Dear diary,
Today is a new day, a new start, a new beginning for me. It's hard to believe I moved in with a vampire couple. I mean, come on… two days ago I still thought vampires and werewolves are just myths and now I have to live with two vampires.
Damian maybe strict and sometimes scary, but he saved my life from a big bad werewolf. Despite all of his rules, he seems to be a nice and loving person. I can see that Damian and Emily are a loving couple and they seem happy to have me in their family. Though their rules are stupid and the consequences are even more stupid. Speaking of which… Damian told me one of the consequences is spanking. Yes, I know! SPANKING! Spanking as in beating my ass! I got my very first spanking from him yesterday and let me tell you… Getting your ass smacked is not fun at all! It fucking hurts!!! I'm not supposed to swear, but whatever. I'm not planning to follow any of their rules anyway, but I have to make a plan so that I don't get my ass spanked again. Sorry Damian, but I don't play by rules! I hate rules and I'm not planning to follow any of those.
The house is enormous and I love my room. This is the room that I've always dreamt of since I was a little kid, but I don't want them to know that.
It's not that I don't like being here or having Damian and Emily as my parents… It's just… I don't want to be disappointed again. I'm scared. I'm scared if I get my hopes up, it will crashed down as soon as reality hits me like it did before.
I used to think hope is for suckers, but since I move into this house, I felt something different, something that I've never felt before, and I've decided to have hope once more. That doesn't mean I'm gonna give up and be a good girl like they want me to be, because this is me and I love being me. Let's just see whether they could handle me or not. Being a good girl sucks and boring. On the other hand, pranking and being sassy are fun ;)
Becca stopped writing as she heard a knock on the door. She rolled her eyes and about to say something when the door flew open.
"Morning, sweetie," Damian greeted and walked in, "I'm surprised you're awake…"
"Of course I'm awake. I'm not hibernating," Becca cut him off rudely.
Damian frowned at her and gave her a look. "I'm not in the mood to deal with your attitude this early in the morning, Rebecca," he said calmly while opening the curtain and let the sunlight flooded the room.
"What do you want for breakfast?" he asked.
"I'm not hungry," Becca answered reluctantly.
"You have to eat. You know what they say… Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Come on," Damian said and took her hand in his, pulling her out of her bed.
Becca followed Damian into the dining room and sat down on the chair.
"Can we go out today, Damian? I want to know the places around here," Becca said as Damian set a bowl in front of her.
"Actually," Damian said, "I was just thinking maybe we could hang out today just you and me, but if you want to go around the town it's fine."
"Where's Emily anyway?" Becca asked.
"She has to do something outside the town, so today it's just you and me," Damian told her and poured Rainbow O into her bowl.
"How do you know I love Rainbow O?" Becca asked, stunned.
"I know you more than you give me credit for," Damian smiled at her and poured milk into her bowl next.
Becca watched him and let her lips curved into a small smile.
"Breakfast is served, Your Majesty," Damian spoke in an accent that made Becca laughed. Who ever thought? Strict Damian could be silly too. She took a spoonful of Rainbow O and milk and shoved it into her mouth.
Becca ate about half of the bowl and pushed it away. "I'm done," she informed.
Damian looked at the unfinished bowl of milk and cereal then looked up at Becca then shook his head.
"No way. You finish your breakfast and we can go around the town. Otherwise we're not going anywhere today," Damian said with finality in his voice.
"But…," Becca started, but Damian cut her off.
"No buts. Just finish your breakfast, Rebecca."
"I'm not hungry," Becca said with a huff. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"You want to go out today or not?" Damian asked calmly.
"Of course I do," Becca said and shot him an 'are-you-kidding-me' look.
"Then finish your breakfast," Damian told her.
"Fine," she huffed and reluctantly finished her bowl of cereal and milk.
Becca dashed upstairs after she finished her breakfast. She put on her sling tank top and hot pants.
"I'm ready!" she shouted as she walked downstairs. Damian walked over to her.
"No," he said simply and shook his head when he looked at what she was wearing.
"What? You don't like this outfit?" she asked, spinning around.
"Rebecca, we've talked about this," Damian said, "Change your clothes now."
"No," Becca said, challenging him, "I like what I'm wearing and I'm not changing it." She crossed her arms.
"Okay. Then we're not going anywhere today," Damian said and turned around.
"What? No!" Becca raised her voice and stomped her foot down.
Damian whirled back around and looked at Becca with his eyebrows raised.
"I want to go!" she said and pouted.
Damian looked at his daughter. "It's not my fault you decided not to change your clothes," Damian said.
Becca huffed. "Fine. I'm sorry," she muffled.
"What is it? I couldn't hear you."
"I'm sorry," Becca said louder and Damian nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and pulls her into a hug.
"Go change your outfits and we can go," he said after releasing her from the hug. He landed a quick but solid swat onto her bum when she was about to walk to her room upstairs. Becca muttered an 'ow' and pouted.
"Go," he said and Becca ran upstairs to avoid any more swats from Damian. He smiled and shook his head at his daughter's antics.
Becca reentered the living room ten minutes later. She had changed her clothes into a long sleeve white blouse under a knee-length dungarees skirt.
"What do you think?" Becca asked Damian and swirled around.
"You look beautiful," Damian commented and pecked a kiss on her forehead.
