by Dawn Gray
"It's better this way, Cleo." I explained and crossed my arms. "My grandfather won't have to worry as much if I'm not here. Out of sight, out of mind, that kind of thing."
"Do you really believe that?" She asked me.
"If it was any other way than that, I probably would have been here a long time ago." I told her and sighed. "I've been on the run for almost my whole life and I still had to come and find him. If it were any other way, he would have come and got me. He pushed Jason away, and I can't stay here anymore."
"Give it one more night." Cleo asked. "In the morning, maybe things will be different." She smiled and looked at Cecilia. "If they're not, you can have my car to drive."
"Fine." I said and nodded. Cleo turned and walked away. I glanced at Cecilia, who smiled at me. "One more night, that's it.”
I had driven into town, just before sunset, using Cleo's car. The tension in the house had gotten worse and I had to get out before it exploded in my face. I needed something to calm my nerves and that could only be one thing. I walked around the crowded streets, dressed in black and looking mischievous, looking for someone to bother.
I found a young man in a nightclub that had a fascination with vampires and all the gothic lore that went with them, so I decided that he would have to do. We talked for what seemed like hours, made our way, slowly, back to the darkened booths in the back of the restaurant, and sat there watching the crowd dance on the floor.
"Can I ask you something?” He asked me as I slid my seat closer to his. I nodded and looked at his neck. "Do you really think that there are vampires?"
"I know there are." I smiled at him, baring my teeth. I felt his body grow warm and heard his heart began to beat faster as he smiled at me and sat back in the chair, baring his neck. "Don't worry, I won't take much."
I leaned over him and bit into his neck. His hand gripped my hair, almost pulling it out, but, he slowly let me go and relaxed under me. I felt a hand tap me on the shoulder and I withdrew, hissing as I backed away. I turned and looked at Jason, as he stood just to the side of me, smiling down at me.
"What do you want?"
"Come with me." He said with a bit of humor in his voice. I took his hand and held it tightly as he also handed me a napkin, which I used to wipe my chin with. He led me out of the club and down the street, to a dark door on which he knocked. The eyes who looked us over through the peek-hole, squinted at us, then disappeared and the door opened. I stopped before I stepped through the door and looked at Jason. He looked at me and I shook my head. "Let's go, Angel, they're not going to keep the door open all night."
I stepped back away from him and walked away down the street. I heard Jason, faintly, telling the man that we would be right back and then I heard his footsteps behind me as he rushed to catch up to me.
"Angel." He said and grabbed my arm. "Angel, stop!" He said and pulled us both to a halt. I turned, shook loose from his grip, looked at him in anger, and crossed my arms. "Where are you going?"
"Not with you, that's for sure." I told him and turned to walk away. He took my arm again and I looked at the sky before I looked back at him again. "Look, Jason, I don't know what your problem is, but where I come from, people don't walk out of a relationship and then just bring themselves back in it when they feel like it."
"I'm sorry." He said and put his hands on his hips. "Look, I was angry, we all were and I said the wrong thing."
"You said good-bye, Jason." I told him and shook my head. "You made me feel like my world was pulled out from under my feet and I was falling into nothingness. I thought I lost you and you were the most stable thing in my life. How do you think I feel now, after you walked away from me?"
"Can we talk about this inside?" He asked, pleadingly.
"Inside where? That black-hole doorway?" I questioned. "I'm leaving, I'm not going with you and I'm not staying at Cleo's anymore." He stepped up to me and grabbed me by the upper arms. "Don't you dare kiss me, Finn!" I told him as he came closer to me, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm not in the mood to be played with."
His lips touched mine as I struggled in his arms. I wanted to resist him, to pull away, but if I had really wanted to, I wouldn't have let him get me into that position. His lips were full of fire and I finally did pull away from him. I turned my head away and looked down, my hands against his chest, holding him at bay.
"I don't want to be hurt anymore." I told him and then looked up at him, through teary eyes. "I don't want to hurt inside, anymore."
