The next few weeks were crazy. Things went from down, to up, to back down again.
First, Simon let Riley go as well for also violating the contract. That meant the two wouldn't have an income, and the Raging Rebels were done. However, due to looking for a new agent, Whitney was able to get one that loved her music and was intrigued at having a vampire for a client. She'd lost Simon as an agent, but she hadn't lost her record deal with Erica since the two were separate contracts. She was surprised Erica, being a friend of Simon's, didn't let her go, but she thanked her lucky stars that wasn't the case.
To help Riley out, the two signed on as a band couple, and Riley would play the drums while Whitney played the guitar and sang. The two got a gig at The Prosper Room at long last, and fans loved Whitney's new "makeover".
A major upside was that Whitney was now so popular, she got her own limo to take her everywhere. She no longer needed to rely on a cab, and she didn't have to fork out the money for a car of her own.
The biggest downside was Whitney somewhat lost her "country girl" image, since her new agent wanted to really play up the vampire thing. Even her music got a little darker as her second album's release date got closer. But she was willing to take that sacrifice to save her career. She'd let Simon down, but she wouldn't let her new agent down.
Whitney felt her thirst constantly, so they'd had to invest in plasma juice to quench it. She could also eat "human" food, but it wasn't nearly as good as when she'd been the right species for it. And then she was trapped inside all day, because going out in the sun was no fun. Too much exposure led to the terrible feeling of burning skin, which is literally what happened.
The best part of this whole ordeal was that Whitney and Riley were still going as strong as ever. Riley wanted Whitney to be happy, so he'd agreed to look into the cure for her when he could since he was more familiar with Bridgeport than she was. Plus, she couldn't really go out during the day.
She began to go stir-crazy, and realized that if it weren't for her gigs (which thankfully took place at night), she wouldn't get out of the apartment at all. Five or ten minutes in the scorching sun was all her skin could take. This took sunburn to a whole new level. And she didn't like it.
One night, Whitney woke up suddenly feeling nauseas. Covering her mouth, she bolted to the bathroom, where she dropped to her hands and knees, leaned over the toilet, and expelled what seemed like 10 gallons of plasma juice as well as plasma fruit and a few human foods.
Tears fell from her eyes as she prayed to the porcelain god. What in the world was this all about? She hadn't eaten anything she hadn't eaten a million times before, and she hadn't had any issues with plasma juice either. So why would she suddenly feel sick to her stomach and begin throwing up in the middle of the night?
Riley walked into the bathroom as she flushed the toilet and began brushing her teeth to get the rancid taste out of her mouth. "What the hell was that?" he asked.
Whitney rinsed out her mouth before answering.
"I have no idea. I just felt sick all of a sudden and had to throw up."
"I hope you're not getting the stomach flu. Do vampires even get that?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. But I guess I could still go to the doctor and get checked out."
"It might be the best thing to do. Since you're a celeb, even a cold might screw you up."
Whitney and Riley returned to bed, and Whitney thankfully didn't get sick the rest of the night. Instead, she spent it wrapped in Riley's arms.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
She was sick most of the next day and a few times that night, and then a few times the day after that. She began craving the oddest things, and the thought of hamburgers, her favorite food, churned her stomach. She was getting worried.
At last, when she made it to the doctor's office, the problem was confirmed - Whitney was about a month pregnant.
"That can't be," she argued to the doctor. "We use protection."
"It doesn't always work," the doctor replied. "Even once, if it's not used properly or forgotten, pregnancy can be the result."
"But...well, could it be because I'm a vampire?"
"Not possible. We've done several tests and experiments on vampires and humans, and the chances for pregnancy are the same regardless."
Whitney's heart sank. She was almost a month pregnant, but how? She and Riley had used protection, and there was no way it had been used wrong.
As her fang bit her lip in her thoughts, an even more disturbing thought flooded her mind.
Jordan hadn't used protection. And the signs of pregnancy were showing up a few weeks after what had happened, which was accurate according to all she'd heard about pregnancy and its side effects.
Whitney paid the doctor quite a bundle to keep him quiet so he didn't go to the press with this information, and he gave her his word. She then bolted from the doctor's office and ran to her waiting limo. She ordered the driver to return her home as fast as possible.
