“Excuse me?” he said.
“Yeah. I want…no, I need a cure.”
“But…why?”
“Because I can’t live like this anymore. I don’t want to be a vampire anymore.”
“But why come to me?”
“Because you helped come up with vampiric sunscreen. And you’re the only one I can trust to tell this to.”
“Jillian, I don’t think you understand. This isn’t something that can be done overnight. It was hard enough coming up with a vampiric sunscreen. That just allows vampires to adapt. A cure? Reversing the entire process? I don’t know how I could begin.”
“You’re the smartest person I’ve ever known, and if I live another thousand years, I’m sure no one else would ever come close.”
“Austin?” came a voice from inside. “Who’s at the door?”
“It’s Jillian,” Austin replied to his wife. Cheyenne emerged from another room, holding young Mason in her arms. Fear flashed in her eyes. Another reason for Jillian’s decision.
“Jillian,” she said tentatively, “hey.”
“I know, I can’t come in. And I don’t want to. I just needed to ask Austin something.”
Cheyenne, since giving birth to Mason, had become very overprotective. She still valued Jillian’s friendship, and that of her other supernatural friends, but she feared for her son’s safety. So she’d talked Paige and her coven into sealing the Crowley house, thus preventing any supernatural creature from entry without an invitation. She seemed to fear Jillian the most because she was a newly turned vampire who didn’t have as much practice controlling her bloodlust as Isaiah.
“Well, it’s nice to see you again,” Cheyenne continued as she held Mason closer to her chest.
“You too,” Jillian replied as she offered a smile. That was a mistake, as it showed her fangs, causing Cheyenne to take a step back and retreat into the room she’d previously vacated. Jillian, with her improved hearing, heard her feet climbing stairs from somewhere else in the house.
“I’m sorry,” she told Austin. “I didn’t mean to upset her.”
“I know. She’s just…a mother. Giving into her maternal instincts.”
“But you seem to have no problem.”
“I’ve known you longer. I trust you.”
“But she doesn’t.”
“It’s not that. She’s just being cautious.”
“And this is yet another reason why I need a cure.”
“Jillian…”
“Just try. Please. Just promise me you’ll try. I’ll do anything. I’ll give you anything you need. Blood samples, whatever. Please. I’m begging you.”
Austin seemed to ponder this. He furrowed his brow, but at last he acceded.
“I’ll do what I can,” he said. “But I’m not promising anything; not when it will be done, not if it will ever be done, and not if it will work. All I’m saying is that I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you.”
Austin nodded and turned around to look back inside the house, undoubtedly searching for his wife. Jillian took this as her sign to go. She was staying in a hotel, as she’d told Isaiah she would, since she planned to stay at least a few days. Austin would tell her what he needed, and she would supply it with no qualms.
When she arrived at the hotel, she flopped down onto the bed to think. It was true, she and Isaiah had talked about her becoming a vampire. And she’d really wanted that to happen. She wanted to be with Isaiah for eternity, and she knew that he would live forever while she kept getting older and decrepit.
At first, it wasn’t so bad. Isaiah had taught her well, and she was able to sustain herself with plasma juice and fruit. She’d never bitten or fed from a human or any other creature, and she intended to keep it that way.
But as the months dragged on, Jillian found herself in a state of perpetual melancholy. Try as she might, she just couldn’t shake it. The excitement of being reborn as a creature that lived forever had worn off. Her own parents had basically disowned her, as they never liked the idea of her dating a vampire in the first place, much less becoming one. Kenzie had mentioned that Liza and Oliver had been somewhat cold to her when they’d come to be with Savannah after her miscarriage. Now it made sense – they partially blamed her for introducing Isaiah to Jillian, even though in fact they’d met on their own.
Plus, Jillian desperately missed the sun. She loved the beach and feeling the sun on her face, but she couldn’t do that anymore. Yes, thanks to Austin, there was now vampiric sunscreen, but it just wasn’t the same. She rarely needed sunscreen at all as a human; now, whenever she wanted to go outside in a sunny environment, even for a casual stroll, she had to lather up on stuff that made her resemble a disco ball.
And those sunny environments were few and far between. Midnight Hollow was always shrouded in darkness, the sun never shining, which made the entire ambiance very dismal. Everyone who lived there was eccentric, and not in a way she found enticing. She was all for people being who they wanted to be, but this place just didn’t seem to fit her persona.
But she couldn’t very well tell Isaiah that. He’d be heartbroken. And Kenzie would be devastated. She felt guilty enough already; dropping this bombshell on her would probably destroy her. She already blamed herself for what happened to Jillian, so admitting the truth would only make her feel worse.
But Jillian admitted the truth to herself at long last. She hated being a vampire. It was intriguing at first, and she still wanted to be with Isaiah forever. But the never-ending bloodlust and the impossibility of quenching it, plus not being able to go out into the sun as a normal person anymore…it was too much of a burden. Her dream had been Sunlit Tides. She’d been on the brink of making her home there, when she’d been turned. Her career hadn’t suffered any, but she felt that she lacked inspiration and the same passion that she had before.
Jillian thought of her upcoming summer birthday. It was official – the only present she wanted was to be able to enjoy the sun. She wanted to be human again.
But she couldn’t talk to Kenzie about this, nor Isaiah. But she did know of one person she could talk to, the only person who might be able to help. The smartest person she’d ever known, and the one who’d helped develop vampiric sunscreen. And that was Austin. Which was why she’d come to see him.
And therein laid another conundrum. Cheyenne’s apprehension at seeing her tonight proved what she feared – she was frightening, even to her friends. She was missing out on seeing two of her best friends and their child because of something that had happened to her out of her control, something she no longer desired. And it was time to change that.
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