Donavon…my aunt…my dad…my mother…my past…my future… All these thoughts threatened to bulge my brains out no matter how hard I tried to keep a calm mind. I was now regretting having chosen to leave Donavon early. Life was probably easier when not thinking too hard about it. 

I did my best to draw, but no ideas came so my paper ended up a squiggle mess. 

I got up. I got back down. I looked out the window. I looked at the wall. Nothing helped.

Finally, my thoughts were disrupted by the front door opening. My dad must have arrived home. I still didn't know how to act around him, but it was our last night together, so I might as well attempt some sort of effort. After a deep breath, I made my way past the sheet wall into the kitchen. My dad was already leaning back in a kitchen chair. Probably not the most comfortable place to rest after work, but my staying had left him living-roomless.

"Aunt Lil will be coming back home tomorrow," I stated.

His expression remained blank. "She let me know." He only looked at me for a second before finding elsewhere to put his gaze. "You can still come and visit anytime," he added. "I know it's not really exciting around here. But we can, uh, try to go do something fun or something, bowling maybe or whatever. I don't know what you kids do these days."

"How about a more mild and safe activity like eating?"

He chuckled. "Food is fine with me."

I downed some blood before he took me to a Mexican restaurant. Honestly, I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten out. My aunt used to offer to take me places, but I had always refused. I wondered about the activities that we could now do together. There truly was a new life ahead of me. If only things could remain this way. After talking to my aunt, I dearly wanted to hope for that. Time would tell.

Soon after we were seated, a single man in his early forties was seated close to our table. His eyes sprung recognition upon us. 

"You're Lillian's brother aren't you?" he said standing and taking a few steps closer to us. "I believe we met once before a few years back."

"Oh yes, Jeff, I remember," my dad answered.

"And you must be Avery." The man smiled kindly. "Your aunt speaks very highly of you."

I simply nodded back. The man looked fit and youthful for his age even though his hair was starting to gray.

"A biologist if I'm correct?" My dad asked, saving me from the awkward silence. The two men then went into a short conversation about jobs and work. The man was a nonstop smile. He was clearly refined and confident.

"Well, I will let you two get on with your dinner. It was very nice to meet you, Avery. I am glad to know that your aunt is alright." He then took his leave, heading back to his own table.

"Is that guy's last name Willferd?" I quietly asked my dad.

"Yes, I think so."

"Does he like aunt Lil or something?"

"I wouldn't know of such things. I am just her stuffy, older brother after all." He gave a half laugh.

"What do you know about him?" I asked.

"Not much, but he seems like a nice fellow."

I slumped back in the hard, colorfully painted chair and tried to study him further. This Jeffery guy did appear to have a nice atmosphere about him, and he was the right age for my aunt. For a moment, I couldn't help thinking that it would be nice having my aunt all to myself forever as I always had, but if she liked this guy, I didn't want to be in the way.

~*~

The next morning came, and the same battle whirled again. Could I really let my guard down around Donavon? The new information and possibilities left me feeling nervous to see him. Possibly thirty minutes passed with me simply staring my reflection down in the bathroom. I knew that the choice to not wear makeup was more than just leaving myself defenseless, but also would be a sign of an open door to Donavon.

A car horn alarmed me away from my conflicts. From the window, I could see Donavon's car. Well, it was too late now. I would have to go as is.

As always, Donavon walked around to open my door for me. His face was an instant glow when he saw me. Time seemed to slow down as I walked closer to him to enter the car. His eyes didn't deter from mine. Being around him, all of a sudden, seemed like a big deal.

"Good morning, Avery," he slowly said almost in a dreamy tone.

I felt my heart heat up for a moment, leaving me wordless. After a few moments, he skipped around to his side of the car.

"So, my mom had an idea. I had nothing to do with it and no pressure, but she wanted you and your aunt to come over for dinner tonight. You could take Alexander home with you afterwards, or I can still drop him off. Whatever you like. Sorry if that's too late of a notice."

"Well…I would have to ask my aunt."

"But you would be alright with that?" He asked.

