Bitten – Episode 38
Chapter 38
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“All these people really respected Sebastian, huh?” I commented, watching the steady stream of people filling the room his funeral was to be held in.
Fiona smiled at me. “Everyone loved him.”
My heart wrenched in pain, like it’d been doing constantly over the past two days. Everyone now knew what had gone down at the Rutherford’s mansion. Everyone now knew Sebastian was dead. Everyone now knew I was a Blue Blood. Everyone now knew someone new had to receive the throne.
“Fiona, I have to tell you something,” I started quietly, my eyes dropping to the floor. “I haven’t told anyone else yet.”
“What’s that?”
“Sebastian… before he… before he…” I trailed off, swallowing deeply before continuing. “He told me that because I’m a Blue Blood, I’ll only live until I’m eighteen. That’s six months away.”
Fiona gasped deeply. “What? Are you serious?”
I glanced up at her. “Yes.”
“Six months? But that’s no good! You can’t die! Not you too!” she cried, her eyes starting to water. “Emily, no, you can’t!”
“If I die, I bet I’ll meet Sebastian again…”
“Don’t think like that! I need you, Emily!”
I half-smiled at her. “You need me?”
“I’m going to need your help in the future! I need another girl my age.”
“For what?”
Her hand drifted down to her stomach. “Actually…”
My eyes widened in realization. “Don’t tell me…”
“I think my baby could use a God mother.”
“You’re pregnant?” I whispered, frantically gesticulating with my hands. “Is it- is it Sebastian’s?”
She nodded.
“Did he know?”
Again, she nodded. Giving me a watery smile, she patted her stomach. “He already named him or her.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“Just you,” she told me, lowering her eyes. “I’m kind of embarrassed to tell Solomon and Luella…”
I leaned closer to her. “You have to tell them! They’ll be so excited!”
“What if they’re ashamed?”
“They won’t be!” I told her confidently. “Not when there’s a part of Sebastian still on this earth. No one would be unhappy with that. Besides, I’m sure they already realized you two were still in love.”
She smiled at me. “You think?”
“I know!”
“If I tell, you have to tell everyone you’re going to die in six months.”
My stomach dropped. “That’s a little different…”
She shook her head. “No it’s not, Emily. Are you planning on just fading out of existence without a word?”
“Well…”
“You still have a chance to live,” she continued, her pale hand snatching up mine. “If you want, you can live forever.”
I swallowed nervously, my stomach shifting uncomfortably. “Fiona… I can’t…”
She squeezed my hand. “Please, Emily. Just thinking about. I’ve already lost someone I love… I can’t lose another.”
“But I’m human,” I whispered pathetically. “I can’t… I want to stay human. It’s my nature, Fiona.”
Her expression dropped and she let go of my hand. “Have you been thinking a lot about this?”
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I nodded. “I have,” I told her honestly, “for the past two days it’s all that I’ve been thinking about. It might seem unfair that I’m going to die, but isn’t it unfair to everyone who dies young? They wouldn’t have a chance to become a vampire like I do. It wouldn’t be fair to them if I lived. And… Well, Sebastian told me to do what I want. All along I’ve said I didn’t want to change.”
“I understand,” she told me, putting a smile on her face. To me, it looked fake. “We forcibly dragged you into this world, you should have the right to make your choice about leaving or not.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“Just do me a favor.”
“Yeah?”
“If you see Sebastian, tell him we’re doing fine.”
I laughed. “Whoa there, Fiona. I still have six months.”
She tilted her head to the side. “You’re staying for those six months? What about your family?”
“Um…” A lump rose to my throat. “If it’s possible, I want to be erased from everyone’s memory.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“It’s too much pain for everyone to bear,” I explained, my hand going to my heart. “I don’t want anyone having to experience that. Not my mom, not my dad, not my brother, not my friends… I don’t want them going through it. Not when I’m so young. I don’t think my mom could handle it. That’s why I want to be erased from human existence. If that’s possible.”
“It is… but…”
I stood up a little taller, giving her a confident smile. “I’ll be fine knowing they’re fine. So please, Fiona. Try to convince Solomon for me.”
