Once we realised that not much was changing, Jason, Ryder and I took shifts between watching Jade and keeping an eye on Ember.
Jade barely changed: the only progress being that her periods of 'calm' seemed to last longer day by day. She still taunted whoever was with her, enticing them to unlock her cage. We quickly learnt to wear earbuds or earphones whilst we were on our shift.
Ember had made some progress. She drifted in and out of consciousness, so at least we were able to get her to eat and drink. The bruising on her neck was steadily reducing. I changed her bandages every day, trying not to mind too much that she always seemed to be asleep whenever I was tending to her. Though maybe that's because I was never in charge of making her food — that was Ryder's job.
We stayed like that for a week after the full moon and all of us managed to get away with not going to school. Jason, the king of all forgers, forged a doctor's note declaring with all had some sort of highly infectious disease. Once Hellgate High had that in their records, we were excused from school, schoolwork and homework until we were fully recovered.
Well, it was only Jade and Ember that needed to fully recover, but still.
As punishment for not filling the truck up with gas, Jason sent Ryder out on foot to bring back a couple of jerrycans of gas to fill the truck up. From the ranch to the nearest gas station, it was about a two-hour walk, which must've been tough with two heavy jerrycans under the heat of the spring sun.
Jason, Ryder and I were researching Jade's situation as much as we could without leaving the ranch too often. A few mythology and legends books, along with the internet were all we had.
When it comes to supernaturals, the best way to learn about them is through seeing or hearing someone tell you about them. Most myths and legends were passed down by word, and so the stories altered with each new re-telling. That's why books and the internet are unreliable; you don't know which re-telling you were reading. It's sometimes hard to tell if you're reading the ramblings of a superstitious priest, aiming to turn everyone away from the devil, and therefore supernaturals... Or whether you're reading the confessions of a devout believer, who was utterly immersed in the world of the supernatural.
And it wasn't like we could just head into a store of a 'fortune teller' in Missoula and demand answers there.
God, we really need Storm and Abi right now...
I sat in the armchair of my bedroom, a book on lycanthropy legends open in my lap, watching Ember as she slept. It was my turn to keep an eye on her; Jason was taking a break, and Ryder was down in the cellar with Jade.
It was late evening by now, and I'd lost interest in the book in front of me hours ago, being too distracted by watching Ember sleep so peacefully.
Just a couple of hours earlier, I'd changed her neck bandages, and been pleased to see how much the swelling had gone down, though it was still bruised, purple and green. A few claw marks were on either side of her neck, and her bottom lip was still slightly split.
I'd also glanced at her left forearm, where I'd viciously and inhumanely dug my claws into her skin, in order to get her out of that comatose state she'd been in. The claw marks were healing, disappearing steadily. I still felt awful for doing that, and yet she'd forgiven me.
She forgave me.
Sometimes, she was too forgiving towards me. I could be a monster to her, after all.
I leaned back in my chair, tucking my hands behind my neck, and stretching out my stiff shoulders.
Then, I remembered something, something that I hadn't spoken to Ember about. I glanced guiltily at my chest of drawers. In the bottom drawer lay the tattered remains of the dreamcatcher she gave me. The dreamcatcher that was blocking Storm from contacting me.
When Ember was better, I knew I'd have to talk to her about it. Part of that whole ingenious plan of mine that started with us talking about everything that each of us had been through, whilst she was in Svalbard, and I was travelling across the States...
I wasn't looking forward to explaining Fern, to say the least.
Dropping my tired face into my hands, I inwardly sighed, not wanting to wake Ember up.
Ryder had made some food for her a couple of hours ago, so she probably wouldn't wake up until breakfast time. She wouldn't wake up whilst I was on a shift watching her — no chance, whatsoever.
To my great surprise, I heard Ember mumble something.
My neck snapped up, pulling my head quickly out of my hands.
She rolled over and murmured again.
I held my tongue, not wanting to be the one to wake her up, wanting her to wake up on her own.
"Theo...?" She mumbled quietly, but I was unsure if she was still asleep or not. It could've been a dream...or a nightmare.
I swallowed, watching her intently for the next few minutes.