"I'm not sure who would say no to free food," I answered slowly, of course, not actually caring about the food at all.

"Well, yeah, but there could be other reasons to say yes…or no…I would think."

Was he playing Mr. fisherman? I tried to choose my words wisely. I knew I didn't want to push him out, but I still wasn't sure how to let him in.

"If Alexander likes you, then I'm sure you're not so bad for company when it comes to dining."

I'm sure that wasn't the answer he was looking for, but he half chuckled.

"Wait," his face turned serious. "Does that apply for lunch at school as well? I can buy again." His begging, puppy dog eyes darted to me every few seconds as he drove. There was something about his boyish energy that made me laugh inside.

"Like I said, who would say no to free food?"

He grinned like a silly schoolboy with a crush. Did he actually like me in that way? With new nerves weighing down my gut, I looked out my window for the rest of the drive.

Once in the school hallways, Jenifer spotted us and headed over. "Hey, Avery! So we saw your bunny the other day and he's sooo cute! I better run to class though, see ya!" Like a whirlwind she was there then gone.

I stared at Donavon quietly.

"I promise I wasn't going to say anything about your whole multi-identity thing, but she asked why you bailed on lunch, so I had to tell the truth." He seemed to search my face for any disapproval.

"It's okay. People aren't dumb, they figure things out."

For a moment, I felt a little weird that Jenifer knew I was "witch girl" but it hadn't seemed to faze her.

"And just so you know," I added, "I didn't lie. Jade is my middle name."

"That's nice to know," he smiled. "I mean it's nice to know what your middle name is."

~*~

My first class was with Donavon. He was seated to the left of me. I feared my eyes escaped his way too often as I did my best to keep focused. There were little things I noticed like his hands fiddling with his pencil. My wandering eyes got busted by him a few too many times, and I vowed not to look again for the rest of the class.

Lunch hour finally came. Donavon and I found a table to sit at. I knew it wouldn't be long until the table would fill up. I wanted to speak to him but had no clue what to say. Opportunity slipped away as his cousins joined us and a few others.

Donavon politely listened to his cousin and another guy talk about sports, though he didn't seem super interested in the topic. All the girls were caught up in a whole other conversation entirely—mostly about relationships, people, and things I couldn't relate to at all. One of the quieter girls seemed to study me now and then. I was almost missing my emo table—not that I wanted to be alone or away from Donavon, but it came with a cost.

My mind zoned out until I heard Jennifer speak. "You wanna come with us tomorrow?"

"Huh?" I said, lifting my head back up into reality.

"We are all gonna hang out at the mall tomorrow. You should join us. It's gonna be super fun!" She held out and exaggerated her tone.

"Oh…uh, I think I'm going to be busy this weekend," I answered.

Donavon gave me a certain look that I couldn't decode.

The rest of the day dragged on, but school finally ended.  Donavon and I met in the parking lot near his car.

"Did you ask your aunt about tonight?" He asked.

"Yeah, she texted me and said that would be fine."

His face lit up. "Alright well, where are you headed to now? Since you're going to be coming over anyway, it wouldn't be a big deal if you hung out at the house until dinner. But if you don't want to, that's fine too."

It shouldn't have surprised me, but it took me off guard that he wanted to spend even more time with me.

"I should be going home. My aunt will be there," I said, though his invite was almost tempting.

"Oh right. You should see her then," he answered with a very understanding tone. "I can drive you if you want."

For a moment I pondered his offer. "Okay."

"Really?" He seemed pleased by me accepting and opened the car door for me and once again skipped to the other side. I felt a mixture of contentment with unease.

"Do you need help with getting your stuff at your dad's?" He asked, starting up the car.

"No, it's okay. I can just get it later tonight with my aunt," I pondered a moment. "You have done so much for me. I feel I need to repay you somehow."

"Please don't feel that way. Really. If you couldn't tell, I like to drive you around."

"I wouldn't know why," I said, looking the other way.

"It's probably not that complicated."

I felt my face heating up. Was I silly to think that he could ever possibly want to be with me especially if he knew what I was? Donavon was so good, and I was nothing that great.

