Vamp!

Author's note

Hello, dear reader! Miss Roberta here! First, I want to make it clear that this story does not aim to be accurate to any type of vampire mythology. Venus is my vamp, and she follows my vampire rules. As you know, I keep trying different things, and this time I aimed for a longer story with less emphasis on sex. I loved how it turned out (even though I'm still sticking with short stories like "Teacher's Pet" and "Princess Evaluation"). I hope all my lovely readers like it too. Thank you for reading! XOXO

•••••

The house is falling to pieces. The white paint almost gone because of the many years of neglect, plants almost swallowing the place, and no matter where I look, there's always something broken. So I take a deep breath, do a quick look in the mirror, and start recording.

"Hey guys!" I say, switching to my influencer voice. "I just arrived at my new home, but I'm not showing you yet because, as you all know, starting tomorrow we'll be doing a renovation series here on our profile! So stay tuned because my sponsors and I will be sharing a lot of tips, tricks, and, surprise, surprise, discount codes for y'all, obviously!"

Just as I finish posting, I hear a car honking and turn around to find my real estate agent waving at me. I smile and wave back as she parks the car and starts heading my way.

"Hey, Judy," I greet her and raise my hand for her to shake, but Judy just gives me a hug.

"Hi, Belle! How are you doing?" she answers, squeezing me hard before letting go.

"Amazing! I can't wait to start all the renovations. This house will look out of this world once we're done!" I say excitedly.

"It definitely will! But be careful not to bother the vampire in the attic," she says playfully, and we laugh together.

"So, have you brought the keys?"

"Here they are!" she exclaims, grabbing a keychain and dangling it in front of me.

I excitedly take the keys and rush to the front door to unlock it. The door is a bit stuck, so I lean on it, using my whole body to try and open it. After a few tries, we finally manage to get into the dusty foyer.

"You sure about moving here already? Maybe you should wait until the renovations are about halfway done," she says, frowning at the abandoned place.

"I'm 100% sure! I'll start cleaning today so at least one room will be good enough to spend the night," I answer, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

As always, I'm mesmerized by the architecture. The place is a rough gem that definitely needs quite a bit of polishing, but as I stare at every nook and cranny, all I see is potential to be something great. My business side also tells me that renovating this house is a great opportunity to gather even more followers, making it possible to work on my influencer career full time. I sigh dreamily at the thought.

"So, do you have someone to help you bring in all these boxes?" Jusy asks, and I end up laughing because, unbeknownst to her, she will be the one helping me get the heavy boxes inside.

•••••

In my dream, we were dancing in the living room, right in front of the fireplace. All the furniture was pushed aside to give us more space. My eyes wandered to her hand in mine, our skins forming a beautiful contrast of dark and light. I switched my gaze to the necklace dangling on her neck, thinking about how emeralds suited her so perfectly. I raised my head to look at her face, but it was so dark I couldn't really see it.

But I was able to see our hands intertwined and all the little details composing her necklace. Why couldn't I see her face?

I quickly reached out for a candle that I didn't even know was there and tried to illuminate her features, but I wasn't fast enough, and my alarm started ringing before I could see her.

•••••

I jump out of bed as soon as the alarm starts ringing. I think I had a weird dream, but there's no time for that. The sponsors and their crew are coming today so we can start the project.

I quickly get into the only working shower in the whole house. The water is absolutely freezing, but maybe that's a good thing. I spent way too much time cleaning yesterday and slept very little, so a cold shower will definitely make me feel more energized.

I finish getting ready, and as soon as I'm done with my breakfast (a cereal bar and a banana because there's no time and no working kitchen), I hear the cars arriving and rush to the door.

"Good morning, y'all!" I happily greet the probably twenty people standing in my doorway.

And the work starts immediately. Each of the brands sponsoring the renovation series sent an agent, so four of them in total are pulling me here and there to discuss decoration, market something for my followers, take a picture, or make a story. With this being an old house, there are a lot of problems right on the first day.

"As you guys can see, the crew from Dream Garden has already made a lot of progress in the front yard," I say, talking to my followers live. "It's already starting to look like a whole other place, and--" I stop mid-sentence as I spot one of the agents, Harry, motioning for me to come in urgently.

I quickly make an excuse, close the live stream, rush into the house, and follow Harry into the living room.

