Aidan was finally better enough to drive me to school for the next four school days. Although I felt Blade's presence I never saw him, not even over the weekend, so I pretended he didn't exist. I really didn't want to see him ever, not after what happened in my room.
School was long and boring, but surprisingly Jill and I seemed to have gotten a lot closer since that incident with Brian in the cafeteria. If someone had told me at the beginning of the school year that I would one day be friends with Jill, I would have laughed in their face, yet here I was.
As much as my friends were trying to cheer me up, it got to be too overwhelming. I didn't want to be cheered up or surrounded by concern, I just wanted to go back to normal like none of this had ever happened, but every worried look my friends shot me just kept dragging me back through my pain, the kind that none of them could hope to understand fully.
I didn't have that problem with Jill though, she wasn't someone who easily pitied others and she treated me with the same attitude as always which was refreshing. And even though she couldn't remember anything, but she'd had incidents with vampires too, and that made her presence a little more comforting than the others. I had been in the same boat as her once, clueless and hurting and not knowing why, and it made her so much easier to be around. It was selfish of me to wish that she'd remember even a small part of it, because it'd be nice to have someone to talk to.
Aidan was wonderful to talk to, but being Mona's conduit did make things tougher than normal, especially when we mostly spoke at home it wasn't like we had utmost privacy or freedom from the people currently making my life hell. Jill was harsh, but she had shockingly good insights sometimes.
"You know...it's Christmas in about two weeks," Aidan said casually on the way home from school.
I grimaced, looking out the window as trees blurred past. This Christmas was going to be the worst. The guy I was in love with had broken my heart, the day my dad died was coming up and I was going to be stuck here, instead of back home with my mom where I wanted to be. Where I should be. It was just so pricey to fly home to New York during the holiday season and already sending me away to school was costing more than we should really be able to afford, but in an effort to save my sanity after going missing this summer, my mom had decided it was worth every last penny to try and help me, even if it meant us being apart.
"Yeah, I know," I sighed, leaning my forehead against the cold window.
"What are your plans?" His attempt at conversation was nice, but this was one of the worst topics he could have chosen.
"I don't have any." Screw Christmas. Everything was going to hell so I might as well paint myself green and be the Grinch.
The conversation died after that and I was selfishly relieved. The dark sky and cold weather made me feel gloomier than usual, and despite it being only five o'clock, it felt like midnight. I was exhausted. I just wanted to sleep, wake up with everything better, yet every morning it seemed like things felt worse and worse.
I headed straight to my room as soon as we got back and I resented its placement a little more every day. I had to pass by Blade's room every time to get to mine and when I'd first moved in, it was convenient, but now its proximity to his was the worst part. I missed my dorm room. Even my room in my mother's house. Anywhere but here was ideal.
Holding my breath, I strode past his door as quick as I could, praying the door would stay shut and he would stay on the other side until I was safely hidden away in my own room.
Only today my prayers were not answered.
His door creaked open behind me and I kicked up the pace, gripping my schoolbag tight. My room was in sight, if I just moved a little faste--
"Kiana wait!" he called after me.
And just like that I was frozen. I couldn't move from that spot. I was stuck no matter how hard I tried to pick up my feet and keep going, to make my escape before he was in front of me and I had to see his handsome face.
He had commanded me.
I whirled around. Apparently, as long as I didn't walk any further away from him I could move.
"Let me go," I snapped at him.
"No, I want...I need to talk to you," he said firmly but he looked exhausted. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess. He hadn't slept. In a few days if I was right. I pushed the thought away. So what if he wasn't sleeping? What about me? What about all the nights I was laying awake, staring at the ceiling, horrified and wondering what the hell had happened between us until I spiraled so fast and deep into new scenarios I could barely breathe? How impossible it was to relax in this house at any given moment, knowing it was his home and he had the freedom to go anywhere, do anything, could come and seek me out whenever he wanted regardless of whether I wanted to see him or not?
