75
Time is a curious thing. What may seem like a year to someone may seem like a day to someone else. For example, to me, six months felt more like six weeks. Funny how fast time flies by when you know you’re going to die.
Solomon did some research on Blue Bloods, trying to deicide if what Sebastian found out was true or not. We weren’t sure on whether or not his source of information was reliable, after all, none of the other Rutherfords had known about it until I told them. Unfortunately, and it didn’t come as a shock to me, Sebastian’s words were true. Fortunately, it wouldn’t hurt. The thought was scary, but my body would just shut down naturally, like if I’d died of old age.
Vincent stayed with me the whole time. Sometimes he was a little cranky, but he was surprisingly nice. It was pleasant, but I couldn’t help but notice he was holding back his sarcastic remarks. When I’d told him about it, he’d told me I was crazy for wanting him to snap at me. I told him that was the Vincent I loved. So that brought him back down to earth a little. Even though he didn’t say anything, I could tell he was getting more worried about me day by day. It was like he wanted to tell me to live, but couldn’t… which I was glad for. I didn’t want to change my mind.
Fiona was somehow managing to keep up with all her queenly duties while dealing with her pregnancy. As it turned out, vampires get an accelerated pregnancy, so I would be able to see her son or daughter before I passed away. From what she told me, the kingdom was dealing pretty well with the fact Fiona was replacing Sebastian instead of Vincent. It was a new era, as the people said.
As my days dwindled down to the very last few, my body grew weaker. I spent more and more time in bed, unable to go outside and visit Sebastian’s grave like I usually did once a week. That was probably the thing that upset me most about my body wearing out. I felt like I was turning into a cat- sleeping most the day and only waking up to eat and drink, and talk to Vincent for a little bit. Somehow I managed to keep myself completely calm with the situation.
On my birthday, an excited voice met my ears and I slowly opened my eyes, rubbing them to try and rid the bleariness from them. It took a few moments for them to adjust to the light in the bedroom, but when they did, I noticed Fiona standing over me, something small cradled in her arms.
“Emily!” she chirped excitedly. “Good! You’re up!”
“Of course she’s up,” a disgruntled voice snapped. “You barged in here without even knocking and started making a racket!”
Sitting up, I waved my hand at Vincent, trying to ignore the drowsiness that was tugging at the back of my mind. “It’s fine. She’s here for an important reason,” I told him quietly, a yawn punctuating my sentence.
“Yep! Emily, meet your God son, William.”
“William?” Vincent repeated with a snort.
Fiona frowned at him. “Yes. That’s the name of the place Sebastian and I first met. William’s Pub.”
“Lame.”
She ignored him, taking a seat on the edge of my bed so I could see the sleeping baby. “He’s so cute!” I cooed gently, gazing at the infant in her arms. He was incredibly adorable.
“Isn’t he? He’s going to look just like Sebastian!”
“He has your ears though,” I pointed out, smiling at the cute little pair of ears on his head. “So adorable…”
Suddenly he opened his eyes. My heart skipped a beat. He had Sebastian’s eyes. Fiona smiled gently down at me. “Aren’t they the most beautiful eyes you’ve ever seen?”
I nodded. “Sebastian would be so proud…”
“He is, wherever he is,” she told me brightly.
Suddenly a wave of nausea rolled over me and I fell back into my pillow, grimacing. Vincent was at my side in an instant. “Are you okay?”
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“I’m fine,” I told him, trying to give him a reassuring smile. For some reason, I was finding it difficult to lift my lips.
Fiona frowned at me, her eyes starting to glisten. “It’s soon isn’t it?”
“Today’s my birthday,” I whispered, now finally managing to smile.
“Happy birthday,” she wished, her voice sounding shaky.
I swallowed, my heart clenching painfully. I wasn’t sure whether it was due to my feelings or my body. It was hard to tell these days. Tears threatened my eyes, but I somehow held them back. I didn’t want to show how weak I was in front of Fiona. It would only make her sadder. “Thanks,” I finally responded.
“Emily, are you sure you want to go through with this? I know you have something against becoming a vampire, but I don’t want you to go! Are you sure you’ve thought this all the way through?” she rushed, her eyes wide and imploring. “Please, I’m begging you to reconsider-”
“Fiona,” Vincent snapped, cutting her off. “Enough.”
She turned her green eyes to him. “Don’t you agree, Vincent? You want her to stay, don’t you? Tell me I’m right!”
He glared at her. “Shut up or leave right now.”
“Emily,” she tried again, turning back to me.
A lump formed at the back of my throat, but I swallowed it. I couldn’t change my mind now. I’d been so resolute up until now! If I chickened out I’d regret it later! No matter what anyone else wanted, I needed to keep to my word. It wouldn’t be fair if I lived while other humans just like myself would have to die.
I grimaced as a horrible pain shot right through my heart. My hand went up to my chest, squeezing my shirt. “Ugh…”Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.
“Get out,” Vincent demanded, moving toward Fiona. “You’re stressing her out.”
“I’m sorry!” she apologized, holding up a hand. “I won’t say anything else!”
He scowled at her. “Fiona.”
“It’s fine,” I assured him, reaching out to grab his hand. “I’m fine. She can stay. I want her to stay.”
“Fine,” he grumbled.
“Oh! I forgot to tell you!” Fiona suddenly chirped. “I saw your brother the other day! It turns out he got into Harvard!”
My eyes widened. “Seriously? I never knew he was that smart!”
“I guess he is! Leah’s going with him too!”
Now I was really surprised. How had she managed that? “Wow, a lot of things can happen when you’re gone for six months…”
“I’ll say,” she agreed. “Just the other day I was at Sebastian’s grave and this little girl was there too. You know what she said to me? I want to marry him. It was too cute! I didn’t know even little girls fancied him! It’s impressive how much he affected everyone.”
I laughed. “Hmm, he even wooed the little girls? That could be taken a creepy way.”
Vincent rolled his eyes at me. “Sebastian wasn’t like that.”
“Duh,” I responded, sticking out my tongue.
He sighed. “Funny how you’re so energetic now that we’re talking about him. It makes me wonder if you secretly loved him all along.”
“I did,” I deadpanned.
“You… don’t joke about that,” he growled softly.
Fiona giggled. “Jealous, Vivi?”
He let his head drop backwards. “You still insist on calling me Vivi? Even though Joel’s in jail, he still does it and it still annoying the crap out of me.”
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