Roslyn

Jackie joins me on my bed after changing in to her sleeping clothes. She folds her legs and faces me.

"So James wants me to keep the baby." I sigh, jumping right in to our weekly rant session.

"So it's true, you're pregnant?" She asks, knowing that the last time we spoke about it, I wasn't sure yet.

I nod. "I went to the doctors yesterday. But I already kinda knew that already." I pick at my fingernails.

"You don't have to listen to James. I know it's different for vampires but it doesn't mean you don't get a choice." Jackie hands me a piece of her cookie. "It's still your body, you know?"

"How come you are so understanding?" I ask. "I mean, James just doesn't understand it at all. But you, you seem to see my side too."

Jackie laughs. "I haven't gotten to chose a lot in my life. Becoming a vampire, well, I was a baby. My parents made that decision for me and Julie. I've had a lot forced upon me because of my kind and when I got pregnant I had to keep the baby-"

I stop her before she can continue. "Wait, back up! You got pregnant? You're so young!"

"I'm 1,376 years old Roslyn." Jackie reminds me that just because she looks young, doesn't mean she is. "And yes I had a baby about," she pauses to think. "Six hundred years ago?"

"W-where is the baby now?" I ask, noticing the topic doesn't seem to bother her at all.

She shrugs. "The father took her. Again, I didn't have a say in the matter." She looks up from her snack. "James can't force you to have this baby. You don't know what it will do to you. I wish I could tell you but my situation was very different. For me, I was the vampire."

"So your child is half-vampire and half-human?"

Jackie nods. "And the pregnancy was hard but not impossible." Jackie grabs my hands. "But my body has an incredible regeneration rate. Like a video game, remember? Humans aren't built the same way so you can't use me as an example."

I nod and squeeze her hand. "Do you ever think about what would have happened if you didn't keep the baby?"

"Sometimes. But in our culture, that never happens. I would probably be killed if I refused." She explains with a shrug as if it means nothing to her.  "Sometimes I do think about my daughter though. And her good-for-nothing father who probably raised her to hate the vampire side of her." Jackie's tone turns sour. She shakes her head. "Enough about my daughter. Let's talk about you again, please."

I nod. "How is Zack?" I ask, watching her face light up.

Author's note: were you expecting Jackie to reveal that about herself?