Evelyn

Time flies when you’re waiting for the go ahead to reintroduce yourself to your son who (maybe) wants to kill you.

Just kidding. I lied. It sucks.

I may have agreed to wait, and I genuinely believed that doing so was for the best, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed it. For over a week, I continued my duties as the local plant-pire, I spent my off days with the Fletchers, looking after the kids while the two elder Fletchers continued their mechanical work around the village, and I spent every moment where I was not occupied with one of these things in a perpetual state of idle worry.

All this is to say, when I first saw Chelsea outdoors, walking through the neighborhood, flanked by a pair of plant creatures trying very hard to remain as unobtrusive as possible, it took damn near every ounce of my willpower not to sprint up and drown her with questions.

Instead, I pretended to continue reading my trashy romance novel, glancing up as I took a sip of my drink and offering her a casual wave. In a miraculous show of restraint, I decided to let her direct things. It was her first time outdoors in quite a while, certainly her first time in a village where humans were the minority, and I refused to add on to any potential stress that that might cause with my overbearing curiosity.

“Hey, Evelyn!” Her tone was cheerful, but I could tell she was a little on edge. There’s no way we could undo months of cult programming in a week, after all, and the constant glares and heated whispers from the goblins probably wasn’t helping.

“Good Evening, Chelsea.” I closed my book, gesturing to a seat next to mine. “How are things?”

“They’re ok. This is still a lot to take in, but… I’m starting to think this is actually a pretty good thing you’ve got going on here.” She took the seat I offered, and her escorts took up root in the garden. “I have tons of questions though.”

“Like what?”

“Like… Why are you always up during the day? Does the sun not hurt you or anything?”

“Ah.” Not exactly the kind of question I was expecting, but a fair one nonetheless. “Technically speaking, I’m nocturnal, but waking up during the day is a habit at this point. Plus, it’s when everyone else is awake. As far as the sun is concerned, it feels itchy and uncomfortable if I stay out in it too long, but I’m not gonna burst into flames.”

I gesture to the awning above us.

“Having a nice deck with some good shade means I can get plenty of fresh air during the day without the sun causing problems at all.”

“Huh. I guess that makes sense.” She fell silent after that, and I took the opportunity to take another sip of blood. It really was strange how quickly I’d gotten used to-

“I think Matt might be ready to see you.”

It was close. It was very close, but I’m so very glad I managed to hold it together. I only realized then, in that very moment, how terrible a spit take would’ve been.

To say I was enthusiastic would be a severe understatement.

Within moments, I was on my feet, following Chelsea to the house she and Matt had been sharing. She left me briefly alone on the steps while she went inside to prep things, and by the time the door opened again, I felt like I was going to explode. This was going to be messy and painful and it had every chance to go terribly, horribly wrong, but I decided I was ready a week ago, dammit! I had to face this!

As the door creaked open, Chelsea waved me in.

“Remember, you promised not to freak out, Matt.” I stepped through the door as she spoke. Matt was in the room, sitting in an oversized armchair, a cup of hot tea in his hands. His response to my presence was almost immediate. Tension shot through his entire body, and his eyes darted rapidly, back and forth, between me and his most trusted friend. He started to stand up, his free hand reaching for a sword that (thankfully) wasn’t currently on his belt.

“Matt!” He jolted at Chelsea’s sharp voice, nearly spilling his drink. She just fixed him with a fierce stare. “Chill…”

“What the Hell do you mean chill, Chelsea?!? That fucker killed my mom!” His eyes had settled on me, filled to the brim with a hatred and anger more intense than I’d ever seen. That hurt.

“Just sit down.” She stepped closer to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. “And let’s talk this out.”

In spite of the fury still painted across his features, he complied, sinking slowly back into his chair. Moving slowly, as slowly as I possibly could, I took a seat as well, sitting in the furthest chair I could without leaving the room.

“You promised you’d help me, Chel…”

“I am.” She smiled gently at him, taking a seat between the two of us. “She’s a person, just like the goblins. She’s your parent. I’m not going to let you make this mistake.”

“That is not my fucking mother.” As much as his posture was angry, his voice sounded on the verge of tears. My presence here was eating at him, and it wouldn’t stop until we figured things out.

“You’re right, Matt. I’m not.” I figured now was as good a time as any to jump in. “I’d never ask you to call me Mom. Not after what happened. After what I did… I loved Maria, and I love you, and if you never want to see me again after this, that’s fine, but we need to have this talk. For both of our sakes.”

“I don’t need this, asshole. I don’t fucking need you!” The fire was back with a vengeance, and he shifted in his seat, struggling not to stand up and threaten me again. “You left! You ran away! I had to live through this shit alone, and I fucking pulled it off! I survived, and I didn’t need you!!!”

“I did, and I’m sorry. I should’ve been better, I should’ve taken care of you, and I never should’ve left you alone. That was wrong of me.” He looked like he was about to respond, but I wasn’t done yet. “I’m not the only one who’s made mistakes here though, am I?”

“That’s not the same!”

“It is, and you know it. I understand that you were manipulated, and I don’t hold that against you, but as long as you feel the way you do, you’ll be easy prey to monsters like Cyrus. You don’t have to forgive me, but unless you can recognize my personhood, unless you come to terms with that, that seed of resentment in you will always be there, waiting for someone like him to make it bloom.” I narrowed my eyes at him, even as I settled back into my chair. “Manipulated or not, you joined a bigoted death cult. I consider that a tremendous failing on my part. As a parent, I can’t risk that happening again.”

“You are not my fucking mom.”

“But I am your parent. You could even call me Dad, if you like. I’m the same person I was before, and I still love you just as fiercely. I refuse to watch you go down this path.”

“Then why..?” He was still tense, still hovering on the edge of explosive anger, barely holding himself together. “Why did you kill her?!?”

“I’d just experienced the worst pain of my life. If you can imagine what it’d feel like to shatter every bone in your body at the same time, you’re on the right track. I was hurting, I wasn’t thinking straight, I was starving, and every single instinct in my newly altered body was screaming at me. They told me I needed to eat, that anything would do, that all I had to do was reach out and bite and all the pain would go away… I didn’t even realize what I was doing till it was over. I just wanted the pain to stop.”

“And then you ran…”

“I was afraid I might hurt you. I wasn’t fully in control of myself then, and as messed up as my head was, I thought that running was the best way I could protect you.”

“And then Cyrus took me.” Finally, some of the tension in him started to ease. The anger was still there. So was the fear, but he seemed much less likely to start shouting or threatening now. “Congrats, I guess. You got what you wanted. You’re a person, you were really fuckin’ unlucky, and what happened wasn’t your fault. Now would you please just leave… I don’t really want to look at you right now.”

Ow.

Fair, but ow.

“Of course.”

I stood from my chair, sending a slight nod his way before heading to the door. I wouldn’t cry, not until I was home, safe in the dark, drinking my best friend’s blood.

“Thanks… Dad.”

Maybe I could cry a little.