Dracula's Return - Part One-Chapter Twelve

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1IbpAasY8

Two hours into the drive, Nightingale starts to get restless.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJCre3ZCRR

"Nightingale, what are you doing?" Samual asks.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8G9OXPkxFt

"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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWi4aD4M4Uf

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBj9BB3UxiP

"Nightingale!" Samual and I both say at the same time.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyjAPoUGax

I groan. "How much longer?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzysHlLLBds

"Yah! Ow mut wonger?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUoDWaR1vD

Samual chuckles. "So cute." He pats her head. "Um, about twelve more hours."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYIqHeLgG1

I groan again.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsIWSzEbrj

Nightingale mimics me.

I can't help but laugh.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IA9oyz6Qz

"You know what?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZEoq5Eq46

"What, Samual?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0ozuzBKmo

"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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5ibgaFZpM

I look at her and she looks up at me. "Yeah, she does a little bit."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkYkO96RNs

Twelve hours later, I feel someone shaking me.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3FdN0e5kv

"Nikki. Nikki."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMEWoo9GjO

"Huh?" I rub my eyes and sit up. I find a lump underneath my shirt. I look up. "Oh. Hi, Samual. Where are we?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKYjwQY21F

"We're here."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdAqRQI445

"Here? Wha—Oh." I go to unbuckle my seatbelt and find it already unbuckled.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySQAtmoP4u

"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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVMvsvtssJ

"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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNBSjaot1m

"Hello, sleepyhead. Is it nice and warm down there? You like sleeping under mommy's shirt."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayHh0KUAIV

"Mommy?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNJEILQnMh

"What, baby?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qUrTIh3C2

"I daddy."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPzr1Voz1r

"I know you want daddy, sweetie. You'll get to see him today."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02YnHTA88h

"Weawy?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIjMMfswQ3

"Yes, really."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvftfit81Bi

"Yay!"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0L4jaSx05

I smile. "Oh, so cute."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2M3FJqdPC

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvNzYGLAyW

He sets both in front of me. "Here you are. Breakfast."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSW2tM6Ffpc

I smile. "Thanks."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppbCq5YZJo

Nightingale smiles up at him. "Kanks."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhK3qZFw9lI

I laugh.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBnrmv9MGB

He chuckles. "You're welcome."

"She's just so cute, isn't she?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqJWZ39e5q

"Yes. She's too cute."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7Mor3gaJq

"Do you think he'll like her?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1WUotolDU

"Of course. She's his daughter." Samual sighs.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDAf8561lX

"But what if he doesn't want anything to do with either of us? What if he makes us leave?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeGGAZ8FK2

"Just forget all of the what ifs. Try to contain yourself, that's all I can tell you."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NBXXnbgpf

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0ZnZE95Og

"Daddy?" she whispers.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vCFtJfBwe

The doors open and she just stands there. Dracula steps inside and looks at her. "Who are you?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5ei4BPQgk

"Nightindale?" she asks, pointing at him.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSBGSoYUDb

"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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaar0v7fMI

Nightingale looks at the paper and gasps. She drops the paper and races towards Dracula. She hugs his legs and says, "DADDY!!"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XakIzDgeY

He gasps and looks at Nightingale. He looks up at me. "Nikki?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1R8KGdXCt

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS12RUo62WK

"I'm not letting you leave. Not this time."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRA0UEaVKXs

"But I have a job. And a child to raise. I can't stay here."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKnYQ4nzH6

"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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJR3QBgIKA

Nightingale looks up at him and shoots her hands in the air. "Daddy," she whines.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHerg5hgkdN

Dracula just looks at her.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXf1UnX8Ny

She whines. "Daddy."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmwkOZce2S

"Oh. She does that when she wants to be held."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqW4Z0QlYS

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPtltJjnqA

"Me daddy."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4PwW6yJRv

"Your daddy." He smiles. "She's so cute."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ftvtqJy78

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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7hrJDbC5L

"Who?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZMPLX3iuv

"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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5bRnXLpze

He looks at her. "Is someone being a naughty little girl?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwe8PMHpWCp

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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Kn0UaUGPd

"Oh, you're so cute."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrM1GtiWaS

"Daddy punny. I wove oo daddy."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9641hak48

"I love you, too, Nightingale." He looks at me. "Are you sure she looks like me?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbnTfb43m6

"Oh, yes. I can definitely see the resemblance. She looks like a female miniature version of yourself."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKc1ER0n8yF

He laughs. "My DNA must have been more dominant than yours."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB65IQHhupR

"She's got your hair, your eyes, she's even basically got your eyebrows too."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuMhZ9lx3V

"But she got your beauty."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkHua6R1q9

"Oh, shut up."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZMlh1IkHK

He pulls me close and Nightingale shrieks. We both wince and say, "Nightingale!" We laugh. She giggles.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbniel4WzX

"Not punny." She buries her face in his shirt.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bLhMInzxC

"Oh my Lord." He pulls me into a kiss as someone bursts through the doors.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj68yLnctwJ

"You step away from her!"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpx7MtwYEKe

I turn around. "Agatha!"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp5iizwmiL

"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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYIxhvQqPS

"Ow."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvLbsfCEL5

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jypM0UnQq

"Let Nikki leave. You can keep your stupid child. Nikki doesn't need to be here. This is no place for her."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRin0ISTWO2

He squeezes her throat tighter. "She has the choice if she wants to stay here or not."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8zXdHQQYk

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2j42mbDY6m

"D-daddy?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhJb7cfiEo

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOD5qZ558V

"Daddy uptet, mommy?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnOBGxtU36

"Yes, daddy's upset."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vu2Pk46w7

"Otay." 491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwLpI7bKOx

"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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWNgF1C9aN

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmKnduM232

Dracula's point of view491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Qe3fiwSwh

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLvaD0DJRz

"Where's Nikki?"491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEgWzUvChx

"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."491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFIdlcjun6

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.491Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzG6uUucuL

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