"Let me go right now," I said, struggling not to raise my voice, even if the panic was speeding through my galloping heart, firing through my veins with adrenaline and fear. I couldn't stay here and listen to him. If I let him talk I might do something stupid, like believe him. Or forgive him.
"You're going to listen first, then I'll let you go, I swear," he insisted, walking towards me with his hands half raised but open, as if trying to calm me down.
I tried to back up before he reached me, but I couldn't. I was nothing more than a caged animal, here for his own amusement, trapped while he got to watch me try to escape and fail. I'd broken his command once, why couldn't I do it now?
"Stop it!" I shouted, forcing back against the invisible barrier keeping me here with him. I was already a prisoner in his house, chained to him through our bond, and now he wanted to make it worse? Keep me here on a leash so I couldn't even pretend like I had a choice in the matter?
I just kept shoving back against his order, until my muscles ached and sweat beaded my hairline, but it wouldn't budge.
"Kiana, please. I just want to talk to you, but you keep dodging me every time you see me."
"I haven't seen you for almost a week now and that's your fault not mine. Now. Let. Me. Go." I shouted, eyes burning.
"I know, but if you'd just let me—"
"Stop it! I told you I'm done, just leave me alone," I shrieked, and oh how I hated every single tear that started to spill down my cheeks as I clawed at that wall holding me back, keeping me close to him. For too long I had wanted to rip his walls down and see who he was, all the things he'd been hiding, and I'd deluded myself into thinking the person he was protecting was worthwhile.
I should have taken his walls as a sign; they weren't to keep him safe, they were to keep from hurting other people.
Whatever ridiculous hope he might have had to attempt such a thing shattered before my eyes.
"Go," he whispered, shoulders slumping.
I stumbled through the empty air now that there was nothing to force against and fled into my room, slamming the door shut behind me. My legs wobbled and I sank to the floor, shaking from head to toe. How could he do that? Command me? Force me to talk to him?
What if he tried to force me to forgive him, to forget that this all happened?
Wild thoughts were running about as I thought of different ways he could control me like his own personal puppet.
It took hours to calm down enough to get up off the floor. It was an even worse betrayal for him to sink as low as that to get my attention. He had never commanded me unless it was for my own good or safety, but this...this opened a whole new world of terrifying things he hurt me with if he were desperate enough.
By the time I crawled into bed I was too exhausted to even do homework, but I didn't care. I passed out until my alarm droned loud and obnoxious to wake me from my coma, forced myself out of bed and through the motions of getting ready and piecing myself together to look like a functional person, then headed downstairs for breakfast.
Jordan was waiting for me in the kitchen. "You didn't come down for dinner," he said as a greeting.
"I was tired."
"You can't keep missing meals; it's not healthy. Keep it up and you'll just deteriorate faster unless you make up," he said, but his scold was gentle and colored with concern.
"Jordan, please. Not today," I put my head in my hands, "I'm done hearing about all this stupid vampire stuff. I just want to go home with my mom and my friends and where the only vampires I know will be the ones in movies and books."
Jordan had no comment for me on that one, so he handed me my breakfast, squeezed my shoulder, and went back to cooking.
I was glad for the silence. I was so sick about hearing about Blade, what I should do, what would happen if I did this or that. I wanted to be left alone. Why was it so hard for me to just be upset and for that to be okay?
Aidan finally got the message and didn't bother to try coaxing me into talking either, so the ride to school was silent except for the engine and the low volume of the radio I all but tuned out. My friends seemed to have picked up on the fact that I wasn't interested in socializing either, so they left me to my quiet and talked around me instead of trying to get me to engage.
The day dragged until lunch, where Jill and I were walking from the gym building to the cafeteria in the cold and snow. Nothing better than sweating for an hour and walking outside with sweaty hair into the icy winter weather. At least Jill was too busy complaining about her makeup running to care that I wasn't actually participating in the conversation, so her voice became pleasant white noise by the time we were halfway there, able to duck under some of the covered archways for protection from the wind.