They got into the car and Damian started the engine. They drove around the town and had a great time. First, Damian took her to the town square, then he showed her Crescent Hills High where she would be attending in less than a week. He showed her Crescent Hills' Government's Hall, the hospital, public library, the church, the police station, the bank, cemetery, and every other place in the town.
"This is where Emily's parents died due to the car accident," Damian said as they walked along the Hawthorn Bridge.
"She lost her parents?" Becca asked, looking up at Damian.
"Yeah," Damian nodded his head, "She was about your age when she lost her parents."
"She must've missed them," Becca commented.
"No one knows grief more than she does," Damian told her.
Becca didn't say anything. She stopped at the middle of the bridge and leaned on the side wall, looking afar.
She shook her head slightly. "My birth parents abandoned me, threw me away like I'm trash. They made me feel unwanted. That's why I got rid of everything that reminded me of them," she said softly.
Damian regarded her with contemplative gaze. "Is that why you preferred to be called Becca instead of Rebecca?" he asked.
Becca looked up at him, studied him, then finally nodded ever so slightly. "I thought making everyone call me Becca would change the way people see me. When I was younger, people would visit the orphanage and they would see this abandoned, unwanted little girl named Rebecca. I was so sick of their pity look. Changing Rebecca to Becca gave me a fresh start," she explained, her eyes pinned on the rushing water beneath the bridge.
"I'm sorry I didn't know," Damian said, his voice is remorseful.
Becca shook her head. "I thought I gave myself a fresh start. That was until you and Emily came along. You guys called me Rebecca, but you or Emily never look at me the way those people did. You never saw me as an abandoned, unwanted little girl. You saw me as me."
Damian wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. The gesture spoke volumes.
"Emily was lucky to have parents who loved her," she mumbled to herself, but of course with vampire hearing, Damian heard her clearly.
"And now you do," Damian said, caressing her upper arm. Becca smiled a little. She was hoping Damian wouldn't see it, but of course he did and a smile grew on his face too.
"Come on. Let's go get some ice cream," Damian said and took her to Bake and Grill, one of a few cafés in town.
"I love your ring. It's gorgeous," Becca said as she licked her double chocolate ice cream.
"This one?" Damian asked and showed his solar ring.
"Mm-hmm," Becca nodded her head.
"It's a solar ring," Damian told her and took a sip of his coffee. Becca tilted her head.
"This ring contains magic. Vampires need this ring to walk around under the sun," Damian explained, lower his voice when he said the word vampire, "This ring was enchanted by the witches so it protects us from the sunlight and allow us to walk freely in the day."
"What happen if you take off your ring and walk around under the sun?" Becca asked out of curiosity.
"I'd burst into flames in just matter of seconds," Damian told her and took another sip of his coffee.
Becca's eyes went wide hearing his answer. "You're kidding, right?"
"No. The sun will burn us to death if we don't use this ring," Damian said.
Becca traced down the ring with her finger. "It's amazing how such a small thing could protect you from death," she said in clear amazement.
"Damian... Can I ask you something?" Becca asked after a short silence.
"Of course," Damian answered.
"Why did you and Emily chose to adopt me? I'm nothing but trouble and I bet you know that. I was the one who pranked you guys in the orphanage, yet you still adopt me," she said.
"You know what, Becca? You and I are a lot alike. You made mistakes, I did too."
Becca gave him a peculiar look. "You? No way. What did you do? Burned a pancake?" she raised her eyebrows.
Damian let out a laugh. "I wish that was the case. Back then, I had done countless terrible things. Things beyond your imagination. You, on the other hand, you maybe a troublemaker, but whatever you do can't be possibly compared to what I did. That what makes you and I different."
Becca tilted her head. "What did you do?"
"If I tell you, I wouldn't be a good parent, now would I?" Damian raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, but you told me honesty is the most important thing in this family. So, no keeping secrets. Besides, what have you possibly done that's so bad?" Becca scoffed.
Damian took a deep breath. "I know the honesty thing would be a boomerang to me," he mumbled to himself.
"Hmm… Let's see… The worst thing I had ever done… I murdered hundreds of innocent people just because I want their blood," Damian said and that made Becca chocked on her drink.
"What?!" she asked, stunned.
"There are a lot of terrible things I had done back then that I'm not proud of, Becca. I wasn't the best person. In fact, I'm probably the worst person you've ever met your entire life," Damian said. Becca was completely speechless.
"But, I've changed, Becca. I'm not that person anymore. I had done those terrible things because I felt like I was alone in this world and I know you feel the same way. I can see that in your eyes. So, to answer your question, Emily and I decided to adopt you because both of us see a part of ourselves in you. We don't want you to make the same mistakes we did. The first time I saw you, I knew you are special. Too bad no one else could see it before, but we do," Damian said.
Becca studied him for a while, dumbstruck at what he said. She felt unfamiliar warmth spreading inside her. "Thank you, Dad," she finally said sincerely.
Damian locked their gaze, stunned that she called him dad. There were not enough amount of words to describe how he felt when that word came out of Becca's mouth. If he had a beating heart, Damian would swear it stopped beating for a second. His lips slowly curved into a smile.
"B?" A small, hesitant voice interrupted the sweet moment. There was only one person who would call Becca with that nickname, but could it be…
Becca turned around and couldn't believe who she saw.
"Sarah?" she said, "Oh my God! What are you doing here?"