142

142

Sophia’s POV

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. I glanced over at Jenny, sitting across from me at the small kitchen table. She was poking at the slice of cake in front of her with a fork, not really eating it, just prodding at the frosting like it held the answers to all the questions we were both too afraid to ask.

I let out a long breath and stared at my own plate. The thought of everything—of the attacks, of the secrets we were keeping, of the fear that seemed to linger in every corner of our lives—made my stomach twist. But I was tired of feeling like this. Tired of the silence between us, of the constant anxiety. We needed to talk, to act like everything wasn’t falling apart around us, at least for a little while.

“So,” I said, forcing some lightness into my voice, “you and Jacob—how’s that going?”

Jenny looked up at me, her dull eyes wide in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting me to break the silence, much less ask about her and Jacob. But after a second, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and she shrugged.

“It’s… good. Weird sometimes, but good.”

I raised an eyebrow, leaning forward a little. “Weird how?”

Jenny let out a breathy laugh and shook her head, finally taking a small bite of cake. “I mean, dating a vampire is definitely not what I expected my life to turn into. Then turning into one. There’s all this… other stuff I didn’t think I’d have to deal with.”

I nodded, understanding what she meant. “Yeah, I get that. I didn’t exactly plan on falling in love with one either.”

We shared a quiet smile, and for a moment, the tension eased. It was strange, really, how we’d both ended up in these relationships with men who weren’t entirely human, and then us becoming one of them too. There was an odd comfort in knowing we weren’t going through it alone.

Jenny set her fork down and rested her chin on her hand, looking at me with a thoughtful expression. “Do you ever wonder what life would’ve been like if we hadn’t met them?”

The question caught me off guard. I blinked, trying to picture my life without Ian in it. It was hard to imagine, like trying to remember a version of myself that no longer existed.

“I do sometimes,” I admitted, my voice soft. “But I don’t think I’d want to go back. Even with everything that’s happened, I can’t imagine my life without him now.”

Jenny nodded slowly, her eyes distant, like she was lost in her own thoughts. “Yeah… I get that. Jacob drives me insane sometimes, but I can’t picture my life without him either.”

There was a long pause, and I could feel the conversation teetering on the edge of something deeper. Something we’d both been avoiding. I bit my lip, debating whether to push it further, but Jenny beat me to it.

“I’ve been thinking,” she said, her voice quieter now. “About… everything that’s happened. And I don’t know how to feel about it all.”

I swallowed hard, my heart tightening in my chest. I knew what she meant. It wasn’t just about Jacob, or the danger we were in—it was about her becoming a vampire against her will, about all the things she’d lost in the process.

“Jenny…” I started, not sure what to say. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head, her expression conflicted. “It’s not your fault. I know that. It’s just… it’s a lot to take in. I never asked for any of this, you know? I never wanted to be part of this world.”

“I know,” I whispered, my throat tightening.

“And now I’m stuck in it,” she continued, her voice thick with frustration. “I’m stuck being something I never wanted to be, and I don’t even know how to deal with it half the time.”

I reached across the table and took her hand, squeezing it gently. “You’re not alone, Jenny. I know it doesn’t make it any easier, but you have us. You have me, Jacob… Ian. We’ll help you get through this.”

Jenny squeezed my hand back, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. “It’s just hard, Soph. I don’t know if I’ll ever really be okay with it.”

I nodded, my own eyes stinging. “I get that. But you’re stronger than you think. And no matter what happens, we’ll figure it out together. I promise.”

Jenny smiled weakly, but I could see the uncertainty still lingering behind her eyes. I wanted to make everything better for her, to fix all the things that had gone wrong, but I knew I couldn’t. All I could do was be there for her, to remind her that she wasn’t alone.

After a moment, she cleared her throat and forced a brighter tone into her voice. “Okay, enough of the heavy stuff. Tell me something fun. What’s the craziest thing you and Ian have done lately?”

I let out a small laugh, grateful for the change in direction. “Craziest thing? I don’t know if I’d call it crazy, but we tried cooking together a few nights ago.”

Jenny raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “Cooking? Really?”

“Yeah,” I said, grinning. “It was a disaster. Ian has no idea how to use a kitchen. He nearly burned down the place trying to make pasta.”

Jenny burst out laughing, the sound filling the room and lightening the mood even more. “I can’t believe that. Mr. Vampire King doesn’t know how to make pasta?”

“Nope,” I said, laughing along with her. “He was so determined too, like he thought he could master it just because he’s a vampire.”

“That’s hilarious,” Jenny said, wiping a tear from her eye. “You should’ve filmed it.”

“I wish I had,” I admitted. “But then again, he would’ve probably destroyed the evidence if I did.”

Jenny chuckled, shaking her head. “You two are something else.”

The lightness in her voice warmed me, and for the first time in what felt like ages, I felt like we were just two normal friends having a normal conversation. It was a nice distraction from everything going on, even if it was temporary.

“So,” Jenny said after a moment, her tone a little more serious now, “how are you feeling about… everything? I mean, with the baby and all.”

I hesitated, unsure how to put my feelings into words. “I don’t know, honestly. I’m scared. I don’t know if we’ll ever really be safe, and I don’t know what kind of life this baby is going to have.”

Jenny nodded, her expression sympathetic. “That’s a lot to deal with.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But at the same time, I’m excited. I want this baby. I want to build a life with Ian. It’s just… hard to balance that with everything else going on.”

“I can imagine,” Jenny said softly. “But you’re going to be a great mom, Soph. I know it.”

I smiled, grateful for her support. “Thanks, Jenny.”

We fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments, the conversation settling around us. But this time, it didn’t feel suffocating. It felt like we were sharing the burden, like we were in this together.

After a while, Jenny stretched and stood up, looking down at me with a smirk. “Come on, let’s go watch something stupid on TV. I think we’ve earned a break from reality for a bit.”

“Yeah,” I agreed with a nod. “We should do this more often. You know to pretend like we are normal human and live a normal life. Once in a while.”

“You know that’s impossible, but sure!” She replied with a hearty laugh and I felt lighter than I have in weeks.