"Theo?" Her voice became clearer, and her eyes snapped open. She began panicking, pulling at the bandages around her neck. "Theo?!"
"Hey, hey, hey." I rushed towards her and gently took hold of her hands. "You gotta leave that to heal."
Her voice was hoarse when she spoke, "Where's Victoria?"
"Victoria?" I echoed, "Ember... That was Jade, not Victoria."
She frowned, glancing around the room. "I thought...? Never mind."
"How're you feeling?" I asked, letting go of her hands and moving closer to her.
"Like shit." She smirked, voice croaking.
"If you're awake at this time, then you must be getting better." I half-smiled.
"I don't know, I—" She started coughing, heaving like there was something lodged in the back of her throat. Her body convulsed and twisted as she leaned over the side of the bed.
"Ember?" Concern filled my voice, as I placed a tentative hand on her back, where I could feel bones despite the thick top that she was wearing.
Sensing that she was probably about to throw up, I pulled her loose hair away from her face.
She leaned over the bed one more time and spat out what looked like some black lumps. A closer inspection, after helping Ember back up into a sitting position, revealed that they looked like the remains of a fire.
"Jesus Christ, what's Ryder been feeding you?" I questioned incredulously.
"It's not that." She shook her head, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Here." I passed her a glass of water, which she promptly drank all of.
I glanced at Ember, her eyes looked tired, with grey bags hovering underneath her eyes and her eyes being slightly bloodshot, probably due to Jade almost strangling her to death.
"What was that?" I voiced the question lingering on my mind, my voice coming out irritable.
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do," I retorted, having been listening to her heartbeat and having heard it jump as she lied to my face. I didn't want to fight with her, especially whilst she was still recovering. "Look, Ember." I sighed, beginning to make a compromise. "How about I'll answer something you ask me, and you answer something I ask you?"
"That works with me." She replied, eyeing me. " How long has it been since Victoria — I mean, Jade — since Jade attacked me?"
"A week," I responded.
"Crap... Erm, you ask a question now." She nodded at me.
"Sure, how come you just threw up some pieces of coal?" I questioned, watching her body language and listening to her heartbeat. "Just tell the truth, Ember. I'll know if you're lying anyway."
Ember exhaled heavily. "I don't really know, to be honest. It's only happened a couple of times, mostly after teleporting... But I don't know — and neither did Uncle Rob."
"Thank you for telling me the truth." I smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Your question." She moved away from my hand.
"Whenever we start getting close again, why do you always find an excuse to run off?" I asked before even thinking. The filter between my brain and my mouth had just disappeared. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that, I—"
"It's fine." She waved her hand. "I just don't want to hurt you again," she spoke to the bedsheets, avoiding my gaze.
"Why do you think that you hurt me?" My voice softened and I shifted closer to her. "If anything I thought that I hurt you."
I was the one that had to go and tell her I loved her at the freaking airport, after all. No wonder she didn't say it back; I hurt her.
"I think that we both hurt each other." She finally looked up at me, those beautiful dark blue eyes filled with sorrow. "We had to leave, and that hurt both of us."
A sudden moment of impulse caused me to reach out and clasp her hand in mine again, linking our fingers together.
"Why is it so hard to go back to the way things used to be?" She whispered.
"Because everything's changed." I shrugged. "We've spent, like, five months apart. We're in my hometown instead of yours. None of your friends is here, but most of mine are. You're cold all the time when you used to be so full of fire."
A single teardrop slid down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Ember." I brushed the tear away with my thumb. "I never meant to make you cry."
"I never meant to hurt you." Her voice was hushed.
"Come here." I pulled her towards me, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.
"I'm so sorry, Theo." She was sobbing now, leaving damp patches on my t-shirt, not that I cared one bit; I was quietly ecstatic that I had her this close to me again.
I let her cry in my embrace for as long as she needed until she was okay again.
She sniffed, nodding as she pulled away from me, "I'm alright now."
"I have one more question..." I began.
"Shoot." A smile found her face.
Realising that I could be about to damage the newfound peace and trust between us, I pressed my lips together, before finally blurting it out, "Where's the necklace I gave you?"