"Kiana?" The voice was deep and rumbling, unfamiliar as it yanked me back to the present moment. Some large hulking figure I didn't recognize, at least mid thirties, in a light jacket that didn't go with this cold weather at all. A scar across his cheek led to ruby red eyes that sent a vicious chill down my spine that had nothing to do with the icy winter wind.
Jill stared up at this tall man with his squashed looking nose and scowling expression, and her eyes narrowed in distaste.
"Yes?" I said, shrinking into warmth and comfort of my scarf wrapped around my neck.
"I have something to discuss with you," he said, in such a way that assured me that he had nothing to say to me, and if he did it wouldn't be pleasant.
"Jill? You go on ahead, I'll catch up," I told her, eyes never leaving the vampire. I wasn't going to drag her back into this. She had already gotten hurt once and it seemed like pushing fate to put her in harms way a second time; I wasn't sure they valued her life enough to let her live this time and she deserved better than to deal with this again.
"Are you sure?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at the vampire like his very presence disgusted her.
"I want to talk to her alone," the vamp said, shooting her a look.
"I'll be fine, Jill, just go," I said.
"If you say so," she said, strutting past the vamp all while giving him a serious side-eye that at any other moment I would have found hilarious, if not for the fact that one or both of us could very well end up dead in the next five seconds.
As soon as she was gone, his hand was around my throat and he was slamming me into the brick wall of the arch. I gasped, pain exploding through my skull so hard that I saw spots.
"Listen here, missy," he hissed, "You're not doing it right."
"Doing what?" I croaked. His hand tightened and I couldn't breathe.
"You know what. You're not going according to the plan, so I'm here to set you straight," he growled, so close to my face I could feel his breath.
I gasped, clawing at my neck desperately for oxygen. He loosened his hold a little bit but he was still bracing me against the wall, my feet kicking helplessly above the ground.
"Now. It seems you didn't fully understand the little message we left you last time so I'll spell it out for you." He reached a hand up and I barely had the time to close my eyes to brace for whatever he was going to do. Four deep lines of white hot pain burned through the left side of my face and I screamed, but he covered my mouth, muffling the sound. Blood poured, hot and sticky, down my face.
"Hmmm," he hummed, his tongue dragging along my cheek. Bile rose in my throat, face throbbing in pain. I could hardly breathe for the strength of his hand covering my mouth. "I have strict orders to leave you be, but no one would know if I had a taste..." he mused aloud, "Wake up, Kiana. I'm not done with you yet."
I couldn't open both eyes, one was stinging with tears and blood that dripped into it and what vision I did have with my good eye was blurred with tears.
"Now this is a warning and not just to you. You know who it's for. Give him my regards, eh?" he said, giving me a shake.
I squashed down a rising cry of pain. "What do I have to do?"
"Nothing too hard so I think you can manage it. In fact, I think this will help. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, it'll come to you eventually. Just go about your life as you normally would, things will fall into place sooner or later," his lips pulled back, his fangs growing out into his lower lip. "And now that my job is done..."
"Hey, dickhead," a voice called.
I didn't have to look to know it was Jill, but the vamp did, and boy did he seem surprised. Either way, I couldn't turn my head; his grip was too firm, and only tightened when he saw her standing there and I couldn't even shout at her to run.
He started to laugh. "That's all you got?" he asked me, releasing my throat. My knees buckled as soon as my feet touched down and I hit the cement ground of the arch, gasping for air my lungs were screaming for.
"Yeah it's all I got asshole, now go back to your crypt," she snapped with all of the sass that she used to use on me and everyone else. I wiped my eyes to see her brandishing a tree branch, holding it like a baseball bat in her knee high winter boots, designer coat, and immaculate hair that even gym class hadn't managed to ruin.
I pushed myself to all fours and she spared me the slightest of glances. "You okay?"
"Just peachy," I replied, voice hoarse.
"Come on, blondie, are you actually going to use that thing or just stand there?" he taunted, walking forward a few steps.
"Oh, I plan on using it," she assured him with her brilliant smile, wiggling her hips as she adjusted her pose. "I'm getting payback."
"Payback?"
"Payback, revenge, whatever you want to call it." She did a small test swing with her spiky tree branch. "I deserve it after what you did to me."
He stopped short. "That's impossible."
"It's very possible actually. You'd be surprised what can happen nowadays. I mean, damn if vampires can exist what can't happen?"
His shock seemed to mirror my own. She knew. She remembered Halloween.
And now she was going to die.
In the moment it took for the pug faced vampire to regain his composure I was already shouting for her to move when he attacked. Jill must have been waiting for this day, preparing for it even, because she swung that branch like she was aiming for a homerun and for the first time, Jill would have gotten an A+ in gym class.
She connected right with his gut, the spikes of thick branches cutting through his clothes and skin until he was howling with pain, doubled over the branch as he crumpled down into the snow.
Jill ran past him, grabbing my bloody hand and hauling me up to my feet. I was too dizzy, too hurt, too confused to do anything but let her drag me away through the snow across campus.
She kept yelling at me to run faster and if it wasn't for her I'd have stopped long ago, or probably still be on the ground in a pool of my own blood. Every time she yelled, I forced my legs to keep going, to trudge through the ankle deep snow and stay upright every time I slipped and stumbled, until she finally stopped and I collapsed onto hands and knees in the snow, throat on fire as I panted for air.
"Come on," she said, breathing hard with her hands on her knees. "You need to get home."
Home was the least of my concerns right now.
"How?" I sputtered, wiping my soaking face with the sleeve of my coat. It was useless, blood and sweat and tears were mixing together and I could hardly make Jill out and the snow around me was getting redder and redder. "How did you know?"
"They did a good job of making me forget. But it's hard to forget when you keep having nightmares and seeing other vampires, other memories that don't add up."
"Other memories?"
"Things with Blade," she explained. "He's one too, isn't he? He's got the same red eyes."
I nodded, breathing deep through my nose as I tried to stop the world from going dark or spinning. It was getting harder and harder to focus and my body was crying out for me to lay down, even if it was in the freezing snow.
She let out a puff of air, like she was surprised she was right. "Okay. Let's get you home to him then. Give me your phone."
"Don't call him, call Aidan," I said wearily, patting my pockets until I found my phone. The message on the wall, what Jill had told me when she came back to school, my nightmare, today...it was all too much to process and none of it made any sense. Struggling and hurt as I was, I couldn't stomach seeing Blade right now and I had no idea what all this blood would do to him.
She didn't question it, and I listened to her as she introduced herself to Aidan and told him to come right away because there was an emergency, and tried to mop up my face the best I could. My eyes were still stinging and I had no idea if I was making it better or worse because I couldn't see long enough to tell.
Once she finished her call and handed me back my phone, she guided me to the cafeteria while I was temporarily blinded in one eye and gushing blood from my face. She left me outside behind the building where no one would see me, and came back to wipe my face with handfuls of napkins and water from a bottle until I could somewhat see again.
"I don't get it," I said, swatting her hands away once my already flaming face was almost numb from cold and pain. "Why are you helping?"
She glared at me and pushed my hands away before attacking me with more napkins. "Because I'm not that much of a bitch and because I figure if I almost died for you then there's probably a good reason for you to stay alive. And if you're with the vampires they can't be too bad, you're too much of a goody goody to stand for that sort of thing. Besides I've met Blade and while he's got an attitude, he doesn't exactly strike me as a sociopath."
"But—"
"Shut up. The more you move your face the more blood comes out. We can talk later." Even while being my nurse she stayed true to herself and I had to respect it. Also, talking hurt my throat and I was having a hard time even standing, so leaning against the wall of the cafeteria building was the only way I could remotely be upright.