She nodded, smiling again. “I understand. I wish I was as strong as you, Emily.”
“You’re stronger,” I pointed out.
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
“No, you are.”
“How about we’re even?”
She grinned. “Okay, that sounds about right.”
Silence fell in the room below us, causing my heart rate to spike. “I’ve got to go,” I murmured, gazing at all the vampires in black now seated on the benches below. “I don’t want to be here for this.”
“Okay,” she responded softly. “Vincent should be outside somewhere. Don’t waste time, Em. Tell him right now.”
Reluctantly, I nodded. “Right. See you later.”
The atmosphere outside the dark house that was holding Sebastian’s wake was a lot lighter than the heavy, somber one inside. I breathed a deep breath of fresh air, letting it out slowly. It was lightly drizzling, coating my bare skin with a light glaze of water. Crossing my arms over my chest, I started across the field that led to the main Rutherford estate.
It’d been surprising when I realized a little further behind the mansion was a town. A rather large town at that too. All people that lived in it were somehow related to the Rutherfords as well- whether it be relatives or workers. The town had everything: a school, a funeral home, grocery stores, a cemetery, and so on. It was actually pretty impressive.
“Hey, stupid. If you don’t watch where you’re walking you’ll trip in one of these gopher holes.”
Startled, I stumbled back a few steps, my heart leaping into my throat. When I noticed Vincent smirking at me, I scowled. “Don’t call me stupid.”
“Why aren’t you at the wake,” he questioned, moving closer to me. “Don’t you want to be there?”
I shook my head. “It’s too sad. I’ll go to the burial, but I… I can’t look at his body again,” I finished in a whisper, swallowing forcefully. It was too hard talking about him.
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Vincent wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Shh, let’s talk about something different, okay?”
“How much trouble is Joel in?”
He shrugged. “Not as much as he would’ve been since he helped us out in the end. He’s still a bastard though.”
I half-smiled. “It’s nice to know he wasn’t all bad.”
“Hmph,” Vincent grunted. “Now I don’t have anyone to play video games with.”
“You have me,” I told him, pretending to be offended.
He rolled his eye. “You suck and you know it.”
“Not-uh! Sebastian…” I cringed. Why was it so hard to try to avoid thinking about him? At least I knew he’d be in my mind forever. “Never mind.”
Silence fell between us. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but it was still strained.
“Come with me,” Vincent suddenly requested, his hand enveloping mine. “You have something to tell me, don’t you?”
“How’d you know?”
“Your expression,” he told me, leading me away from the manor and toward the woods.
I followed him, feeling wary about the forest. No one was after me anymore, but it still made me nervous. “Where are we going?”
“To my special place.”
“You have a special place?”
He glanced back at me. “It’s a secret though, so if you tell anyone, I’ll have to kill you.”
Smiling, I shook my head. “Sure.”
Together we made our way through the wet woods, walking carefully so we wouldn’t slip on any roots or leaves. We traveled for around ten minutes before we came upon a lake. He stopped by the edge, gazing around it for a moment. I stared at the water; surprised it was a crystal clear blue. “Wow,” I commented after a moment. “I didn’t know we had water like this around here.”
“I told you. It’s my special place. This way.”
Hurrying after him, we started walking around the outer edge of the lake. Our hands entwined again and I gazed at his back, spacing out. Six months was all that I had left… Six months before I had to say goodbye to everybody. Did I really want to go through with it? Did I want to die? I gritted my teeth. No, I didn’t want to die, but I had to. This was what fate had in store for me.
“Here we are.”
Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked around, my gaze falling on what seemed to be a log cabin. “What’s this?”
“My getaway cabin,” he responded, leading me up the steps to the door. “I come here when I want to be alone and not have anyone bother me. We can talk here.”
The inside of the cabin was surprisingly warm. It was much nicer than standing outside in the cold. We went over to the couch where I sat while Vincent went to hunt down a blanket. When he came back, he spread it over us, sitting next to me. I snuggled into him, letting out a deep sigh.
“I’m going to guess whatever you have to tell me is bad?”
“Kind of.”
“I hate waiting.”
I turned my head so I could see his face. Stretching my neck a little, I gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Before I say what I want to, I have something to ask you.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you going to become the next king?”
