A loud thud accompanied with a groan comes from within the darkness. Closing my eyes I let myself get composed as I reach for the faucet to shut the water off. Giving my mother another kiss on the head I head over to the living room. As the pounding in my head intensifies I reach the dark room to find a tall shadow standing by the open window blocking any light the might come through.
"What are you doing here?" I ask through clenched teeth. The anger that was festering inside me was more than ready to come out.
"Why wouldn't I be here?" The shadow responds with a small chuckle. "You know you can't always be mad at me for not obeying you." He states playfully.
"What?" I ask taken back. I was mad at him but it wasn't because he wouldn't listen. I came to terms with that a long time ago.
"Oh come on, like you don't remember. You're mad at me because I paid your bills and then got food for you." He says in a matter of fact.
Food that managed to feed us a month, as angry as I was at him for doing that, I was grateful. It was month I didn't have to burden myself with what we were going to eat, if we were going to eat.
"No, no, I'm mad at you because you're a prick, or did you forget what YOU did?" I retort.
"What?! Who? Me? Nah, you got it twisted. I'm in capable of doing anything wrong. It isn't in my genetics." Even though I can't see him I know he has a stupid smirk on his face, which only makes my blood boil even more.
"Yes you, you stupid idiot! Didn't you threaten Daniel just the other day!" I half yell at him. I'm trying my best to control my temper and my voice as I don't want to disturb the neighbors or scare my mother.
He scuffs, without saying anything else.
"Why, oh why, would you ever be anything but kind to the one person whom has shown me nothing but kindness!" I hiss at him.
"He's a creep, babe. The faster you see it the faster you can trash that asswipe," he says after a moment of silence.
"What do you know that I don't?" I ask suspiciously. One thing I have come to know about Mark is that he has a better judgment in people than I'll ever do. I mean here we have a werewolf and a vampire bickering like a couple over some guy.
I'm only defending Daniel because like I said he has been nothing but kind to me. Ever since I started working at the store he would always greet me with a smile and a small gift wether it be candy, chocolate, or even gum. When my mother got worse and she went from being recluse to full on functionless he was there for me. He took my shifts, covered for me when my job was threatened, and most of all he gave me whatever earnings he got from the shifts he covered for me. He was that kind. I reluctantly accepted as I needed anything to make ends meet. As the little I made I had to cut back on things. It got so bad that I only had enough to feed one of us.
Mark and his family, the Holts, had insisted on caring for me and my mother but I couldn't take more than what they had already given me. They took me in and showed me how to be a wolf when I didn't know I was even one.
One of the many unanswered questions, why didn't they tell me what I was. It'll die with my mother as it died with my father.
"I know more than your little wolf brain can handle. Besides, doesn't my word count for anything?" He asks tentatively.
"Depends on the subject matter, I think I would know someone that I see everyday for the past year. Daniel hasn't been anything but gentle towards me." I say, as I try to defend my lack in judgment.
"I know what I'm telling you, but you're right. You're old enough to make your own judgments." He sighs in defeat as he plops onto the couch.
"Stop reading my mind!" I hiss. I said that the first time we argued on the subject. I keep forgetting to shut him out when I'm angry with him. He tends to get more than what I meant for him to hear.
"How did you manage to get her out of the contraption I put her in?" He asks picking up the fallen blankets.
Rubbing my eyes I sigh as I turn around to finish getting my mother ready for bed.
The water managed to get a little cold in the mean time. It was cool enough to help with her fever as I gently set her onto the tub.
"Need my help?" Mark asks genuinely.
"No, I got it. You've done enough." I say a little irritated but sincerely. He has done more than enough.
"I don't mind." He says. "It's the least I can do."
I shake my head as I begin to put soap on her. Mark leaves as the creak on the floor indicated by his movements. For a vampire he can be noisy.
"Are you going to eat this?" Mark loudly asks from the living room. I don't have to see what it is since I know it's the sandwich I had made for my mother.
"No, go right ahead." I respond. Even though vampires don't need food to survive Mark is the only one I know to have tolerance for human food. While his family revolt on the idea Mark welcomes it with a huge grin on his face.
After I'm done combing my mother's hair I set her on the bed and tuck her in. She lays there motionless staring into the distance as if her life depended on it. I try to close her eyes but she just blinks them away. Sighing I leave her alone.
"Move over," I tell Mark as his huge frame takes most of the couch.
He tries to make himself small but fails. I settled on cuddling with him preventing me from falling off. He sighs as he takes the last bite of the sandwich. "You did eat today, didn't you?" He always asks.
"Yeah, I got some thing from the store," I say as I rest my head on his cold chest. Cuddling closer to him I end up hugging him towards me. He reaches for one of the many blankets he entrapped my mother in and covers me with it.
He always stays with her once I leave for school staying with her as much as he can before he needs to go and feed. I can never repay him for all he's done.
"Just one more day," he whispers as he plants a kiss on my head. I slowly fall asleep as I repeat that same words, "just one more day".