"Let me take you inside." He whispered and led me back to the door. We walked in and through a dark hallway, into a large lit room, then through a back door, to an elevator, up several floors, to a brown door, which Jason opened with a key. When I looked at this place, it was almost like the "room" we had stayed in that first night. "This is where I stay when I'm not at Cleo's, I've been here a lot since Quinn and Julian came to stay for a while."
I walked around the room and watched him as he took off his coat and tossed his keys down. He looked over at me and I turned away. I found the bedroom through a sliding door, walked over to the bed, and lay down, pulling my coat around me. I felt hands on me when I closed my eyes, removing my coat, and my shoes. I glanced up at Jason as he grabbed the blankets and pulled them over me.
I grabbed his hand and wanted to say something, but no words would come out. He leaned down and kissed my forehead, then smiled at me as he walked to the door and slid it shut almost all the way, leaving a crack so that I could find it. I closed my eyes and the next thing that I remembered was the phone next to the door ringing. I watched a shadow walk over and pick it up.
"Hello." I heard Jason say, softly. His voice seemed to get louder after that. "What...yeah, she's here...no, I'm not bringing her back...because she's sleeping...Well, you can just tell Quinn to go to hell." There was a long pause in between after that and I could almost feel the anger in the air. I heard him inhale and then he answered. "I understand that, Temple, but I'm not leaving her, that would be like feeding her to the wolves...so what...if they think it's that easy then let them try, I'm not leaving her...Oh, screw the money, it's not about the money anymore, Temple...involved, yes, I'm very much involved...Oh, to hell with the rules." There was another pause and then he seemed to punch the air. "Yeah, I understand...fine, bye!"
I heard the phone set down gently and then I walked over to the door. Jason looked at me from where he stood looking at a painting, holding a drink in his hand, and he slowly walked over.
"So, what was that about?" I asked him.
"Oh, just a little thing with the agency." Jason smiled and leaned on the counter. "How did you sleep?"
"It sounded serious."
"It wasn't, don't worry about it." He said and smiled. I wasn't so sure, and I didn't smile back. "Angel, really, everything's going to be fine."
"Going to be, Jason?" I asked him. He put the drink down on the counter and rubbed his forehead. "What is it?"
"They want me to bring you home." He said and sighed.
"So, bring me home." I said and shrugged. "Not a big deal, you know."
"It is a big deal, Angel. I can't bring you home." He said.
"Why not?" I asked him. He crossed his arms again and shook his head.
"I can't bring you back to that house and leave you alone again." He replied. I smiled at him and he looked at me cock-eyed.
"Jason, it's your home, too." I laughed at him. He shook his head again.
"Not anymore, it's not." He whispered. "It's theirs.”
"Oh, bullshit." I said and walked down to the bar where I started to pour myself some sort of drink.
"What are you doing?"
I looked up at him as he watched me from the top of the three stairs that brought him down into the living room. I raised my glass and smiled at him.
"I'm getting drunk, if you don't mind." I told him and walked towards him with the glass in my hand. He walked down and stood in front of me with his hand out. "What? Get your own."
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"I’m here to protect you; not get you shit-faced, now give me the glass." He ordered. I smiled at him and turned away, took a quick sip of the liquid inside it and stepped away from him. Jason folded his arms across his chest, stood up straight and gave me a look of disapproval. "Angel. The glass. Give it to me."
"Come and get it, big boy." I said and giggled at him. I watched Jason sigh and start to walk towards me. I started backing up, trying to think of an escape plan in the process and I bumped into a wall, with Jason coming straight at me. "Oh, peanuts."
"Angel, give me that." He said and grabbed the glass out of my hand, as he did I let go and grabbed his shirt with two hands and smiled at him. He sniffed the contents of the glass and then looked at me with a half-grin on his face. "Water?"
"Look, I'm underage." I said and smiled. "Four more months and then you couldn't stop me, but until then I will get drunk off of you." I watched him try to back away as the grip on his shirt got tighter. He put the glass down and grabbed my wrist, squeezing a little bit to make me let go. When I did, he seemed to get a smart idea.
