Chapter 1.19: You Can Try

Authors Note: Know how I said you wouldn't hear from Juniper's POV again? Turns out, I was wrong. I'm just going to say that her point of view isn't going to be as common anymore but is still possible.

Juniper had convinced herself that it was in her families best interest if she scouted out the new neighbors; knowing everyone in Willow Creek came handy and she was certainly not going to slack off now. She knocked on the door, and waited with Toby by her side in case they were axe murderers. "Do you think they are serial killers?" Juniper asked jokingly.

"Nope, I think they are nice people. I heard one Venus's mom that only two people moved in," Toby said. She smiled, and patted him on the shoulder. Their relationship was a bit rocky, and sometimes they fought, but they were trying to work through it. He still was unable to understand why she quit being an investor, and there was nothing she could say to make him understand how awful it was for her. Juniper had stayed in that career to support her children when they didn't have another source of income, but Toby was making good money now and Isobel sold her paintings to help to.

The door swung open, and a lady answered as she smiled at them. Juniper's hair stood up on her arms, she had a bad feeling for some reason but she smiled nonetheless. Innocent until proven guilty, right? "Hello! Come in, it's so nice of you two to greet us on our first day here," the woman said. They followed her to living room and sat down, on the sofa together. Juniper fidgeted, placing her hand stiffly on Toby's leg and fidgeting some more.

The conversation went on, laughing and joking around until the woman whose name was Fallon mentioned vampires. "What?" Juniper asked, coldly.

"My daughter and I are vampires, just moved here from Forgotten Hollow and we are so glad that you don't mind," Fallon said happily. She now knew why she had bad feeling, and her eyes narrowed. This woman and her offspring had moved here, near her family. Juniper felt her anger surfacing; she had only two goals in her life. The first was to raise her children with love and kindness; the second was to keep them away from any and all vampires.

"What's wrong?" Fallon asked.

"You and your filthy daughter are what's wrong! The two of you are blood sucking monsters that prey on innocent people," Juniper spat at her. Her fist were clinched and her hands shook with anger; this was unacceptable.

"Excuse me! How dare you insult my daughter that way!" Fallon said, her eyes now narrowed.  Toby was trying to calm her down, trying to distract her from her rage at this fucking horrible discovery and it wasn't working.

"You are monsters! Fucking blood thirsty monsters that don't know right from wrong, and if I ever see you near me or my family there will be no place for you to hide where I won't find you. I suggest you pack up and go back to whatever hell hole you crawled out of and stay there," Juniper said icily. The atmosphere changed, just then as Fallow hissed at her and Juniper glared back.

"Juniper, what has gotten into you?' Toby asked, he was glaring at her.

"I think you have over stayed your welcome," Fallon said through gritted teeth.

"At least I am welcomed here, you are and your daughter are not," Juniper said.

"Toby, we are leaving," Juniper said, and left the woman's house. Hopefully, she would leave and take her offspring with her.


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Later in the evening, Juniper was ranting about the neighbors to Toby and getting all her anger out. "Juniper, I thin you should apologize to Fallow and her daughter," Toby stated. She froze, what did he just say? Apologize to the monsters?

"Don't be an idiot Toby, they should leave and you know it," Juniper said sharply.

"You were out of line, insulting her daughter like that and acting like you did. What got into you? That wasn't the woman I fell in love with," Toby said, his voice was cold. She couldn't believe him, was he really saying all this to her? Was he really not understanding why she acted like that?

"I was not out of line, I was protecting my family," Juniper hissed at him.

"By insulting someone you don't know? By yelling and calling them awful things?! That is not protecting your family! You don't protect your family by saying hurtful things to another family! You don't know anything about vampires, how could you possibly know anything they go through?" Toby yelled.

"Because I used to be one! Dammit! Why did you think I made sure the girls are back before dark?! I know what it was like to crave blood, to want to drain the life out of someone because of how thirsty I was. I used to be a monster! Dammit! I still fucking suffer from it..... I constantly get sick when I eat anything. I can't sleep at night anymore! I'm trying to prevent my children from those same horrors I faced," Juniper yelled at him. Did he really not know all this time?

"Juniper..... I didn't know," Toby whispered. She didn't care, she was done trying to make him understand her reasons. Juniper would go through hell and back to protect her children from what she went through. She'd rip out her own beating heart, and much worse if it meant keeping her children away from the horrors she faced. Even as they stood there fighting, she was suffering. There was no one alive who could help her, and the more days that passed the closer she felt to death.

"Toby, I can't do this anymore," Juniper said, there was no emotion in her voice.

"Juniper, honey, we can talk about this. I think I understand now, and I'm sorry," Toby pleaded with her. She shook her head, and gazed him. There was a lump in her throat, because she could remember all the days they spent fully in love. The days where they didn't have to try to be in love, and the days where there was no questioning their love. Juniper no longer saw a future with him.

"Toby, I'm sorry. I don't love you anymore, and I can't love you again. We're done," Juniper told him.

"Juniper! You don't mean that, tell you don't' mean that and we can fix this. I love you," Toby cried. Juniper shook her head, she refused to stay in this relationship any longer and wouldn't let his broken heart convince her other wise. "Baby...." Toby said through tears.

"No, now get out of here," Juniper said. She watched as his face changed from despair to out rage in only a few seconds.

"Fine, I am taking Serene and Isobel with me then," Toby said coldly. Her eyes narrowed, and then she smiled a cold calculating smile.

"You can try," Juniper said smoothly. She watched as he got on the phone with a lawyer, and then she turned to the fridge as she started gathering ingredients. It was after all what she needed to do for her career. She would then start meticulously cooking something up, and set out on the counter.