As we waited for Aidan, she continued to mop me up so I looked less horrifying and hold napkins to my face to try and stop the bleeding, but it was impossible. I was sure I looked worse than Carrie covered in all this blood, I just hoped no one saw me, but I was too lightheaded to care.
Thankfully the cold weather meant most people were indoors, and definitely not hiding behind the cafeteria far off the main path, so no one was around to see me looking like a horror movie reject.
Even more thankfully, that vampire never came back looking for us.
My fingers were numb by the time Aidan arrived and when he saw me he paled to such a color that he seemed to match the snow outside. Jill shoved me in the car and told me to keep the napkins against my face before she slammed the door shut and stepped back without so much as a goodbye. Aidan took off, clearly realizing the quicker the better. Even if we got stopped by the cops we have the best excuse in the world and the evidence to prove it.
"Blade is going to have a fit. What the hell happened?" he said, hands tight around the steering wheel.
"Vampire." Even sipping a bit of the leftover water from cleaning my face hadn't helped my aching my throat, and being in a moving car was only making me nauseous, so I didn't say another word even though Aidan tried his best to get the story out of me. All of my energy was going towards staying awake and not puking.
He helped me into the house, horrifying Leo in the process who was passing by the door, and the three of us headed to the kitchen to find Jordan. Well, Leo and Aidan mostly dragged me because my legs had given up working and I couldn't see straight even if I could walk.
"What the hell happened?" Jordan exclaimed once we burst into the kitchen, me draped between Leo and Aidan like a limp bloody noodle.
"Long story," I slurred out. He herded me towards a chair and helped me to sit when I nearly toppled over the side. He started plucking blood soaked napkins off my face, each one stinging more than the last, but he couldn't see what happened anymore than I could see him and so I had to suffer through it.
At least I was here where it was safe, so I slumped in my chair and tried not to think about what Jordan was doing to me or what he'd have to do to fix me.
"I'm going to wipe your face, alright?" Jordan's soothing voice jarred me from my dozing, but it felt like his voice was coming through a deep fog. I think I nodded.
The first rub of a wet towel across my forehead dissipated the fog with lightning speed and I snapped upright with a cry.
"I'm sorry, I know it hurts," Jordan said as Aidan came to hold me, pinning my arms down. "But we have to get this clean, I have no idea how deep these cuts are."
I knew that, but that didn't make it hurt any less. I wanted to beg him to stop, could already feel the tears coming, but I grit my teeth and did my best to hold still as he wiped the blood from my skin and checked my wounds. When the tears finally came, no one said a word, but Jordan gently wiped them away too and Aidan squeezed me tighter.
"Did he nick your eye? Does it hurt?" Jordan asked.
"It only hurts because there's blood in it," I said through gritted teeth.
"Aidan, can you go get Blade? This is bleeding way too much," Jordan said, rubbing my cheek.
My eyes flashed open, but the world was too bright and blurry. "No! Not Blade. Please."
"Kiana, you've lost so much blood already, this is ridiculous," Jordan said.
"I know. Just...let me call Ace then. I need to talk to him anyways," I said, struggling to find my phone. Aidan had to help me get it and to dial, because my hands were shaking too much to try.
"Hey," Ace yawned out as he answered. "What's up?"
"Ace? Can you come over?"
He groaned. "I s'pose. Something wrong?"
"Yeah. So speed would be nice," I replied.
"I'll be there in ten minutes," he said, with less grumbling this time before hanging up.
"Stubborn as a mule," Jordan muttered, pressing the towel to my face to hold off the bleeding until Ace arrived.
I closed my eyes and tried to ignore their disapproving stares, but it was hard. And it got worse as the minutes ticked by in silence, with Aidan helping me drink juice through a straw to keep hydrated. After about fifteen minutes, Ace finally showed up in wrinkled jeans and a button up shirt that was buttoned all wrong. Even his hair was haphazardly tossed back in a bun in the back of his head, a tangle of hair like he'd slept on it.
