The odds were stacked against us. They had my dad, and the finger was the proof we needed. All this time, they had been listening in on our conversation, not knowing how much they'd heard. Now I know why my mother drowned her sorrows in whisky and cheap bottles of wine—masking over emotion was better than feeling anything at all.

The salty tears stained my flushed cheeks, cooling them. My heart twisted deep within my chest cavity as if barbed wire enclosed my core.

Amelia tapped the pen in her hand with my medical file opened in front of her. "It's not good to bottle up how you're feeling."

Oh, the irony.

There was so much to say, but where could I start? I stared at the damaged window, admiring the beauty in something trivial. Vertical and horizontal white lines were painted in all directions as the cracks were like a spider's web on a frosty, wintery morning.

I couldn't bring my eyes to look at the bloodied cloth on the table, avoiding the topic entirely. "He lied to me, again."

"Who?" Amelia pushed back the file, resting the pen on the paper and inclined forwards, listening.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I closed my eyes. "Dad said nobody else knew about Shadowbrook, that it was our little secret, but he knew Johnathan was a native." I reopened my eyes, staring at my sallow, veiny hands on the table. "You all knew about Shadowbrook, and you both knew about me."

My parents had a habit of lying, but they both did it for different reasons. Dad was the selfless liar who had it in his best interests to protect me, even when he was the one in danger. Mum was the opposite, lying when it suited her and revolved around her obscure drinking routine.

"You all must think I'm stupid." The urge to pull out the cannula grew forceful and more intense with each second. "God, if he would've told me sooner, I could have helped him."

Amelia shifted in her seat. "And you would do what? Your dad thought it would be best if you stayed in the ward under our protection. Having cancer wasn't something Richard had expected. He thought he had another year until you're eighteen to explain."

I hated being the last one in on a secret. Most of my life was a lie. Dad didn't grow up in Birmingham, nor did he attend an ordinary high school.

Covering my hand with hers, Amelia drew her lips in a weak smile. "Your dad will do anything to keep you safe, and that's something to look up to."

The charm bracelet weighed down my wrist like an anchor, enhancing my guilt. A niggling ache in my stomach deepened when I glanced at the silver charms.

I should have done more to find him.

Samuel called out from the living room, no doubt that he was eavesdropping on our conversation while polishing off the contents of the bar. "I'll let the rat in."

Rat?

Amelia stiffened and sat up in her seat.

Heavy footsteps trudged through the hallway as Johnathan moped into the kitchen, weighed down by his hefty medical briefcase. He plopped onto the nearest available chair and hung his head in his hands.

Exchanging a concerned look with Amelia, I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and gingerly put my hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Let me guess, a vampire took a chunk from one of your kids?" Samuel leant against the doorframe, eyeing up Johnathan hunched in his chair.

He ignored Samuel and took off his specs, resting them on the table. "Dr Hafsah Salinas would be turning in her grave if she knew the state her hospital is in." He pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "The staff alarmed the police and local services. Now the hospital is under investigation."

"For the first time in twenty-five years, I don't know what to do," Johnathan said, still in his worn-out clothes from last night.

"Were there any more casualties?" Amelia asked, staring blankly at the wall opposite.

He shook his head, running his fingers down his cheeks. "The only casualties accounted for were the five murdered on our ward."

"And Blair? Is she safe?" Blair brought normality back into my life when staying in the ward for the first few days was impossible.

He rested his knuckles against his chin, muffling his words. "She's safe." Slumping in his seat, Johnathan fiddled with his glasses. "Each patient is getting transferred to another hospital equipped with the best treatment. They will return once the hospital is deemed safe. That reminds me. Amelia, you will need to go back to the hospital. We're both under suspicion of murder."

"No." She stood up, scraping the chair against the tiled floor. "How dare they accuse us?"

"There were no witnesses, Amelia. The CCTV inside the hospital was disabled. The police think we tampered with them," Johnathan said.

That made sense. The nurses and other doctors led the patients to safety. Nobody was roaming the corridors by the time we escaped.

"Amelia has an alibi. She was with me the entire time. You, on the other hand, were alone." I didn't believe Johnathan had anything to do with the CCTV, but who could vouch for him?

The tension within the room intensified, suffocating me with each breath. Things headed south drastically, dragging us into a whirlwind of torment.

Putting on his specs, Johnathan scanned the mess in front of him, observing the fractured window as the tiny shards of glass glimmered from the sunlight beaming in. "What's going on?"

"You, my friend, have bigger fish to fry. They think the other vampires have Richard." In a flash, Samuel ripped off the cloth, revealing Dad's bloodied limb. "Care for a finger?"

Does he find this humourous at my dad's expense?

I couldn't keep my mouth shut. The floodgates had opened, and there was no holding back. "I didn't understand why Edwina would fall for a reckless imbecile such as yourself, but now I get it. You make it easy for nobody to like you." My words dripped with spite.

Yanking out the cannula, I dismissed Amelia's disapproval and headed towards the stairs. Samuel was making jokes on my dad's behalf with no consideration. To him, Dad was already meat served to the lions.

"Wait, Erika?" Johnathan's bleary-eyed expression and washed-out complexion gave him a sickly vibe. "I'm so sorry about your father. I will do all that I can to find him. I promise."

Samuel stepped into focus with Amelia behind him. "Nadine's acting out in fear. Akrsna is like a fallen angel—witch." He corrected himself. "I bet she's using your dad as a means to an end."

Nadine's punishing him for outsmarting the vampires and their border system. 

I stared at the bracelet, replaying the last conversation we had and wishing I had said more. Dad knew he didn't have much time left. For a man who had spent most of his adolescent years running, and having to check over his shoulder during his adulthood, maybe he knew time was coming to a halt.

My irritation with Samuel's presence bubbled beneath the surface. Not looking at his face, I fixated on his polished black leather shoes. "You said a witch buried Akrsna underground. Is she still alive, living in Shadowbrook?"

I was dicing with death. Akrsna was alive. Either we would find his corpse disintegrated within the soil, making him a ghost-like entity, or he was immortal.

I don't know which is worse.

Samuel smoothed the creases from his shirt, agitated by the hole and the bloodied stain. "I'm not sure. Witches faded out after 1744. His burial stone is in the graveyard."

"Perfect. Let's go." I jumped off the last step, moving around Johnathan.

"One problem, Erika. The graveyard is on the vampire side of town, and the sun will be down in an hour, two maximum," Johnathan said.

Samuel smirked. "I'm more than happy to take you."

"No," I replied, walking past him. "I'll wait for Ethan to get home. He can take me."

A/N

WordCount: 1,373

We're starting to know more about Akrsna. Do you think he is buried underground, or did he rise from the dead?

What do you think Edwina saw in Samuel? A human/ vampire love story, but without a happy ending.

Have a fantastic day!

(㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ)