Chapter 1.10 - Breaking the News

Amber was still dealing with Ayden's sudden death. It had been difficult and she still hadn't told Bonnie. After all, Bonnie was very young and probably wouldn't even understand what her mother meant. Amber and Ayden had only just started getting to grips with their renewed relationship and she now felt like there was a big hole in her life where he used to be. She was lonely. It was a new loneliness, one that her daughter and cat couldn't fill.

Amber found herself going out for runs again. It had been a long time, but just like before it helped her clear her mind. She would run home from work so as not to have to hire a babysitter just for her to go jogging.

It was the morning of Bonnie's birthday and Amber had to get the house looking perfect before the party started. She got up early and cleaned the house from top to bottom. She had invited a bunch of people over for the party in the hopes that being surrounded by people would help stop the loneliness in her heart.

Forced smiles and laughs, Amber invited each guest in one by one. She partook in small talk, and pretended to be interested in everybody's stories. The only true smile on her face was the one she had when she brought Bonnie out of her room to blow the candles out. Her entrance brought a chorus of "awww"s and as her mother helped her to blow the candles out, everybody was cheering.

Bonnie grew into a child, the sudden transformation seemed to make her slightly dizzy. She looked around at all the people and then she saw something...

The chess table!
Bonnie seemed to be drawn to it, it would seem that she takes after her mother with her love for chess. Bonnie was playing chess for most of the afternoon, to the disapproval of her old baby sitter, intense concentration on her face while her mother was talking to her boss.

"Care to dance?" David asked.
"not really" Amber thought, "I just want to curl up on my bed and cry at the thought of my daughter never having the chance to know her father."
"Sure, sounds like fun." she said.
As David danced with her, they chatted. It was nice to just talk about random things that didn't really mean anything. Despite her sadness, Amber couldn't help but smile as they swayed from side to side.

Amber wasn't sure if she actually liked David, or if she was trying to fill the gap left in her life with meaningless sex. After everybody had left the party, she and David were left dancing together in the living room, her head on his shoulder as his strong arms were wrapped around her. They decided to move to the bedroom for some privacy.

"Ohhhh my head" Amber groaned, "I must have had a little too much to drink last night"
Her stomach gurgled in a very uncomfortable way.
"Uh oh!" She thought, and dashed to the toilet.
This was not how she wanted to start the day, she was finally going to tell Bonnie about her father. Time for a mother/daughter day.
Amber stood up straight, her head clearer. She brushed her teeth and drank a whole glass of ready. Looking in the mirror, she said "Bring it on."

It was Bonnie's first ever snow day, school had been cancelled and Bonnie was wrapped up in her winter clothes.
"Mum! Show me how to build a snowman!" She said, looking out the window, delighted.
So the two of them went out and built an army of snowmen in front of the house. As they patted snow into gigantic snowballs, Amber took a deep breath, finally ready to have this talk with her daughter.
"Bonnie, there is something I need to talk to you about."
"Is it about your boss sneaking out of your room this morning?" Bonnie replied bluntly.
"Damn, she saw him?" Amber thought.
"Ummm...well, no honey, it's not about that."
"Oh, ok. I was just wondering if he was going to be my Daddy from now on." Bonnie said, her eyes not looking away from what she was doing.
Amber was stunned, "Does she already know what happened to Ayden? But how?"
"What do you mean honey?" She asked her daughter.
"Well, I know Daddy used to come over and play with me when I was little, but he stopped coming a little while before my birthday. So I wondered if your boss was going to be my new Daddy."
Amber gulped. Her daughter looked up from the snowman they were building.
"Mum? Did I say something wrong?" She looked worried, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"It's just, there is something about your father that you need to know, and I'm not sure how to tell you. Do you know why he stopped coming to see you?"
"Not really." Bonnie said.
"Darling, your father died."
"Daddy died? How?"
"Well, after he started looking after you while I was at work, your father found that he couldn't drink from people any more. Having a human daughter meant that he couldn't bring himself to do it, because he wouldn't want a vampire to ever drink from you."
"Ok, so...what happened?" Bonnie looked so confused.
"Honey, do you know what happens to a vampire when they stop drinking plasma?"
"No."
"Bonnie, when a vampire stops drinking plasma, it would be like a human not eating. Your father stopped drinking blood, and he...he...", Amber's voice cracked.
"Mum? Tell me."
"Bonnie," Amber whispered, "Your father died from thirst."
"Oh." Was all Bonnie could say. She didn't cry like Amber thought she would. In fact, she didn't seem to care at all. "So is Mr Pok my new Daddy?" She asked.
Amber and Bonnie just stood in the snow. Both of them were freezing cold.
"Bonnie, lets get inside. I'll make some hot chocolate."

"Oh David, it was awful!" Amber said. "It was a disaster! I completely clammed up!"
"I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you thought" David said, "How did she take it?"
"It's hard to say, she seemed kind of emotionless."
"She's probably just trying to process the information." He assured her.
"I hope that's all it is. She just didn't seem to care."
"She's a kid Amber, she probably doesn't know how to deal with news like that."
"I guess. You know she asked if you were going to be her new father?" Amber almost laughed as she said that.
"Really?" David said, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah. She saw you sneaking out of my room in the morning and thought you were gonna be her new father."
David grabbed the back of his neck. "Ah...maybe we should hold off on the overnight visits for now then."
"Maybe that's not a bad idea" Amber leaned in and whispered in his ear, "But how about daytime visits."

It turned out that Amber's sickness in the morning wasn't because of partying too hard the night before. She was pregnant...with her boss's child!
"How am I going to break THIS to Bonnie?" Amber worried, "The last chat didn't go well at all."

As they played chess in the evening, Amber decided to bring up the idea of a baby brother or sister with Bonnie.
"Bonnie, what would you say if I said you were going to be a big sister?" Amber asked.
"I'm gonna be a big sister?" Bonnie seemed excited.
"Perfect! Maybe this will help her deal with the news about her father. It will give her something to look forward to."
"Yes, you're going to have a little brother or a little sister, and I am going to need you to be a great big sister and help look after them. Can you do that for me?"
"So you have a baby in your tummy?" Bonnie asked, eyes bright with curiosity.
"I do." Amber said
"How did it get in there?" She asked inquisitively.
"Uh oh. I wasn't expecting that this soon."
"Well, that's a story for another day. I have to go make us dinner before it's too late and you have to get to bed."
"But Mu-um!" Bonnie groaned.
"Why don't you go play outside while I get dinner ready?" Amber suggested.
"Fine." Bonnie said. And went to put her coat on.

Bonnie stared at the snowman she had created. Just like the three she had created beforehand, it looked dark, almost evil. She wasn't dealing with her father's death as well as her mother thought.