Needless to say, Lida had seen much better days. Her little run in with Jackson left her feeling humiliated, twice as embarrassed as she had been the first time. Not to mention, in more pain. She'd never admit that he'd beaten her or really even hurt her; no, he got lucky and attacked her in broad daylight in front of children and humans alike. How was she supposed to defend herself when she was jumped before nightfall? Fortunately, she was an experienced vampire and knew enough to take care of business. Except she was also a vampire whose mind was completely obliterated thanks to her element being in such distress over the drilling that was going on at the school in the past few days; the fact the drilling was in vain only added to her frustration. She wanted nothing more than to spend time at home with the shutters drawn and her children snuggled up to her (what they wanted hardly mattered, because surely Annabelle and Toby were afraid for their mother and not of her), but when Daisy called and invited her over, Lida felt the inclination to see the young blonde. What could it hurt? If anything, Daisy would get on her nerves and Lida would snap her neck and that was a great way to relieve tension.
Except for the part where Daisy might as well have been the only friend that Lida had made in over three hundred years. Somehow, no matter how annoying she may have found Daisy's peppy spirit, Lida knew there would be no way that she could walk out of Daisy's house leaving her corpse behind. Her boyfriend on the other hand... No, Daisy would be so upset if I left her alone. With those thoughts in mind wrestling around with her bitter memories of Jackson and anything that looked like him (she never should have underestimated just how much he cared for Troy, but there was no way those words were crossing her mind or her lips), Lida dressed herself with the same precision and detail that she always did. Hair was curled and not a strand was out of place, makeup was flawless, and her dress fit snugly against her curves. This was just one step into getting herself back on track. She'd find Jackson; his little stunt in the park infuriated her, but the fact he was able to walk away enraged her almost as much as seeing an open flame. Oh, she'd find him. And she's make him pay for everything.
Not today, however.
Today was for seeing friends and being nice. At least, that's what she told herself as she stood on Daisy's stoop. A part of her wished that she had forced Annabelle and Toby to join her, but her daughter insisted that she was old enough to take care of Toby on her own. Earth whispered to Lida, said something about how Annabelle was starting to change in front of her eyes, but Lida did her best to push those thoughts aside. She really did not need to think about Annabelle straying down the same path as so many of her previous children. Surely her daughter was just trying to be more independent, more grown up. She didn't believe it for a second. That was why when Daisy opened the door and threw her arms around her that the hug Lida returned was very stiff and uncomfortable.
"Of course," she smiled, a forced curve of the lips that barely reached her eyes. "How are you?" She glanced around the house, looking for this Joseph that she had heard so much about and already decided that she didn't like just from what she'd heard.