own home - late.
It was only then that Meredith was stricken by a fact. The Saitou family knew that Meredith, Matt, and Bonnie were friends. But none of them had asked about either Bonnie or Matt.
Strange.
If she had only known how much stranger her visit with her own family would be...
Chapter 20
Meredith usual y found her parents funny and sil y and dear.
They were solemn about al the wrong things like, "Make sure, honey, that you real y get to know Alaric - before - before - "Meredith had no doubts about Alaric at al , but he was another of those sil y, dear, gal ant people, who talked al around things without getting to the point.
Today, she was surprised to see that there was no cluster of cars around the ancestral home. Maybe people had to stay home to fight it out with their own children. She locked the Acura, conscious of the precious contents given by Isobel, and rang the doorbel . Her parents believed in chain locks.
Janet, the housekeeper, looked happy to see her but nervous. Aha, Meredith thought, they have discovered that their dutiful only child has ransacked the attic. Maybe they want the stave back. Maybe I should have left it back at the boardinghouse.
But she only realized that things were truly serious when she came into the family room and saw the big La-Z-Boy deluxe lounging chair, her father's throne: empty. Her father was sitting on the couch, holding her mother, who was sobbing.
She had brought the stave with her, and when her mother saw it, she broke into a fresh burst of tears.
"Look,"Meredith said, "this doesn't have to be so tragic. I've got a pretty good idea of what happened. If you want to tel me about how Grandma and I real y got hurt, that's your business. But if I was...contaminated in some way..."
She stopped. She could hardly believe it. Her father was holding out an arm to her, as if the somewhat rank condition of her clothes didn't matter. She went to him slowly, uncomfortably, and let him hug her regardless of his Armani suit. Her mother had a glass with a few sips left of what looked like Coke in front of her, but Meredith would bet it wasn't al Coke.
"We'd hoped that this was a place of peace,"her father orated. Every sentence her father spoke was an oration. You got used to it. "We never dreamed..."And then he stopped.
Meredith was stunned. Her father didn't stop in the middle of an oration. He didn't pause. And he certainly didn't cry.
"Dad! Daddy! What is it? Have kids been around here, crazy kids? Did they hurt somebody?"
"We have to tel you the whole story from that time long ago,"her father...said. He spoke with such despair that it wasn't anything like an oration. "When you were...al attacked."
"By the vampire. Or Grandfather. Or do you know?"
Long pause. Then her mother drained the contents of her glass and cal ed, "Janet, another one, please."
"Now, Gabriel a - "her father said, chiding.
"'Nando - I can't bear this. The thought that mi hija inocente..."
Meredith said, "Look, I think I can make this easier for you. I already know...Well, first, that I had a twin brother."
Her parents looked horrified. They clung together, gasping.
"Who told you?"her father demanded. "At that boardinghouse, who could know - ?"
Calming down time. "No, no. Dad, I found out - Well, Grandpa talked to me."That was true enough. He had. Just not about her brother. "Anyway, that was how I got the stave. But the vampire that hurt us is dead. He was the serial kil er, the one who kil ed Vickie and Sue. His name was Klaus."
"You thought that there was only one vampire?"her mother got out. She pronounced the word the Hispanic way, which Meredith always found more scary. Vahm-peer.
The universe seemed to start moving slowly around Meredith.
"That's just a guess,"her father said. "We don't real y know that there was more than the very strong one."
"But you know about Klaus - how?"
"We saw him. He was the strong one. He kil ed the security guards at the gate with one blow each. We moved to a new town. We hoped you would never have to know you had a brother."Her father brushed his eyes. "Your grandfather spoke to us, right after the attack. But the next day...nothing.
He couldn't talk at al ."
Her mother put her face in her hands. She only lifted it to cal ,
"Janet! Another, por