Vampire 01 - Daughter of Darkness

complaints about me tonight, but to my surprise, she did. When he came to my room, he didn’t look angry, however. He looked more concerned than anything.
    He was still wearing his tie and jacket and looked as handsome as ever. I had just gotten into my nightgown and sat on my bed when he entered.
    “I must speak with you, Lorelei,” he began.
    “I don’t care what she said, Daddy. It wasn’t my fault, and I didn’t do anything.”
    “I know.” He sat next to me and took my hand. I felt like a little girl again, sitting with him on the gazebo in New York, hanging on his every word, his every look. “It’s my fault this has happened.”
    “Your fault? Why?”
    “I pushed you a little faster than I have the others,” he said. “Usually, I wait a little longer before I unveil one of my daughters, but I thought, and still think, you’re a little different, Lorelei, wiser in some ways, and certainly one of the most intelligent. From your questions, the way you look at things, I could see you were going to be… how shall I say… more complete. And you are, you are.”
    He paused and took a breath.
    “Of course, I would expect boys to pursue you, and vigorously, too. The feelings you’re having and the desires you have are natural but also dangerous. Oh, I don’t mean dangerous the way other fathers might feel it was for their daughters. You know that. I don’t believe you would lose yourself in some love affair and get pregnant or anything. But if you developed even a small romance now, you would have far too much to explain. You understand, right?”
    I nodded.
    “You’ll have plenty of time and plenty of opportunities very soon to enjoy yourself out there, Lorelei. Just be a little more patient and listen to your sister. She’s been through it.”
    “I’m not sure she has,” I said, perhaps too quickly.
    “Oh? What do you mean?”
    “Ava’s a harder person than I am. She seems almost angry all the time, especially at men.”
    He didn’t laugh or smile. The look he gave me instead put icicles down my back. It was as if he was learning more about me than about Ava from what I was saying.
    “Well, then, try to be more like that,” he said. He rose. “I don’t want to hear any more talk about this boy at school, Lorelei.”
    “Okay, Daddy,” I said quickly. His look and his tone were frightening me and causing my heart to thump.
    I think he saw that in my face and softened his expression without quite smiling. “It will all be fine. Just be patient,” he said. He started to turn away and then stopped and turned to my window. The look that came over him now reminded me of the times he would stop whatever he was doing and listen hard.
    “What…”
    He put up his hand for me to be silent. I barely breathed. And then he surprised me again by returning to sit next to me on my bed.
    “Tell me about this boy,” he said.
    “There isn’t much to tell, Daddy. I don’t know much about him. He recently entered the school but quickly has become very popular. He is very good-looking and different.”
    “Different? How?”
    “He’s more mature, I think. I barely spoke to him today and never before today.”
    “He never approached you before today?”
    “No. He acted barely interested in me, no different from how he acted toward most of the girls. He’d grunt a hello in the hallway but never waited to hear me respond or try to have a discussion.”
    “Until today?”
    “Yes.”
    He looked out the window again and was silent.Then he turned back to me and said, “I want you to tell me exactly what he says and how he responds tomorrow when you tell him you can’t go with him on any date.”
    “What should I tell him is the reason, Daddy?”
    “Don’t give him any reason. No excuses. A simple ‘no, I’m sorry, thanks for asking.’”
    “And if he asks why not?”
    “Tell him you don’t want to go with him. If you say it strongly and firmly enough, he should be quite discouraged. He’ll be angry, of course, but he’ll not bother to ask you out anymore. If he does bother you, annoy you, you let me know that, too. Understand?”
    “Yes, Daddy.”
    “Good.” He rose again.
    “Daddy?”
    “Yes?”
    Maybe it was the wrong time to ask, but the way he had looked at me when I complained about Ava made me think more about myself, more about the differences between us.
    “Why can’t I know more about myself, about where you found me and who my birth parents might be?”
    “What