When he saw me covered in blood, his eyes snapped open to full alertness. "Holy fuck! How did you manage that?" he exclaimed, shooting through the kitchen to examine me up close. His sudden movement made my head spin.
"Can you just help stop the bleeding please?" I asked.
"Yeah, but where's Blade? Why isn't he here?"
"He's busy," I lied, "I didn't want to bother him."
Ace frowned and I knew he didn't believe me one bit, but my face situation was too urgent for him argue with me.
Jordan moved out of Ace's way and he took my face in his hands, turning my head so he could see the left side. He swore again before he pressed his tongue across one of the gashes. It was slow work but at least it wasn't awkward, which was what I expected it to be considering we were friends and he'd be licking my face. But no. It was perfectly fine. It was just long, a little painful, but nothing I couldn't handle.
When he was done he pulled away, gritting his teeth with his eyes closed, still holding my face in his hands while he breathed deeply.
"Damn. It is way too early for this," he muttered, shaking his head as he stepped away.
Jordan came back, studying my face as he turned it left and right, poking here and there.
"Good news. No stitches this time," he said after a few minutes. "It probably won't scar thanks to Ace, but if it does you'll barely see. The only issue will be keeping it clean and covered until it heals over completely and the fact that you're going to be sore for a few days."
All things considered, that sounded lucky. I sat still as he smoothed cream over the wounds, whatever Ace's healing abilities were seemed to have numbed some of the agonizing pain. Jordan said he wouldn't cover them for now to give my face a break, but that he might later so I should see him before bed. He also gave me some painkillers since my whole left side was throbbing painfully, and nudged a plate of food my way with another juice since I was still lightheaded.
"Okay, so what happened?" Ace asked, leaning against the counter. They'd all been waiting patiently around me as Jordan fixed me up, no one bringing Blade up or sneaking out to get him, which I appreciated. But now there was nothing left to do but bring him here.
"Not everyone's here," I said, holding my juice with both hands because I was too weak to try with one.
"I thought Blade was busy," Ace said, none to subtly calling me out.
"Well now he needs to be here," I said curtly, bracing myself before I summoned him. I didn't have to wait long. Less than ten seconds later and he came shooting through the kitchen doors, and whatever he thought I'd been summoning him for, this was the complete opposite. I hadn't even been able to make out what that expression on his face was before it snapped to something murderous and he stood tense and frozen just beyond the group.
He stomped up to me as if there was no one else in the room, but touched my face with a surprising amount of gentleness, fingertips barely brushing over my cheek as he studied my face with a cold fury that sent my insides spiraling.
"Who did this to you?"
I hated him for hurting me, but right now his proximity was a balm to my aching body and even his featherlight touch felt like heaven, and I had no strength to pull away from him and hold up my shields. "I don't know."
I did my best to explain what happened, half slouched in my chair and nibbling on bits of food that Jordan kept nudging my way as I spoke. My view narrowed to Blade next to me, him standing ramrod straight, his eyes never leaving me for even a second as he listened in silence to my slurred story.
Ace was the first to react when I was finished, slamming his fist on the kitchen counter. "Aros should to be taking care of this, but instead he's on vacation."
"This happened before Ace, on Halloween. We haven't told Aros, that's why he didn't do anything," I assured him. There was no reason for him to be angry at his grandfather when we hadn't told anyone about it.
"He should be looking out for you and everyone else, so it's even worse that he didn't even know about what happened on Halloween when that was ages ago," he retorted, eyes blazing.
"We'll tell him as soon as he gets back and he can take care of it then," I said gently. I'd never seen Ace look mad and I really didn't like seeing it, not when he was normally such a joyful person.
"Hold up, why the fuck do we have to tell him? What could he possibly do to help?" Blade cut in. "We said we weren't going to tell him."
"Things changed," I said.
"You can't be serious. I get that you're pissed at me, but you're being ridiculous. What can Aros really do? How's he going to find these guys? You don't have a name and there are millions of us, it's not that easy."
"If we tell Aros he'll be on the lookout and the more people we have in on this the better our odds are of getting through it alive. He has more connections, doesn't he? So he has better odds of stopping it. I, for one, want this to end. I'm sick of all these stupid vampires picking on me all the time and hurting me. I want it to be over."
"Besides Halloween and today has anything else happened? Any other attacks? Vampires hanging around you've never seen before? Anything at all?" Jordan asked, the voice of calm in this storm of emotions.
"No," I said firmly even though it was a lie. I hadn't told them that Jill had remembered what happened to her, or that she knew about vampires, because I didn't want to get her into more trouble and it wasn't like she really knew much that would help. Besides, if they had wiped her memory how could we tell if what she was remembering was even remotely true and hadn't been twisted somehow?
"Okay. Well I see both of your points," Jordan said, looking from me to Blade, "But I really do think Kiana has the right idea. At least if Aros knows there's the chance he might be able to stop it rather than if he didn't know."
Blade grit his teeth. "You guys don't get it. It won't help anything. I know Aros, I worked for him, I know how the system works and he won't be able to help."
"It's different because it's you Blade, you're like family and that gives you guys priority over everyone else," Ace said.
"Besides, what brilliant idea would you suggest instead, Blade?" I said. "Please enlighten me."
"I suggest letting us take care of it."
"Oh? And what if there's hundreds of those guys? You can't take them all on. You're not invincible," I shot back.
"I might not be, but I'd still fight."
"Well maybe it's a losing battle."
"No, it's not. How can you not get that?"
"Because I just don't. So drop it," I said as I slid off my chair, wobbling on the landing. Blade reached to steady me but I swatted him away and found whatever leftover energy I had to stay upright. If nothing else, I was leaving here on my own with my dignity intact. "I'm tired, I'm going to sleep for a bit. Figure it out yourselves, I don't care anymore."
It wasn't even an excuse to escape, I was dead tired, light headed, and kind of nauseous. Dragging myself to my room alone was the worst idea ever, but I wasn't backing down and made it there sweaty and tired, collapsing onto my bed still in my bloody clothes. I didn't have the energy to care how gross it was.
Blade followed, coming up to his room, and I waited until I was sure he was in his room before I let myself relax and was out before I could bother to turn off the light.
When I woke up hours later, I checked up on Blade but he was out hunting, so that was good for me. I braved going to the bathroom to clean up and to see how bad my face was, and as soon as I stepped in front of the mirror I regretted it.
Four deep gashes had torn through my skin across my face, jagged thick scars embedded deep in my face and bruising around the edges now that it had been a few hours. At least, they were already scabbed over, even though it made my face feel stiff and even the slightest movement pulled my skin tight and cracked the scabs.
I fought the urge to cry at my blood covered scarred reflection, mostly because I knew crying would only make my face hurt more and probably start me bleeding again, but God I wanted to cry for days for how much I was hurting right now.
I showered instead, unable to bear looking at myself for a second longer, and washed the blood off my hair and my body, tossing my clothes straight to the trash. There was no point saving them, the memories alone would never wash out.
I felt better once I was cleaned and wearing fresh pajamas, but I was still wobbly so I made the long painful trek downstairs to the kitchen where Jordan had already prepared me some dinner. Since the kitchen was bustling with life and had also been the scene of an awful afternoon, I took my dinner to one of the living rooms to eat on the comfortable couch.
When I got there I found Ace sitting on the couch, head rocked back with his eyes shut. I was surprised he was still here, but glad to have different company at least.
"Mind if I join you?" I asked.
He scooted down, leaving me a spot. I sat down, my cup on the table in front of me while I balanced my plate on my knees.
"So...you and Blade are fighting?" he asked casually, slinging his arm around the back of the couch as he angled to face me.
Maybe I should have stayed in my room after all. "Nothing new there."
