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I was right. It was nothing comparable to what I had just experienced. That had been ecstasy, this was just familiar. That was what I needed. I needed to be brought back down to reality.

She waited for me to speak, her expression eager as she gripped her now-empty cup. Guilt wrenched my throat as I realized I left her with nothing to drink. Maybe she had planned it this way, trapping me into my own instinct. Or maybe my mind was trying to make sense of why I had been so willing in the first place. My voice came out unsteadily, not wanting to discuss it any further. “What do you have planned?”

The question flew into the air before I had time to process it. I didn’t know what I was asking really. I just knew I didn’t want to talk about how much I had enjoyed that. Valentina’s eyebrows pulled together and her nose scrunched just a fraction as she asked, “What do you mean?” By the hint of confusion laced in her tone, her mind had probably jumped to impossible scenarios.

“For the day.” I clarified. That was a safer answer than the latter for both of us.

Valentina gave me my space by taking another step back and leaning against the counter. She didn’t say anything for a moment before turning towards the sink to rinse her cup. It was easier to get lost in whatever adventure she had planned than to sit with the unknown.

After what felt longer than a few short minutes, she explained that we’d have to go see her father.

There were certain stages, she said, things I needed to go through to be fully prepared for their world.

Honestly? I didn’t think she wanted to risk another tantrum. If there truly had been only one other vampire in history to have turned this way, they didn’t have any idea what was to come. I scared her this morning, and I didn’t want to do that again.

We agreed to leave for the woods after she helped me pack a few things, hunting along the way whenever I needed to feed. The idea of sinking my teeth into something again lingered in the back of my mind with far too much reverence.

I led her out of the kitchen and back toward the hallway to my bedroom. As we passed the living room, my eyes scanned the couch where she’d last been laid. The white, overstuffed cushions were empty. I hadn’t even processed last night that she wasn’t there when I returned. My mind had been focused only on those strange, human-like faces on that beast. My heart stammered in panic at the realization. “Where’s my mom?”

Before I could even pivot toward the living room, Valentina’s warm grip caught my wrist, steadying me mid-step. “Your father placed her in their bedroom. He’ll be staying here until her transformation is complete. She’ll need the rest. I heard the transition for the Elguto is best in a calm setting. We don’t want to disturb her. They’ll join us on your birthday.” Her voice was smooth, like everything would work out.

Just the mention of my dad sent a flare through my chest. I’d been trying to keep Mark out of my thoughts, hoping to avoid another outburst. Now that she’d pierced that fragile calm, I couldn’t help but wonder where he’d been all morning.

He wasn’t home when I came out of my room, and he still hadn’t returned. “Where is he?” I asked as we crossed the threshold into my bedroom. “Did he tell you where he was going?”

She ignored me as she scanned my belongings, searching for whatever she deemed necessary.

My room had always been traditional. A queen bed sat in the center, nestled in an oak frame. There were a matching dresser and nightstands, nothing fancy, and a few posters my mom had made of me from my senior year homecoming game.

Now accompanying the wall of posters was the shameful hole of frustration etched into the foundation. I’d have to apologize to my mother if she noticed. Knowing her, she’d come looking for me here the moment she woke. And I’d have some explaining to do.

Valentina drifted toward the dresser and grabbed the backpack I’d left the other day. She shrugged in response to my question, then unzipped and dumped its contents onto the mattress. Two textbooks flew out, bouncing against the bed before thudding onto the floor. Papers scattered across the sheets, some fluttering beneath the frame.

“Are you crazy?”

“You’re not going to need this,” she said when my eyes nearly popped out of my head. All the homework I’d planned to turn in, ruined. “No,” she added, almost as an afterthought. “He didn’t tell me anything. After he put your mother to bed, he left.”

Everything that had mattered forty-eight hours ago was now in disarray, just like my assignments, and I didn’t know whether I would pick it up again or let it all go.

I just needed to make it through the next twenty-four hours without reality itself shifting. If I dwelled on it any longer, my head would implode on itself. Popped just like a bubble. Every one of those feelings I’d shoved down just to stay present

Valentina slung the emptied bag over her shoulder and led the way out of my room. Part of me hoped Mark had just gone for a walk and hadn’t left my mother and me again. Another voice whispered that he’d left on purpose, and that thought made my chest tighten.

If he could disappear for a year, he could do it again.

Hopefully, my mother wouldn’t think she was seeing a ghost when she woke up.

Valentina slipped her fingers into her back pocket and handed me a pair of sunglasses as she guided us toward the door. I didn’t understand what they were for until sunlight flooded my vision, sharp and bitter as it kissed my eyes.

“Put those on,” she said. “We may be able to walk in the sun here, but the rays still sting. When we get home, you won’t need them.” A subtle grin played on her lips as we slid on the shades, the burn dulling instantly.

A scoff slipped from my chest as a memory bubbled up from yesterday. “So… you weren’t crying when you hit me?” I asked, thinking back to the car. It had been out of place. Tears streamed while she smiled. The whole experience had made my skin crawl.

Valentina grabbed a sneaker from the stand by the door and nudged my chest as she looked up at me, a dimple pressing into her cheek. “That isn’t a polite question,” she said lightly, “unless you’re still trying to hassle me for insurance.” Her finger lifted, dabbing the tip of my nose.

A spark passed between us, hovering somewhere between pleasure and pain. I laughed just to break it. She laughed too, then tossed the shoe back down into the pile. Without another word, she led us out of the house and back down the path toward the woods.

The muscles in my stomach grew tight and sickly as a vision of claws raking down Valentina’s back flashed through my mind. Even the scent of her blood returned in full force, as if I were reliving it. It was a nightmare wrapped in a daydream. he only thing that disrupted it was the forest coming into view.