"Where's the dreamcatcher I gave you?" Ember instantly retorted, eyes narrowed, voice hard.
I was right. I'd damaged the newfound peace and trust between us, in just six short words.
"I..." My voice betrayed me, as I thought back to when I destroyed it back in that dingy motel room in North Dakota. I screwed my eyes shut, spitting out the words, "It was blocking Storm from reaching me."
After a few minutes of silence, I opened my eyes, only to see a fuming, angry Ember glaring at me.
"Ember, I didn't mean it like that, I—" I tried and failed. Raking my hands through my hair, I stood up and walked away from her.
"I think you've said enough, Theo." Her voice was bitter cold, "You destroyed the one thing I gave you... How d'you think that makes me feel?"
"You also destroyed that one thing that I tried to give you, that one thing that only really matters," I muttered to myself, looking out the window at the darkened sky.
I'd tried to give her my love, and she destroyed that, leaving me feeling so numb and so empty inside. Even with her back, that numbness and that emptiness still hung around me, like a rain cloud constantly over my head. My heart.
Drowning.
I was drowning without her.
I was drowning with her.
All I really wanted to do was to burn with her. I'd rather die a fiery death by her side than a lonely, watery death.
"Theo, that necklace?" Ember's voice interrupted my despairing thoughts, "The thing is, I... Well, I—"
"Just say it," I spoke harshly, folding my arms across my chest.
"I had to get rid of it." She spat out.
"So what?" I turned around, frowning, "You just threw it away?"
"No, Theo. I burnt it." She kept her eyes locked on me.
"You... burnt it?" I echoed.
"Yes." She responded strongly, defiantly. "It was an accident. I was holding it in my hand, and thinking about everything that we'd done and been through together in Lake Oldoy, and then everything that happened at the airport—"
I cut her off. "Nothing happened at the airport. We said goodbye and that was it."
"I lost control," Ember stated, "That's what happened. Though at least I didn't tear it up on purpose."
"Okay, okay." I held my hands up in surrender. "But I didn't really have a choice; I needed Storm to be able to talk to me to find my pack."
"Oh, so you couldn't just drop it off at a pawn shop for a weekend and then get it back?" She fired back.
Oh, shit. I could've done that...
I shrugged, "I didn't think of that."
"When does your shift end?" She asked, rapidly changing the subject.
"Seven tomorrow morning," I answered.
"Ugh... So I've got to deal with you all freaking night long?" She huffed.
"Yup." Getting the feeling she didn't want to be around me anymore, I sat back down in my chair by the window, giving her some space.
"Great." She muttered to herself.
We spent a couple of minutes sitting in silence, not talking, not looking at each other — looking everywhere in the room except each other, really.
"So," Ember said abruptly, sitting up in bed some more. "I have another question: tell me about the girl, or girls that you met."
"Just one girl – I'm not a total player." I couldn't help but roll my eyes, a poor attempt at humour while I readied myself to tell her the truth. "North Dakota. Few weeks before I found Abi. I was at a bar. She was a barmaid there. Didn't even card me when I asked for a beer," I scoffed and continued, "I went back to her apartment with her. Then—"
"Don't worry, Theo." Ember interrupted in a miserable voice. "I can imagine what happened next."
No, that's not what happened at all, Ember. I wanted to tell her, but the words just got caught in my throat, so like an idiot, I just shrugged.
"Did you meet anyone on Svalbard, then?" I flipped it on her before she even had a chance to recover from me hooking up with a random girl. Even though I didn't actually hook up with her.
"There, erm..." She blushed fiercely. "There wasn't anyone"
"Oh." I was surprised, and then it hit me. "You lied to me. Again."
When did she get so good at lying? Was it whilst she was on Svalbard? She wasn't a great liar in Lake Oldoy...so it had to have been Svalbard where she learnt to lie so easily, right?
"Only a tiny white lie," she rushed.
"You keep saying that."
"Anyway, it wasn't a total lie," she insisted. "Because there were a couple of guys that were interested in me..."
"And you weren't interested in them... because?" I pressed, desperate to know everything thing about her again, her thoughts, her feelings, her opinions. I needed to know her. "Because, Ember?"