"Yeah, but usually it's a petty fight you can both put aside for something important. Lexi told me but I didn't believe it was something this big. I guess she was right."
"How's Annie?" I asked, trying to change subject. I poked at my dinner with my fork.
"She's fine. How's Blade?" he countered.
"Absolutely fine."
"Oh come on darling, you and I both know that's not true. The guy's torn up about whatever happened so don't even try to deny it. I know you know it's true." He poked me in the shoulder. "So why can't you just forgive each other and be done with it? If all these stupid vampires keep coming after you how much time do you really have left? Accidents happen, don't waste your time being angry. Even immortals can die."
I pictured Blade in my head, just like in my nightmare...Jill snapping his neck, his broken and beaten body falling on me.
A shudder of pain ran through me, a sharp stab in my arm. I moved my plate to the table and rolled up my shirt sleeve, rubbing the skin. It felt unusually warm, like I had a fever.
Ace peered at my arm with concern. "This has been going on for a while now, hasn't it?"
When I followed his gaze, I flinched. My black tattoo was rimmed with a thin line of red all around like it was infected, the same red as Blade's tattoo.
Dazedly, I wondered if his had a black outline.
"I should go," I said, pulling my sleeve down before I could panic over what my changed tattoo meant.
Ace caught me by the arm but I shook him off. "And where do you think you're going?"
"I don't know," I said, a fresh wave of hurt washing over me. I had nowhere to go and all the places I wanted to go to I couldn't reach. I was stuck here. It was like even the Universe wanted me to forgive him.
"Go talk to Blade then. Work it out." He lifted my tattooed arm between us, his expression grim, "You don't have much time left."
"Ace?" I asked, heart thudding unsteadily in my chest.
"Yes?"
"Do you..." my mouth went dry. "Blade told me once about vampires...that some had special powers."
He frowned, head tilting as he considered this out of the blue question. "Yeah? So?"
"He told me about a specific kind...um...do you..." I took a breath, squeezing my eyes shut tight and I rushed to get my words out before I chickened out. "Do you know any vampires that could remove a bond?"
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Hey there, me again. I'm updating crazily huh? Anyways, I'm feeling a bit better today. Not so dizzy and blech-ey (not a word I know but shh). I finally got some sleep. I read a bit before bed, curled up under the covers and passed out till like 11....until my sister and her boyfriend rudely woke me up. Oh man I was so mad. And I was having a pretty good dream about this dude named Hudson ( I read 10 Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski and one of the cute dudes was named Hudson...don't judge me okay I'm boy deprived xD) and they woke me up and ruined it. God damn. So annoying. I'm hoping to keep this update streak up and running so I can upload my other stories on here as well.
Its funny cause I wanted to post this chapter last night actually, but I had to find the document that has the whole story on my computer, but I couldn't remember where it was. I ended up having to go through a bunch of folders on my computer and oh my god guys, I found some old MSN conversations (yes MSN okay I'm a dinosaur) I had saved. They were creatively titled things like 'THIS IS WHY SHES MY BEST FRIEND', 'aaaaaaaaaanxiety', and my personal favorite 'little squee' (I laughed so hard when I saw that one).
16 year old me was a major dweeb. My goodness. Then again, 16 year old me had much more luck with da boys then present day me. So I guess being a dweeb was working for me.
Anyways, all that to say that I spent the night and this morning looking through a bunch of angsty and squee-worthy conversations with guys I used to be close to and my best friend and it was wonderful. And it made me late to put out an update, but yolo, I was taking a trip down memory lane. It was good though, it made me laugh and cheered me up some before bed. I highly recommend a trip with nostalgia guys, its good for your soul. Reminds of where you came from and how you and things used to be. Its fun to remember times of when you were younger and everything was such a big deal.
Yeah I blathered on a bit too much tonight...I'll get cracking on the next chapter instead, since that is why you all are here!
Much love and good vibes,
xxLaura