novelLast Shred Of Humanity
| ← Ch.294 | Ch.296 → |
"You knew about Lia all this time, didn't you?"
Ben gulped, he never saw this interrogation coming. Where was that ejector seat?
"Didn't you?" She repeated.
"I did, " He answered.
Ben didn't know what was going on but the mood in the house told him Lia was busted. She was not at home nor was Trevour, only Rex was around, playing on his cellphone and pretending to be oblivious to their discussion.
"This is stupid, " Jenny threw her hand up, "My daughter is some sort of vampire, and Trevor -"
"And a werewolf put together, " Ben said.
"What?" Jenny was confused.
"Your daughter is a made vampire and werewolf hybrid, " Ben grinned uneasily, "You forgot to add that one, "
Jenny sighed, then glanced up at him, "Which one are you? My daughter is a hybrid or whatever you call it, Trevor and Rex are hunters, you must surely be something, " She insisted.
Ben scratched the back of his head, "The way you say it, you make it sound like I'm something great, " He sheepishly grinned.
"I'm right, " She nodded, "You're something, aren't you? Which one are you?" Jenny was sure.
"I'm not really something much unless you die and want me to convey some message to your kids..." Ben trailed off realizing how stupid he sounded right now.
Jenny's face was full of confusion, what was this boy talking about, "Are you cursing me to die?" She pointed to her chest.
"Of course not, Mrs Jenny, " The boy defended quickly.
Rex burst into laughter, he couldn't hold in anymore. It was so funny.
Ben went on, "In one word, I'm trying to say that I'm a medium; a sort of vessel for the dead, ghosts possess and make use of me, "
Jenny was struck dumb, she had always wondered why this boy was odd - turns out, there was a reason for that.
"I need to speak with my daughter. We can't keep fighting, "
"Oh don't worry, she's probably with Daniel or Asher..." Ben's hands flew to his mouth, what did he just blurt out? Lia would kill him - after her mom kills him. Why was he their punching bag?
"Don't worry, I know about that too - part of the reason for the big fight. I mean how can she be dating two guys? She's an eighteen years highschooler and Daniel's twenty-four -"
"Twenty-six, "
"What?"
"Daniel's Twenty-six, "?He corrected.
"No way, Lia said.... oh, " It dawned on her, "She lied to me, " Jenny was hurt yet went on, "And then Asher's Twenty seven -"
"Seven hundred and something years old - I can't exactly remember the rest, " Ben revealed.
Jenny fainted.
Maybe he shouldn't have said that, Ben contemplated. But then, the truth was revealed. What's the use of keeping such a secret? Moreover, age was nothing but a number. Yeah, tell that to Mrs. Jenny on the floor.
"Mom?"
"Mrs. Jenny?"
They both tried to resuscitate her.
"Let's keep her on the couch, " Ben instructed Rex to help him out.
They tried to revive the woman who regained consciousness a few minutes later.
"Ben?"
"Mrs. Jenny, you need to have some rest, " Ben gently pushed back the woman who tried to sit up.
"No, I had this weird dream where I found out my daughter is dating a seven hundred years plus vampire..." her eyes grew wide, holding her head, "It wasn't a dream, was it, "
Ben swallowed, his gaze moved to Rex who stared back, how were they going to explain that one.
"I need to get my daughter this instant!" Jenny roared and stood up, but Ben placed both hands on her shoulder, sitting her back down on the sofa.
Her brow raised.
"Miss Jenny, " Ben began, "You loved your husband didn't you?"
"So?" She wondered what the boy was trying to prove.
"You loved him, didn't you?"
"Of course, I did and what kind of question and answer session is this?" the woman was perplexed and annoyed.
"The same way you loved him, the same way your daughter loves them, " Ben tried to make her see reasons with him.
"She's just a kid who thinks she knows what love is, now get out of my way!" She shoved Ben.
"That's the problem, this is no longer the human perception of love! Whatever bond there is between them is far much greater than you could ever understand because you don't believe nor experienced it. You should not separate them, miss Jenny, " Ben pleaded.
For a moment there, Jenny didn't say a word, just stood with a stunned expression which made Ben think he had finally gotten to her until she said,
"Watch me, " and went upstairs.
"I see where Lia inherited her stubbornness, " He noted.
Rex shrugged, there was nothing he could do. Trevor, who was initially against their relationship - Lia and her mates - even tried to talk some sense into her but Jenny wouldn't listen - she was as immovable as a mountain - which made him leave the house to go get some air.
