Chapter 4: Chapter 2
The whispered words from Tucker to her mom peaked her interest and she immediately went on high alert. Looking at the two from the corner of her eye, Jayde’s curiosity only grew as her mother scowled at her husband.
Natashia cleared her throat and shook her head, leaning in to Tucker. “No, I wasn’t able to because-“
“I’m a handful.” Jayde cut in, casting a sour look at Tucker.
Her mom sighed, cutting a sharp look at Tucker as well before she turned to Jayde. “No, honey, that’s not why you’re here at all. You’re not a handful, I promise.”
Mr. King suddenly stepped closer, his voice low with shock. “Natashia, how does she still not know? Not even before you arrived? Not only will that spell be wearing off in the next few hours to within the next day, but you know that’s one of the most imperative rules I have set when children who are unknowing are brought here.”
Scowling, irritated that she felt like she was seven years old again and the only one not in the loop, Jayde snapped the handle of her suitcase back down into it and glared at everyone standing by her. “Tell me what exactly? Stop talking to each other like I’m not even standing here!”
Her outburst had everyone falling silent, looking back and forth between each other as they did some silent adult communication through their expressions. Jayde gritted her teeth, trying to stay quiet as they came to a decision, and her mom finally sighed heavily. Natashia turned to her, a pained look in her eyes and her hands settled on her hips like Jayde was in trouble.
“Jayde,” Natashia paused, shifting back and forth on her feet. Jayde had never seen her mother so unsure and uncomfortable. “Jayde, you’re not… Well… you’re not..” she took another deep breath, making Jayde wonder if she was going to hyperventilate, as she looked like she was preparing herself for heartbreak. She glanced at Tucker as Natashia fought to find the right words to explain the situation.
“Not...what?” Jayde prompted.
“You’re not human.”
Silence fell so heavily that one could have heard a sewing pin drop.
For a few minutes, maybe it was really just seconds, Jayde could only stare at her mother in a stunned silence, before she burst into laughter. “You’re joking. You have to be. How am I not a human? You’re human!” She looked around at the others, looking for any sort of confirmation that her mom needed to be put in the looney bin, but she was instead met with silent, blank masks. Jayde fell absolutely silent, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and a foreboding sense of doom. “Mom?”
Jayde turned to face her mother, seeing Tucker squeeze Natashia’s shoulder in a reassuring manner when she stayed quiet. Natashia put a hand over his and met Jayde’s eyes unyieldingly. “I mean it, that you’re not a human. Jaydelynn, you’re a vampire. A very important vampire.”
A ringing started in her ears from the moment her mom said ‘vampire’ and Jayde struggled to internally process all of the words being spoken. Vampire? Those were real? Surely her mom and Tucker had gone off the deep end and the two men they stood with were just co-conspirators in a weird plan to scare her. Questions quickly filled up Jayde’s mind as the word her mother claimed she was repeated unendingly in her head, making her head pound as her headache worsened.
She took a deep breath, shaking her head to try to clear away some of the questions. She scowled and narrowed her eyes at Natashia. “If I’m a vampire, what are you then? What about my father? What about Tucker and what about them?” She pointed to Mr. King and Mr. Crea, her voice rising a little with her emotions. “Why are you just now telling me this? Why haven’t I seen or felt like I was something other than a human? Aren’t there other things I would have noticed about you if you’re really a vampire? Is the stupid, so-called ‘allergy’ to the sun a sign of being a vampire? Don’t vampires just burn to ash in the sun? Why tell me now? Why am I here?”
Once the first question left her lips, the others spilled out behind it in a stream of hysteria. It was like Jayde couldn’t stop the flow of questions spilling out, though she now stood silently in front of her mom, holding back more questions as tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill over. What was happening? How did she go from being a normal seventeen-year-old human to a freaking seventeen-year-old vampire?
Mr. King and Mr. Crea chose that moment to step away from the family, wisely distancing themselves from the conversation so that they would be able to have privacy for the upcoming discussion. Mr. King was obviously annoyed, saying something under his breath about why it was so important to tell kids the truth, and Mr. Crea seemed bored of the situation. Mr. Crea did clap a hand on Mr. King’s shoulder for a short moment though, reassuring the older man.
Natashia waited until she felt the two men were far enough away to answer Jayde’s questions. “I’m a vampire, as was your father, just like you. It’s why I can’t stand the sun anymore than you can.” She paused, thinking for a moment, then smiled wanly at Jayde. “As for Tucker, he is neither human nor vampire. He’s a member of a group of the Fae, specifically what you would consider a fairy. Yes, your brother is a mix of vampire and fairy. Now, why did I decide not to tell you? There’s a number of reasons, all that could be explained if we had talked about it last night, but I don’t think we have time right now to go through everything. My biggest reason is because I wanted to protect you from things you don’t yet know about. However, I didn’t expect you to be so against believing in mythical things, magic, and creatures. Mr. Crea and Mr. King will tell you what they are themselves if they so choose. You do need to remember that it is sometimes considered rude to ask what species another person is. Sort of like how humans think it’s rude to ask how old they are.”
Jayde angrily wiped a run away tear from her cheek, staring at her mother. “And what about not noticing signs of being a… a vampire?”
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone