Crossing Paths

If you had known me only six months ago, you wouldn’t recognize me today.

I was a stripper in a pretty nasty little bar. I self-medicated myself with pretty much anything I could find. I was living with a guy who treated me like dirt and acted like I was his possession. I was a mess, even though I didn’t realize it.

Then, I got pregnant, and my outlook changed. I wanted something better, but I didn’t know how to get to a safe, secure point in this world. I wanted a home where I could raise my child. I wanted a job that didn’t involve grinding on greasy, old men while they drooled like dogs. I wanted love and happiness.

The problem is I had never known those things, so what did I know about them? How did you even go about getting a house? How did you get a job? Erik, my ex-boyfriend had handled all of that in his own shady way. He had told me to go to the bar where I danced and offer to work for them for free in return for the owner allowing Erik to push his drugs outside the building. I had never even had my own money.

Where was my family during all of this, you ask? I’m an orphan. I grew up in foster homes and state-run facilities. No one hugged me or cuddled me. No one cared to even know me, until I met Erik.

Erik was older. He was about to get out of the system, and he wanted me to go with him. He said we could get an apartment together and be happy. He never mentioned that he would be slinging dope and banging every junkie he set eyes on.

Then, the jerk gave me away to Gideon.

Erik had found out that I was carrying his child, and he was not happy that I had kept it from him. He showed up at my work just as I was being fired for “showing”. He beat me severely and tossed me into Gideon’s car as if I were nothing to him.

I was hurt, physically and emotionally. I felt broken and used up. I thought I was worthless and would never be a decent mom, although I was determined to do my best at it.

Little did I know, that was the best thing Erik could have done for me. He thought he was abandoning me, leaving me for dead or whatever horrors he thought Gideon might inflict on me. He just wanted me to disappear, but he gave me to the wrong man for that.

Gideon is a vampire. A very gentle, caring vampire who had been looking for a human assistant to help him run his house and also to feed him. He had driven to my forgotten neighborhood to find someone and offer them a life changing opportunity. Feed him and help him in return for payment, a home, a purpose. He had seen Erik selling outside the club and asked him if he knew anyone who needed a job and a place to stay in return for some “work he needed done”.

Erik must have seen this as a gift from the gods of Douchedom.

Gideon, however, was nothing like Erik. He took me in, he helped me deal with the loss of my baby when Erik beat me nearly to death, and when I tried to end my life and turned into a vampire instead, he stuck by me. He told me I was his daughter. He made me feel cared for like I never had before.

That made all the difference to me.

Since I’d become a vampire, I hadn’t had the urge to do drugs. Maybe that’s because of the change but I call it a win anyways. I have difficult days, especially when I think about the child I lost, but I know I wasn’t emotionally ready to be responsible for another life. I would have given it my all, anyways. I try not to “dwell on it”, as Gideon says.

I’ve spent the past few months getting our house renovated and decorated. It’s a huge house and will take much more work to become the grand family home that Gideon is dreaming of. So far, the plumbing was redone (so we have decent showers), the electrical was redone (so the humans don’t get suspicious), and we’ve had all new drywall, moulding and paint installed. The carpets are being removed now and next week we’re having new flooring put all through the house.

Sorry. I ramble when I go into house repair talk. I’ve found it very interesting at every point of the process. So much so, that Gideon bought me a house to remodel and resell as my very first “flip”. I have a long way to go to be on TV with a hit show, but I think I’m doing pretty well.

So, before going to bed each morning, I come here, to Gideon’s study, to give orders to the human staff.

“Dom? Where’s Dom?” I said, looking around the room.

Here were three of the four day staff we had hired to take care of daytime issues and cleaning, but where was the fourth?

A short, skinny lady with a long black braid answered, “I think he overslept again, mija.”

This was Mrs. Espinoza, our housekeeper. She had lived on the streets in my old neighborhood, and I used to give her food when I could, which was not often since my ex had barely provided food for me. When we started looking for staff, I thought back to her smiling face on the street and decided we’d help her out with a job.

“Great. This is becoming an everyday thing,” I said with a sigh.

“I can go get him, if you want,” a small voice said from the corner of the room.

Tiffany had been a dancer at the same place I had worked. She was beautiful, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes and the body of a swimsuit model. She had been the most popular girl when it came to lap dances, but also the one who received the most complaints. Tiffany did not like to be touched and would very clearly let the men know with a quick high heeled shoe to the testicles.

I smiled at her and responded, “Thanks, Tiff.”

She headed out the door and I smiled again just at the thought of her cramming her foot up some pervert's ass.

“Okay, guys, today is the first day you are all expected to know your jobs and do them without much of my input. I’ve got to get the other house renovation started so I’ll be busy with calls and such all day,” I said, scanning the list of things I had to get figured out today. Then, I saw the note I’d left myself at the bottom of the page: dogs/trainer.

Dom burst through the door, hair disheveled and clothes rumpled, spewing apologies.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Preydor! I didn’t mean to be late again. I just can’t hear my alarm,” he said, then he plopped onto a chair and sighed as if he were put out.

I stared at him until he met my gaze, then I said, “Tiffany, please consider it part of your duties to wake Dom up every morning with enough time for him to clean up and look somewhat presentable.”

I thought I sounded like Gideon with the formal speech, and I liked it. Each day I was more confident, and I was learning so much about the world.

“Yes, ma’am,” Tiffany said, smiling a little.

I knew she had a crush on Dom, and I didn’t think it was a bad thing. He was sweet and she was sensitive and broken. They really had been good for each other.

The other person in the room was Pete. He had been a mechanic and knew how to fix pretty much anything, so we hired him as our live in maintenance person.

“Pete, you know what you’re doing today?” I asked him.

He sat up straighter in his chair and cleared his throat.

“Yes, Ma’am. I’m in charge of supervising the contractors. I have all the details of the project here,” he held up a folder full of samples and paperwork, “and no worries, I will make sure it is done exactly to your liking.”

Pete had just arrived last week and had instantly began flirting with me. The first morning meeting he attended, he had run out and bought coffee and donuts for everyone.

Vampires don’t eat, but he didn’t know yet that I was a vampire. I compelled him to forget whenever he left the house. If anyone asked him where he worked, he would reply that he worked for a private company doing maintenance.

“Thank you, Pete. Also, if anyone knows someone who likes dogs or knows dogs, we will be needing a dog trainer/caretaker,” I said to the group.

Pete immediately answered, “I know someone.”

His face had turned bright pink, so I assumed his ‘someone’ was a girl he was attracted to.

“Tell me about them,” I said.

Pete’s eyes lit up as he spoke, “Her name is Harla. I’ve known her for years. Used to work for her dad, but then he took off on her. Her mom left, too, years back. She’s a good kid. Smart, hard worker. Animals seem to love her,” he said, then looked at me expectantly.

“I think no only animales,” Mrs. Espinoza said, grinning at Pete.

He turned a darker shade of red, but he grinned back good naturedly.

Laughing, I told him, “Fine, fine. Please bring her here as soon as she can come so we can meet her and discuss the arrangements.”

He stood up and punched the air, “Thanks, boss!”

And the four left the room to start their days.

I collected my papers and headed to my rooms. Just outside my door, I saw Gideon waiting.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked him, cheerfully, then I kissed his cheek.

He smiled and said, “It’s so nice to see you happy, dear.”

I knew he was always worried I might lose control and do something crazy. I mean, I had driven a car off a bridge in an attempt at ending my life only months before.

“It’s hard not to be happy with all this excitement!” I said and laughed.

Gideon chuckled as he looked around at the walls and floors, “I’m certainly thankful that you enjoy this stuff. I’ve never been any good with all this...frilly stuff.”

I laughed, because I remembered the state of this house when I’d first arrived. Filthy, no electricity or water, minimal furniture but none that we kept due to the dirt and disrepair.

“It’s really fun for me to watch the sad and dirty become happy and beautiful,” I said as I too gazed around us at the beautifully painted walls and the delicate silver fixtures, “All that’s left is the floors.”

“Ah, but you need a rest, my dear. You’ve not had an enjoyable evening in months,” Gideon said, winking at me, “Perhaps we could spend this evening out? We could visit The Outpost?”

The Outpost was a hangout spot for vampires and other creatures. It tended to feel creepy and sad to me. The only lights were a set of different colored bulbs behind the bar. Each color represented a species and would light automatically with the arrival of anyone of that species. It was an alert system for any two groups who didn’t enjoy the company of the others.

I sighed, “Not there. Can we go somewhere else? Can we hunt? I’ll be really careful, and my compulsion is so much better now!”

Gideon’s expression turned serious, and I could feel the “no” coming.

“You need to form alliances with others, Melissa. It is for your benefit. Vampires who remain with only their own race tend to go insane with anger, violence and self-destructive behaviors,” he said.

“I know, I know! You’ve told me a million times, father! I have a wonderful friendship with the wolves, but I haven’t met any other creatures. What am I supposed to do?” I whined.

“You’re supposed to seek them out. The Outpost is not merely a place to socialize. It is where people go to be seen, to have their existence known to others. I will admit that I haven’t kept up appearances lately, but our family will need to be seen at The Outpost weekly,” Gideon said.

Great. I was the family at this point. Gideon had no other vampire relatives. He planned to make more, which is why the house was being updated and made comfortable.

I forced a smile, trying to remember all that Gideon had done for me in the past months, “Alright, The Outpost it is, but I better meet a unicorn,” I said.

Gideon laughed loudly as he walked into his study.

I headed to my room to find an outfit for that evening, feeling annoyed but looking forward to the break.