the remainder, and now twisted the end around my fingers as I anxiously waited for us to reach our destination. I hadn’t seen Jacklyn, my human mother, or Liz since I’d left so many weeks ago. Would they still recognize me?
Arrick rested a hand on my knee, settling its incessant shaking. “Are you nervous?” I nodded, biting at my nails. “They aren’t going to feel any different about you, Claire. You’re still the same inside.”
“You’re right. I don’t know why I’m nervous at all. I’ve known them my whole life, and Liz is my best friend. Nothing can change that, right?” I hoped not. I was still hurt that Liz had never seen me off the day I’d left for the palace, but I understood why she hadn’t. If it had been her, I might have done the same thing. It would have been too difficult to see her leave.
“So, where do you want to go first?”
Arrick took the exit that led into the city. The trees thinned out and made way for towering apartment buildings and business complexes. The differences between the Naos region and Noire region were suddenly so apparent. There were so many technologies here that we didn’t have in Naos. Would Liz still like it there when she learned there weren’t any night clubs or shopping malls? Would Jacklyn still agree to go when she discovered she couldn’t click away on her cell phone twenty-four seven? Cellular coverage in Naos was horrible.
“Let’s go to my house… I mean Jacklyn’s.” It felt strange calling her by her first name, or even calling it my house since it technically wasn’t and really never was.
The street I grew up on no longer held the same feeling it used to. Arrick pulled up in front of my old house. I’d always thought that when I came back here it would be different.
“Want me to go in with you?” he asked, putting the car in park before pulling the key out of the ignition.
I looked at the dash and checked the time, eleven-thirty p.m. Jacklyn would definitely be up, watching the news and probably the clip on Nicolae’s statement about the attack. I grasped the door handle, before looking at Arrick’s waiting expression.
“I’d like that.”
Before I knew it I was standing at the front door. I’d reached for the knob before catching myself. I couldn’t just waltz in, I didn’t live here anymore. Should I knock, or ring the doorbell? I decided to knock, we’d never liked the chime that played on the doorbell, but never knew how to change it. The high pitch of the dings and dongs always gave Jacklyn a headache.
I heard movement inside and the click of the remote as she muted the television that was blaring loudly. She’d always liked it loud enough that she could hear it everywhere in the house. I moaned at the memory. Growing up, I woke up with a lot of baggy eyes due to her loud television habit.
“Who is it?” I heard Jacklyn call from the other side of the door. She was no doubt standing on her tip toes to peep through the viewing hole, but it was too dark on the stoop to ever see anything. The bulb on the porch had burnt out long before I’d left and she still hadn’t replaced it.
“It’s…” my voice came out as a whisper, so I swallowed hard in the hopes of clearing it. “It’s Claire.” She must have recognized my voice because the door swung open before I could finish.
“Claire!” Her face beamed with complete and utter surprise before she bounded into my arms. “Oh, sweetie! I thought I’d never see you again. How are you? Come inside!” She bubbled over with excitement, stumbling over her own feet as she ushered me in.
I followed her into the living room to discover piles of boxes covering every inch of free space. Was she moving? She caught me eyeing the space and dashed over to a box, pulling the flaps open to dig inside.
“Take a look at these! Aren’t they amazing? I had them done a couple weeks ago, they just arrived.” She pulled out a handful of buttons, before handing them to me one-by-one. They each had individual sayings like; “Donate for Life”, “Blood = Love”, and “Don’t Hate, Donate!”
“They’re very nice.” I offered her back the buttons after feigning interest in their design. She was as consumed with VR as she ever was. Her obsession with vampire relations had definitely