What's Forever

Chapter 14

VAL'S POV

This is absolutely insane . . . vampires. In the past five days, I still haven't been able to make sense of any of all of this. I mean, who the hell believes in vampires anyway? This isn't possible . . . I don't understand a lot of what happened right in front of my face. A man that I was starting to develop feelings for is a vampire. He's not human, he's not alive! I just . . . I don't understand how this is even possible, how are vampires a real thing?

He had more than enough opportunities to hurt me but he didn't, not once did I ever feel as I was in danger around him. Not even on the day that he told me, that day I was more shocked than anything else I realized later on.

Carlisle! He's a doctor. He's one of the best, most noble people I've ever met or had the pleasure of working with. Emmett said they don't . . . feed on humans and I believe that, I have to. I've been in the gallery and in the OR watching Carlisle operate with hands full of blood. He never wavered, he was always super steady. I would never ever have thought anything other than he's an amazing doctor.

To keep myself busy I took advantage of my three days off to help grandma Morgan move in with us. We cleaned up her house and put a few things in storage before posting it up for rent. Having her in my big house makes it feel so much cozier than it did before. Her little homey touches make the house seem more like a home. Plants and knick knacks, woven blankets thrown over the sofa and loveseat. I told her to make herself super at home and she's helped me occupy my mind.

"Val, where's Emmett?" grandma asked while I cooked.

"He's on a hiking trip with his family." I said, remembering something one of the girls said at the hospital.

"That's right! They go hiking together when we have good weather. You keep avoiding the topic when I ask you, did your date with him go that badly? Did he make that bad of an impression?"

"No, it's . . . I don't think I'm ready. He's . . . a good guy but I'm not ready." I replied.

"Sweetie, is this about Chris?"

"No . . . maybe, I miss him. I haven't dated since Chris and I tried, there were some attempts but nothing really panned out. It was a lot more than I expected."

"Dating is never easy." she said.

"Emmett is definitely not what I expected."

"Valentina, you're a single mom with a very young baby so you see the world differently and that's understandable. Dating isn't easy, you young kids always want easy but that's not going to happen. Meeting new people and getting to know them, sharing insecurities and admitting secrets is hard, but if and when that happens it means that you see a future together as a big possibility. Darling, don't turn a blind eye to love because you're scared. Be brave so that you can be happy." she said.

"Grandma . . ."

"Now I'm not saying that he loves you, but love in itself is a gift. Don't push the boy away, it's obvious that the two of you are drawn to each other. Explore the opportunity to be open to possibilities. You're young, smart, an amazing mom and person, beautiful, and so humble, you deserve to be happy. Maybe Emmett is your happy and maybe he isn't, so don't lose the opportunity to find out." she insisted before walking off to check on a crying Ava.

If only she knew the implications of me following her advice. I can't deny that I miss him, hearing his voice, and just having him around. As ironic as it sounds, I felt safe whenever I was with him . . . it was unlike anything I've ever felt before and only he made me feel that way. He told me his secret, he admitted his biggest secret to me . . . because he saw a future with me?