The next day, I take Nightingale to town until 4:00. After an early dinner, we head back home and there, in the driveway, is Samual. I pull into the driveway and get out. He gets out as I get out Nightingale. He comes inside and helps me carry the cases out. He puts them in his car trunk and I grab Nightingale. I get in the front seat and set her on the floorboard. I put my seatbelt on and pick her up. I set her in my lap and watch as Samual gets in. He puts his seatbelt on and starts the car. He backs out of the driveway and pulls out onto the road. He drives about 5,000 feet and pulls onto a desolate road. I look out the window as I think, Dracula, I'm on my way.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSif109YPky
Two hours into the drive, Nightingale starts to get restless.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYu7cFdhrK
"Nightingale, what are you doing?" Samual asks.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Tmg1HCn1b
"She can't stand being in a vehicle for more than an hour or she'll get really restless and start fidgeting with random things."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYPuFcWXih
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwc7z12bX6R
"Nightingale!" Samual and I both say at the same time.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6vu8L5s4c
I groan. "How much longer?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUpJMCwGIA
"Yah! Ow mut wonger?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwcqux7TdP
Samual chuckles. "So cute." He pats her head. "Um, about twelve more hours."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTekIB85TOS
I groan again.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡod5yols3QT
Nightingale mimics me.
I can't help but laugh.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHtVUkypEy
"You know what?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbXo5QN1cW
"What, Samual?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nbLHoyC5d
"I've been studying the looks of Nightingale. She looks a lot—and I mean a lot—like her father. She's got his eyes, his hair, his looks. She basically looks like a female miniature version of her father, is what I'm trying to say."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2ynAveCvn
I look at her and she looks up at me. "Yeah, she does a little bit."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtPmwPpLMH
Twelve hours later, I feel someone shaking me.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUAFFazsoF
"Nikki. Nikki."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaJVyhDOcd
"Huh?" I rub my eyes and sit up. I find a lump underneath my shirt. I look up. "Oh. Hi, Samual. Where are we?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXEdnlj7QG
"We're here."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aqtJERdxJ
"Here? Wha—Oh." I go to unbuckle my seatbelt and find it already unbuckled.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTRgu231Ey
"Oh. I unbuckled that because Nightingale decided she wanted to sleep in your shirt. Um, Dracula's not here, so we're able to go inside, take the cases upstairs, and get you two settled."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkgwyYy2h3
"Okay." I yawn. I carefully tuck my shirt in, so she doesn't fall out and open my door. I stand up, making sure I have a firm hold on her. I shut the door and walk up the path towards the opening of the castle. I feel Nightingale move around. She peeps her head out the top of my shirt and yawns.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhecFr78wx2
"Hello, sleepyhead. Is it nice and warm down there? You like sleeping under mommy's shirt."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcfquJb0uS
"Mommy?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLHxqP6txJ
"What, baby?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1l4CGnCXWD
"I daddy."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh48JbufU4m
"I know you want daddy, sweetie. You'll get to see him today."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdi0WNGFg9
"Weawy?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKamAGJivrh
"Yes, really."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdIDHbVvEu
"Yay!"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡST7NJN92sq
I smile. "Oh, so cute."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTpz7BG0TY
Samual comes up and sets the cases down. He opens the doors, picks up the cases and we go inside. He sets the cases against the wall and shuts the doors. Then, he tells me to sit down at the table. I do and he leaves. Fifteen minutes later, he arrives with a plate of food and a glass of water.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvZfHLazNB
He sets both in front of me. "Here you are. Breakfast."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XtZJrRAqr
I smile. "Thanks."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj72sLvkn6w
Nightingale smiles up at him. "Kanks."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4zgtyAGNw
I laugh.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0Er6DdF9U
He chuckles. "You're welcome."
