And If The Sun Comes Up

Sophie’s P.O.V (Sunday morning; October 1995)

I woke up at 9:30am facing Jake who was sleeping soundly next to me on my bed. I could have carried on looking at him all day; he looked beautiful lying there in peaceful slumber. I slowly and quietly got off the bed and walked over to my full length mirror next to my wardrobe. I looked like I’d been having a fight in my sleep; my hair was standing up on end, my face looked tired and my pj’s were badly creased. Oh well, I’m sure I would start to feel more like my usual self once I’d gone downstairs and had a cup of hot morning coffee. Before I vacated my room, I took one quick glance back at Jake and he hadn’t budged. I lightly closed the door and went downstairs.

The sun was cascading through the kitchen and living room and the house was eerily quiet. I walked through to the kitchen and flicked the coffee percolator on. While I was waiting for my coffee to brew, I reached up to the top cupboard and pulled out some cereal. I then shuffled over to the refrigerator and took out some milk. I had to have breakfast in a morning; I couldn’t get through the day without it.

I made my breakfast and picked up the jar of hot, steaming coffee and proceeded to pour myself a nice big mug full. I sat down at the kitchen breakfast table and noticed that there was a note addressed to me. I unfolded the paper and read to myself whilst sipping my drink;

“MORNING DARLING,

YOUR DAD AND I HAVE DECIDED TO GO AWAY FOR A WEEK; POSSIBLY EVEN TWO. SORRY ITS SUCH LATE NOTICE HUN, BUT YOUR DAD’S BEEN GIVEN SOME UNEXPECTED TIME OFF DUE TO WORK BEING SLOW AT THE MOMENT AND SEEING AS WE HAVEN’T HAD A HOLIDAY FOR AGES, WE THOUGHT THAT NOW WAS AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY.

WE DON’T KNOW WHERE WE GOING YET; WE MAY JUST HAVE A BIT OF A TOURING HOLIDAY AND STAY OVER AT SOME HOTELS OR B&B’S – YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF THING.

REMEMBER; WE’RE ONLY A PHONE CALL AWAY IF YOU NEED US FOR ANYTHING AT ALL. WE’VE LEFT YOU £200 IN THE BREAD BIN AND THERE’S PLENTY OF FOOD IN FOR YOU. WE’VE EVEN BOUGHT IN A SUPPLY OF BEER FOR YOU AND JAKE TO ENJOY, BUT JUST TAKE IT EASY, OK?

WE ASSUME THAT JAKE WILL BE STAYING WITH YOU; WE KNOW YOU’LL BE SAFE IF YOU’RE TOGETHER. IF YOU CAN’T BE GOOD; BE CAREFUL.

WE HOPE YOU’RE NOT MAD AT US DARLING, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME TOGETHER; WE HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT. REMEMBER, THIS’LL BE A NICE LITTLE BREAK FOR YOU AND JAKE AS MUCH AS IT IS FOR YOUR DAD AND ME.
IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, ANYTHING AT ALL, WE ARE JUST A PHONE CALL AWAY.
HOPE YOU BOTH HAVE A LOVELY TIME.

LOVE YOU ALWAYS

MOM”

I looked up from the letter with a smile on my face. Not only was I pleased that me and Jake could spend some time on our own together, but I was also happy for my parents. They really hadn’t been on holiday for such a long time, so this was a much deserved break for both of them.

I finished my cereal, drank the last dregs of my coffee and put my washing in the sink. I skipped over to the bread bin and sure enough I found £200 rolled up. I left it in there; I would only use it if I really had to.

I wandered into the living room and flicked on the TV. I hated Sunday morning television; it was mainly current affairs/news shows, but now and again, you’d find the odd cartoon to watch. This morning was no different, so I landed on Dungeons and Dragons and made myself comfortable on the sofa.

Half an hour passed and I heard the bottom stair creak; Jake’s up then. I turned around to watch him amble through to the kitchen practically replicating every movement I made half an hour a go. Coffee was always big on the agenda for both of us.

He wandered over and plonked himself beside me on the sofa. He mumbled some kind of ‘good morning’ and placed a kiss on my right cheek. He sat in sleepy silence for about ten minutes.

“Morning sugar,” he managed, “How long you been up?”

“Oh, I’ve been up since about 9:30am Hun,” I replied, “You ok?”

“Just exhausted really Soph. I was up half the night being scared shitless by you, but other than that, I’ve had a wonderful night.” He replied sarcastically.

“Sorry Jake, I know I was a bit of a pain.” I put my arm round his shoulders.

“Well, not to worry, at least we survived the night, eh?”

