Jarren’s POV
“I have to call you back. I think my house is under attack,” she said, cutting off what I was trying to say.
“Sure,” I responded. Before I could say anything else, she ended the call.
I’d just left my parent’s house and was driving to my house, which sat in front of my parent’s about three miles away. Their house was pushed back and hidden by the forest.
When I got to my house, I walked into the kitchen and took a bag of blood from the refrigerator. Packaged blood wasn’t as good as fresh blood, but I was too tired from all my training to go hunting. I put the bag in the microwave and warmed it up. While it was running, I pulled a cup from the cabinet. When the blood was ready, I tore it open and poured it into the cup. I threw the bag away on my way to my room.
I sat at my desk, drinking my dinner as I studied the Parliamentary procedures of vampires and refreshing myself on the cast systems that we have. I’d learned all of this before…over two hundred years ago, but I needed now to be refreshed and know it frontwards and backward. I don’t know how long my attention had been in the books, but it was pulled away by my phone going off.
Hey Jarren, It’s Jillie
Don’t’ You Feel Special
You Don’t? Well You Should
Cuz I’m Texting You.
I took my phone out. It was a message from Jillie telling me, Goodnight. I texted her back and said, Sweet dreams, baby girl. She was going to sleep sort of early. Whatever happened at her house must have tired her out. If I had to guess, I would say it was something to do with her sister. I could make out the argument that caught her attention.
It still shouldn’t surprise me the way Elise treated Jillie, but it did piss me off. I always tried to be optimistic about it and tell Jillie her sister didn’t mean the things she said because I wanted that to be true. However, with as frequently as it happened, I couldn’t be so sure even more. I didn’t even know why Elise acted the way she did. At some point, she just started being mean to Jillie because they’d gotten along before.
The one time she’d attempted to ask Elise why she disliked her so much, what caused the change in her, and in their relationship. It had resulted in Elise swinging at her, and they’d gotten into a fight. That had been two years ago when Jillie was sixteen and Elise was twenty-one. I hadn’t been there, but when I heard about it, I wanted to rip Elise’s head off. I’ve come a long way since that point and now try to act as a mediator.
I took my glass back into the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher. I started it before heading back to my bedroom. I grabbed my towel and walked into the bathroom. After starting the shower, I stepped out of my clothes and stepped inside. I thought about the dreams I’d had about Jillie. First in a field and then in a greenhouse. I had to get my thoughts under control. More importantly, I have to figure out how to tell Jillie how I feel about her and the fact that I’m a bloodsucking monster. I could only hope they go over so well.
I got out of the shower and wrapped the towel around me. Walking into my room, I heard my phone ring. I slid on some boxers and let my towel hit the floor before answering it.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Jarren.”
“Hey, Alyx. What’s going on?”
“You have to come up with some reason to tell Jillie why you don’t like Carson.”
“She asked you about that today?”
“Yes, she did, and I may not have been too convincing when I told her I didn’t know.”
“She asked me to.”
“Then tell her something. She deserves to know something, at least because making excuses, or in my case pretending not to know, isn’t getting us anywhere.”
“I can’t just make something up. I don’t like lying to Jillie.”
“Well, neither do I, Jarren, but news flash, we lie to her every day about who we are. Please just come up with something because I hate seeing that defeated look on her face when she doesn’t know something.”
“Alright. Goodnight, Alyx.”
“Night.”
I hung up the phone thinking about what Alyx had said. She was right; we did lie to Jillie every day. I didn’t plan on lying to her much longer. I was going to tell her, and soon. I just had to figure out the best way how. She was curious to know why Carson and I hated each other’s guts. I would give her the answers she was looking for, but I could only do that after she knew about me. Telling her the truth about the Carson situation would mean I’d have to tell her that Carson was a werewolf. If I didn’t want to freak her out, I’d tell her now. I didn’t care if she hated Carson. Hell, that would actually benefit me. What I did care about was her hating me. That I couldn’t deal with, that would without a doubt break my slow beating heart.
