19. VISIONS

I went to the kitchen to make Beau some lunch, afraid he'd screw that up for himself, too. Carine was there, sitting at the counter and she smiled at me – it wasn't a polite or happy one, just kind of sad; apologetic, maybe.

"Thanks, honey." she said. I wasn't even sure why though, but I nodded anyways. I was only helping out in the little ways I could. Carine looked out the window then, at the rain that had since picked up plinking through the canopy of green trees set against the slate-gray sky, her hand going over her chin. For once, she didn't have all the answers, same as the rest of us.

Everyone else started gathering in the living room – well, everyone except Beau, of course. For now, he was safe - well, as safe as he could be - in the closed bedroom two floors up. Carine went to join her family in the sitting area, tying her hair up in a messy ponytail. I grabbed a plate from their cupboard and stole a glance at Edythe, who was sitting down on one of the couches with Earnest. Her shoulders were hunched forward a little in a way that made it look like she was slouching – a rare thing for any bloodsucker to do in general. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes – black; thirsty – were narrowed, her lips pulled down into a deep, troubled frown. She turned to look at me just then, catching me by surprise and my heart beat twice in my chest very loudly. I looked away and busied myself with spreading some mayonnaise on the white bread just to have something to do. Concentrating hard on my sandwich-building, I thought of how funny it was that the mayo almost disappeared completely into the bread because they were such similar colors since that thought kept me anonymous; impenetrable to Edythe's searching eyes. I knew she was looking for something in my head - maybe what Beau was thinking of her, for example; if he was scared of her. But she wouldn't find anything too interesting in there right now, I'm sure. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. I debated whether to say - or think of - something disagreeable or insulting, but thought again; better of it. I guess she already felt pretty bad about what happened, maybe I didn't need to punish her anymore. Besides, I had better things to do – not letting my best friend starve, for one thing. To take care of him. That's what was most important. I swung the fridge open and put the mayo away, grabbing a pack of lunch meat from the clear shelf on the inside of the door.

Huh. I wonder if Edythe saw me as such – lunch, that is. I scoffed but shook the thought away, remembering my intention to cut her some slack today. Too late. She looked at me again - offended, is how I'd describe that look - and I averted my gaze. Oops. I finished making Beau's sandwich and cut off the crust – just the way he liked it – then hurried back upstairs where I couldn't feel those eyes on me anymore. It was good to get out of there, I didn't trust my thoughts to stay wholly neutral while I was still down there. Plus, obviously, that meant I got to spend some more time with my best friend, just us two like before. And that meant the world to me.

When I entered the room Beau was staying in, he showed me a smile. I returned it and went to join him on the bed, slamming the door shut behind me with my foot.

…

The next day, they tried to take Edythe out hunting again so it was just me and Beau alone in this gigantic house. I remembered hearing Carine on the phone with her boss yesterday, asking him if she could get off her shift earlier this afternoon to take care of her daughter. They let her, easily. She'd be coming back soon with the blood bags just in case that hunting trip didn't go too well today, either - just so you know, my money was on that outcome. I thought to check in with Beau again, wanting to suggest we take a walk outside later on in case Edythe came back hungry. I found him in the computer room, looking things up on Google. I don't think he heard me coming in, and creeping up behind him I peered over his shoulder to see what he got. My eyes scanned over some document about nausea, vomiting, its causes, things like that, but I think it was safe for me to assume that none of those were actually the culprits. I was about to say something about it but then he clicked out of the website, switching into Private browser mode instead. There, he started looking up a bunch of things about vampires – more folklore; myths. All their weaknesses. Apparently unsatisfied with the results though, he scoffed and deleted the text in the search bar and put something else in – something more specific. I held my breath as he began typing the words out very slowly.

Vampires and Pregnancy.

I couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"You know my mom was just messing with you, right? You shouldn't take her weird comment seriously." I gave his shoulder a shake. I tried to make my voice a calm, even sound, like the thought was totally crazy for more reasons than one for my own sake.

He looked at me, cheeks blazing red again. "I have to take into account every possibility, Jules." he said very quietly. Every possibility, huh? I wasn't ignorant, I knew what those words meant; what they confirmed. I couldn't just go on living in my blissful ignorance anymore when the truth of the matter bubbled up like that. I swallowed hard, not wanting to think about the very obvious reason why he just had to look up this particular thing. There was a hot, prickly feeling in my stomach that moved stealthily up to my chest and my head began to hurt, badly. I couldn't stand the thought of him doing all those things with her; of her touching him like that…

It made me sick.

I lurched away, throwing myself hard onto the chaise in the farthest corner of the room and hearing it slam into the wall with the force of my body weight. I didn't need to torture myself like this. Why the hell was I even here again?

To protect him. Obviously.

Because I love him.

It was the only thought that stopped me from walking out that door.

Someone called up to us from downstairs.

"I'm home, Beau; Jules." It was Carine.

Beau jumped up from his seat, shutting down the computer real quick. We went downstairs together and he helped Carine with a plain white cardboard box like one you'd find in an office supply store, even when I knew for sure that she didn't need the extra assistance what with her vampire super-strength and all. There was a lid on it, and I'm pretty sure I knew what was inside.

"Whatever you do, don't look in there, Beau." I whispered, nudging him in the side with my elbow.

He almost dropped the box. "Oh. Right." His face was changing colors again and his knees buckled under him; it looked like he was about to swoon. Quickly, I took the box from him, pressing down on the lid and relocating it to the kitchen. Making sure Beau was turned away, I went to peek at the things inside – blood. Bags and bags of blood. Nice. I gagged. Shutting the lid tight again, I pushed it aside.

"You really think these will work?" I asked Carine, folding my arms over my chest.

