I could have gladly spent days simply sitting here on the couch with Donavon, with my hand in his—even though only halfway held. Finally, I had the courage to look at him. We stared at each other, frozen in time, until the film ended. With the lights off, his eyes slightly seemed to glow by the TV's illumination. I never knew I could feel so much, and at times I feared my heart might melt a hole right through my chest.

"For real, movies these days have way too much action," Jennifer said as she turned the lights back on, bringing me back to reality. My hand was left cold when Donavon's touch finally broke away.        

"Don't be crazy, Jen," Josh argued. "That's why people watch movies. Do you wanna watch a movie where people sit around all day watching planes fly by?"

"Oh my gosh, Josh, you just don't get it," she growled playfully as she hit him with a couch pillow.

"What did you think of the movie?" Jennifer asked, looking at me.

"Uh…I don't know."

Jennifer then went on to give the rest of her commentary.

I quickly texted my aunt. I found out that she had stayed home alone all day. I felt a little bad for having left her.

"I should go home now," I said, turning to Donavon.

"Alright, let's not forget Alexander this time."

He helped me get the cage to the car and drove me home. We were both very quiet the whole way there. Many thoughts rushed my mind, and I wanted to know what he was thinking, but only silence remained. Was he as awestruck as I was?

At my house, Donavon brought the cage inside, then I met him on the porch to say goodbye. My nerves refused to calm down. He turned before leaving and looked so intensely at me. It paralyzed my soul.

"Avery…I just want you to know how much you mean to me. I always want to be here for you as long as you want me around."

The air I tried to breathe seemed too thin for words.

"Is this alright?" He asked.

I simply nodded. I almost could drown inside his caring eyes and touching words. It was simply unbelievable. Only weeks ago, I had been the most secluded person ever with no hope and a bleak outlook on life. And now, I knew the most amazing person who cared for me.

He then set his arms around me in what turned into the world's longest hug. I thought him holding my hand was bad, but this was way worse—but worse in a good way.

Recovery time took a while, as I sat on the porch after Donavon drove away. Looking at the trees around me, I contemplated the new array of emotions. It wouldn't surprise me if I couldn't sleep for days after this. Finally going inside, my aunt greeted me in the living room.

"How was your time with Donavon?"

"It was uh…good." Sitting on the couch, I stared at the ground as my mind tried to process the day.

"I see that look on your face," my aunt smiled.

"What?" I looked up as my face warmed. She simply gave a knowing look. "What about you? No dates with Jeff?" I quickly changed the subject.

She laughed. "I can't just simply command him to take me out now can I?"

"Yes, I think you can—if he's been going after you for years."

She laughed again. "Anyway, that specialist I told you about travels a lot, so she won't be in the area much longer. I set an appointment for you tomorrow, if you don't mind. And I put some fresh drinks in the cupboard for you."

"Oh okay…" Her comment set me back to reality. The fact that life seemed so wonderful at the time didn't change the fact that I was still a vampire.

I made my way to the kitchen and found the jars of blood my aunt brought for me. The tasteless blood left my stomach feeling bitter. My aunt was right though, I had to tell Donavon. This was something I couldn't keep hidden forever—especially if things changed for me. But even if they didn't, wouldn't I always have to live in fear that they might later on? So didn't I lose either way? 

My aunt met me in the kitchen. "Another interesting fact that has been confirmed recently is that your kind can only have girls as children."

"I'm not having kids." My edged voice sounded a bit louder than I meant it to.

"Sweetie, I never said you had to," she said, sitting next to me at the table.

My thoughts then broke out to her. "And they always turn out vampires don't they? My mother shouldn't have ever had me. I most certainly wouldn't bring another monster into this world to suffer."

My aunt was quiet a moment after hearing my rant. "Are you suffering, Avery?" She questioned.

Immediately, I saw her call out to my over dramatic answer. "No, Aunt Lil… I'm sorry."

She gave a light squeeze to my arm. "It's going to be alright."

Going to bed early, I let all the past thoughts and feelings roam around in my mind. How could my aunt promise such bold words? She had said before that my parents had been happy together. But even if I was happy, what they had wasn't what I wanted. Desperately, I just wanted to be back with Donavon and not have to worry about any of this mess.

~*~

The next morning, my aunt and I left to see the so-called specialist. We met in a hotel room—nothing fancy like I was expecting. I sat on the bed while she tested my blood and other things with the equipment that she brought around with her.

"As I have been telling your Aunt," she spoke after the testing, "when it comes to vampirism, it's not unheard of for one to be unaffected for a long period of time, and who knows maybe even forever. There is just so very little information out there, and that's why I am making an effort to change that. The patient I met with was drinking only guinea pig blood, and I thought maybe that was the secret answer. But now that I know that Avery here has been consistently drinking cow blood, it makes me think that maybe it's about the consistency rather than the kind of blood. And again all of this, at this time, is only guess-work. But I think it would be best to keep things how they are, seeing how old you are and seemingly very healthy." 

My aunt gave a hopeful glance to me.

"It's all so fascinating." She went on. "There is still so much to learn, but we have discovered that those with vampirism have internal organs that work completely different. The body still makes its own blood, but it's as if it forgets how after a time and needs a little reminder, hence why not much blood is needed to be drunk. Strangely, a lot of this process happens in the heart. Alright then," the woman concluded. "Thanks for coming to see me. We can discuss further possible treatment if necessary."

Back on the drive home, I tried to study my aunt's face.

"What did she mean by further treatment?" I asked.

She didn't answer till after turning a corner. "We don't have to worry about that now." She gave a quick smile. 

She seemed to be acting the same way when I had asked about the knife my dad gave me. As much as she seemed to down play any negativity to my condition, she still seemed to be uncomfortable with certain topics. I didn't blame her though—I felt the same way.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the day?" She asked. "Or were you wanting to see Donavon again?"

"Unless you had plans, we could just hang out."

The rest of the day, I forced my worries to dissipate and simply enjoy the time I had with my aunt. She taught me painting techniques, and later we went out for ice cream. Finally, by the end of the day, I felt much more at ease. I had a wonderful aunt, and a wonderful…uh…kind of boyfriend. What more did I need?