I sat back down at my desk and got back to studying my books. I had to do something to take my mind off the choice I was going to have to make, and soon. Because even though my mother said I could tell her. It was still my choice whether I followed through or not. So what I had to decide now was whether I should keep it from Jillie and live a life without her. Or should I tell her, and even though she said she believed, risk losing her and still have to live a life without her? In so many ways, this was a catch-22, and I just wanted it to be simple.
Jillie's POV"Jillie, where do you want this table?" Mason asked me."Just put it over in front of the fireplace."I went back to hanging up the Christmas lights. Please don't ask me why. Mallory thought it would be cute, and I didn't want to see her pouting about it if I didn't. We only had about two hours before the party was supposed to start. Mason and Alyx volunteered to come over and help us set up. Alyx was now in the kitchen mixing up bowls of punch with Jarren. Aaden was helping his cousin bring in the gear he would need to DJ, and Mallory was outside setting up signs for people to follow to the side door that led into the charity room."Where do you want us to set him up?" Aaden asked."In the corner opposite the door," I answered them."How do the tables look, Jillie?" Mason asked.I looked on my shoulder, making sure to hold onto the ladder. "They look fine. Can you get that cotton snow stuff and bring it in here, please.""Sure, doll," he responded before leaving the room
Jarren's POVI watched as Jillie and Carson danced. He knew what he was doing. I was happy when she stepped away from him a bit."Calm down, dude," Mason whispered."What makes you think I'm upset?" I asked."Your eyes are beginning to change."That sobered me up instantly. I took deep, calming breaths. I couldn't lose control with so many people around."I need a drink," I told him. And I did. Not an alcoholic drink because, well, let's face it, that has no effect on vampires."I'll cover for you. Go." Mason told me. That's precisely why we've been friends for the last two hundred and fifty years.I slipped out of the party unnoticed and into the kitchen. I left through the sliding door remembering to close it behind me this time. I made my way out of her yard and toward the forest. When I made it there, I sniffed the air but caught wind of nothing. I made my way deeper into the woods. This was going to take longer than I thought. I sniffed again and, this time, faintly caught the sc
Jillie's POV I couldn't believe what had just happened. I'd just kissed Jarren. Maybe I'd had more to drink than I thought, and he kissed me back. Perhaps he was drunk as well. Drunk or not I liked it. I can't say the same for him. He just lay there when I kissed him. Even though he gave me a soft kiss afterward. I'm sure it was a sympathy kiss, but I wasn't sure. It was so soft, gentle, sweet, and lingering. When I entered the room, I found Alyx and immediately walked over to her. She was the only person I could tell about what happened. I mean, I could tell Mallory, but then our whole friend group would know."Will you help me bring in more dip?" I asked her."Sure," she responded. We grabbed the bowls and headed into the kitchen. I sat my bowl on the counter and turned to her. I took a deep breath."I kissed Jarren.""How was it?" "Are you hearing me? I kissed one of my best friends.""No," she said, leaning against the counter. "You kissed the boy
Jarren's POV I was going to tell her how I felt tonight, and my Christmas gift to her was the best way to do it. I'd made up my mind that whether or not she meant to kiss me or it was a mistake, I was going to tell her how I felt. I'd just have to deal with the outcome. I went back to the rest, and Jillie was there a minute later. She looked tired. I guess I wasn't the only one that noticed."Jillie, you look tired," Alyx said."I've been up since about five-thirty thanks to my sister and all the noise she was making. I guess it wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that I went to bed at two this morning.""Why didn't your parents deal with her?" Mallory asked."They weren't here. They left this morning to serve breakfast at the soup kitchen.""You didn't go with them?" Mason asked. Probably surprised because Jillie never missed helping at the soup kitchens on holidays."They didn't wake me. I'm going tomorrow, though." I zoned them out and foc