For a moment he gazed at me thoughtfully, but then a grin spread across his face and he shook his head. “Nope.”
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“You’re not?” I asked, startled. “Then who is? Don’t tell me-”
“Not Ashton. He’s in jail.”
“Then who?”
“Fiona.”
“Fiona?”
Vincent nodded. “That’s what I said.”
“What… but… how?”
“Don’t ask me,” he responded, shaking his head. “My father is the one who talked to the counsel, though I have a pretty good idea of why he gave the throne to Fiona.”
I frowned. “Why’s that?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you, stupid. Stop doing that.”
I grimaced. “Sorry, but what do you mean me? Why would I be factored into that equation?”
“I think he has it in his head that we’ll be together forever,” he told me, rolling his eyes. “My mother too. So because you’re human, it’s easier just to have Fiona become queen.”
My whole body froze up. Vincent wasn’t going to become king because of me? Solomon thought we were going to be together forever? That was impossible! “Vincent, did you want to be king?”
“Not really. Why?”
“Sebastian told me something before he died. Something important.”
Vincent furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s that?”
“I’m going to die when I turn eighteen,” I whispered in a rush. “That’s only six months away.”
All expression was wiped from his face. “What?”
I pulled my knees up to my chest, dropping my gaze so I didn’t have to look at him. “I guess somewhere I knew it was going to happen. Ashton told me he wanted to get what he could out of me while he was able to do
so. I figured something like that would happen. I just didn’t expect it to be so soon.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Live the next six months of my life to the fullest,” I told him, feeling my chest tighten.
He didn’t reply right away.
“Vincent?”
“Six months?” he finally said.
I nodded. “That’s it.”
“You only have six months left?”
“That’s what I said,” I told him, a little bit irritated. “You don’t need to keep repeating it.”
His arms suddenly tightened around me. “It figures. Finally I find someone I’m interested in- a human, nonetheless – and I only get to spend three months for her before I find out she’s going to be gone in the next six months.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said sharply. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure what?”
“You want to die.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “No, I don’t want to die, but I’m human, Vincent. I’ll always be human. Being a vampire…”
“No, I get it,” he grunted. “Don’t say anything more. So does this mean you’re leaving?”
“No,” I told him, turning to face him again. “I’m going to stay here.”
He frowned. “What about your family?”
“They won’t remember me.”
“Emily…”
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Smiling, I twisted my body so I could wrap my arms around his neck. “I love when you say my name, Vincent.”
He pulled me closer to him, holding onto me so tightly it hurt. “I’m sorry, Emily. I wish things could’ve been different.”
“It’s fine,” I whispered, inhaling his scent. “You’ll just have to make sure these next six months are the best of my life.”
“I will,” he promised me. “I definitely will, Emily.”
“Can we stay here?”
“Hmm?”
I pulled away so I could gesture around the room with my arm. “I’d rather stay here than in the manor. It’s more secluded and less… painful.”
Comprehension dawned in his eyes. “Of course we can. The manor will probably be busy anyway. Not everyone is exactly happy with Fiona being the heir. She has a lot of work to do.”
“Make sure they don’t work her too hard.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”
I smiled at him. “It’s a secret.”
“Tell me,” he demanded, frowning.
“Nope.”
He narrowed his eyes threateningly. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll force you to tell me.”
“How?”
He pretended to think about it for a moment. Then he leaned forward and let his breath caress my ear. “I could tease you until you can’t take it anymore,” he breathed, sending tingles down my spine.
“It won’t work,” I told him confidently.
He moved his head to my neck, brushing his fangs against my skin. “Should I threaten you?”
“Would you really put my life in more danger?”
Moving his head away from me, he scowled. “There’s one thing left.”
“What’s that?”
“This,” he said simply, moving his hands to my sides.
Now it was my turn to give him a questioning gaze. “What’s this-”
“I believe it’s called tickling?” he responded, starting to move his fingers against my skin.
My eyes widened. “No!” I gasped, immediately trying to squirm out of his grasp. “Wait, don’t do that!”
“Tell me!”
I knew I was weak, but I just couldn’t take tickling. “She’s pregnant!”
