War isn't over • LM / SS

Chapter 17 - break ups and make ups

"No."

Melissa sighed, tilting her head to the side. "Please?" She took the silence as an answer, turning her body on the seat so that she could see Jade's expression (or a lack thereof). "Mija, you owe me nothing; not your time and you certainly don't have to accept my apology. I've been horrible. I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I was out of line for kicking you out when you needed support and I should have understood that you were hurting."

She didn't dare bring up Allison's name. "I didn't get it. Why you did those things; killing those people, hurting them. But I think I'm beginning to. Cass, I don't want you to think that this is some ploy someone's put me up to. I'm not trying to get you to turn your humanity back on. I just... I miss you. And I'm worried about you. I want you to know that I'm here for anything, at any time."

Jade swallowed the lump in her throat, biting down hard on the inside of her cheek. Seriously? A stupid meaningless apology and she was already beginning to crumble? She needed to get a grip. Taking a swig of her coffee, the taste turned sour inside her mouth. Don't you dare cry.

There were so many things that she wanted to say. A paragraph on how each and every single one of them had left her alone. She wanted someone to blame; it was easier that way. It would surely make her plan for tonight a hell of a lot easier if she expelled any emotional connections.

Clamping her mouth shut, disregarding Melissa's hopeful gaze, she walked back into the main room. It was the immature thing to do but her humanity was trying so desperately to come back. She couldn't let it all be for nothing.

Max leaned against the doorframe that separated the two rooms, shooting his aunt a pitiful glance. "She'll come around. She's almost more stubborn than dad. She's still hurt. Give her time, Mel," he smiled softly, a silent reassurance that he was correct. He knew his sister almost better than she knew herself.

The equipment was set up in the room, all ready for Melissa to get to work. Considering they were in an animal clinic, they were working with the (limited) things that they had.

Hayden was lying on a metal table, heartbeat slower than what the werewolves would have liked. Nathan sat beside her, hand squeezing her's every so often to make sure she was awake. Liberty paced, practically wearing down the floor with how long she had been walking. Blair had sent a message half an hour ago, making sure to remind her sister to take Ace for a walk and give Nathan a slice of toast to eat. Even in a jail cell, she still managed to keep her siblings up to date on their responsibilities.

"Hey," Nathan whispered, cupping Hayden's cheek with his hand. Her eyes fluttered open, tears glossing over the honey colour. "You can't die on me. You still owe me a date, remember?" he smiled softly, happy that her lips were cracking into a smile too. "We're moving around your work schedule."

Theo and Scott carried litres of liquids in from the storage room, placing the cooler on the floor to keep everything in check.

Liam pressed his hands into his face, chewing on a nail. "What are you doing?" he asked, watching Jade out of the corner of his eye, the blonde hopping onto a countertop.

Melissa's nurse instincts kicked in, getting the bags of liquids ready to do their job. "It's called chelation therapy. It removes heavy metals from the blood. It can cause damage to the kidneys and Hayden only has one to begin with, so..." she trailed off, pushing a needle into Hayden's hand. She didn't want to give them false hope, yet worrying them would only make the situation ten times worse.

"You're hurting her!" Liam gripped Melissa's wrist, not hearing the bones crackle.

Melissa's breath hitched in her throat, not daring to move in case he snapped her wrist in two. "Ok. And you're both hurting me," glancing at Nathan, she felt a blister bubble on her neck. Apologising sheepishly, Nathan gritted his teeth. He didn't have a clue how his new powers worked (his wings came out when he felt something too strongly) and he hadn't intended to hurt the woman who was trying to save his friends' life.