LJ Idol Week 18: Blood Harmony
There was only one possible escape.
Brian looked around him carefully, making sure he was completely alone - the chorus of screaming from downstairs told him he was but he needed to be sure - before slipping open the door to the guest bedroom and sliding inside.
He shut the door behind him, wishing once more he’d had the foresight to install locks, and then went to lie down, finally taking a long needed sigh.
It was gloriously dark in this room - sun-blocking shades kept out even the tiniest slivers of light - and cool. He could still hear the shouts of the kids, but it was now muffled through the layers of wood the separated them.
He tilted his head back, closed his eyes and took a moment to enjoy the peace.
They had been in lockdown for only a week, but he already wasn’t sure how they were going to make it. They were nearing the end of their food supply, and the only items left were the cheap, generic kind of awful stuff that you had to force down, and even then, they were all eating just one small portion per meal. No snacks or desserts these days.
He had tried to get more, but there was a shortage everywhere, and every place he tried looked apologetic as they told him they were out.
On top of that, social distancing had completely killed his job. It required very close contact with people, and that was a huge no-no in these times.
Sure, he thought, maybe he could risk it, but there had been reports of the outbreak affecting some of their friends, and he didn’t really want to take the chance with his family’s lives that this disease wouldn’t affect them in any way. They normally were immune to things like this, but this sickness wasn’t normal, and better to be safe, Brian always said.
But it wasn’t just the lack of food and the loss of his job that had Brian feeling like he was going out of his mind. He loved his kids - he really, really did - but they were going to be the early eternal death of him.
Shouting and fighting and arguments. All. Day. Long.
“Jessica stole a bite of my food!”
“Jason’s standing too close to me!”
“No, it’s my turn to pick the movie! Jenny’s already picked three!”
It made Brian want to run screaming into the night, but instead he had taken to slipping away for a few moments here and there, trying to calm the incessant pounding in his head.
But sooner or later, they always caught on to him. And they were coming now. He could just make out what sounded like footsteps on the stairs and voices growing closer.
Oh no.
Just as Brian was wondering if he could make himself invisible, there came a pounding on the bedroom door.
“Dad? Dad! Dad, are you in there? DAD!!!!!!”
He thought about not answering. Ever. Maybe they would go away?
“Dad!”
The door flew open, revealing his three kids in the doorway, all of them looking angrier than when he saw them last.
“Dad, we’re hungry!” Jessica said.
Jason pushed by her so he was standing directly in front of Brian. “You said you’d help us build a new coffin to play in!”
Jenny pushed by both her siblings. “They are being mean to me!” she said. “They’re trying to bite me!”
Brian saw Jessica roll her eyes. “Biting isn’t going to hurt you,” she said.
“It bothers me!” Jessica hollered, right into Brian’s ear.
“Okay, okay, stop, all of you,” Brian said. He pushed himself upright. “All of you, go to your rooms until dinner. Take some time apart.”
“What?”
“No!”
“We were going to watch a movie!”
“We wanted to play a game!”
“Jessica was going to braid my hair!”
“GOOOOOO!” Brian hollered over the noise of his children, and in a moment, silence had fallen. Angry glares were now focused on him, but he didn’t care, because they were going, one by one, and then he heard it - three doors slamming one by one.
He took a deep breath, stood up and headed downstairs to find his wife in the kitchen looking forlornly into the refrigerator.
Maddie looked at him when he came in. “I have a call into the blood bank,” she said. “I told them we were desperate, but I don’t know if they are going to have any they can spare.”
Brian me his wife’s eyes. He knew what she was thinking, and he knew she was right, even if it pained him.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll order a box from Amazon. Just this once though! And then we go back to supporting local business!”
“Yes,” his wife agreed. “Just this one time.”
--
The next day, there was a knock on the door. The three kids rushed to the door to look out the peephole.
“It’s a delivery guy!” Jenny exclaimed.
“Yes, we can drink him!” Jason shouted.
“No!” Brian called out. “No drinking the delivery guy!”
“I won’t kill him, Dad. I know better.”
“We do not drink people without consent, Jason. We’ve talked about this.”
“We could ask him?” Jessica said. “Maybe if he knows we’re really hungry?”
“No!”
The kids glared at him, but none of them opened the door, not until the delivery guy was safely back in his Amazon Prime van and driving away.
“Open the door,” Brian said.
Jessica carried the huge box into the kitchen. Maddie took it from her and opened it, the kids eagerly peering over her shoulder.
“Blood!” cheered Jenny.
“And you got the good stuff!” Jason cried.
“Can we have a bag all to ourselves?” Jessica asked her parents. “Please?”
Maddie and Brian looked at each other. They had been trying so hard to conserve since the lockdown started, but Brian had ordered quite a lot and the kids had been relatively good, as in they hadn’t yet staked each other, so maybe they did deserve a reward?
He saw Maddie incline her head slightly, and he knew she agreed.
“Okay,” he said. “But just for tonight.”
Ten minutes later, Brian took a spoonful from his own bowl of blood, peering at his family as he did. Everyone was busy slurping their meal. No arguments, no complaints, no hitting each other or pulling hair. Just sitting around a table, together, in silence.
Harmony, Brian thought. That’s what this is. How nice.
Who's to say it's actually fiction? Someone needs to think about the vampires!
This was written for Week 18 of therealljidol. I hope you enjoyed it! If you would like to read more entries, you can head over here. Voting should come Tuesday night!