Love And Other Drugs

18

Pov Josh

'Mallory?' 'Josh, hey. Isn't Teddy with you?' She asks and looks behind me.
'No,' I sit down at a chair next to her bed, 'I had some questions about him.'
'Oh, go ahead.'

'He has been acting weird and I don't know what to expect.' 'Go ahead ask.'

I take a deep breath. 'So uhm.. if we theoretically were going to adopt a child through surrogacy..' She cuts me off. 'I can't help you if you don't tell me the truth.' 'Louise forced him to.. spend a night with a girl and now she's pregnant. She's almost due.'

'Sounds like a horrible thing to deal with.' I sigh. 'It is, but we managed.'
'Well what's the problem?'
'He has been repeating he doesn't want to see it and wants nothing to do with it,' I say in a quiet whisper and lower my head.

His mother grabs my hand causing me to look up again. 'His father did the same thing when Tori was born. He abandoned her for years. He didn't when Ted was born and that's why she hated him,' she takes a quick breath, 'I think it's just a weird instinct. Try to get him out of that setting. Let him see and hold the child, eye contact should be enough. It will be a challenge to get him to do that.' I sigh.

'Why are vampires so complicated?'
'We aren't..' 'Ted is.' She nods.

'Josh will you look after my little boy, help him, love him when I'm not around anymore?'
'Why suddenly this subject?' I ask surprised. She looks at the window.

'I won't be around much longer and I want him to live the best life he can. You're the only thing he has Josh.'
'There really isn't a crazy uncle anywhere?' She shakes her head.
'My parents died before he was even born and I'm a only child, so was his father. He lost his grandmother and father at five years old, they died in a car crash. He has no aunts.. no uncles. He lost his brother at eight years old, he watched his father being slaughtered at ten years old, he watched his sister die at sixteen,' she takes a deep breath, 'and now he's going to lose his mother at twenty three years old. You're the only one he has left.' What a childhood.. no wonder he doesn't talk much about it.

'Wait.. he had a brother? I never noticed another boy on the photos?' 'Those are hidden, we we're devastated.. looking at his pictures broke our hearts. The two were very close.' 'What was his name?' I ask carefully. 'Jeffery.'

I wanted to ask more.. I needed to know more.. but I couldn't keep bothering her with it. I need to ask it to Ted and I don't think he will talk about it without problems.. he never mentioned a brother in the first place.

'

'I don't want to..' I cut him off by putting my hand over his mouth.
'I know you don't want to see it, be close to it or even take in it's existence,' I look him directly in his eyes, 'Do you know how selfish that sounds Ted?' Of course he can't answer me.. my hand is still on his mouth.

I watch his eyes become darker and darker. 'Don't you dare Teddy, I just want to have a normal conversation.'
He exhales loudly and I watch his eyes turn back to the bloodred colour they always are around me.

He always had his fangs out around me and I don't know why, it started all the way back to when I drugged him. I'm certain he wouldn't keep them out due to that exact reason.

I feel how he takes my hand away from his mouth.
'Don't think to much when you're literally staring me deeply into my eyes. You know it's difficult for me to ignore your thoughts this way,' he tighten his grip around my wrist, 'I have them out because even though you might not kill me.. others want me to be gone. Besides you can see my normal eyes when we're with friends since I don't wear the glasses anymore.'

I tuck some hairs behind his ears. 'You should be less aware of every single danger you might or might not face. I'm sure everyone will be less frightened when your eyes aren't red.' He closes his eyes and looks away.
'I'm well aware there are people against you, but you know how many are against me right? And I'm not holding my bow every time I go for a walk.' He sighs and let go of my wrist.

I quickly look at my wrist to see it's completely red.
'That wasn't necessary,' I mumble.
'It wasn't,' he says calmly as he walks to the couch, 'Well.. talk to me then.'

I sit down opposite from him and my mind is going mental thinking about where I should start.
'You're hurting me,' he whispers.
'Huh? How?' I ask surprised.
'Because your mind is chaotic.'
'Don't read my thoughts then.'
'Like I just said, it's difficult to ignore when you're staring right into my eyes.'

'Ted do you want to be like your dad?' I ask when I finally know how to start. 'In which way?'
'Abandoning your first child.'
'He didn't,' he mutters back. He really hates it when I talk bad about his dad.
'Never wondered why Tori hated you for so long? It's because your dad abandoned her for years. And he didn't abandon you.'

He shakes his head.. that's all he does. 'Go ask your mother then! Do you really think I'm making this up?'
He lays his hands down on my shoulder. 'What is your point.'
'You have some weird instinct in your family that wants nothing to do with the first born child.'
'And how is talking about it going to help us?' He asks annoyed.
'I don't know, I just wanted you to know.'