“No!” Jack insisted fiercely. “That’s just stupid! I don’t know what went wrong. I don’t know why your blood is for him, but it’s a mistake! Okay? You’re not supposed to be for him! And there’s gotta be a way around it! It may take time, but we have all of eternity to figure it out! You really wanna throw that away just because I don’t have the answer right now?”
“Why did you even introduce me to him?” I blurted out. “If I had never met him, this wouldn’t have happened! This wouldn’t have mattered! Why did you push me on him?”
“I never pushed you on him, never!” He took a step towards me, then changed his mind, and took a step back. Shaking his head, he breathed deeply. “I didn’t know any of this. I wasn’t reacting right to you, and they thought that you were for Peter. And I didn’t realize what I…” He trailed off, looking at the floor.
“You two had connected in a way that none of had realized,” Ezra elaborated. “It wasn’t until he started feeling threatened by Peter that we appreciated what was happening, and by then it was too late.”
Slowly, he got up and walked over to us, attempting to relieve some of the tension.
“None of us are trying to pressure you into a decision, but Jack has made valid points,” Ezra continued. “You turning isn’t about Peter, and it shouldn’t be. You have a future with us, if you choose it.”
He nodded once at me, and then made an imperceptible motion towards Mae. She rose quickly and they left the room, leaving Jack and I alone.
We were supposed to hash things out and come up with some kind of resolution, but I didn’t know how. It wasn’t until I was yelling at Jack that I even knew it hurt me that he’d ever wanted me to be with Peter.
I’d doubted everything since Ezra had claimed that Jack had fallen in love with me. Because if he truly loved me, then why would he ever want me to be with his brother?
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes with you,” Jack admitted quietly. “But I need a chance to rectify them. If you give me time, I swear I can make it up to you.” He looked at me, his wounded blue eyes pleading with me to stay.
I wanted nothing more than to be with him, but would it really be worth it? I’d have to give up my brother, and I’d still be trapped in something painful and inexorable with his brother. We couldn’t actually be together, no matter what decision I made.
“If you give me time, I know that between Ezra, Peter, and I, we can find a solution to this.” Jack took a step towards me, trying to decide whether or not to touch me, before finally deciding against it. “I promise you. There is a way for it to work.”
“That doesn’t answer everything,” I said. In fact, that didn’t really answer anything. It was just a vague promise to solve something someday, but it was still a hard offer to resist.
“Milo’s your brother, and he’s a bright kid. He’s not gonna need you forever,” he pointed out gently. “In a few more years, when he starts dating and going to college, he’s not even gonna wanna be around you. It’s just for right now that he needs you.”
“That’s probably true.” I was about to argue that it didn’t change anything, but then I understood what he was getting at. “I’m still really young. I could stay with Milo for another three or four years. I could still turn, and I’d still be younger than you are.”
“And we don’t have to move for another three years or so,” Jack nodded in agreement. “Until then, you can keep living with Milo, and Ezra and I can figure out what we’re gonna do about all of this.”
“Would that be okay?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” He shrugged, and he had calmed enough where he could grin at the idea. “It’s just a couple years. It means nothing to us.”
“You don’t care what I say as long as I agree to be with you,” I smiled.
“That’s probably true.”
“What if I decided not change? And I got all and old wrinkly? Would you still want to be around me then?”
“How wrinkly are we talking about?” Jack teased.
I tried to swat him playfully, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. His arms were strong and reassuring around me, and he rested his hand on my cheek, gently forcing me to look into his eyes. His skin was warming up, but he tried not to notice.
“This will work out. Somehow,” he promised.
After talking it all over with Mae and Ezra, they agreed with my decision. Time was inconsequential to them, and Mae wanted me to have more time to consider everything.
They also agreed that for both Jack's sake and mine, it would be better if I stayed at home until we got things straightened out in the whole Peter arena. Mae had filled Ezra in on the kiss, and he chastised us for such risky behavior. Peter was a much stronger vampire than Jack, and a rather large threat to both of us.
When I walked in the door with the massive duffle bag slung over my shoulder, Milo was sitting at the computer. As soon as he saw me, his entire face lit up and he rushed over to me, throwing his arms tightly around me and almost knocking me over.
“You’re back!” he squealed.
“Sure am.” I pried him off, smiling at his exuberance. “Do you think Mom’ll mind?”