Chapter 5
5
Ashley
A shley could die of embarrassment. She loved family? Was she a creep trying to hit on other people’s innocent relatives? Who said things like that? And Esther took her babbling like a champ.
Of course, all the embarrassing things she said came back to her as she mounted the steps to Esther’s house that Friday, promptly at six. And empty-handed. She was claiming to be good with family and yet not even flowers or a bottle of wine. Except that the vampires reset all her government IDs to twenty when she came back, so no wine purchasing for her. She suspected this was part of her punishment, though no one outright told her.
So much for being the smart and put-together human she was trying to embody. Esther’s family was stuck with an empty-handed fool of a vampire for dinner.
She sighed as she knocked on the door.
The door opened a crack, and a small boy somewhere between the age of five and ten—based on her limited knowledge of children—with dark, floppy brown hair wearing a T-shirt with what looked like a hyper-pixelated pie poked out his head.
“You’re not allowed in here,” he said.
Did she have the right house?
“Hi, I’m Ashley.” She hadn’t interacted with kids in literal decades, but surely, they responded similarly to adults or semi-adults—wherever she fell on the spectrum—with a direct approach. “Does Esther live here?”
“Stranger danger,” he yelled at her and hissed.
Esther’s voice called from farther inside. “Leave her alone, Jason. Don’t listen to him, Ashley. He’s just joking.”
The boy scowled before running away, leaving the door swinging on its hinge. This was awkward. She’d never been in a situation like this before. Curious, she reached through the open doorway. As she suspected, her hand met an invisible wall. This was the dumbest piece of nonsensical lore and served no purpose whatsoever. Yet here it was, ruining her life. She tried feeling along the opening for—for what? A weak spot where a vampire needing permission to enter a human’s house didn’t count? It was smooth like glass, but when she tried knocking, the magical force field wouldn’t make a sound.
Interesting. If only she could write her ethnography on the struggles of being a new vampire in the twenty-first century. But then she really wouldn’t get into the Family. As much as Hannah and Claribel supported Ashley’s education, none of them would be keen on the idea of her revealing the existence of vampires to Professor Jenkins. Not that her professor would believe it anyway.
But back to the problem at hand.
“Hey, Esther,” she called, hoping Esther was still within hearing distance. “Is it okay if I come in?”
“Yes, yes. I’m just finishing up with the side. Make yourself comfortable.”
Ashley reached out again, and this time, her hand felt no resistance. What a ridiculous curse. Was there any vampire lore more outdated than not being able to walk through a freaking door when she wanted to?
She stepped into the entryway, and a wave of energy blew over her, heat lapping at her skin like someone had left a giant oven open. She hissed, covering her face with her arms to try to block whatever was attacking her. She pressed against the opposite wall.
Through her fingers, she made eye contact with an extremely mopey-looking Jesus, nailed to a cross. Dammit, there had to be a crucifix right there at the entryway?
Esther came around the corner then. “Is something wrong?”
Ashley dropped her arms from her face. “No, I just, umm… I bumped my elbow on the door is all. Funny bone.”
She rubbed her elbow for show and tried putting on the most authentic-looking smile she could, despite burning alive standing there.
They needed to move. Now. Before her face turned red and started sizzling.
“Is there somewhere I can leave my coat?” She ducked past Esther into what looked like the living room.
More flames came at her from all directions.
Figurines and shadow boxes and ornate crosses covered the walls and tables of the living room.
“That’s a lot of Jesus.” Ashley tried her best to sound casual. “And some Marys as well. Is your uncle Catholic?”
“Oh.” Esther’s voice softened, and she toyed with a piece of her hair, looking around the room.
Ashley internally kicked herself. If she wasn’t so distracted by the pain of each object burning into her skin, she would have remembered religion was a taboo topic for first-time visitors.
“Yes,” Esther said. “This whole side of my family is very religious.”
“Well, they’re charming.” Ashley gestured at a nearby Mary trying to burn her hand to a nub. If she kept her distance, she could hopefully make it through this evening without looking like a boiled lobster. “Sometimes it’s nice to have a community with a common pursuit. Makes us feel less alone in the world.”
Esther looked around as though just noticing how many religious objects surrounded them. Her cheeks pinkened appetizingly. If Ashley were able to function at full capacity instead of ignoring angry effigies radiating invisible fire at her, she would take this moment to curve the conversation into something light and easy. The weather, classwork, hobbies. She’d used these go-to conversations so often that even now they came to her in this fiery hell, but only as buzzwords.
Short of shouting, “Weather!” at Esther, she wasn’t sure how to fix this.
“I have a complicated relationship with Catholicism, to be honest.” Esther brushed her hair behind one ear and tapped her socked toe on the hardwood floor behind her. “It has its faults, but there’s also what you said, the community aspect. It’s my childhood. I’ve identified with it so long that to deny it would feel like denying I was born.” She chuckled lightly, and Ashley begged her silently to continue. “It has its merits. I like that it leaves room for the gray parts of us.”
“The gray parts?” Ashley had grown up in a casually Methodist household, so her knowledge of Catholicism was slim. She knew generally about the idea of saints and Mary being a big deal but had hoped there was enough of a crossover that she could still keep up with the conversation.
“The idea that an imperfect person can still go to heaven. Purgatory specifically. Heaven and hell are so all-or-nothing. Purgatory leaves the door open so you don’t end up condemning anyone. I like the idea that a whole religion left room for the gray.”
“Oh my god, you’re a marshmallow.”
“I’m a what?” Esther’s brows furrowed, and her nose scrunched in an adorably put-off way.
Ashley was being unfiltered again. She blamed Jesus. “No, wait. If there’s a redemption arc available for everyone, would anyone go to hell?”
“If it were my cosmology…” Esther blushed and looked off somewhere over Ashley’s shoulder. “I guess everyone would get a chance at a redemption arc, as you put it.”
Ashley laughed with delight at the new depths she’d discovered. “Yes, you’re a marshmallow. You give off this hot, badass, goth chick vibe, but in your heart of hearts, you’re an optimist who believes, even in death, everyone deserves a second chance. You’re a hard shell with a soft, gooey center.”
Esther’s foot tapped faster, and her face got so red Ashley wondered if the heat from the relics was getting to her as well.
Despite how much physical pain she was in, Ashley loved this. When was the last time she had a conversation with someone that meant something? Even before her transformation, she had a reputation to keep up. You didn’t become cheer captain and class president by discussing politics, life goals, and people’s thoughts on the universe. You won by knowing everyone’s name, one fun fact about them, and constantly providing an aura of happiness through easy, mindless conversation.
Well, screw the weather, what were Esther’s thoughts on reincarnation?
Hurried stomping echoed from the other room before the boy from earlier burst in, grabbing the door frame as he ran so that only the top half of him swung in to look at them.
“Dinner’s ready,” he screeched before running back to wherever he came from.
“I guess that’s our cue,” said Esther.
“Please, let’s pick this up again later. I am fascinated.” Ashley wanted nothing more than to hear Esther describe her views on right and wrong, good and evil, and the ideal cosmology of Esther. She touched Esther’s arm lightly, giving a gentle caress with her thumb, and heard Esther’s heart rate increase. That was a fun trick. She let Esther lead her through the door the small boy had scampered through.
“Did you bring your notebook? I wasn’t sure if I should tell them about the project or not. On the one hand, it’s ethical to let people know they’re part of a project, but on the other hand, they will be weirder than normal in an attempt to not be weird, which will inevitably ruin your study.”
Ashley smiled. “Let’s tell them. I like weird.”