I nodded with agreement before we both turned our heads back to the TV to catch the end credits of Dungeons and Dragons. I was itching to tell Jake the news about Mom and Dad being away until he kind of read my mind.

“Where’re your folk’s Hun? They’re normally up and about long before we’ve surfaced?”
I pulled the note my Mom had left me from underneath the cushion I was leaning on. I handed it to Jake.

“Read; it’ll explain everything.” I smiled knowing that he would do too once he’d read it.

“Jeez Soph, this is the best news in like, forever!” He was as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

“I knew you’d be happy,” I replied as I slapped his knee, “We have beer and food and money; what more could we possibly need?”

“Well, I could think of a thing or two, but what we’ve got sounds fine to me!” A cheeky smirk was spreading across his face as he pulled me to him and kissed me deeply.

Once I’d recovered from the face-sucking, I suggested we both go upstairs and get ready for the day. Now that we had the house to ourselves, we had to make every moment count.

We were both in the bathroom trying to get ready when Jake turned to me and looked at me sincerely.

“You know Soph; I don’t think you’ll turn.” This statement took me a little by surprise, “If you were bitten properly you would have turned by now, seriously. I know you had a couple of moments in the night when you were restless, but there are no signs that you’ve been turned. It would have happened by now, I’m sure of it.” He seemed like he was confirming his own thoughts. .

“That’s such a relief,” a sigh escaped my lungs, “but there’s still the fact that I was bitten. Surely if you’re bitten then you will turn at some point?”

“Not necessarily so Hun. Sometimes a vampire will bite you to just get a taste, then if they like, they’ll actually go for the full whammy. If they don’t like what they’ve tasted, they’ll just leave you with the marks from their teeth; nothing more, nothing less.”

“Oh, so my blood isn’t good enough?” I joked.

“You’re blood’s just fine Sophie. Maybe Lucas just didn’t enjoy you on the night, that’s all.” There was a hint of apology in his voice. “There is one way that we can truly find out if you’ve been turned or not.” He challenged.

“Really, well if there is, tell me and let’s do it!” a sense of urgency filled my being.

“Ok, but you’ve got to promise me you won’t be angry Soph?”

“Just do it Jake. I need to know for definite.”

Jake walked up to me so that he was only inches away from me. We looked into each other’s eyes for a few seconds before Jake raised his right wrist to his mouth. I wandered what he was doing at first but then he opened his mouth. The fangs seemed to just grow out of nowhere, and then he did it; his teeth sank into the thin flesh on his wrist. His blood oozed from the wound and he took his mouth away. He then held his wrist up in front of my face.

“Sorry Soph; I had to do this.”

I stared at his wrist in horror. I kept looking from his eyes then back to his wrist and wandered what on earth he was trying to do.

“Well,” he urged, “drink me?”

“Excuse me? What the hell are you doing Jake?”

“If you’re a vampire, you’ll need to take your first blood whether it’s a vampire’s or a mortal’s. Ok, it’s true that a vampire’s blood is nowhere near as good as a mortal’s, but when you’re thirsty, you really do not care where you’re first taste comes from!” He seemed very impatient.

“I do not want to drink you Jake; how could I? You’re my best friend and I couldn’t do that to you.”

Jake looked relieved but also slightly disappointed. Maybe deep down he wanted me to be a vampire so that we’d always be together, forever. I felt so bad for him and all I wanted to do was tell him we’d never be apart, but the words wouldn’t form in my mouth. Just as I finally managed to pluck up the nerve to say anything, Jake caught my breath and put his finger to my lips.

“Shhh. Don’t say anything Soph; please just hold me?” His voice was breaking with muted sobs.

I pulled him close to me and held him like it was our last night on earth. In that moment, I wanted so badly to have taken his blood; I wanted to be a vampire just for him. He nuzzled his head right in to my neck and finally broke down.

“I’m sorry Soph,” he whispered, “It was so selfish of me to make you go through that. I hope you’ll forgive me; I really didn’t mean to upset you. Please, please say you’ll forgive me?”

I lightly pushed him away from me and looked into his red-raw eyes. I could see my life in them; I could see how much I meant to him.

“There’s really nothing to forgive Jake,” I replied sincerely, “You’ve done nothing wrong. Please don’t blame yourself. At least now we can move on with life and us and everything; we know where we stand.”

“We still ok then Soph?”

I leant forward and cupped his face in both of my hands. I pulled his face right up to mine and kissed him like I’d never kissed him before. Every fibre of my body screamed out to him; needed him. He kissed me back passionately.

“What do you think?” I questioned with a small smirk on my face.

We looked at each other and we knew that at that moment, no words could ever truly describe the feelings that were flowing between us. Jake smiled at me through his tears and I knew he understood.