He froze immediately. “What…”
I smirked in triumph. Hopefully Fiona wouldn’t mind I spilled the beans about her secret. She would probably tattle on me anyway. “And it’s Sebastian’s.”
“It’s Sebastian’s?”
“That means you have to be very kind to your niece of nephew,” I told him firmly. “I’ll have to take your word for it because…”
He shook his head, leaning down to press his lips against mine softly. It was a gentle kiss, slow and fragile. After a moment he pulled away. “A child, huh?”
I winked at him. “Guess we know how they made up.”
“You have a dirty mind.”
Laughing, I kissed him again. “But you love it.”
Instead of replying, he pushed me down on the couch, shifting so that he was hovering over me. I gazed up at him, a little bit caught off guard. He smirked. “You know, no one knows we’re in here.”
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“And?”
“We have all the time in the world,” he told me, lowering his lips down to my neck.
My heart thumped hard against my rib cage. “A-and…?”
He slowly kissed his way up my neck to my lips. “Why don’t we have a make up of our own?”
My cheeks flamed at the implication. “B-but we didn’t break up o-or have a fight or anything.”
“Emily, I’m breaking up with you.”
“What?”
“We’re over,” he told me, his face inches away from mine.
I blinked at him. “Uh…”
“Now, let’s get back together,” he breathed, his lips brushing against mine again. “Is it okay?”
It felt like my heart was about to burst. Could I…? Should I…? I only had six months to live. And if it was with Vincent… With shaky hands, I reached around his neck, pulling him closer to me. “It’s okay.”
He pulled back, blinking in surprise. “Wait, seriously?”
“Were you not serious?” I asked in horror, shame flooding through me. “Oh my God, I’m so-”
“Stupid,” he interjected, smirking. “Of course I was serious. Why wouldn’t I be? I’m a guy.”
“Oh… Good.”
He frowned at me. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yes. You know, I think it’ll work. You’re a guy, and well… I’m a girl.”
He chuckled, rolling off me. I stared at him in confusion. He cocked an eyebrow at my expression. “What?”
“Aren’t we… You know?”
“On the couch?” he said skeptically. “I was thinking the bedroom. It’d be more comfortable, but whatever you prefer.”
I shook my head, scrambling to sit up. “N-no! The bedroom is fine!”
“Then let’s go,” he replied, holding out his hand.
Slowly, I took it, allowing him to pull me off the couch and toward the bedroom. I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked again, stopping in front of a closed door.
I stared at him determinedly. “Positive.”
“You’re not just doing this because of… time issues, are you?”
“No!” I denied. “I know we’ve never, you know, even talked about this but… I could use a distraction.”
He grabbed my hand, tugging me with him. “Right. Well whatever your reason, it’s fine with me. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
I blinked. “What? Why didn’t you say so?”
He glanced back at me. “Why? Because I’m a gentleman, that’s why.”
“I don’t believe that.”
He smirked. “Well, actually I thought you were a prude.”
“Hey!”
“Well you’re changing my mind now.”
I scowled at the back of his head. “Maybe I’ll say no now.”
He paused, holding my wrist tighter. “I won’t let you say no.”
“That’s rape you know.”
“Not if you enjoy it.”
I sighed. “No, that still is.”
He laughed. “Whatever. Don’t be so nervous, if I was a mile away right now I could still hear your heart beating,” he told me, smiling in amusement. “We’ll go slow.”
“It’s my first time,” I confessed.
His eyes lit up mischievously. “Well, that just makes it better.” Putting his hand on the door handle, he pushed it open, gesturing for me to enter the room first. “After you, Emily. Let’s forget the world. Just for a little bit.”
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and entered the room. Just for now…
Just for a little bit, I’d forget the world with the person I loved the most in it.
Bitten☺
Previously on bitten
“Clean her up and leave her by the school entrance” Vincent instructed Joel
“So that means am your girlfriend” emilly blushed
“Because you are stupid” Vincent jokingly said
“Emily you are going to die on your eighteent birthday” Sebastian informed
“Just for a little bit,I’d forget the world with the person I loved in the most in it” Emily thought
Enjoy☺
