Vampire´s Secret

My mother drove in silence, I looked at her face, visibly stressed, looking constantly into the rearview mirror, the weather was unbearable, too hot for me I was feeling sick, even with the windows rolled down the air that entered our vehicle was burning me. The sky infront of us was an infinite ocean of baby-blue and no clouds were at sight, it was 5 am and the dessert was already lighting with the first blasts of sunlight. “One last time honey” my mother mumbled caressing my face without taking her eyes apart from the road. “I´m sorry” I kiss the hand that caresses me without saying anything, I cuddle in the old car seat and force myself to sleep. I woke up hours later in the late afternoon, my mom woke me up and handed me a drive-tru burger with a soda and fries. “Where are we? How long..?” mid question I stared at the screen on my mom´s phone a red line marking the trail blinked next to the 11Hr. sign. I sigh. This was the first time I was able to see where we were going and it was, once again, at the other end of the world. “It is raining there, so, before we reach the 3-hour mark, wake me up” I nodded and mid-smile to the burger fill sentence my mother master to mumble. She mid-smile too, the only type of smile we can give anymore. I stepped out of the car, and went to the toilet, part because I needed it and part because I really needed to stretch, next 8 hours of driving were on me. “Ruth” my mom said to me as soon as I returned and took the driver´s seat. “I`m sorry” “It is not on you” I kissed her on the forehead, covered her with a blanket and started the car's engine. My long hair is hidden inside a reverse baseball cap, and driving in the night is something I am used to but that doesn´t mean I feel comfortable at it, this situation reminds me why I kind of hate myself. I am small (most of the girls are taller than me) I have a round face that always makes me look younger and thanks to my body I cannot hide the fact that I am a girl. My mom looks like me, but her face has aged too much for the past 10 years. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at the road and saw a police car, “steady and firm” I repeated in my head. I passed by them and felt relieved when they did not chase me, I took a headphone out and carefully put some music on my iPod to calm my nerves. Dido reverbed, slowed down “Thank you” and played next to the same kind of edited versions of these soft songs. As the red line and the time mark went down the weather started to get cold. When I exited the last town on my map it started raining, I didn't see it as an omen, my mom warned me about this, I was almost shivering when I had to pull from the road into a gas station, as I parked the time marked clicked 3h33min and that for me was the omen. As soon as I clicked the ignition my mom woke up alarmed, she calmed down as soon as she saw we were fine. She half hugged me and kissed me on the hair “oh my god, you are freezing!” she exhaled on my hair, frictioning my back and arms. She bent over to grab my backpack from the backseat, I had only a few things. Most of my clothes and belongings got lost. My mom and I had these emergency packs with only the necessary our resources to survive, our entire lives in two backpacks. Thankfully the “entire life” included hoodies. I put it on and felt the immediate relief. “I found a good car” my mom announced. “How?” I was suspicious, especially for the way she mention it. “Do you remember Lugo?” I smiled wildly for the first time in forever, “Luuuuugo” I said jokingly. “Stoooop” my mom said half laughing and half horrified. That would explain why she suddenly was combing her short hair and chewing some gum. I didn't remember him, but I do know him, Lugo, his last name, was my mom´s crush when she was a teenager. They played tennis in the same team and the embarrassing part, the one I can mock my mom for, is that, when she told me about him and that period of her life she mentioned the beautiful, hair-less, toned, big, muscular, tanned legs she was hyper fixating on. “There he is, come with me” she said with a nervous laugh. Lugo stepped down from the vehicle, he was impressive, tall, and fit, shoulders and arms looked like a gym publicity pamphlet and his legs were hidden from sight in jeans but these same jeans looked like they were too open from the tension on the muscle pushing the fabric. “Louse!” he happily greeted my mom. “Louse?” I asked looking at how the colossal man hugged my tiny mom. “I dyed my hair bright red ONE time” my mom explained with a big bright smile “And since he thinks lice are red he has nicknamed me Louse” “Obviously it is because you are as well an infestation” he laughs and his voice, even when it was husky became warm as he looked at her. “And this must be tiny-louse” he joked looking at me. I only laughed and accepted his extended hand and shook it, he was cold as ice, and his hand swallowed mine but I felt strangely safe. “So, this is it” he said pointing at the SUV he stepped out from. “No” my mom said automatically “We can afford it” “Well, actually, this is a homecoming gift." He winked at my mom and me. “We can´t” “You must” he said putting the carkey on my hand and taking the other keys out of mine I walked slowly to the car, I´ve never seen a new car before, and this was gorgeous, grey dark paint, black seats, full display screen, and the smell… OMG the smell!! In the back of my infatuation with the car I heard my mom arguing with Lugo, about the price, about the car itself, about the house… (the house?!). I was looking inside the trunk when I felt Lugo behind me, he was easily the biggest man I had seen, he smiled at me and put all the things that were in the other car in the SUV. “Like it?” he asked “yeeeeees” I murmured in love with the car “Then, it is yours” He said and put on my hand the car papers and license. “You didn't need to do that” my mom said. “You need it, and I want you to have a happy fresh start” My mom wasn't comfortable with expressing her emotions, but I saw tears in her eyes. Lugo hugged her again and put on her hand another set of keys. “Go and get some rest” He said and jumped in the old car and drove away. The night swallowed him, I jumped in the car and my mom put up the heating and drove away, the dimmed sunlight made rainbows in the soft rain while the last minutes of drive were in countdown. 00:00 hit as we parked and like a zombie we stumble inside to find a place to collapse.