The Violet Line Read Free Page B

News and sport occupied most of the channels so I put on a soap opera. I sat and watched but didn’t take in what was happening; I just needed something mindless that didn’t require any real thought so I could be with my own thoughts.
    I sat like this for what felt like an age. My food had long since gone cold; I couldn’t eat it, the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach was too great. I dragged myself into the kitchen and forced myself to clean up.
    I’ve always found washing up to be a very mundane task and this time was no different. I was glad to be doing something, anything at all to keep myself somewhat occupied. As I plunged the dishes into the soapy water and scrubbed the food off their surface, I thought about Sam and what he’d be doing now. He’d probably be back soon, it never took him long when he was on a mission like tonight. He knew how worried I was so I knew he’d hurry back to me just so he could tell me I had nothing to be worried about in the first place.
    He liked doing that. He told me often enough that I read too many fairy stories and my imagination was far too overactive for my own good. I smiled at that; ever since I was a small girl, I had always wanted to be either Cinderella or Rapunzel. I was fascinated by their lives and adored the idea of being rescued by a handsome prince and living as a princess.
    The more I thought about it, Sam was probably right; I was just afraid that because I was happy, I was terrified that something would happen to ruin it. Happiness didn’t last, that only happened in the fairytales. But I deserved to be happy, didn’t I? I deserved my fairytale ending and I wouldn’t let silly fears stop me from having it. Smiling, I picked up the drying towel and started stacking the washed dishes into a neat pile.
    I was glad I had figured out where my fear was coming from. I didn’t want to jinx it but I couldn’t let it rule me either; I just needed to get on with things and not let them hold me back and as long as I had Sam by my side, I realised I could tackle anything that life wanted to throw at me.
    I knew Sam wasn’t the only thing keeping me together. I’m quite a strong person and I had coped and managed before we met, but it was nice to know you had somebody completely on your side. That no matter what happened this person loved you, flaws and all. They were there beside you shouldering some of life’s difficulties and helping you to make the best decisions for you. They wanted only the best for you and you wanted the same thing for them. It was a lovely feeling of security and I allowed it to wrap around me. I savoured my realisation as I finished tidying up.
    I sat back down on the couch. I felt lighter somehow I couldn’t wait to tell Sam. I still had an unexplainable feeling of fear but it had diminished under my musings on why I had it in the first place.
    The phone rang, causing me to jump nearly clean out of my skin. I scooped my mobile phone up from its position on the couch beside me; the caller id read ‘Mom’. I hadn’t spoken to her yet today and we never went a whole day without contacting each other.
    Sliding the phone open it answered the call, “Hi mom, how’s things?”
    “ Hmmm grand and you?” She didn’t sound too happy in the way she answered.
    “ Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked,
    “ Oh nothing; I just hadn’t heard from you today and I was concerned.”
    It hit me then why she sounded so worried. “No, Mother, Sam isn’t here and I’m fine; he hasn’t tried to eat me yet before you ask!”
    Mom was one of the old school parents. They had always known that vampires and other things existed, but they didn’t believe that people should have anything to do with them.
    Mom knew about Sam; she knew that he was a vampire but she didn’t approve of me dating him. Every so often we would have the same argument. Why couldn’t I find a nice human boy to date; why did it have to be a vampire? Didn’t I realise how