76
“I don’t see why you’re still his friend then,” she responded simply. “You know, he betrayed us. And if he annoys you so much, why keep going to visit him?”
Vincent scowled at her. “Shut up.”
“He’s embarrassed to admit it, but he didn’t want to give up Joel’s friendship,” I told her, smirking. “He told me himself.”
“Emily!”
“He’s actually got a pretty good heart,” I continued, patting his chest. “I never thought he’d forgive something like that.”
He slapped my hand away. “Shut up!” When he realized what he did, he froze. “Sorry.”
I laughed. “It’s fine, Vincent. I’d rather you act normal than act like I’m some doll made of glass.”
Suddenly William started wailing. Surprised, Fiona stood up, bringing him to her chest. “Shh, it’s okay. Quiet, William!”
“That brat is too noisy!”
“Well sorry!”
“Take him outside!”
“I don’t want to leave!”
I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t like the sound of a baby crying.
Fiona must have known quieting him down was hopeless, because she sighed. “Alright, fine, I guess I have to go. I don’t want to bother you,” she said reluctantly.
I smiled at her. “That’s fine.”
“I guess I should feed him anyway… I…” She paused, her voice catching in her throat. “Thanks for everything, Emily.”
“It’s no problem,” I responded, scratching the back of my head. “I don’t know what you have to thank me for though…”
She pursed her lips at me. “Everything.”
“You’re welcome then,” I said, grinning. “Make sure William grows up to be a brave man like his father.”
She laughed quietly. “Of course. I’ll see you later then…”
“Hopefully not for a long time,” I replied, my grin dropping. “Bye, Fiona.”
“Bye, Em…” After a moment more of gazing at me, she turned her back and hurried out of the room.
Vincent sighed; sitting in the spot she’d vacated seconds before. “Finally. I thought she’d never leave.”
“I wanted to see Sebastian’s son,” I told him, frowning. “I’m glad she came… I wish she could’ve stayed longer. He was really cute. Did you see his eyes?”
“Yeah,” he murmured, brushing some of my hair behind my ear. “I saw. I’ll see to it that he lives a long, prosperous life.”
I nodded. “Good.”
He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “Emily…”
I shook my head again, trying to keep my eyelids open. “I’m tired, Vincent.”
“Why don’t you rest?”
My hand reached out for his. He grabbed it and I squeezed tightly. “I can’t rest. Not yet.”
“Oh,” he said, knowing fully well what I meant. He scooted over on the bed so he could sit with his back against the headboard. After that he released my hand and gently pulled me up so that I could rest against his chest with my head on his shoulder.
My hand found his again and I interlaced our fingers, doing the same with my other hand. “I wish I had a chance to have children.”
“Emily…”
“I’ve actually always wanted to have children.”
He rested his chin on the top of my head. “Did you?”
.
.
“Yeah, a girl and a guy. Preferably twins.”
“Why twins?”
I smiled. “I’ve always loved twins. They’d have matching names and clothes…”
“That’d be awful,” Vincent snickered.
Tears now gathered at my eyes now. “Vincent, I’m scared.”
“Don’t be,” he said huskily in my ear. “It’ll be okay, remember? Everything will be okay.”
I shook my head, feeling tears rolling down my cheeks. “No, I’m scared. What happens after death? I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m going to miss you so much.”
His arms tightened around me, holding me closely. “I’m going to miss you too. You don’t have any idea.”
“I love you, Vincent,” I breathed, clenching his hand.
“I love you too,” he whispered, kissing my cheek. “I love you so much, Emily.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. My eyes were growing heavy. I knew it was soon. My body was just going to stop functioning. It wasn’t a surprise. I knew it was going to happen today. At least it wouldn’t be painful but…
My mind was suddenly filled with images of things I hadn’t done. Sky-diving, finishing high school, going to college, having children, buying my first house, getting a job, eating Indian food, even getting into my first car crash… An overwhelming feeling of sadness crashed over me. No, I couldn’t go like this. It wasn’t fair. This was an inhuman reason for going. I was human. It wouldn’t be fair for a human to die for an inhuman reason.
And what about Fiona? She didn’t want me to leave. Neither did Vincent; I knew it, even if he did put on a brave face like he’d been doing for the past six months. He didn’t know it, but I’d caught his longing gazes and tight jaw when he was holding back something he wanted to say. I was being selfish by deciding I would die. It would hurt more people than I realized…
“Shh, it’s okay, Emily,” Vincent shushed me, pressing his cheek against mine. “It’s-”
“I don’t want to die!” I blurted out. “I don’t want to die yet, Vincent! I’m too young! There’s so much I want to do! That I have to do! I thought I could handle this, but I can’t- I can’t!”
“Calm down-”
“I don’t want to die,” I sobbed, turning so I could face him completely. “It’s not fair!”
He set his jaw, swallowing. “Emily…”
“I can’t-”
“Calm down,” he ordered again, pressing his hand to my mouth. “Of course you’re scared. Just take a deep breath.”
I shook my head. “I c-can’t! I don’t want to die! Vincent, please. Help me!”
His eyes widened. “What?”
“I don’t want to die,” I repeated, staring determinedly into his sapphire eyes. He was the only one who could help me. “Please help me.”
“Do you mean…?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t want to leave you. Or Fiona. Or William. Or Solomon. Or Luella. Not even Joel. There’s too much I want to do. I’ve been too selfish, Vincent. I wasn’t thinking about anyone but myself… Even now my reason is selfish-”
He cut me off by pressing his lips to mine. “No, you’re not being selfish,” he said after he pulled away. “I was always hoping you’d change your mind.”
“You were?”
Grimacing, he nodded. “Seeing the girl you love choosing to die is a lot harder than you could imagine.”
“You’ve been doing a good job of hiding your emotions.”
“I didn’t want you to change your mind because of me,” he replied honestly. A hint of regret flashed by his eyes.
I chuckled quietly. “You’re a lot different than when I first met you.”
“I wonder who’s fault that is,” he responded teasingly, brushing his nose against mine.
Another wave of dizziness crashed over me and I let my head drop against Vincent’s shoulder. “How do you do it?”
“Just close your eyes,” he murmured, brushing my hair out of my face. “If you go to sleep it’ll be over before you know it.”
“I won’t die?”
“I promise,” he assured me, kissing me once more. “I love you, Emily.”
Sighing, I nestled myself further into his arms. “I love you too.”Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
His lips brushed my neck and I closed my eyes. Once I awoke again I knew that when I awoke again everything would be completely different… But that was okay. I almost chuckled. How ironic was it that the anemic girl who was once afraid of vampires was becoming one herself? It’d make a good story. Maybe I could write about it…
With that thought in mind, I closed my eyes, letting the fatigue take over me and lull me into a peaceful sleep, filled with dreams of what the future had in store for me.