A Complicated Life [COMPLETED]

Chapter Sixteen

Clawdeen's Point Of View

"We're going to keep you overnight to make sure nothing else goes wrong. We still don't quite understand how you're better, but we're all glad that you are," the nurse said as she fluffed Clawdeen's pillow.

"Come on," Clawdeen said. "It's my niece's birthday," she added, pushing herself up in the bed. The nurse shook her head.

"I'm sorry. We can't release you," she said. "Just behave yourself," she said and walked out of the room. Clawdeen sighed and leaned back in the bed.

"One to ten, what's your pain?" The doctor asked as he walked into the room. Clawdeen looked up to see Jackson Jekyll's familiar face.

"Zero," Clawdeen said, crossing her arms. "I have been in here long enough. I'm fine," she said angrily, looking up at the doctor. He nodded.

"I just need to check your vitals. If they're all good, you can leave," he said. He unwrapped his stethoscope from his neck and sighed. Clawdeen sat up in the bed and waited. She was going to get to see Nicole on her birthday. Jackson held the metal piece to Clawdeen's chest and frowned. He cleared his throat and held up his index finger.

Jackson's Point Of View

"One second," he said softly. He rubbed the metal piece on his shirt and then held it up to his own chest. The comforting thump thump sound was there. He placed it back on Clawdeen's chest and waited. Nothing. He cleared his throat again.

"What?" Clawdeen asked.

"Um, you don't have a heartbeat," Jackson said quietly. Why didn't she have a heartbeat? She was a werewolf. They were living, breathing creatures; she should have a heartbeat.

"I know," she said softly. "Thad saved my life," she added. Jackson looked up at her and wrapped the stethoscope back around his neck. He opened his mouth to ask how, but he saw it. Her teeth were sharper and were hanging over her bottom lip more than they ever had before. Her teeth were a shiny white, her fur was a beautiful brown color. Clawdeen Wolf was a vampire.

Clawdeen's Point Of View

"Spit it out, Jackson. What's wrong?" Clawdeen asked.

"You're a vampire," Jackson whispered. Clawdeen shrugged.

"Maybe I am. Why does that matter? I'm well and healthy. I've never felt so alive!" Clawdeen exclaimed.

"You're dead!" Jackson shouted, slamming his fist into the edge of the bed. He brought his hand up to his chest and held it with his other hand. He rubbed at his knuckles before he looked back at Clawdeen. "You do not feel alive. You are dead. Vampires do not have a heartbeat. They do not have reflections. They do not have souls to show that they're alive. You are dead," he repeated. Clawdeen's anger was beginning to burn inside of her.

"They have souls, Jackson. They have very good souls," she said quietly. Even through the quietness, the anger was clear in her voice. She was defending Draculaura. She had a soul.

"I know what your thinking, but she didn't have a soul, either. She didn't have a soul from the minute that Dracula turned her into a vampire and she remained without one until the minute that her heart started beating, again. Within a second, Clawdeen was out of the bed. The door closed as her hand closed on Jackson's shoulder. She was close enough to him that he could feel her forced breath on his neck.

"She had one, Jackson. I remember a time when you loved her. Don't stand here and tell me she didn't have a soul," Clawdeen hissed through clenched teeth. Jackson's breath caught in his throat as he stood there, Clawdeen's new fangs hovering only a centimeter away from his neck. "Do you enjoy having a heartbeat, Jackson? Do you enjoy being normal?" She asked as the tips of her fangs touched his neck.

"Clawdeen, don't do something stupid," he whispered.

"Jackson, do you enjoy having a soul? The soul that is used to feel emotions, the very emotions that Draculaura used to feel for you. The very emotions that she then felt for Clawd with such strength that it still hasn't been broken," she paused and pulled away from him, her hands tightening on his shoulder. "Did she have a soul, Jackson?" She asked, the "s" in "Jackson" coming out as a hiss.

"She had a soul, ok? She had a soul, problem solved," Jackson said, his voice rushed with panic. Clawdeen laughed as her fangs touched his neck once again.

"I'm asking for what you think, Jackson, not what you're scared little brain is forcing you to say. No pressure, I'm just asking: did she have a soul?" She asked. She let the question hang in the air as she waited for a reply. She drew away from him again, but her hands remained on his shoulders.

"She didn't have a soul, Clawdeen. Her emotions were forced, just like her habit of sleeping, eating, and breathing. You don't need a soul to force your thoughts," Jackson whispered.

"Do you... do you remember when Draculaura and Clawd used to walk down the hallway hand in hand? When they used to smile at each other and you would swear that everyone could feel... feel their love for each other?" She paused. "Doesn't that require a soul to have that kind of effect on other people?" She asked.

"I... yeah. She had a soul, Clawdeen. Sometimes, it's just easier to pretend she didn't. If... if she hadn't had a soul, she never would've ended up making the wishes that she had. She'd still be Draculaura, you know?" He asked. Clawdeen smiled warmly as a single tear ran down her cheek. She leaned over and pulled him into a hug.

Jackson had never been a boy she had gotten along with greatly. Everyone had always wanted to be around Holt Hyde, not Jackson Jekyll. In reality, without Draculaura, Jackson was just as lost as everyone else.