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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAoteL17Vhta
Two hours into the drive, Nightingale starts to get restless.492Please respect copyright.PENANADhvy3BKeF8
"Nightingale, what are you doing?" Samual asks.492Please respect copyright.PENANAz0CF6VUZUj
"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."492Please respect copyright.PENANAGhEIifFnqX
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"492Please respect copyright.PENANAvEU7iynJs5
"Nightingale!" Samual and I both say at the same time.492Please respect copyright.PENANAeSt2HuHz2A
I groan. "How much longer?"492Please respect copyright.PENANA6YardhME8E
"Yah! Ow mut wonger?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAVuuM4MEEg7
Samual chuckles. "So cute." He pats her head. "Um, about twelve more hours."492Please respect copyright.PENANAT9Fv0bN8jS
I groan again.492Please respect copyright.PENANAMdKrKrtzmz
Nightingale mimics me.
I can't help but laugh.492Please respect copyright.PENANA7pq2yh1pmP
"You know what?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAKKLgo6h98T
"What, Samual?"492Please respect copyright.PENANANJNOsjyJof
"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."492Please respect copyright.PENANA00uE16GMal
I look at her and she looks up at me. "Yeah, she does a little bit."492Please respect copyright.PENANAN8ryL4o0JN
Twelve hours later, I feel someone shaking me.492Please respect copyright.PENANALQ4wliBCXM
"Nikki. Nikki."492Please respect copyright.PENANAT39IJN81sp
"Huh?" I rub my eyes and sit up. I find a lump underneath my shirt. I look up. "Oh. Hi, Samual. Where are we?"492Please respect copyright.PENANA30XDc3hoAR
"We're here."492Please respect copyright.PENANAPr9zCSirMq
"Here? Wha—Oh." I go to unbuckle my seatbelt and find it already unbuckled.492Please respect copyright.PENANAvKkeGaiA5l
"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."492Please respect copyright.PENANA8i5D8DOBj5
"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.492Please respect copyright.PENANANnCQAncSmj
"Hello, sleepyhead. Is it nice and warm down there? You like sleeping under mommy's shirt."492Please respect copyright.PENANAoG5l9HWN5n
"Mommy?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAXDY1JFulh4
"What, baby?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAWiAKG0pxdB
"I daddy."492Please respect copyright.PENANAO6EmnvX0Cl
"I know you want daddy, sweetie. You'll get to see him today."492Please respect copyright.PENANAlf24BuDwhZ
"Weawy?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAtobdcLxuU8
"Yes, really."492Please respect copyright.PENANAphOw9lbrkc
"Yay!"492Please respect copyright.PENANAMwsujoTM8Q
I smile. "Oh, so cute."492Please respect copyright.PENANA63jyTGhER7
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANASID9WEBdCG
He sets both in front of me. "Here you are. Breakfast."492Please respect copyright.PENANAY2uhXIICnC
I smile. "Thanks."492Please respect copyright.PENANAwTyDUDn2Ww
Nightingale smiles up at him. "Kanks."492Please respect copyright.PENANARNMQLhJ1VX
I laugh.492Please respect copyright.PENANAyGgR8bAy7n
He chuckles. "You're welcome."