"It's a disaster," he says dramatically, pressing his palms against his cheeks, reminding me of The Scream by Edvard Munch.

"What happened?" I ask the head of the construction team, since Harry is clearly too desperate to explain the whole situation clearly.

"No biggie," he answers very calmly. "Just a pillar we can't take down. It's one of the ones holding the structure."

"Classic," I say, rolling my eyes, and he chuckles lightly.

"Always happens," he says and gets back to work.

Harry grabs me by the shoulder, staring at me wide-eyed. "What do we do, Belle?! We will be stuck with a pillar between the foyer and the main living room. The integration is ruined! If that pillar stays in the middle, it will be ugly as fuck!"

I help Harry calm down, giving him a thousand reasons why this wasn't the end of the world. Between so many tasks--both expected ones like marketing and unexpected ones like calming down a hysterical man--it's time for the people to leave. I couldn't believe how fast the day went by. With the amount of stuff to do, I didn't even keep track of the hours passing by.

As soon as they're all gone, I just drop on the living room floor, not managing to gather the energy to go up the stairs to my bedroom. I wasn't feeling tired or anything while I was working, but it seems like when I stopped, the fatigue hit me all at once, making every muscle in my body ache.

I rest my head against the wall, closing my eyes and trying to feel well enough to take a shower and get into my, at the moment, not-so-comfy bed. I take deep breaths and take in the peaceful silence in the place. I used to live in NY, so I really value this atmosphere. Peace and quiet were all I ever craved, and I smile lightly, realizing I've finally got it.

And then I hear it, very far away, very slight--the sound of wood flooring creaking. Probably my imagination. And then I hear it again. But anyway, it's an old house; everything in here creaks, right? But then it comes again and again, and when I realize what it is, I can feel my heart freezing in my chest. Footsteps. I'm hearing footsteps.

I can't open my eyes; I'm too scared to do it, and the footsteps are getting closer and faster, sounding desperate. I keep my eyes shut, trying to even my breath. The first action that comes to mind is to pretend to be asleep, so I do so. I hear it walking on the second floor, getting down the stairs, rushing through the foyer into the living room, and stopping dead in its tracks.

It's looking at me; I can feel its gaze burning holes in my skin. I want to run away screaming, but I just can't. Something in me tells me to hold still, even as I hear it getting closer to me. I can feel cold sweat covering my face when its hands grab my shoulders firmly.

"What have you done to my walls?!"

My eyes snap open, and I find myself face to face with the most beautiful creature to ever step on this planet. She has dark skin, big curly hair, soft juicy lips, and her eyes--God, her eyes look like emeralds, and I swear they have a light of their own as they shine, staring at me. But once I recover from the way her beauty hit me, I remember there's a stranger in my house, and she looks angry. So, I scream as loud as I can and push her away, but she doesn't budge.

"Get away from me! I'm calling the cops!" I scream at her, pushing harder, but she just grabs my wrists, pinning them against the wall.

"I wanna see you try!" she screams back, and I stare at her wide-eyed. "Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in my house?"

"Your house?! This is my fucking house! I have all the damn papers, and I paid a hell of a lot of money for this place!"

She freezes, staring at me for a while before letting go of my wrists and heading to the kitchen.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" I ask, following close behind her.

She doesn't answer and keeps walking until she's standing in front of the old broken refrigerator that came with the house. Suddenly, she kneels and, shockingly, removes part of the flooring, revealing a hidden hole. She snatches a flip phone older than my grandma, quickly dials a number, and raises it to her ear. I can hear a click sound when her call is answered.

"What the fuck did you do?!" And if I thought she was screaming earlier, I was dead wrong. "Renting?! You didn't rent the fucking house, you sold it! I don't care about what you thought!"

I bring my ear closer to the phone to hear the full conversation, but the woman pushes me away.

"Put it on speaker, you idiot!" I say, feeling frustrated.

"Let me tell you what you're gonna do," she says, gesturing for me to shut up. "You're gonna grab your car and head over here now!" she screams and angrily hangs up.

"What?! Who's coming here?! Who were you talking to?!"

"I was talking to Judy," she says, sounding less angry at me. "Listen to me, lady, there's been a misunderstanding. This is my house, and it wasn't for sale before, and it isn't now either."