"Because, I was too hung up on you, okay?" Ember finally spat out. "God, Theo, there were so many nights where I just lay in my bed burning up. Burning up for you." She laughed bitterly, "And now I'm here, you couldn't give a damn about me."
Her words hit me like a sledgehammer to my heart; she still wants me... Or wanted me at least.
"I... I don't know what to say..." I responded stupidly.
She huffed, and spoke to herself, though I heard it clearly, "I had even had to freaking touch myself because I wanted you so badly."
A shiver ran through my body, a burst of excitement and arousal at her words. The thought of Ember touching herself was too sexy and almost too much to bear.
The thought of her touching herself because of me.
My breathing quickened ever so slightly. So that Ember didn't notice me losing control over my carnal desire, I had to ball my hands into fists.
Damnit, this girl.
I swallowed, trying not to think of anything to do with her.
Not the way she used to look at me.
Not the way she bit her lower lip.
Not the way she looked on that last night in Lake Oldoy, wearing that lingerie that I'd ripped off her body.
Not the way she made me feel.
None of that.
Instead, I thought of how badly I'd screwed up with Fern in North Dakota. That got my breathing under control pretty fast.
"Theo?" Ember asked tentatively, "Can I... Can I get something off my chest? It's something that I've been thinking about for a while now."
"Sure" I nodded, knowing all too well that she was only gonna say it anyway.
"This pack is falling apart," she stated bluntly, almost carelessly.
"I'm listening," I assured her after she faltered.
"Well, Zack's 'missing'. Storm and Abi went to find him and have been gone for little over a week," She took a strained breath. "Ryder's so lost, and he acts like a flirt towards me because he doesn't know who he is anymore, and he doesn't know how to get back to who he was. Jade tried to strangle me — need I say any more? Jason only seems to be half here at the best of times... Then there's you."
"What about me?" I tried to control the growl rising in my throat.
"You... You're still trying to protect everyone, even though I'm pretty sure that the whole point of a pack, and of friends, is so that you can let other people worry about you." She pressed her lips together, whilst I said nothing, letting her words sink in. She continued, voice soothing, calming, "You need to give yourself a break, Theo. I mean, when was the last time you properly relaxed and had some fun? C'mon, cut yourself some slack."
"I don't know how," I mumbled, realising that she was right, as she often was.
"Let me show you," she whispered and got up out of bed and walked towards me.
"What're you doing?" I frowned as she stood in between my legs.
"Hoping we don't get interrupted." She bit her bottom lip, before pressing her lips desperately against mine, sending fireworks exploding through my body.
My eyes widened before I snapped them shut.
Ember is kissing me, Ember is kissing me, Ember is kissing me.
Ember wants me, Ember wants me, Ember wants me.
The thoughts charged around my head, an unending celebration; Ember was kissing me; Ember wanted me.
She knelt on the armchair between my legs, wrapping her arms around my neck and shoulders as her tongue slid into my mouth. My hands found her waist and then her ass and I pulled her closer to me, never wanting to let her go again.
This wasn't just comfort kissing either; she was into it as much as I was.
"Theo..." She moaned my name against my lips, something which I'd wanted her to do for so long.
I squeezed her body tighter against mine, enjoying every single moment of it. My hands slipped under her top, my fingers touching the bare skin on her waist.
"Jesus Christ, you two have the most impeccable timing." Jason sighed heavily from the doorway, causing Ember to spring up and away from me, pulling her top back down again.
"What now?" I sighed, extremely frustrated that we'd been interrupted; who knows where this would've gone if we hadn't been interrupted?
"It's Jade," Jason said, struggling to keep laughter off his face as Ember and I glanced awkwardly at each other. "You gotta come down to the cellar."
"You have a cellar here?" Ember asked, eyes wide.
"I thought you were on a break?" I directed at Jason, ignoring Ember.
"Yeah, but I can tell something's off... I can't explain it." He crossed his arms. "You just gotta trust me."
"I do," I reassured him, grabbing my hoodie, and going to head out of my room.
"What about me?" Ember frowned.
"You stay here; I don't think you should come," I told her, bluntly but fairly.
"I want to come," she insisted, her tone bordering on insolent.