He held my wrists in his hands and brought his body to me, leaning down a bit to press his body against mine and me up against the wall behind me. He raised my arms above my head, and then held my wrists with one hand, while he put his other hand on my bare waist, where my shirt had gone up. His face moved closer to me as I stared into his brown eyes, then looked at his lips and squirmed as much as I could to get away.
"Relax; I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled and, when I thought he was going to kiss my lips; he leaned to the side and kissed my neck, tracing my veins with his lips. I closed my eyes, feeling the fire from every single touch of his flesh against mine.
Later, that night, as we lay side by side, both of us in just our underwear, I opened my eyes and stared at the wall, as Jason wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to the warmth of his bare skin.
"Are you going to take me home?" I asked him.
"In the morning." He whispered, leaning his head against my bare neck, where he had moved my hair.
"Will you stay with me there?" I questioned. He let me go and rolled over on his back. I sat up and looked at him. He rubbed his eyes then sat up and brought me back down to the bed with him, towering over me like a guardian.
"Do you really want me too?" He asked softly. I nodded at him and then touched his cheek with my hand. "What about the tension, what about your grandfather?"
"It's Cleo's house, not Quinn's and it's your home, Jason. If he doesn't like it, then either he can leave or you and I can stay down in the lair." I told him sternly, letting him know that I really meant what I was telling him.
"Then, in the morning, we'll both go home." He said and then leaned down and kissed me. As his lips touched mine, I saw a shadow of an arm reach over and shut off the light.
8
I walked in the door quietly, the next morning, with Jason right behind me, and was greeted by Cleo, who had just walked out of her den. She looked at the two of us, smiled, then walked over and kissed Jason then hugged me tightly.
"I glad you decided to come back." She said to me and glanced at Jason. She looked me in the eyes and touched my cheek. "Your friend has been very worried that you left her here alone. You might want to go see her; she's in your room."
I nodded and looked at Jason, quickly, then ran up the stairs to my room, where Cecilia was looking at me from the window. She ran over and hugged me tightly, then backed away and sighed.
"Sorry, I didn't know that I was going to be gone all night." I told her and closed the door. "And, if I was planning on leaving on a permanent basis, I would have told you before I left, like I always do." I explained to her, but watched as her expression never changed. "What's the matter?"
"I've just been having the worst nightmares, and I don't know why." She replied and then looked at me and shook her head. "They were about you. You had gotten hurt and couldn't get back home."
"Would you like some help sleeping?" I asked her. She nodded and walked over to the bed with me. I sat back on the bed and she lay down next to me, curled up on her side and closed her eyes. I touched her temples with my fingers and slowly messaged her head, I could feel her begin to fall into a deep sleep, when the nightmares came again, with my mind, I shut them out, letting her dream in peace.
There was a knock on the door later that afternoon and it woke me from a light sleep. I looked down, at Cecilia's head on my lap and sighed, as I slipped out from underneath her. I made my way, slowly to the door, stretching as I went, and slowly opened it. Jason stood outside, leaning, with one hand, against the wall. He smiled at me and then slipped inside the room. I shook my head and closed it behind him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, a little annoyed that I had been awakened at all.
"Shh." He said and smiled at me, then pointed to his head. You wouldn’t want to wake sleeping beauty, would you?
Funny, ha-ha, now what do you want? I asked walking over towards him.
The truth? He asked. I nodded and crossed my arms. You, but that can wait. I need you to tell me something about Isaac, something the others don’t know.
There is nothing to tell, he’s a jerk, has always been a jerk, will always be a jerk, end of story. I sighed, shrugged, and sat on the windowsill. I glanced outside and then decided that I should really tell him the truth. That’s not true.
Which part? Jason smiled and sat down.
The always has been part. I replied and looked at him, then down at the floor, leaning back against the wall and closed my eyes, thinking back to my very early childhood, before I found out who I was. Isaac was one of my best friends He and I grew up together near a park in Crystal Hills, Massachusetts, out near Worcester, he was one of the people I went to after they killed my aunt. He knew all about me, and kept me safe, until his grandfather came one year and told him all these lies about my family. We didn’t even know that we were related, even though two hundred years can change a bloodline.