"What do you mean?" I ask, my voice close to a whisper. How does she know about Judy?

"I mean you'll be leaving tomorrow morning, but don't worry, I'll give back all your money immediately," she says like it's the simplest thing in the world.

I feel my heart beating in my throat, my blood boiling. How dare she? I've never felt so furious in my whole life. Her audacity to show up out of nowhere, claiming the house is hers and that I have to leave without presenting any proof about her statement. I take a step closer and grab her by the collar. She's quite a bit taller than me, so I have to raise my head to stare at her.

"Listen to me, you little shit, I'm not going anywhere. According to the fucking laws of this country, if they're worth something, the house is mine, and you're invading my property. So you're going to leave by the very same window you used to get in."

"You think I got in by a window?" She raises her brow, looking smug and oh-so-punchable.

"Where else, you smart ass?"

She raises her hand and untangles my fingers from her collar, taking a step back and leaning her face closer to mine.

"I got in by the front door and never left since. I got in this house before your fucking parents were born. I've been here for as long as they've lived."

I keep staring at her, trying to get what she means by that. But then I remember something my mom used to say: 'It's no use talking to crazy.' So, I turn around and try to run upstairs. I aim to get to the bathroom so I can lock myself in and wait for the cops to deal with this awfully hot woman who apparently escaped from a nearby psychiatric hospital.

But it's no use. I barely reach the stairs before she jumps on me, and I fall on the floor facedown. I struggle, trying to escape, but it's no use--she's incredibly strong. She grabs one of the ropes we've been using in the renovation and ties my arms behind my back as l scream desperately.

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to gag you!" she screams at me angrily.

"Get away from me, you crazy bitch! You'll never get away with killing me! My dad is a cop, and he will-" is all manage to say before she takes a piece of cloth from God knows where and ties it around my mouth.

I feel tears streaming down my face. I'm scared. I thought she was just a crazy woman, but now I realize I was a careless idiot, and she's actually a crazy and dangerous woman. I keep trying to scream for help through the piece of cloth as she picks me up easily and places me on the beat-up couch, kneeling in front of me.

"Stop that. You're making me feel like a monster," she says with a sigh, and I stare at her with the deadliest gaze I can manage. "Don't look at me like that. I only tied you up because you wanted to call the cops, and the gag is because you wouldn't stop screaming. I'm not going to hurt you, okay?"

I frown at her. I kinda have a feeling that she's telling the truth, but being tied and gagged doesn't help in the trust department.

She sits beside me, and we both stay silent (not like I have a choice) for an awkwardly long time. Finally, the doorbell rings, and she rushes to answer the door. A second later, Judy walks into the living room, gasping at the state I'm in.

"Why did you do that?!" Judy asks the woman and rushes to release me.

"She was going to call the cops."

"You should've been gentler with her, you brute!" Judy says, taking off the piece of cloth and untying me.

I don't say anything; I just stare at Judy while I rub my wrists. She gives me a big smile and motions to the crazy woman.

"So, Belle, this is Venus," she says, trying to sound cheerful but it just comes out awkward. "I told you about her, remember? The vampire in the attic."

"Judy, I have no idea what's happening here," I say angrily, "and you better start explaining, because if you don't, I'm calling my dad and putting the two of you in jail until you rot."

"Uuuh, careful, she's going to call her daddy," the woman--Venus--says mockingly.

"Shut up, Venus. Her dad is the Chief of Police," Judy says, then turns back to me. "I'm so sorry, Belle. I wasn't completely honest about the house. First of all, yes, the house is yours. All the documents are authentic. But I didn't mention that this house also belongs to Venus."

"A house can't belong to two people!" I snap at her. "It makes no sense."

"Well, this one does. It's yours by human law, but it's Venus's by vampire law," she says, and I have to take a second before answering.

"What the fuck do you mean by vampire?! Have you gone insane?! Vampires don't exist!" I scream at them.

"Actually," Judy starts, but then Venus pushes her aside and stands in front of me.

"Wanna see?" she says, smirking.

Before I can answer, it starts happening. Fur starts covering her body, and I hear the sound of breaking bones as her body deforms right in front of me, her face twisting and turning. And right before my very eyes, where once Venus stood, a bat beats its wings, flying close to my face. I didn't think a bat could look smug, but this one does--a lot. And then I faint.

