As I pulled up in front of the two story, grey house I had lived in my whole life, I scanned the large porch that wrapped around the whole house. We had a small white table and two chairs set up just outside the front door. My parents usually liked to sit and relax together when they finished work. Thankfully, they were empty. My dad didn’t appear to be home yet and I was glad for that. I hadn’t quite composed myself and even though my parents were usually oblivious, I knew they’d see right through me now.
My hair was dripping wet and my clothes were soaked. I wasn’t exactly shaking but my body trembled as I tried to calm myself down by taking slow, steady breaths.
I needed to pull it together.
If only for a few minutes, as I sorted things out with my family. I could fall apart later. I wouldn’t think about what just happened, I told myself. I wouldn’t. Too bad it was so hard not to think about how close I’d come to being in real trouble.
Vampire hunters didn’t mess around. When they attacked, unless the vampire was all powerful, they usually didn’t escape. Hunters were expertly trained. Their reflexes were almost as good as ours and they were precise. They never made mistakes and they never messed up. That was what made them so deadly. They were act first, ask questions later kind of people. They never lost.
I got lucky. Really lucky.
Or did I?
What were the odds that a group of hunters would happen to run into me after school, with a completely deserted campus? Something inside my brain clicked. They were waiting for me. Waiting for me to be alone and vulnerable. If they knew what school I went to, was it possible they knew where I lived? Would they come here?
I looked towards my house. The lights were on, so somebody was home. Did that mean they were in danger? As far as I knew hunters wouldn’t harm innocent people. But I also knew they were ruthless and would do whatever they needed to, to get their man. Or vampire. I couldn’t be positive. I would never risk my family.

I had so many questions and there was only one place I could go to get answers. There was one question that was repeating itself over and over in my head.
How did they know?
I wasn’t like other vampires. I was a living vampire. Basically I had a soul, and I was very much alive. For now.
I’d made an informed choice when I’d first been turned to not kill people to survive. I didn’t go around drinking blood from people. I’d never killed a person that way anyway. Not that you could class vanquishing other vampires as killing people. Humans. I had never harmed a human. I didn’t see the point. Not when I had other options.
There are small groups of vampires who live the same lifestyle as me. We get our required blood intake from blood banks. Donated blood. We drank donated blood. We actually had quite a share in the blood banks across America.
This wasn’t the only way I was different either,
Having a soul as I did, I was able to survive in the daylight. It didn’t harm me like it could other vampires. I can also go into churches. Regular vampires can’t set foot on holy ground. Which is good because, well lets just say, that since becoming a vampire I’d discovered my faith.
We appeared to be normal people, so I was able to live my life as normally as possible. Few hunters knew of our existence. No one believed that vampires could be “good”, so we were usually fairly safe. We were hardly ever hunted. For a hunter to single me out and track me down, in a group no less. This was not something they usually did. They usually worked solo. They only worked in groups if who, or what, they were hunting were many.
Did this mean they knew about the covenant?
I couldn’t know for sure. I had to go and see them. They needed to know what happened.

Taking one last deep breath, I took the keys out of the ignition and hopped out. It was no longer raining as I ran up the porch steps, two at a time. I hesitated just the slightest as I turned the knob and entered the house.
It was warm inside, the heater going, as I walked up the hallway. The house was quiet so it was easy to tell that not everybody was home. My mother worked for an antiquities dealer in the city, so she often got home late. Today though, I could hear the steady beat of the oldies music she enjoyed coming from the kitchen, so I knew she was home.
Chances were she would want to know how my day had been. I wasn’t positive I would be able to talk to her right now so instead of heading in that direction, I headed straight for the stairs. As I passed the living room I noticed my younger sister Kristy channel surfing.
Kristy looks a lot like my mother. She has the same honey brown hair and light eyes. Personality wise, they are similar too. Although, I’m sure my sister wears much more make-up than my mother did at 14.
Aside from my sister, I have two older twin brothers. They are nothing alike and I don’t just mean in the looks department (non-identical). One is quiet and timid and has a 5-year plan. The other is loud, proud and probably has no idea where he wants to be in the next 5 minutes.
No that’s not true.
My brother Dan, the loud one, is an apprentice plumber and moved out first chance he got. My parents don’t agree with his career choice. They would much rather have preferred if he became a doctor or something “important” like my other brother Jordan, who’s in law school. I don’t agree with my rents. Fine, Jordan is at school but at least Dan gets paid while he’s learning. He’s succeeding in his field. Granted, he changes field every month. He lives in his own house, paid for with his own money, instead of being 23 and still living at home, like Jordan. Besides it is his life and he deserves to be happy.
My parents only have a say up to a certain point.