How much does he know about you? Jason asked. I smiled and sighed. Tears suddenly built up in my eyes and I shook my head, trying to clear them away, but my nose seemed to stuff up and I sniffed a bit.
He knows everything, right down to my last scar, and he knows what happened to me after we became “enemies”, which I don’t really believe we are. I mean, he’s killed so many of us already, don’t you think he would have done it by now? I asked and then rubbed my eyes and smiled at him. It’s sad, really, because no matter how much he hurts me, or tries too, I can’t kill him. I couldn’t hurt him. He and I are too much alike, we’re both the last ones.
The only difference is that he is the last in a living line of people. You are the last of Louis’ line, all of your people are dead. If you die, Louis’s line dies with you.
Why are you asking me this anyway? What significance does it hold for any of us? So what if I’m the last, big whoop-de do. What does that have to do with Isaac? I asked and watched Cecilia move on the bed. She turned over and looked at me, with her sleepy eyes and then she looked at Jason with a bit of anger. "It's okay, he didn't do anything."
"No, I'm not mad at him for anything, I just had a bad dream, and it just sank in." She said and sat up on the bed. "That mental stuff must come in handy pretty often. Neither of you made a sound."
"It helps when people are in the same room sleeping." Jason said and smiled at me. He stood up and walked over to the door. "I'll let you two get up and get ready for lunch, and I'll see you in the dining room in a bit, okay?"
"Yeah, we'll be there." I said and smiled at him. He glanced at me one last time before he closed the door.
"So, what was our discussion about today, and how come you are crying?" She asked me. I shrugged and then looked out the window. "Was it about the vampires killed in the city hall?" I shook my head and looked at the small tattoo on the top of my wrist; two rings locked together, forever a part of one another, forever linked. "Was it about Isaac?"
"Yeah, he asked if I knew anything about him?" I replied and walked over to the bed. She knew Isaac also, and she knew me, too well.
"You didn't tell him, did you?" She asked me. I shook my head, the tears coming faster and I found myself trying desperately not to let go. "What was I suppose to say? Um, Jason, I'm sorry to tell you this, but Isaac and I are connected in a very strong way?" I asked her. She shrugged. "Oh, I could see Quinn's face if I told him that we had exchanged blood with one another, after he found out what and who I was. They wouldn't believe me if I told them that he and I shared a very simple, but interesting secret, that even after Jacob had taken him under his wing and turned him against me, he couldn't kill me because he loved me. They would use it against him, use it to harm him."
"What did he do to you the other day?" She asked me. "Didn't he hurt you to get to Jason, or Quinn? He always ends up hurting you in the end, Angel. It's like the two of you live to punish each other. Why don't you just go to him and tell him to leave you be?"
"He would never do that. He couldn't bear to have his grandfather disapprove of whatever he was doing."
"And, the two of you can't go around for the rest of your immortal lives, torturing each other and still insist that you love one another." She laughed at me, not a mocking laugh, but one to ease the tension.
"I don't love him." I told her, but feeling the pinch in my heart.
"Then, you would have killed him the last time you met each other alone." She said and I nodded, I had him up against the wall and had every opportunity to kill him, but I didn't.
"I let him touch me instead." I said and closed my eyes, turning my head away from her. "What the hell am I going to do?"
There was a knock at the door and Quinn stuck his head in without waiting for an answer. "Could the two of you come downstairs for a moment, please, we need to talk."
"Yeah," I replied and looked at Cecilia, "we'll be down in a minute."
I watched him close the door, wiped my eyes and watched as Cecilia grabbed a sweater from the closet, then looked at me as the two of us walked downstairs to the sitting room. I sat near Cecilia and the edge of the couch, tucking myself in between them. I glanced at Jason, who stood by the door, then closed my eyes and looked away.