"She's just so cute, isn't she?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWoGzbzlhS
"Yes. She's too cute."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWkHLVrnIw
"Do you think he'll like her?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9kmAqOhnj
"Of course. She's his daughter." Samual sighs.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34kGFcbmOR
"But what if he doesn't want anything to do with either of us? What if he makes us leave?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZuDvEZBLd
"Just forget all of the what ifs. Try to contain yourself, that's all I can tell you."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWqp2J6cNT
Suddenly, we hear a noise at the door. Nightingale peeks her head out and crawls out of my shirt and onto the table. She does a backflip to the floor and runs to the door. She stops two feet in front of the doors and tilts her head.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoECgERvP6K
"Daddy?" she whispers.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3GKDhxCkM
The doors open and she just stands there. Dracula steps inside and looks at her. "Who are you?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnKL3kqpta
"Nightindale?" she asks, pointing at him.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaFvLedWFC
"Nightingale? What?" He looks up, straight at me. "Nikki? What are you—" He looks down at Nightingale again and I see that she's holding the picture of her father that I gave her. Dracula just shuts the doors and walks towards the stairs.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe387qAOO8I
Nightingale looks at the paper and gasps. She drops the paper and races towards Dracula. She hugs his legs and says, "DADDY!!"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitCrBo7Ic8
He gasps and looks at Nightingale. He looks up at me. "Nikki?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNISLIb9WR
I get up and walk to him. "What? If you want me to leave, that's fine. Just don't ask me to ever see her. This is the only chance I'm giving you. Today's her first birthday and ever since you left, she's been crying for you. Her first word was dad and that's all she's been crying for. But I will gladly leave if you need or want me to. Like I said, this is your only chance." I turn to walk away, but he grabs my arm and pulls me close.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEnnLynxRR
"I'm not letting you leave. Not this time."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCudMjkPXI
"But I have a job. And a child to raise. I can't stay here."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARwHpoqrjL
"I have more than plenty of money. You'll survive without a job, I promise. Like I told you, I could buy fifty cars of that same brand that I have outside and I'd still have enough money to last me a lifetime. And a lifetime for me is quite a while. About 150 years."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbW6epSu9c
Nightingale looks up at him and shoots her hands in the air. "Daddy," she whines.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTFn5N93Vp
Dracula just looks at her.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7UHFo2IU6
She whines. "Daddy."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmWSv3fYsG
"Oh. She does that when she wants to be held."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLkWhPZFj9
He sighs. He bends down and picks her up. She snuggles close to him and wraps her arms around his neck the best she can.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSbQ7tn4en
"Me daddy."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGu4pgFBOZP
"Your daddy." He smiles. "She's so cute."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0eMim9LZl
I smile. "The first day you left, she didn't stop crying for hours on end. It's almost like she knew. She loves to go to town. Like the other day, whenever I ask her if she wants to go, she'll first throw a temper tantrum. Then, when she sees me grab her shoes and socks, she calms down and immediately sits down so I can put her shoes on. And if you look closely enough, you can see who she looks so much like."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuZchctWy3
"Who?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjmVMN0IuY
"Yourself." I sigh. "She was also born an undead, too. I noticed it when I first started breastfeeding her. They weren't very big, but she had little stubs of fangs. At two months I had to start giving her a formula because her teeth were getting sharper and it hurt really badly. Once she actually bit me and it left a scar. Not much of one though. It's so small, you can barely see it. She hates baths. Absolutely hates them. She was a really fast crawler too. Once I had to chase her halfway through the house in order to give her a bath."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlZieKJqYT
He looks at her. "Is someone being a naughty little girl?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04WGmAcCms
She looks up at him. "No. I not bad dirl. I dood dirl. Pwomise, daddy." She leans in and kisses his cheek. "Baby woves daddy. Bewwy much."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGB3bNEiRK6
"Oh, you're so cute."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokwvm5ZwVn
"Daddy punny. I wove oo daddy."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAHlb6hxkn