"She's just so cute, isn't she?"492Please respect copyright.PENANANx0wBybk3P
"Yes. She's too cute."492Please respect copyright.PENANA4uRo1lO9cx
"Do you think he'll like her?"492Please respect copyright.PENANA9JZgpPjXJ7
"Of course. She's his daughter." Samual sighs.492Please respect copyright.PENANA3YCuJydgrl
"But what if he doesn't want anything to do with either of us? What if he makes us leave?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAf6imJgtWII
"Just forget all of the what ifs. Try to contain yourself, that's all I can tell you."492Please respect copyright.PENANA3jrzgVLvsn
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAR3Iue5yBkH
"Daddy?" she whispers.492Please respect copyright.PENANAHExS5WNqGZ
The doors open and she just stands there. Dracula steps inside and looks at her. "Who are you?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAhDFldTUYFR
"Nightindale?" she asks, pointing at him.492Please respect copyright.PENANAKx2jKNyXlF
"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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAvffj0IXRtT
Nightingale looks at the paper and gasps. She drops the paper and races towards Dracula. She hugs his legs and says, "DADDY!!"492Please respect copyright.PENANAtMwz84ydBG
He gasps and looks at Nightingale. He looks up at me. "Nikki?"492Please respect copyright.PENANA5UQE43rVNq
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAnXzmTVI8ca
"I'm not letting you leave. Not this time."492Please respect copyright.PENANAhtFbiikakd
"But I have a job. And a child to raise. I can't stay here."492Please respect copyright.PENANArNOtn49DPa
"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."492Please respect copyright.PENANA7sBgZu1ZTS
Nightingale looks up at him and shoots her hands in the air. "Daddy," she whines.492Please respect copyright.PENANABk4puCmOwC
Dracula just looks at her.492Please respect copyright.PENANAdB9w1thbih
She whines. "Daddy."492Please respect copyright.PENANAhxqQCb7CuH
"Oh. She does that when she wants to be held."492Please respect copyright.PENANAFVmDBFmmDR
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAxMYnW3NOeO
"Me daddy."492Please respect copyright.PENANAsSEb4p5XXZ
"Your daddy." He smiles. "She's so cute."492Please respect copyright.PENANAaP2ck30TEu
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."492Please respect copyright.PENANA7L3EBUIEpa
"Who?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAPhxQwpQial
"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."492Please respect copyright.PENANAjs8PvtJLCd
He looks at her. "Is someone being a naughty little girl?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAXf3HhlFDMj
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."492Please respect copyright.PENANAHtjPJmIS9C
"Oh, you're so cute."492Please respect copyright.PENANAM1pVLFJApw
"Daddy punny. I wove oo daddy."492Please respect copyright.PENANA7zYjxBKY1w
"I love you, too, Nightingale." He looks at me. "Are you sure she looks like me?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAmNdiBLqvMI
"Oh, yes. I can definitely see the resemblance. She looks like a female miniature version of yourself."492Please respect copyright.PENANAEfyQQRQ6xz
He laughs. "My DNA must have been more dominant than yours."492Please respect copyright.PENANAiXG6qtZNMX
"She's got your hair, your eyes, she's even basically got your eyebrows too."492Please respect copyright.PENANASJtchDlNI3
"But she got your beauty."492Please respect copyright.PENANAdvxk5AwnF8
"Oh, shut up."492Please respect copyright.PENANANOuXK4C14j
He pulls me close and Nightingale shrieks. We both wince and say, "Nightingale!" We laugh. She giggles.492Please respect copyright.PENANAMieUJuh7g0
"Not punny." She buries her face in his shirt.492Please respect copyright.PENANAd9TuzJdLPT
"Oh my Lord." He pulls me into a kiss as someone bursts through the doors.492Please respect copyright.PENANAMIvc4hYxlJ
"You step away from her!"492Please respect copyright.PENANA00TYFCIibJ
I turn around. "Agatha!"492Please respect copyright.PENANA5nQJ7XavGt
"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."492Please respect copyright.PENANAcciRwgKcS6
"Ow."492Please respect copyright.PENANA6Dmqz9Oqfk
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAw4gzOczAjY
"Let Nikki leave. You can keep your stupid child. Nikki doesn't need to be here. This is no place for her."492Please respect copyright.PENANAskqyU92RQM
He squeezes her throat tighter. "She has the choice if she wants to stay here or not."492Please respect copyright.PENANAf6u3TG7Emd
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAWTTM3CDO1I
"D-daddy?"492Please respect copyright.PENANA2SHM4nyeO3
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAS5CY0cFt06
"Daddy uptet, mommy?"492Please respect copyright.PENANAb8AdsjDgq0
"Yes, daddy's upset."492Please respect copyright.PENANAdNE3fvrXr5
"Otay." 492Please respect copyright.PENANA4tv0AkU5RV
"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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAHDdkUTZVMG
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAniyRQJMeK6
Dracula's point of view492Please respect copyright.PENANAf3etFp3qre
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANADfW1BzCrrj
"Where's Nikki?"492Please respect copyright.PENANA9UaVtdTaVg
"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."492Please respect copyright.PENANAEbmMQAlr0D
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.492Please respect copyright.PENANAOm7789dT2G