Choices

The roar of an engine jolted Crisslyn out of her dreams. She sat straight up on the bed and listened as the engine died down just below her. One of the guys had come after her. She ran to one of the windows to try and see who it was. Jon's bike was parked right next to her jeep. A soft knock at her door caused her to flinch. She was slightly surprised he hadn't just banged the old wooden door down. She knew he very well could have…

"Crisslyn." His voice was soft but audible. He didn't want to scare her. "Please open the door…" Hearing the desperation in his voice caused her to actually walk all the way to the door and put her hand on the lock. She had to tell herself not to open it.

"I won't open the door Jon." Her voice was strained but determined.

"Look," He tried to find the right words. "I was never going to hurt you. I love you. You know that Crisslyn. I know you do… I was never going to trick you or force you to become like me. I want to be with you no matter what. You're the only good thing in my world. Don't leave me…"

"Jon I'm having a very hard time trusting you right now."

"Why would I string you along like this if I didn't have true feelings for you?"

"I don't know, do vampires usually play with their food?" Her sarcasm was like a knife in his side.

"You know it was never like that!" He tried not to shout but he was losing control. "I would never hurt you! If I wanted to I could break this door down but I'm not! I won't hurt you!"

"You're wrong! I know you can't come in unless I invite you!" She suddenly found herself backing away from the door a few steps.

"Crisslyn, you already invited me in once. It only takes once…"

"No! You're lying!" But she knew he wasn't. She jumped and screamed when she heard her phone ring.

"Crisslyn! Are you okay?" He banged on the door making it shudder.

"I'm fine! Don't come in!" She yelled back at the door before grabbing her phone.

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me!" She knew he wouldn't.

"Hello?" She whispered into her phone.

"Crisslyn?" It was Nicole's voice. "Is Jon with you? We woke up and he was gone…"

"He's outside my door. He won't go away…"

"Crisslyn you know he won't hurt you. He loves you."

"I love him too, but I'm so scared…" Nicole could tell she was crying. "I don't know what to think or do…"

"Remember when I told you to let your heart lead you? I promise you won't regret it."

"Do you honestly think I can be like you.. That I could live with myself as a freaking vampire?"

"Honestly dear, what's so bad about it?" Crisslyn couldn't think of anything. It frustrated her. Part of her knew all of this was very wrong… "What has life done for you Crisslyn? Imagine having the power to take it all back. To be happy with the one you love for eternity… How could you not want that?" Crisslyn hated how Nicole had made sense out of the situation. She wanted to throw her phone out the window. But only because she knew Nicole was right. Life had never done anything but take away everything she loved…

"I'm gonna talk to him now." She clicked the phone shut and tossed it onto her couch.

Taking a deep breath she walked quickly to her front door and unlocked the deadbolt. When she opened the door the first thing she saw was the glint of the moon reflecting off the black surface of the hematite stone she had given Jon. Her eyes traveled upwards and she saw tearstained cheeks. Then his eyes were bearing down on her. She stepped aside and opened the door wider. He moved slowly past her kitchen and into the living room area taking a seat on her couch. After shutting and re-bolting the door, Crisslyn went to join him. Her first instinct was to sit in the recliner across from him, but their eyes locked again and she was drawn to sit beside him. He didn't try to put his arm around her or move towards her at all. She didn't quite know how she'd react if he did.

"I'm sorry." He struggled with his breath for a few seconds. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I'd give anything to make it right again…"

"I don't know what to say to you. I'm angry and scared… You say you wouldn't hurt me but it's in your nature to kill people. How am I supposed to feel safe around you?"

"Have I ever made you feel unsafe?" She thought for a moment. When she couldn't come up with an answer she just looked at the floor. "That's answer enough." He slowly leaned towards her. "You know I would never do anything like that to you. Why can't you admit that?"

"Were you ever going to tell me you're a vampire?" Her voice suddenly steadied. She looked him directly in the eyes.

"I wanted to ask you to become one. I can't stand the thought of eternity without you. I know it's selfish but damn it I love you. But I knew you weren't ready for it. I was going to wait a little while longer and tell you. But I wanted you to ask me to become one of us. Then I'd know it was what you really wanted., not just what I wanted…"

"Is that what you came here tonight to do? Ask me to become one of you?"

"No. I just wanted to see you. I wanted to apologize for keeping this from you, but explain why I did…"

"Well, you've done all of that already." She crossed her arms. As Jon watched her he realized that she was doing it in defiance not protecting herself. Had he lost her?

"Do you want me to leave?" Jon's eyes begged her to say no…

"Yes."

Three nights. It had been three nights since Jon had left Crisslyn alone at her cabin. He had gone straight back to the nest and had beaten Mark until Shane and Kyle had pulled Jon off of him. He had left Mark barely alive. It had felt good to take out his frustration on the person who had caused Crisslyn so much pain. But it still didn't change the fact that she had wanted him to leave… As much as it killed him inside, he had left her alone. He didn't try to call her or drive by her cabin. Every night he woke up hoping to find a message on his phone or hoping to see her at the mansion. But every night he was left disappointed. After the third night he thought he was going to go insane. Shane had to drag him to the reef that night so he could feed. Jon had ripped open the neck of the girl Shane had brought for him without a second thought. This was who he was. He killed to live. And she hated him for it…

On the way back to the nest Jon had taken a detour and ended up somewhere on the low side of the beach. He knew he was close to Crisslyn's cabin but he had stopped himself from going that extra quarter mile. He got off his bike and started wandering aimlessly towards the water.

Crisslyn had paced her floor for the thousandth time that night. Her phone was open in her hand with Jon's number already dialed. All she had to do was hit one button and she could hear his voice. She wanted to be with him. That decision had been the easy one. But could she be a vampire? She had thought long and hard about what Nicole had said. Yes, she could be a vampire. She could live with that. It wasn't like she had never killed a living being just to eat. People steak… The thought had actually made her laugh. The hard part was actually getting the nerve to call him after the way she had thrown him out. Crisslyn had never been good with confrontation.

Crisslyn pressed the End button and dialed another number. It rang. It rang again. After the third ring someone finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Nic, it's Crisslyn."

"Oh my gosh I'm so glad you called! We've been worried about you."

"I've made my decision. I want to be with Jon. I want to be a part of…"

"Let me come get you."

"Okay."

Twenty agonizing minutes later Crisslyn heard the familiar sound of Shane's car. She was standing at the door when Shane and Nicole reached the top of the stairs. Nicole slipped past her but Shane stood just outside. Feeling like an idiot Crisslyn invited him inside.

"Tell me what I need to do." She looked at Shane and he seemed slightly taken off guard.

"First you need to be sure this is what you want." Shane stated seriously. "Not someone else."

"I want this." Shane glanced at Nicole before pulling a silver flask out of his jacket.

"All it takes is one sip." She took the flask from him and put it to her lips. She hesitated. Shane glanced at Nicole again. Nicole looked away.

Jon was sitting on the sand with his feet in the water when his phone rang.

"Yeah?" He answered knowing it was Nicole's number calling him.

"Come home Jon. There's someone here to see you." A thrill went through his body. Could it be…?