Jillie's POV "Mallory, wake up because I'm not catching you if you fall over." "Jillie, it's too early. I don't see why we had to be here at five anyway." "To make it through processing before the plane leaves." "Well, why didn't you book something later?" "Because we have to check into the hotel before four," I told her as my dad took the last of our suitcases out of the car. "Alright, girls. Be careful and have fun." "We will. Bye, Daddy." "Bye, princess," he said, hugging me and kissing my forehead. "Bye Ean," Mallory said. "By Mal," he responded, hugging her. I pulled both of my luggage suitcases and carried my carry-on as Mallory pulled her oversized luggage suitcases, carried a huge duffle bag and a carry-on. We spotted people from our school and made our way over. Mr. and Mrs. Key were both in the center of the group. "Hey, Jillie." Mrs. Key said when she saw me. "Hey," I replied. "We need to get a head count so we can start moving through checkpoints. I
Jarren's POV Jillie looked as if she was sleeping peacefully. I would hear her mumble every now and then, but she seemed to be smiling. I continued to run my fingers through her hair. I leaned back in my seat and caught Aaden looking at us. He smirked, and I flipped him off. He laughed and turned his attention back to Becka. The poor girl was just going to get her feelings hurt dealing with Aaden."Damn, Jillie's sleep too," Mason said, kneeling beside me."Alyx must be sleeping too.""Yeah. What is it about girls and traveling that makes them want to sleep?""I don't know, dude," I replied, looking down at Jillie. Mason moved to Jillie's seat. He lifted her bottom half, causing her to stir a bit. He sat down and sat her in his lap. "Why aren't you with Alyx?""She drools."I smirked. "She's gonna kill you when she finds out you said that.""Only if you tell her.""I might.""You wouldn't do that to your best friend.""Your right. I wouldn't do that to Jillie." I smirked.
Jillie’s POV“Alright, everyone, when we get to the National Art Museum, make sure you join your group.” Mrs. Key told us. I leaned back in my chair, taking in the sites of Nassau. It was beautiful. Especially when the sun sets. After swimming yesterday, I watched the sunset outside as I waited to go down to dinner, but the town was still beautiful even after sunset.“What are you thinking about?” Jarren asked from beside me. I smiled to myself, remembering yesterday. We decided to tell our friends about us when we got to the pool. Mason and Alyx both yelled ‘About time.’ at the same time and then looked at each other puzzled. It was too funny. I then had to explain to Mason that I’d been telling Alyx how I’d felt, and she was giving me advice. Come to find out, Jarren was doing the same thing with Mason. Isn’t that ironic? It really didn’t help my case with Mallory, though. She was already sort of ticked at me because of the fact I’d kept it from her for a whole
Jarren's POV “Usted es el niña del sol. Brilla intensamente maravillosamente dentro de usted.” (You are the girl of the sun. It shines intensely and wonderfully within you.) The jewelry woman told Jillie. I looked on as she smiled. She had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. I could have told her, but I was still trying to calm myself down from Carson. He's pushing all the wrong buttons. I absent-mindedly watched as Jillie continued to look around the small tent. I saw her pick up another bracelet. It looked like it matched the one on her arm. The only difference was this one had more silver than gold in it. She walked up to the woman. "I'd like these." the woman looked at her confused, and Jillie looked a little frustrated. I laughed. “Quisiéramos comprar éstos.” (We'd like to buy these.) Jillie whipped her head around and looked at me. "You speak Spanish?" "Yes." "Well, that would have helped earlier
Jillie’s POV I took a deep breath. My hands were both shaking. I’d been avoiding this for two weeks now. It was too painful. I knelt in front of the headstone. Running my fingers over the engraved words, tears slowly ran down my cheeks. “Hey, Mal,” I stated through my tears. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I just couldn’t live with the guilt of knowing this happened because of me.” I stated quietly. “But the guilt I felt for leaving your funeral early and trying to stay away outweighed that.” I took another deep breath. “This sucks, Mal. This really is unfair. We were supposed to make up, and everything was supposed to get better between us. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Me sitting here crying my eyes out and talking to your headstone.” I paused for a minute. “We were supposed to do so much together. Go to college, get married, and have kids. Oh, speaking of kids, Alyx is pregnant. I know she wasn’t your favorite person, but I also know how much you like kids.”