I clenched my jaw. "No, Ember. Stay here, we'll be—"
"She can come," Jason cut in.
"Dude, whose side are you on?" I whispered at him incredulously.
"You're a terrible whisperer, Theo." Ember looked unimpressed, folding her arms across her breasts.
"You can come," Jason affirmed, grabbing my arm and moving me to the side. "You need to stop acting like such a jerk to her all the time, okay? One second you two are making out like there's no tomorrow, and now, you're fighting like cats and dogs — what's with that?"
"I don't know." I sighed. "But maybe if you'd left us alone for the rest of the night, we'd still be making out like there's no tomorrow, instead of arguing."
Jason narrowed his eyes at me. "The door was wide open. And, besides, we still need to check on Jade. She may not be back to normal, but the girl Jade used to be is still in there."
"Fine." I looked away from him. "Let's go, then."
Much to my disappointment, Ember came with us. I was just trying to protect her; why can't she see that?
Maybe she could see it too much and was trying to show that she didn't need my protection. Well, as long as she didn't plan on pulling a taser on me anytime soon, like the last time she tried to show me that she didn't need protecting...
We made our way down to the cellar in silence. I handed my hoodie to Ember just before we stepped into the part of the cellar where we had Jade locked up.
"Thanks." She smiled briefly, pulling it over her head.
"Ember?" Ryder frowned, surprised when he saw Ember step into the meat locker with us.
"Yep." She nodded, glancing worriedly at the cage where Jade was sitting down.
"Any change?" I asked Ryder, whilst Jason approached the cage and Ember hung as far back as possible.
"Not really," he muttered. "But she keeps talking about something in her skin..."
"Yeah, she had that on the day of the full moon," Ember offered. "She was trying to get it out of her skin and couldn't. Jason said that the transition would force it out of her system... But, obviously, it didn't."
"That's what I thought would happen. I was wrong, though," Jason spoke, and stood near the cage, "Jade?"
Jade stood up in the cage and spoke cruelly, "So, you've brought a little snack for me? 'Bout time I finished her off." She nodded at Ember, who instantly grabbed my upper arm and half-hid behind me.
"No, Jade," Jason said sternly. "We're here to help you. Something was in your skin?"
"I couldn't get it out." She sobbed, switching moods seamlessly. "It hurts, it still hurts."
"We gonna try and get it out," Jason reassured, "Do you know where the hunters put it in?"
"Oh, whilst we're all gathered here," Jade began, smiling a sickly-sweet smile — completely ignoring Jason's question, "Why don't you tell Ember what she's got to do now?"
"Shut up," Jason growled at her, already much, much too late; Ember had heard every word of it.
"Tell me what?" Ember demanded fiercely.
"It's nothing, she's just making shit up, like usual." I rushed, attempting to divert her attention elsewhere. "How's your throat? D'you wanna go back up to the ranch? Here, let's go now." I pressed a firm hand on her back, starting to push her towards the door.
"No." She snapped, away from me. "Tell me right now: what the hell do I have to do?"
"Seriously, Ember. It's nothing." Ryder repeated my words.
"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see a pig sprout wing and fly." She responded, eyes narrowed, sarcasm dripping off her voice.
"We need you to get close to Chris Woodman," Jason told her calmly.
"Chris?" She whirled on me, "The guy you specifically told me to stay away from?"
"That's the one." I inwardly winced.
"Why now?" She turned away, after throwing me a death look.
"Because hunters have cures and knowledge about these sorts of things that we don't have access to." Jason's voice remained even, "We need you to get him to trust us so that we can heal Jade."
"Oh, and so you think he'll just hand over some magic potion to me just because I've spoken to him a handful of times?" She questioned, pacing the cellar floor in almost exactly the same place that I did when Jason first told me about that plan.
"I'm sure you can use your irresistible charm, Ember." Ryder joked dryly.
"You want me to flirt with him?" She frowned.
"No, we want you to get close to him — how you do so doesn't matter." Jason walked over to us.
"Great." Ember glared at me. "I'm being used as bait, as a scapegoat. Again."
Then she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
Fantastic, she's back to despising me again.