Dialogue chapter. Won't be much narration

Rue

"Are you scared of me?" I inquired. "And Jeff?"

"What?" Her face scrunched up in confusion. I sensed her heart rate increase.

"Are you scared of us?" I asked again.

"Why are you even asking that Rue? Why would I be scared of my own kids?" She sounded offended.

I went to the kitchen, grabbed a glass and filled it with water and ice then walked back towards the dining table.

"I know what I am mom, there's no point in hiding it anymore." I said handing her the glass of water, knowing that this would be a tough revelation for her.

"What do you mean? You're my daughter." My mom said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I know that in her head, she knew exactly what I meant by that. She just didn't want to admit it out loud.

"I know I am half-vampire mom. I found out a few weeks ago." I bluntly announced.

She sucked in her breath and her eyes dilated.

"N-no you're not, are you insane?!"

"Mom, I can literally read your mind. I know you already know what I am. There's no point in denying it. I already know you told Jason that I am half-vampire and I know you know that Jeff is a vampire. You raised me as human because you did not want me your only blood-related child to live the life of a 'blood sucking demon'." I said flatly.

"And how in the world would you come up with such stupidity, vampires aren't real!"

I let out an exasperated sigh and rolled my eyes before transforming into my vampire state. I watched as mom's eyes widened in horror and her left eye became a little sparkly. She tensed up, and gripped her glass of water a bit too hard.

I reverted back to my human state and mom and I had an intense staring contest for what felt like ever.

Awkwardly, Mom took a sip of water and said, "Rue, I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. It's just I-."

I cut her off. "Don't apologize. I know you have never raised any vampire kids before. I mean vampires are folklore. They aren't supposed to be real. I am the definition of defying the odds and you--raising Jeff and I makes you a part of the definition as well."

"Rue." She breathed out.

"Don't worry, I haven't killed anyone either." I bit my lip—thinking about the recent incident—holding back the tears that wanted to fall down my eyes.

"You did a great job at raising Jeff and I on your own. I know dad would have been very proud of you for raising such incredible children."

"Rue I don't know how, or why you ended up like this. I am human, your father— even though I don't remember him— is human." My mom sounded desperate. Like she was trying to convince herself that me being what I am, is impossible. "This may be God's way of punishing me, but I don't know what I've ever done wrong."

"Mom." I placed my hand on her palm. She flinched at first, but then tensed up with ease.

I'm not sure if it's safe for me to tell her that dad is still around and that I've seen him a few times because what if she wants to see him? What if she wants to go out and look for him, forgetting about the dangers of the ferals, and not knowing that Hunter could be out there wreaking havoc. It's not safe.

But hiding things from her won't be safe either. Mom needs to know.

"Mom, dad isn't gone." I looked away from her. "I-I have actually seen him a few times recently with Jeff."

"What?" She stood up from the table and looked at me with hurt, her desperate eyes. "Are you serious?"

I pressed my lips together and nodded my head.

"Where is he, why hasn't he come to see me? Does he hate me?" She began swarming in with millions of questions. Unfortunately they all were negative.

I mean— the love of her life did "bail" on her without a word, leaving her with two kids she didn't fully understand. Of course she would think badly of herself. But even when questioning these ideals, you can tell by her high pitched tone, and in the message of her eyes, she still loved that man.

"It's not safe for him to come to you, mom, he's a vampire as well. A very powerful vampire that holds a lot of weight within his society, and because of that, he's targeted, as well as Jeff and I."

"V-vampire?" My mom was genuinely perplexed. "H-how is he a vampire? He was out in the sun. He ate human food. He-he.." She fell back down on the chair and laid her head down on the table. "How."

She sniffles a bit before letting out a few whimpers.

"I'm sorry mom."

I got up, and went to the side of the table she sat on and began rubbing her back in an attempt to console her.

"What do you mean by a target?" Mom questioned.

"There are bad vampires who are out to get him." I simply said. I wasn't going to get into the reason why, simply because what if my mom agrees with King's ideals then turns against my dad? That would ultimately lead to her turning against Jeff and I as well, and I know how much that would destroy us.

"Does he... does he kill people?"

"No, trust me no he hasn't killed anyone." I said nervously. "He's a good person. I was able to access his memories, and I saw that he was a good person."

I had to tell that lie. It was necessary.

"Rue I need to see him. I have to see him." She said.

"That leads me to this." I cleared my throat. "It's not safe to go to him, he's a target. It's not safe for you."

"I can fend for myself Rue. I need to see him!" Her voice became louder and tone more dire.