•••••

In my dream, we were dancing in the living room, right in front of the fireplace. All the furniture was pushed aside to give us more space. My eyes wandered to her hand in mine, our skins forming a beautiful contrast of dark and light. I switched my gaze to the necklace dangling on her neck, thinking about how emeralds suited her so perfectly. I raised my head to look at her face and it was Venus's face staring right back at me.

I smiled and raised my palm to cup her cheek. She lovingly leaned against my hand, closing her eyes and seemingly enjoying my touch. But then her eyes snapped open, and she stumbled back, screaming in pain. I reached to help her, but then her bones started breaking, her body deforming until I found myself face to face with a bat, its big black eyes staring deeply into my soul.

•••••

When I wake up, I'm lying on the couch with my legs raised by a bunch of cushions. I quickly get up, and the world starts spinning, so I have to sit back down.

"Hey, careful!" Judy says, rushing to aid me. "How are you feeling?"

I can't answer her; my thoughts are a complete mess. I feel like my brain has melted to the point where I can't form a single coherent thought. I run my gaze around the room and spot Venus leaning in a corner. I want to ask so many things, but nothing comes out. Apparently, Venus notices my struggle to formulate a question, so she just starts talking without me having to ask.

"In our country, we have a small number of cities that shelter the last remaining vampire clans. The city you're in right now is one of them. Actually, it has the largest number of clans," she explains, getting away from the wall to sit in a chair closer to me. "This house has been mine since somewhere around 1900, and I've been hibernating for a few years. So, Judy here thought it would be a good idea to sell the house so someone could take care of it while I was gone. But it didn't work. You destroying my walls woke me from a deep slumber."

"I didn't know you were a light sleeper," Judy whines.

"So vampires are real?" I ask. Even though the situation is real, the question sounds stupid.

"Yes, not like everyone can turn into a bat before your very eyes," she answers mockingly.

I can feel tears streaming down my face again.

"Oh my God, what is it, woman? Do you only know how to cry?" Venus says, rolling her eyes impatiently.

"You're such a bitch, Venus! This isn't an easy situation, leave her be," Judy says, sitting beside me and squeezing my shoulders.

"So you'll--" I say between sobs, "you'll e-eat me?"

They both stare at me like I've said the craziest thing in the world. An awful silence falls on us until Venus breaks out laughing.

"What?!" I ask, frustrated, my face turning red from her reaction.

"You don't have to worry about that, sweetie," Judy says, giggling.

"I don't eat people, and no, I also don't drink human blood," Venus says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm vegan."

"Oh yeah?" I get up, starting to feel angry. "Then tell me, how the fuck does a vegan vampire work?"

"This isn't 1897. We have substitutes that work just as well for my biological needs. Blood is optional."

"And how the hell was I supposed to know?!"

"Okay, okay, enough," Judy says, pulling me to sit back down. "So, you two will be living together!"

"What?!" I say, getting back up.

"It's the only way!" Judy says, rising from the sofa and squeezing my shoulders. "And it isn't that bad--it could be a werewolf."

"Are you serious?! There's no way I'm agreeing to that!" I reply, slapping her hands away.

"Well, you're free to leave if you don't want to," Venus says.

"Leave?" I say, flabbergasted. "This house is my dream home and the biggest project of my career. You think I'm just throwing all that away? You're leaving!"

"Make me," she answers daringly.

"I will. And it might not be today or tomorrow, but I'll make sure you regret the day you stepped foot in my house."

"It was mine first."

"But it's mine now!" I say, grabbing her collar, and she just smirks.

"Let the game start," she says, leaning her face closer to mine, and just then I realize she smells surprisingly good for an undead.

•••••

It's 4:23 AM, and I'm in a 24-hour supermarket with a cart full of garlic--real garlic, garlic paste, garlic bread, and other variants. The cashier side-eyes me as he beeps all the items, but I don't care. He'd probably do the same if he were in my shoes.

After paying and arranging one hundred dollars' worth of garlic in my car, I buy three different types of vampire hunting kits from a shady site before driving back home. When I finally get there, I hang garlic garlands around the house and set up the Jesus statue Mother gave me in the living room with some candles around it. Finally, after all the work is done, I collapse in my bed and fall into a deep slumber.