my mouth opened and closed several times before I decided on just nodding, leaving the questions hanging between us.
"Oh darling, I've been a vampire for two hundred years. Honestly I've been planning on faking my own death for years now before anyone got suspicious. But I wasn't going to until I saw you or you died," she admitted her voice soft and strong.
"You're a vampire? Is that why Julian and his family were acting strange?" I wondered aloud. My grandmother, who used to bake me cookies and tell me fairy stories was a blood sucking member of the undead? Weird, but it did explain a lot. If I hadn't been so sick it might have shocked me more. As I thought about it I realized I had always assumed the peppermint scent of her and her breath had been because she always had gum and drank mint juleps. Plus it had been years since I had actually seen her. Now I noticed the metallic tinge underneath it.
"Yes, vampires are very territorial, with places and people. They probably felt I was a danger to someone who was going to be a new member of their nest," Nana explained.
"Nest?" I'd never heard that term, but as Grandma talked I was starting to have a wonderful revelation.
"Yes, that's what we call a group of three or more vampires living together like a family." As she finished her sentence my thoughts stopped forming and I realized I wasn't going to lose everyone I loved.
"This is wonderful! Now I don't have to lose my whole family!" I was in rapture, I hugged her and she just laughed and petted my hair.
"No, now you will be able to see me whenever you want. I'm just sad about your father; he will grieve." Nana sighed.
"It will be hard won't it?" I asked.
"Yes, but I was like you; my family thought I'd died when I hadn't, so I understand better than your new family does."
"How so?" I shifted on the couch.
"Well you see I really am your grandmother, just several times removed. Unfortunately I think you inherited your heart problems from me." My grandmother looked sad, " It's the reason I tried to get your mother to use more unique forms of healing. I lived with my heart problems, got married and had a baby before I died at 35." I can't imagine what my face must have looked like as I listened to her.
"I died gathering berries in the woods and a stranger found me. He turned me and left. My son came upon my body and the village buried me. I had to dig myself out. It was terrifying. I'd heard all the stories of vampires, so I disappeared into the hills near my home and started a new life for myself after a few mishaps," she finished, a quirky grin on her wrinkle free face.
"Seriously? And you've been watching your son's family ever since, right?" I was sure I'd guessed correctly.
"Yes and when your father's parents died in the car accident I scooped him up." We both sat in silence for a few minutes. So many emotions were coursing through me, but our silence didn't last long.
Everyone piled back into the room and surrounded me, they were singing happy birthday and Mom held a large chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Rho in purple icing. After they were all done singing they clapped and tears came to my eyes. I was much beloved and it truly was going to be hard to leave them.
Mom put the cake on the table and began to cut it up; as she did I excused myself to go to the bathroom.
"Here let me carry you," Julian said, he came to my side and gave me his hands; I let him pull me into a standing position.
"No, I think I can manage to make it to the bathroom myself." I grinned and slowly began to walk through the kitchen to the bathroom next door to the garage door and my father's office.
Chapter 14
I got to the bathroom at a snail's pace, but at least I got there without anyone carrying me. The room was like the rest of my house, white and clean, everything in its correct place. Shutting the door and lifting the toilet seat I heard a strange sound and froze. There was a shadow behind the shower curtain. My hand flew to my chest, and I could feel my heart pounding through the pink wool sweater I was