“That is pretty evil.”
“It’s worse than the devil. Anyway, mymother didn’t want to name me Mary Magdalene because Jesus’s motherwas Mary and she was pure while I was evil incarnate, but Magdalenewas good enough for her daughter. The social worker documented thisconversation in detail. I don’t know why; maybe they were trying tounderstand her or something.”
“Your mother was wrong. No child has to beredeemed, and no baby is evil.”
“I know, but vampire or not, my father was avicious rapist.ThatDNA is in me. If I could cut it out ofme, I would, but it’s as much a tapestry of my life as all thosefoster homes, A.J., Roger, and my mother.”
Aiden didn’t know what to say. He’d neverbeen good with words. Maybe Ian, with all his smooth ways, wouldknow how to respond. Jack would sniff and sayfuck that,Vicky would get her drunk, and his mother, Isabelle, and Abby wouldoffer comfort, but he had nothing to give her other than thetruth.
“From what I’ve seen of you, Magdalene, yourfather is a tiny piece of the tapestry. His actions helped tocreate you, but you’ve forged yourself into someone who doesn’ttake joy in being cruel to others. You’ve used the circumstances ofyour life to make you stronger rather than weaker. Many wouldn'thave done the same. Your father gave you the beginnings of life,but nothing else of himself.”
Tears pricked her eyes at his words. After afew deep breaths, she felt capable of speaking again.
“Since my mother has never revealed hername, she’s always been known as Jane Doe. I became Magdalene Doewhen I returned to the state. Over the years, I saw numerousdoctors, but none of them could pinpoint why I had such a difficulttime gaining weight, growing, cried often, was extremely pale, andanemic. I think they believed I would die, but I’ve never seen anydocumentation of that.
“When I was three, I started getting alittle better. The state tried adopting me out again when I wasfour, but I wasn’t healthy enough. There were still too manydoctors involved, so they sent me back. I went through some fosterhomes, but most foster parents don’t want to deal with a sick kideither. When I was nine, I started feeling a lot better.”
“What caused the change?”
Maggie fiddled with the edge of her shirt asshe recalled events she’d always preferred to forget. “I went to afoster home with a woman who was incredibly sweet, but she had thisnasty, drunk bastard for a husband. I know some people have theseatrocious stories of foster homes, but out of the many I lived in,this was my onlyreallyawful experience with one.”
Aiden’s teeth ground together. “Whathappened?”
“His favorite pastime was using her as apunching bag when he was drunk. He never touched the kids in theircare, that could lead to a mess he was too cowardly to wade into,and he needed the money we brought, but he would beat her until shecouldn’t scream for him to stop. I think her screams were whatexcited him.
“Often, I would hide under my bed with someof the other foster kids. I was the eldest out of them, the onethey looked to for protection. I had no idea what I would do if heever came at one of us. He was two hundred fifty pounds of pissedoff, alcohol-fueled rage, but I vowed I’d do whatever it took tokeep him from hitting one of them.”
“Did he come after you?” He didn’t killhumans. It would start the stench of rot on him as it did with theSavages, but he’d make an exception if this man were stillalive.
“No, not really,” Maggie said. “He beat herso bad once she couldn’t get out of bed for a week. During thattime, he informed me I would be making the meals. I’d never cookeda day in my life, but I’d watched others do it enough to know atleast a little. I made simple meals, sandwiches, cereal, spaghetti,mac and cheese before he demanded steak. So, I cooked us all steak.Except, I didn’t cook it enough.
“Infuriated with my inability to cook itproperly, and screaming about wasting his money, he forced me toeat one of the raw steaks with all the blood seeping out of it. Thesteaks weren’t ruined, I could have cooked them longer, but withouthis wife to abuse, he started to turn on me.”
Aiden sat up straighter on the bed as herecalled the steak she’d devoured last night. He’d never seen ahuman eat a steak so rare before.
“What happened?” he asked.
“At first, I cried. I couldn’t help it. Itwas so gross with all the blood andsored. I didn’t knowhow to cook steak, but I knew it shouldn’t look likethat. Iwas afraid I’d get some parasite or disease or something; I wasmore terrified of him and what he would do to me if I didn’t eatit. With him standing over my shoulder, breathing down my neck andgrinning at me while he smoked a cigarette and chugged his vodka, Istarted eating.
“I choked down the first five bites beforerealizing Ilikedit. My reaction wasn’t normal, but Ididn’t care. Before I was halfway through the steak, I tossed asidemy silverware and started using my hands. When I finished, I beganto eat one of the other steaks with the same enthusiasm. I feltconsumed by this insatiable, animalistic hunger formore.
“My foster siblings looked on in revulsion,as did the man. When I lifted the plate to my mouth to drink theblood off it, he tore it away from me, slapped me across the face,and sent me to my room with the perfect imprint of his hand alreadybruising my cheek.”
Red shaded Aiden’s vision.
“The next day, I woke to find the mark fromhis slap gone, I felthealthyfor the first time in my life,and I was sent back to live in a group home once more. After that,I started eating raw meat as often as I could get my hands on it,and the only time I saw a doctor was for my yearly physical. Noneof them could believe my turnaround, and I haven’t had so much as acold since.”
“The blood made you stronger.”
It hadn’t been a question, but she answeredanyway. “Yes. After that day, I also vowed that never again would Iallow someone to abuse me. Like I said, most foster homes weren’tbad, but I was tired of being a pawn in this never-ending game ofnew homes, new people, and new possibilities that always fellthrough, soIbecame difficult to handle. Then, when I wastwelve, I met A.J. His mother had overdosed the year before, andhis father was never in the picture. The two of us bonded fast, andwhenever we were sent out to live somewhere else, we did whateverwe could to get back to each other.”
Aiden ran a hand through his hair as hecontemplated everything she’d revealed. “It seems there is nodenying your heritage.”
“I have to see my mother.”
She’d never expected to say those wordsagain in her lifetime. The first time she’d uttered them had beento A.J. who told her sometimes it was better not knowing. He’d beenright, but he’d also known she had to satisfy her curiosity, andhe’d gone with her to the institute.
Now, she had to let her mother know sheunderstood everything and believed her. Maybe her mother wouldn’tcare, but Maggie felt compelled to tell her.
