74

74

Sophia’s POV

I was pacing up and down in Jenny’s room, keeping an eye on her while she slept peacefully on the bed. Fuck. She had been kidnapped. She could have been killed, or whatever worse things that could have happened to her just because I let her go grocery shopping for the snacks that I ate all on my own.

God.

I felt terrible. I felt so fucking bad and I didn’t know what to do to make that feeling go away. I wasn’t really sure if that feeling was supposed to go away. Maybe I deserved to feel that way and worse. I could have been the death of my best friend.

That couldn’t just leave my head like that. The fact that Jenny could have died because I didn’t follow her. I felt horrible. Maybe I was a genuinely horrible person and I deserved to feel that way every way of my fucking life.

I sat by the edge of her bed and burst into tears right next to her, my shoulders quaking and my sobs loud that I didn’t even care that I could wake her up.

I couldn’t bring myself to stop. I just couldn’t.

I felt so fucking bad. I could have lost her because I wasn’t being careful enough. Maybe Ian was right. Maybe he had always been right and I should have just listened to him instead of forcing him to tell his men to go away from them. Maybe if one of them had been shadowing Jenny then she wouldn’t have been kidnapped.

I stared at her and found myself smiling in pride. Yes, I was proud of her. I was proud of the fact that she still managed to get out of the car and almost made her way back to this place.

And I found myself wondering how she would be like is she was one of us? She would definitely be handling it well than I was. She’d be the better vampire, no doubt. She’d be the one who was making the better decisions and have total control over herself. Unlike me. I barely had any control over myself and I was still managing to make the most terrible decisions.

I signed, rubbing my face with a sigh. If anyone tried to hurt her again…if anyone tried to hurt a hair on her haid just because of us, I’d be the end of that person.

I remained seated on the chair, watching her and making sure she was okay. I needed to be sure that she was okah and that nobody tries to come in her and attack her. Ian had given her his blood, which had healed her of her bruises. I didn’t know vampire blood had healing properties.

The downside to it was that I couldn’t leave her side because if she died with his blood still in her system then she’d become one of us. And that was unacceptable. I just couldn’t allow that. Jenny didn’t deserve this world. In fact, she didn’t deserve to be involved in anything concerning the supernaturals at all.

I didn’t even realize that I was starting to doze off in Jenny’s room until Ian came inside and kissed my forehead.

I startled awake, jumping slightly on the couch and sighing in relo9wjen I realized it was him.

“Wh---” I began with a confused look. “What are you doing here?” I asked him with a raised eyebrow. It wasn’t my fault that I was confused. I thought he’d be downstairs with Jacob, keeling watch and making sure there’s no suspicious activity going on outside.

“I told you earlier today. You and I have a lot to talk about,” he reminded and I gulped.

“Oh,” I murmured, turning away from him slightly. I couldn’t be excited that he wanted to talk to me. It was clear that whatever he had to say wouldn’t be pleasing to my own ears.

“First of all, I need you to explain everything that happened to me. Why did Jenny go out? And I don’t want you lying,” he said flatly, sitting down next to me.

“I told you the truth,” I murmured. And I really did. Jenny didn’t tell me exactly where she was going or what she was going out to do. I had an hint. Not an hint, I knew exactly where she had gone to and what she had gone to do.

“Not the full truth,” he replied with a shake of his head. “It’s okay. You know you can tell me. Jacob isn’t here to intimidate or scare you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he added.

I squared my shoulders and looked away from him. “She went grocery shopping,” I murmured.

“Then why didn’t you tell us?” He asked me calmly. “Why didn’t you tell us so we’d have started looking for her there first?”

“I didn’t think about that,” I mumbled my reply.

“Why did you even let her go alone in the first place? Why didn’t you follow her?” He asked and I shook my head.

“Jenny is not one of us,” I began with a shake of my head. “She’s human. She deserves to be actually treated like one. She deserves to have the freedom to go out without having to watch her back all the damn time or having any form of reminder that she might be in danger. I’m that reminder. And I didn’t want that. I want her to have a normal life, not this mess that I had dragged her into.”

He sighed and shook his head. “I think Jenny understands this perfectly well. She understands what were trying to protect her. She understands that we want the best for her. She knows we love her and we want her safe at all costs. And I don’t think she minds.”

“How will you know that?” I shot at him.

“If she minds then she should tell you. You shouldn’t be the one deciding by yourself whether your best friend likes how we’re trying to protect her or not. Let her talk for herself,” he replied gently.

I bit my lip. I shouldn’t be the one deciding for her. He was right.

“So…” I began. “You’re not…gonna like…yell at me?”

He shook his head with a chuckle. “Why would I?”

“I thought you’re mad at me,” I murmured.

“I am,” I confirmed. “But me being mad at you doesn’t mean I have to yell you. Yelling at you wouldn’t change what have happened. I just need you to promise me that you’d be more careful. Okay?”

I bit my lip and nodded at him. “Okay.”