All the way there, Whitney felt her temper heat up. How dare he! Not only did Jordan take advantage of her and turn her into a vampire, he'd gotten her pregnant. Even if she and Riley hadn't used protection or had used it incorrectly, this baby would be at least half-vampire. She didn't even know what species it would be.
Whitney began sobbing as she climbed the stairs to Riley's apartment. As if things in her life couldn't get any worse. Now she had to have Jordan's baby.
The trek upstairs seemed to take forever, yet it also seemed like Whitney's imminent doom. How could she possibly tell Riley? It wasn't like she cheated on him, but still. Neither of them were ready to have a baby. They hadn't even talked about marriage, much less starting a family.
At last, Whitney reached the door to the apartment. She took a deep breath, tried to hold back her tears, and walked in. Riley was watching TV on the couch. He seemed so calm and happy now; she was willing to bet he wouldn't be after this.
"Hey, you're back," he said when he heard her approaching and turned around. "What'd the doctor say?"
"He said..." Whitney didn't know how vampires could be so weak, but she felt herself beginning to break.
"What?" Riley asked, standing up.
"You should probably stay sitting down for this."
"Just tell me, Whit. What's wrong?"
She might as well get it over with. All in one breath, she blurted out, "He said I'm pregnant."
Riley dropped the remote. "What?"
Whitney just nodded.
"But...you can't be. We were safe. We've always been safe!"
"You were. But...he wasn't."
"Who...oh my God."
The meaning of Whitney's words finally dawned on Riley. He kicked the couch, punched the wall, and started cursing up and down.
"That son of a bitch! It's not enough he had to take advantage of you and turn you into a monster, but now he's got you knocked up too!"
Whitney raised her head. "Monster? I thought..."
"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. What I meant was, Jordan turned you into a vampire against your will, and that makes him a monster."
Whitney read Riley's mind and found that he was telling the truth. She hadn't told him about her mind-reading ability, since she'd lost trust in almost everyone and wanted to keep the handy power a secret.
"I don't know what to do," she finally said, breaking down. Riley pulled her into an embrace.
"I wish I could hurt that bastard the way he hurt you. But we'll get through this together. Everything will be okay."
But Whitney was only half listening. Hurt Jordan the way he'd hurt her...there was a thought. She'd hated every day that she was a vampire, simply because it hadn't been her choice to begin with. She'd originally thought of it as a curse. But now, she felt differently.
She'd embrace this curse as a gift in disguise, at least until she got the cure. She didn't want this to begin with, and she didn't deserve it. A new kind of thirst entered her. A thirst of vengeance. Jordan had done this to her as an act of revenge. Soon, she'd have hers.
"He said..." Whitney didn't know how vampires could be so weak, but she felt herself beginning to break.
"What?" Riley asked, standing up.
"You should probably stay sitting down for this."
"Just tell me, Whit. What's wrong?"
She might as well get it over with. All in one breath, she blurted out, "He said I'm pregnant."
Riley dropped the remote. "What?"
Whitney just nodded.
"But...you can't be. We were safe. We've always been safe!"
"You were. But...he wasn't."
"Who...oh my God."
The meaning of Whitney's words finally dawned on Riley. He kicked the couch, punched the wall, and started cursing up and down.
"That son of a bitch! It's not enough he had to take advantage of you and turn you into a monster, but now he's got you knocked up too!"
Whitney raised her head. "Monster? I thought..."
"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. What I meant was, Jordan turned you into a vampire against your will, and that makes him a monster."
Whitney read Riley's mind and found that he was telling the truth. She hadn't told him about her mind-reading ability, since she'd lost trust in almost everyone and wanted to keep the handy power a secret.
"I don't know what to do," she finally said, breaking down. Riley pulled her into an embrace.
"I wish I could hurt that bastard the way he hurt you. But we'll get through this together. Everything will be okay."
But Whitney was only half listening. Hurt Jordan the way he'd hurt her...there was a thought. She'd hated every day that she was a vampire, simply because it hadn't been her choice to begin with. She'd originally thought of it as a curse. But now, she felt differently.
She'd embrace this curse as a gift in disguise, at least until she got the cure. She didn't want this to begin with, and she didn't deserve it. A new kind of thirst entered her. A thirst of vengeance. Jordan had done this to her as an act of revenge. Soon, she'd have hers.
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