They would never understand my decision not to go to collage or the reasons behind it. I’d deal with that when it came though. Most vampires leave their families and their old lives behind when they turn, so they can live amongst other vampires.
I’d chosen to stay with my family and live my life, however complicated it had become. As a living vampire I aged just like anybody else. I wasn’t immortal. So there was no way for my family to know I was any different. Unless I told them myself. And I hadn’t. I wouldn’t. I didn’t believe that my mother could handle the fact that, every time I left the house, there was a tiny chance I wouldn’t come back. And if she had even the slightest idea about the trips and battles I frequently engaged in, it would kill her. She would always be worrying and it seemed pointless to put her through all that when I didn’t have too.
So instead I’d chosen silence. To keep the details of my secret life from her. And to some extent my mother’s sanity. I hated the lying I had to do, but it was better than the alternative. And I could live with that.
That’s what I told myself anyway. It was hard to admit, if only to myself, that there was a small part of me that was worried that they wouldn’t be able to accept what I was. It’s not exactly the easiest thing to deal with, your daughter being a vampire.
And no matter how hard I tried to drown it out, that part was getting louder and louder everyday.

Reaching my room at the top of the stairs, I opened the door and threw the purse I’d been carrying on my bed. Then I grabbed the green towel hanging on the chair near my window and started to dry off.
Shaking my head I decided it wasn’t good enough, that I’d take a shower. It would warm me up and help me gain control of the thoughts and emotions flowing through my mind.
I undressed and let the warm water flow over my body, concentrating on relaxing. It helped, if only a little. I had just finished dressing and was packing my overnight bag when there was a knock at my door.
“Come in.” I had a good idea who I was.
My mother stepped through the door, immediately noticing my bag. Her brow creased together. “You’re going out?”
“Yeah, Erin just had another bad break up with John, so she needs some comfort and girl time.”
Whenever I had to deal with something vampire related that required me going out of town, I told my parents I was at my friend’s house. Erin and I had been best friends since the 6th grade and she always covered for me, even though she herself, had no idea where it was exactly I went or why. And she didn’t ask.
As we’d gotten older Erin had developed a wild side, and it was me that kept her secrets and covered for her when she snuck out late to parties or spent the night with her now ex-boyfriend (her break up wasn’t a lie. But I doubted she really needed me).
She owed me.
Even with Erin’s flawless covering and alibi I always had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that my mother never really believed that I was at 'Erin’s' house. And the look in her eyes now, the one she tried so hard to hide, proved my point.
“Okay, sweetheart. How long are you going? Tonight?”
“Maybe the whole weekend. It depends how broken up Erin is” I didn’t pause as I continued to throw clothing into my bag, avoiding my mothers gaze.
I had no real need to pack a bag. I had everything I could ever need where I was going, but it looks better so I do anyway. I played along and most of the time ended up leaving it in my car. “I hope you didn’t have plans. I should have checked with you.” Not that I knew I needed to go before today.

My mother shook her head, a small polite small on her lips. “No I didn’t” she paused “not that it would have stopped you.”
Her smile turned hard and I knew she was remembering past events. Times when I’d left, no warning, no reason. Her eyes locked onto mine and in the moments before I adverted my gaze I saw all the hurt in them.
Hurt I know I caused her.
Hurt because she knew I was lying to her.
I never give my mother enough credit. Sometimes she picks up on things I would rather she didn’t. We’d been having a few fights lately. Fights about my weird behaviour. I kept telling her that there was nothing wrong, that she was imagining things.
But how long would she continue to let it go? How long before pretending she didn’t know would be too much? Was she hoping that I’d tell her on my own? That sounded like her. I’m usually good at keeping up pretences and acting normal. It’s such an important part of my life that sometimes the lies are effortless.
But with my family. The people who know me best. Sometimes I let it slide, the mask, and it gets hard to keep the truth secret. They see too much and I knew I couldn’t keep doing that, I had to be perfect. The normal sister. The girl-next-door. It was better to pretend and keep them in the dark.
So I worked to keep my face as blank as possible. “Mom, I gotta go. Erin’s waiting.” I gave her what I hoped was a believable smile. “I’ll give you a call in the morning.” I paused to give her a quick peck on the cheek, slung my bag over my shoulder and bounded down the stairs. I left my mother standing in my doorway.
I paused just near the mirror, by the front door.
“You should be ashamed of yourself.” I told my reflection. The girl in the mirror only stared back. With one last glance at the foot of the stairs, I left.