The drive to my house hardly lasted two minutes. It felt weird as I looked out the window to the very familiar roadside where I used to walk alone to school for the past few years. So much had changed and so suddenly. 

"I like the look of your little house," Donavon commented as we arrived.

"I basically grew up here since I was five." I looked over to Donavon who had that "I want to ask you a million things" look.

"So you didn't live much with your dad then, huh," he commented, probably trying to casually find out more information.

I simply shook my head lightly. He ran a hand through his hair as he seemed to be pondering. It then hit me that if I were to get closer to Donavon, I would have to share more of my past. But that wasn't such a big deal was it? At least the parts not including the vampire stuff.

"My mother died when I was five, and my dad didn't handle it very well. He started drinking a lot, so that's why I came to live with my aunt." I pushed the words out as I looked down, knowing his attention was set fully on me.

"Wow, I would have never guessed. So it's kind of like you lost both parents then. I mean your dad seems fine now, but at the time…"

"Yeah, he seems fine now, but to be honest, this week has been the first time I have seen him in years." I surprised myself by giving that extra information.

"Oh… Really?"

"What about your dad?" I quickly changed the subject. "Were you close?"

"At times I thought so. We did stuff together anyway. But, then he left my mom for someone else. I guess either he didn't care to see me or didn't want to deal with the complications."

His face seemed really calm even though he spoke of such a great rejection—a rejection that I knew of myself. Of course, now, my father had made a turn around and as for my mother…well, that would forever remain dead.

Though different from mine, I still felt his loss. "Well, he's a real jerk then. I don't understand how people can be like that." I was now looking at him.

With a slow nod, he gave two-sevenths of a smirk. "I was really mad about it for a while, hateful, bitter, and cold. I was a different person back then." He paused and turned his body towards me as his elbow rested over the car seat. My gaze went down. It was hard to believe that of him. He was too nice.

"But, I learned to see things differently. I realized that I shouldn't let what others do or don't do determine who I am, because I'm more than that. Everyone is."

My eyes went up to his at his last line. A quick thought of my mother came to mind, but I discarded it, not wanting to think about it now.

"So yeah," he went on. "I then became sad for my dad that he made a bad decision and for his loss of a good wife and son rather than being sad for myself."

"You're not like most people," I said quietly.

"Well, I can say it's a much better way to live." He smiled—almost into my soul. "Anyway, I better let you go, but I will see you later."

We said our goodbyes. I headed to the porch and watched him drive away until out of view. The conversation left me feeling closer to him, but I couldn't help but wonder if he was too good for me. But for now, I would leave those worries on the other side of the door.

I entered the house to find my aunt seated on the living room couch. Instantly, she stood with a smile and arms wide to me. Gladly, I met her hug, drinking in all the attention I had starved myself from for so long. 

"You're looking so well, Avery!"     

"You too, Aunt Lil. I'm glad you're home." 

We both sat on the couch.

"Me too, but I am also glad you got to spend some time with your dad."

"Yeah. I think you were right. It was good for both of us."

My aunt looked very pleased. "That is so great to hear. Tonight I finally get to meet this famous Donavon."

"Yeah, I guess so. Actually, I already met your secret boyfriend."

My comment suddenly turned my aunt's face into questioning.

"Is that so?" She answered a bit sarcastically. "I'm not sure how that happens when I don't have a boyfriend. Is he so secret that I don't even know about him?"

"His name is Jeffery. And yes, you very much know about him."

She laughed. "Avery, I told you that we were just friends. We have never dated."

"Yeah, but it's so obvious that he likes you. Who wouldn't, you're like perfect."

She laughed again. "Oh Avery," she shook her head. "So persistent. He loves fresh organic milk; I can say that much. And I am much too old to be dating. Come, I will show you a painting I started." I followed her and didn't push into her evasiveness.

"I wanted your opinion on adding more colors," she said, gazing at her half done work of a tractor.

"It looks great so far," I answered. "I don't know too much about painting. Maybe more blues."

"Have you been drawing much?" She asked.

"Actually, not much. I've had my head other places I guess."

She gave an understanding look. "Don't worry too much."