairs, ate breakfast (human food), and went back upstairs to pack. I was just about to pack my journal when I heard a noise. Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap. It was coming from my window. I went over to my window and slid it open. “Little help here?” I recognized that voice. That was Alec’s voice. I looked down and saw him hanging from my window sill.
“How?”
“Invite me in.”
“No!”
“Kieyra just do it before your neighbors call the cops!”
“Alright, alright, you can come in, geez.” in a matter of seconds Alec was standing in my room.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped.
“Why is it that you hate me so much?”
“I don’t know, why is it that you show up and leave at the most inconvenient times?”
“if it helps at all, I took your advice and chose my side.”
“Oh, and what would that be?”
“I quit working for Damien.”
“How do you quit working for someone like him?” I asked.
“Not without pain.” He showed me numerous scars on his hands.
“Ouch.”
“Yeah.” He looked at my suitcase. “Where are you going?”
“London, Ontario, to visit my grandparents.” I explained.
“Oh. Well, have fun, I guess.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“This is why I’m always so mad at you! You don’t tell me ANYTHING useful, you pop in and out whenever you feel like it, and everything I ask you gets a vague non-response!” I heard someone coming up the stairs.
“Look, I’ll explain later, but I have to go!” then he was gone.
“Everything okay in there?” Sarah asked.
“Um, yeah, I was just talking to my friend on the phone. I’m fine.”