"I very much hope so." She sighed, packing the bags in the fridge. I gagged again. There was just something about blood bags being pushed right up against the milk carton and the eggs that didn't make you feel so good. Throwing my hands up, I turned and walked to the living room. Beau was already there.

"Um, Carine?" he started, standing just as I came up to him.

"Yes, Beau?"

"When do you think they'll be back?"

Carine clicked her tongue and looked to the clock on the far wall, putting a hand on her hip and drumming the kitchen counter with her fingers. "My guess is that they should be home a little after midnight. You don't need to wait up for them though, Beau, if you'd like to turn in earlier than that."

"No, I'll do it. I couldn't sleep if I didn't know how Edythe was doing, anyways." His eyebrows furrowed after he said the words – I could tell how worried he was about her. I looked away and sighed, leaning back up against the couch cushions.

…

I startled awake when I heard the clamoring of several distinct voices ringing out around me. I was on the couch, a small blue blanket thrown over my lap. I rubbed my eyes and they adjusted to the light coming from the tall lamp which stood in the far-left corner of the room by the piano. Beau was right beside me, under the same blanket – I guess he must've been taking a nap, too. As soon as everyone came into the living room though, his back went ramrod straight, alert as ever. Edythe was at the center of them all. Archie helped her into another chair near the entrance to the living room, farthest away from us, and the way she brought her knees to her chin and curled up tightly into a ball instantly made me realize that the hunting trip didn't go well at all. My thoughts were confirmed not a moment later when I saw her bring a crumpled tissue up to her face, dabbing away another smear of red. Not good. My shoulders tensed and I stepped up in front of Beau with one foot out in front of me, watching her every move. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and I could see the dark circles below her black eyes from here. She looked… exhausted. And thirsty. Very thirsty.

"Come on, Beau. Let's get you upstairs." I held my hand out for him to take, but he only had eyes for Edythe. She was looking at him, too. Then she coughed up some more blood, turning away from him when she did it and Beau grimaced like he was in pain, too. His hands balled up into two shaking fists, his teeth clenched tight behind his lips - I could tell he was feeling pretty helpless. I sighed. Obviously, he wasn't going to be leaving anywhere with me anytime soon. And then he jumped to his feet, the blanket falling to the floor. He marched straight to the kitchen and Carine followed in after him. Remembering what she'd brought in from work today, I think I knew what Beau was going to do, and the thought hit me right over the head. I mean, this freaking guy couldn't even stand the sight of his own blood. How well did he think he was going to fare when he came across someone else's? Actually, scratch that – bags and bags of someone else's blood. I was legit afraid for his heart now. Letting out a long, loud sigh I sprinted to the kitchen, ready to catch him if he fainted. By the time I got in there, his face was already a chalky white and in the next moment I swear he was actually turning twenty different shades of green all over. And yet there he was, soldiering on like a real champ. Carine had cut open a bag of O negative and Beau was holding a clear glass cup steady for her as she squished all the red out - it was almost admirable. Carine threw the emptied bag away in the trashcan - I had to wonder if you were actually supposed to do that - and then I followed them back out into the living room again. Carine moved Beau behind her with one hand and presented the cup to Edythe with the other as I stood guard.

Edythe took a sip and inhaled sharply through her nose, making a face.

"This is… bloody disgusting." she said with a sarcastic smile, putting the cup down on the table.

Eleanor threw her head back, laughing. "Good one, sis." I was kind of confused - I mean, I thought she'd be going nuts for it, being a bloodsucker and all. I didn't say anything about it, though.

Edythe looked at me. "It's stale, that's why." she answered out loud. "What I mean is – that's what blood from those blood banks taste like to us, at least." Was it that hard for her to just stay out of my head? She frowned at me then, so I guess the answer was a resounding yes. I figured. As she finished off the rest of the cup, the dark circles under her eyes instantly started fading away – while she might have hated how it tasted, it actually seemed to be working wonders for her, and she didn't cough any of it up. Then I saw that her eyes weren't black anymore but this reddish-gold shade instead, kind of like nectarine skin. Beau's smile was so wide I thought it would hurt his face. Carine and Earnest hugged each other and Jessamine and Eleanor let out a little squeal at the exact same time. Even Royal seemed pretty relieved, just as I was. Beau was safe once more.

Archie's face on the other hand contorted into a look of sheer terror. His eyebrows raised then furrowed, his mouth falling open and his eyes pulsed wildly out of his head.

"Beau." My best friend's name was a panicked whisper on his lips. "Edythe? Where are you?" he then asked in a confused voice, narrowing his eyes. My heart started pounding away rapidly in my chest and I stepped towards him, eyes wide.

"I'm right here, Archie." Edythe said, but he didn't hear her.

"I can't see Edythe." His voice was frantic.

"What are you seeing now?" Jessamine whispered, but I could still hear her clearly. She was holding either side of his face, trying to calm him down. But he still didn't say anything. "Hey. Look at me, Arch. Look at me." Archie's anxious gaze was entirely trained on Edythe, though. He winced and clutched at his head, like he was in pain.

"What's wrong?" Beau asked and ran over to Edythe's side, taking her hand.

Archie looked up with a gasp, like his head was finally yanked up to the surface after drowning in a deep, dark lake for a very long time.

"I can't see your future anymore, Edy. When I try, I just get this really bad headache – kind of like when I try to see your future, Julie. Or the futures of the other shapeshifters. It's what I'd call a limitation of my precognition." He turned and gave me a confused look. "But I don't know why that's suddenly happening with my sister." he added, shaking his head. But there was something more, I could tell.

"Why are you trying so hard to see her though anyways, Archie?" I asked without thinking. "I thought Beau was the one in danger here."

"No." He shook his head slowly now, still holding on to Jessamine. Everyone was silent.

"It's the Volturi. I think – I think that they're coming for us all."