"I love you, too, Nightingale." He looks at me. "Are you sure she looks like me?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsluXmScDH
"Oh, yes. I can definitely see the resemblance. She looks like a female miniature version of yourself."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvddRMQt32
He laughs. "My DNA must have been more dominant than yours."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSjki90cOJ
"She's got your hair, your eyes, she's even basically got your eyebrows too."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFLiqhG9nr
"But she got your beauty."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pWr5V93Du
"Oh, shut up."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwy3qYBcFZ
He pulls me close and Nightingale shrieks. We both wince and say, "Nightingale!" We laugh. She giggles.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIovKewPie0
"Not punny." She buries her face in his shirt.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGxjBsV0MN
"Oh my Lord." He pulls me into a kiss as someone bursts through the doors.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9w3RC8BNbR
"You step away from her!"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkB9HGSGHF
I turn around. "Agatha!"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80pH7hwuX8
"Agatha?" Dracula sets Nightingale down and she flops to the floor and kicks the air. He walks over to Agatha and grabs her jaw. "You shouldn't be here."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4tnbi0ruu
"Ow."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFpXOrEiNz
He chuckles. "Is that all you can say?" He reaches his arm behind her back and grabs her hand. "I'm not stupid. I know you have a wooden stake in your hand. I will also gladly kill you again. Not the way I did before though." He smiles wickedly. He moves his hand and wraps it around her throat.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeL9ghrIigk
"Let Nikki leave. You can keep your stupid child. Nikki doesn't need to be here. This is no place for her."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBngj0MVjr
He squeezes her throat tighter. "She has the choice if she wants to stay here or not."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgD1H8d10pV
Agatha coughs weakly. "Let go," she says weakly.
He lets go and throws her to the floor, grabbing the stake in the process. He kneels down and places the stake over her heart. Agatha just smiles at him. Dracula pushes the stake in and kills Agatha. I turn away and kneel down. I grab Nightingale and pull her close. She buries her head in my chest and screams. I cover my ears. Five minutes later, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I uncover my ears and look up to see Dracula walk past me and go up the stairs.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhK6RzBPb7s
"D-daddy?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7Srp477YS
He stops and I see Nightingale looking up the stairs at him. He sighs and continues walking. I watch as he goes up the stairs and down a hallway. I hear a door slam shut in the distance. I sigh.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmLEinWs1i
"Daddy uptet, mommy?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wJk0xQWYG
"Yes, daddy's upset."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMYz8TY31x
"Otay." 442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vyYD8BO8v
"Oh, come here." I pull her close. I kiss her head and pick her up. I stand up and walk over to the cases. I pick them up and drop one.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlI16lAKyw
I smack his hand and push him away. "I can do it myself." I pick up the second case and open the doors. I walk outside and take the keys from Agatha's body. I walk to my car and set the cases in the back. I put Nightingale in her car seat and shut the door. I get in the driver's seat and shut the door. I start the engine and buckle up. Then, I buckle up and back out of the driveway. I turn around and drive away from the castle.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfKmSqWuje
Dracula's point of view442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7vZ8tMmME
I sigh and stare at the bedroom door. I reach for the doorknob and open the door. I walk out and shut the door behind me. I go downstairs and immediately notice something's different. Sitting at the table is Samual. For some awkward reason, he's poking the food on a plate. He looks up and sees me. He pushes the plate away and smiles innocently.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdmeH5fRrl
"Where's Nikki?"442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIh9zKk1T9v
"She left. With Nightingale. I don't know where she's going or where she went. She just picked up Nightingale, grabbed her cases and left after taking her keys from Agatha."442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsbzA7LhzK
I look at the closed doors. "No," I whisper. "She was my only chance." I back up and turn around. I run up the stairs and slam my bedroom door. I lean against the door and slide to the floor. I stare at the bed as a single tear streams down my face. I absentmindedly wipe it away. I sigh. I have never felt more like a child in my undead life than in this moment.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEHPnDy08R