She grabbed onto my wrists and began pulling on it, screaming for me to show him where he's at.

I began feeling regretful as I realized what I have done. I have now trapped her in a mindset that can get her killed. She wants to see her husband, I knew the consequences.

"Mom!" I shouted pulling her off of me. "Do you want to fucking die!"

She was taken back by my sudden change of tone, as well as my foul language.

"I just told you it's not safe, what are you not understanding! And do you realize how disastrous the situation is now! You've allowed not one but TWO of dad's enemies into this house twice!"

"What do you mean?"

"Alexander and Hayley literally tried to kill Jeff , Dad and I the other day! They shoved stakes in my body one by one, torturing me mom!" My voice cracked.

It was mentally painful to openly admit what they've done to me. I become numb to those emotions at the moment of the situation, but talking about it now, it hurts.

"Wh-what?"

"Yes, I'm serious." I lowered my tone. "That's why I was gone for so long. That's the reason why I have decided to drop out of school. I need to focus on keeping everyone around me safe being that I am the dhampir daughter of the first vampire, ultimately making me a target."

Mom didn't say anything.

"Jeff said I could be extremely strong-very strong, and I want to get strong enough to protect everyone in this town. All the deaths in this town are due to the man you invited in this house. And now that he knows you're a weakness of ours, you're going to become his target. So what we need to do is get you out of this house as soon as possible."

"I'm gonna die?" A strong sense of fear, stronger than before, began radiating off her body.

Her heart rate increased, and I noticed she began to sweat.

"No. Not if we get you out of here."

"But your father would be able to protect me, he's a vampire as well."

"No."

"Rue."

"Mom."

She was defeated at this point. She knew I wasn't lying as I had no reason to lie, so there was no point in trying to argue, or deny the situation. This situation is dire, and can lead to serious consequences if not taken seriously, and I'm glad.

A few seconds later, my mom did the unthinkable. Something that she probably hasn't done to me in years. A sense of comfort and security that I have not felt in years.

She hugged me.

"Rue I'm so sorry for this, I probably messed everything up." She sobbed into my shoulder.

I hovered my hand over her back, not completely touching it, confused. I haven't received a hug from my mom in so long where it's to the point where I don't know what to do.

"Rue I love you and Jeff so much, you know that right."

I felt my throat become tight, and my body become weak when those words escaped from her mouth.

She pulled back and rested her hands on each of my shoulders, looked me in the eyes and said it again. "I love you, I just want you to know that no matter what you are, you are my child. As much as it scares me, you are still my child Rue."

"W-what." I didn't know what to say. This was completely unexpected and off guard.

"I know." She awkwardly laughed. "I haven't shown you affection to your face in a very long time, but every night, when you're asleep, I come into your room and tell you how much I love you."

"Affection was never something I knew how to show." She continued. "My parents died when I was young, and my mother never really showed me the love that a mother would normally show. So unintentionally, I became the same woman she was. I truly learned what love was when I met your father. He was the only person who directly knew the love I had within me. I am truly sorry that I was never able to reciprocate that love to you."

"It's- I-." I still couldn't find the right words.

I felt a tear race down my eye as she said that. Instead of wiping it away, I let it fall. This was the tear that I've been holding in since the day I pondered why my mother never hugged me like other moms do, why my mom never spoke to me like other moms do, why she never told me she loved me.

This tear has been within me since childhood. It's like a weight has been lifted off my body, and it was finally able to come out.

"Why are you telling me this?" I choked out.

She shrugged and turned around. "Because you're my baby, and considering what you said, in case something happens I don't want you to leave this world thinking I hate you. And I don't want to leave this world with you thinking I've never loved you enough."

I stayed silent. I couldn't find the right words to say.

"I just don't want to have any regrets."

"Mom." I whined. "Nothing is going to happen to either of us. I promise you, I will protect you."

She stayed silent. The air in the room felt comforting, nice. A feeling that I've never felt before. Also, my stomach felt fuzzy, while my throat felt— I don't know.

I took another deep breath then looked at the time.

12:57 a.m.

"I think it's time for me to go to sleep, I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day." I yawned.

"Wait Rue." My mom stopped me.

"Yes?"

"The next time you see your father, could you tell him I've never stopped loving him?"

"Yes, sure. Maybe after all this ends, we can live happily together as a family again."

"Yes, that'd be nice. And we can move out of this town too, maybe to a nice warm isolated area, where no one could ever find us."

What she was saying caught me off guard a bit. But instead of instigating , and questioning it, I shrugged it off.

"Yeah." I said.

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