Jarren’s POV“We’ll take them outside and burn them,” I stated, looking at all the bodies around us. I then looked around the room for Jillie. “Where did Jillie go?” I asked, panicking.“She and Kaileeh headed that way. I think there’s a door over there.” Garret stated.“Who screamed earlier?” I asked. I’d been so occupied that I hadn’t stopped to see who it was. I just knew it wasn’t Jillie. My eyes scanned the room until they landed on Mallory on the floor in a pool of blood. I then saw Mina on the floor as well. I shook my head. She was the only vampire I knew that could be easily
Jillie’s POV I watched as they were all secured to a wall with what looked like metal shackling. I was held in place by one of his many goons. I surveyed the room and counted thirteen of them. Even if the three weren’t bound, they’d still be highly outnumbered.“Malinda,” Nyx stated, drawing my attention.“I already told you I don’t know who Malinda is,” I stated calmly.“You’re in denial, my dear. You’ll remember soon enough.” Oh wow. He really was insane. Not just the crazy I’m going to kill you all insane, but t
Jarren’s POV“What the hell do you mean you took her to the tree?!” I yelled, slamming Xander into a wall. “I said she couldn’t go!”“She wanted to go, and I was curious!” He yelled back.“Why don’t both of you calm down.” Garret intervened. I glared at Xander before finally letting him go. I made my way over to the sitting area in the library.“Well, what did she see?”“She said she saw people, but they were more like shadows.”“Shado
Jillie’s POV I sat up as I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Kaileeh came into view a moment later.“Hey. Where are you headed, all dressed up?”“Garret just called and said he had a surprise for me, so I’m going to meet him. I was wondering if I could borrow your car.”“Sure. The keys are on the ring by the door.”“Thanks, Jillie. I’ll be back in a few hours.”“Be careful. It’ll be dark soon.”She nodded. “Bye.”
Jarren’s POV I watched as she tossed and turned. There was absolutely nothing I could do for her. Reid had already given her a sedative, but it wasn’t working. What was happening to her? I heard her say my name a few times, but that was it. At first, I couldn’t make out the rest of what she was saying.“Jarren, stop it!” She screamed. I looked at everyone in the room, confused.“Stop what, Piccolo?” I asked, moving closer to the bed. I let out a hiss as pain ripped through my right side. What the hell was that? I lift my shirt slowly to see a wound. It looked like fire hit me. I could feel all eyes in th
Jillie’s POV“What exactly are we looking for, Jillie?” Kaileeh asked.I moved another box aside. “Those old picture albums.”“Which old picture albums? Aunt Teya has a lot of them.”“All of them.” I emptied a box. “Just put all of them in here.” We went through the entire basement looking for photo albums. It took us two hours to get them all. We ended up with three boxes full. After lugging them up the stairs and into my room, we collapsed on the bed.“When I said Aunt Teya had a bunch of albums, I was kidding. She h
Jarren's POVMaking my way through the trees, I ran nowhere in particular. Just trying to run my frustration out. I’d been moving for hours, running to the next city over and beyond before returning. I was still a bit agitated. I continued to run until I was outside Jillie’s house. It was after two in the morning. I knew she was sleeping, but I couldn’t stop myself from waking her. I pulled out my phone and hit her speed dial button. It rang five times before going to voicemail. I hung up and called again. This time she answered on the fourth ring.“Hello,” she answered groggily.“Come outside.”“Okay.” I could hear her moving around. “Give me a minute,” she stated before hanging up. I slipped my phone back into my pocket. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the house. I couldn’t go inside for what I
Unknown POV It was all coming together now. Everything I’d worked so hard for the last hundred and fifty-plus years was coming true. It took me a while to get to this point, but the reward at the end would be well worth it. Rising from my seat, I made my way to the window. Looking out, I was met by the vast expanse of trees. Secluded and, at the same time, visible.“Brother.”“Have a seat. I have something I want you to do for me, sister.”“I’m listening.”“There’s a full moon Friday night. This is what I need you to do….”