Jenny came down later, changed, and set to war.
"Mrs, Jenny, I can assure you that you're making a huge mistake here. Asher and Daniel are her destiny, you can't change that, " Ben said to her.
"No, it is not destiny. I'm trying to save my daughter from her death. I'm trying to save my naive eighteen-year-old daughter from the hands of a crafty centuries-old vampire and a tendency to be a violent liar werewolf " She spoke through gritted teeth coupled with a fiery resolution.
"She lied to protect you, "
"Then, it's my turn to protect her, " she declared firmly.
"Please, listen to me Mrs -"
"Take care of Rex while I'm gone, "
She was out of the door already.
He wasn't a babysitter.
"Where's she going?" Rex dropped his phone and sat up, peering out the driveway as his mother drove off.
"To Asher's place, "
"Does the word, 'vampires ' not scare her?"
"Adrenaline can do a lot of wonders, " Ben yawned.
"Do we need to follow her? As much as she's being a bitch right now, I still do not want to be an orphan, " Rex was worried.
Ben gave Rex an odd look, "I would have said that's an offensive word to use on your mother but my own mother was exactly the same today so I empathize, " He turned in the direction of the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Rex was surprised.
"To Lia's bedroom. By the way, is her bed still intact or did your mother throw it out because she suspects they might have done something in there?" Ben couldn't help but ask. Who knows? He might be right.
Rex rolled his eyes, Ben was so dramatic, "Yeah, her bed is still there and why are you asking that?"
"See you later, buddy, " Ben yawned once more.
"I thought we were going to follow her? What if Asher does something like eat her?" Rex spoke out his fears.
"Vampires don't eat flesh but blood, " He corrected.
"Exactly, what if he harms my mother? My mum can't protect herself; she's just an angry, helpless, stubborn human, "
"Don't worry, Asher wouldn't harm her, "
Rex sighed in relief.
Ben added, " As far as she doesn't provoke him, "
"Seriously?" The little boy threw his hand up, "That's an assuring word you got there, " his words dripped with irony.
"Chill little dude, your mom would be safe, " Ben promised.
"Alright, " Rex relaxed, picked up his phone, and resumed his games, and didn't hear Ben question his promise as he climbed up the stairs.
"He wouldn't harm her, hopefully?"
Ben came into Lia's room, everything was just the way it was. He threw himself on the bed, stretching out his tired body fully.
Her bed wasn't as soft as his bed at his place but it was comfortable and smelled like home and all he was missing was a girl in his arms to cuddle....
"Get behind me Satan!" Ben was repelled. When did he start to think like that?
While battling with his thoughts, Ben somehow fell asleep and woke up later to discover he slept for barely thirty minutes.
Seriously, what the fuck. He thought it was over two hours already. Sigh, Ben was bored out of his mind. It was in his process of tossing and turning on the bed that his sight fell on the three thick journals on her nightstand.
Speaking of which, the last time Ben came here, he saw those journals but was too preoccupied to ask Lia about them.
"Well, let's see, " He picked one of them and opened the first page. Holy shit! It was a diary and written in Latin - a language he could read.
Well, Ben had previously wanted to be a priest since they don't get married - he did not want to produce a child that would be left alone for most of his life when the company would be finally handed to him.
So Ben learned it, thinking Latin would give him an upper hand in becoming a print until his mother crushed that dream. But it seems the knowledge came in handy now.
It was Lia's father's journal, Ben noticed that. And she had tried to translate it - he could see from the folded papers he found in some pages and underlined texts.
It was pretty interesting for Ben because the man was speaking about his experience as a hunter until he stumbled upon a mystifying paragraph.
"I'm a hundred percent sure Chris would hate me when he eventually learns about my family. He can be quite cold-hearted which is why I hope the dislike doesn't get transferred to my family. I didn't mean to deceive him but it's in our nature, we never have one, neither do I have enough time to make up for that. My last shred of humanity is diminishing, time is running out and I have to leave."
"Huh? Nothing?" Ben was flustered when he found a blank page. Was it the end? No, that couldn't be, that's not happening, not when he's hungry for more.
He at once picked the other two journeys hoping that this revelation continued from there or at least explained this mystery. However, Ben wasn't in luck, it seems the earlier one was the summarizing volume.
| ← Ch. 294 | Ch. 296 → |