So, I know I should be working on Passion Fruit, but this just called to me! And I didn't want to leave my beloved reviewers without something to read during my absence. I promise to have updates for Passion Fruit upon my return to Florida and the internet.
Anyways, this story is written for my dear, dear, friend Amber who has never failed to be exactly that to me. She has been giving me encouraging words of adoration and following me every step of the way in my fictions. This whole fiction is dedicated to her, but this chapter itself is dedicated my brother, Ian. He has never failed to praise my work and talent, even if he is only subjected to parts of each. Part of the reason I wrote this was to forget about his leaving to Afghanistan. It worked, mostly, but now I'm becoming a sappy mess so I'll move on.
This fiction was inspired by the song Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge. Not knowing the song will not affect any understanding of this fiction.
Disclaimer: Smeyer owns Characters. She Wants Revenge owns song in Title.
The orange glow from the street lights flickered randomly as I passed. I pulled my jacket tighter to me from the biting cold that assaulted all who dared to walk at the nightly hour. My cheeks burned, and my lips were chapped as puffs of breath appeared in front of me. My hands delved into the pocket of my jacket seeking out warmth. I quickened my pace as I entered a neighborhood close to my own, my hand tightening around the object hidden within the depths of the pocket. I looked around at the chaos that erupted into my senses. Car alarms screamed while hoodlums used crowbars on their objecting locks. Police sirens grew louder, people running from their positions and others unconscious or unable to move from injuries.
I blocked out the clamor around me and focused on any impending dooms that might come my way. Halfway through my descent I felt the weight of someone's eyes on my back. I brushed it off as someone finding me as an easy target and walked on, hiding my uneasy feeling. I still felt it even as I left the worst part of the neighborhood. I slowly pulled my hand from its less than warm confines, letting the silver of my blade glint in the light of the street lamp. I gripped the handle harshly, feeling my dry skin crack. After a few moments I still felt the presence on my back and moved my other hand to finger the hard object against my hip. I was about to pull out the gun when the feeling of being watched disappeared completely.
I pocketed both hands and the knife, resuming my walk home as if nothing happened. These were daily occurrences in the lives of those who lived in the slums of the big cities. I finally reached my destination: a large apartment complex. It was very middle class, but better than what you could be living in not one hundred yards away. Each apartment was decent sized but not the most extravagant. The stuffy inhabitants of the apartments thought themselves better and just turned their noses up to the calamity that happened just outside their doors.
I walked into the building and was greeted by the welcoming warmth and woman at the front desk. She smiled and gave a saucy wink as I passed. I smiled and winked back at her, making her giggle like a teenage girl. I walked to the elevators and rode up to my floor and made my way down the hallway to my door. I unlocked it with my key, a little loudly to enlighten any occupants that I was there. I walked directly into my living room and was met by the sounds of grunting and heavy breathing. Something was thrown in my direction from the couch and landed on my foot. I looked to the floor and saw a thin, lacy cloth over my shoe. I kicked my foot, sending the innocent garment flying.
"Hello, mother." I called over my shoulder as I walked to the kitchen to find myself some nourishment. I received a breathy sigh in response. I made my way to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water and leftover cold pizza. I leaned against the counter, blocking out the sounds of my mother and her latest beau, while I quickly inhaled the pizza. I threw the hard crust out when I was finished and walked to my room, passing the now moving couch. I closed the door a bit hard and walked over to my desk. My room was dimly lit by the street lights from outside and the pale light of th moon. My eyes adjusted so I could see what I was doing. I opened one of the drawers, taking out a box and opening that as well. I removed the knife from my jacket and placed it in the box, covering it once more and putting it back in the desk drawer. I took the gun from its place on my hip and stared at it for a time. I'd had it ever since we moved here when was thirteen. Mother had said my father owned it and she thought it should belong to me. You'd think she would think twice before handing a gun to a possibly trigger happy teen, but the thought of it being my father's gave me extra caution. I'd only used it a handful of times, usually for the safety of my mother. Some men got a bit too rough with her and needed a reminder of why they were there.
Her job usually required sexual favors of her, and no matter how many times she claimed to despise her occupation, I knew she was undeniably happy. Casual sex was what landed us in this position in the first place. My father and mother were happy, that was until he caught my mother indulging herself with his young assistant. We were tossed away without a backward glance, and when the divorce hearing rolled around, my father wanted nothing to do with either of us. My mother was devastated and I knew I had to fix that.
My father was now some high-class Governor or Senator or some shit like that. He was married to a plastic stepford wife with two model-esque children in his mansion in the town I used to call home. He lived on like his past was nothing. Like his previous marriage was nothing, along with the love he once shared with my mother. Like his own child was nothing. I vowed to not let it affect me like it could; like it did my mother. She could not bear to look at the news when his face appeared. I would find my arms full of a crying mess of blond hair, shuddering and shaking for hours.
I felt contempt and violence to my father, but I stilled held the childhood feelings of joy and love. I put the safety of the gun and slipped it into the drawer, closing it with a final thud. I took my jacket off and threw it over my chair I kicked off my shoes and my socks followed, landing in the pile of dirty clothes. I picked up my iPod and placed the ear buds in before turning it on to a playlist that could drown out the noise from the living room. I walked over to my window and sat on the wide window sill, bending my knees to bring my feet up. I ran a hand through my hair and looked out the window with a deep sigh. My head leaned heavily against the wall as exhaustion finally set in. I closed my eyes and let the soft music thrumming in my ears lull me to sleep.
I was dozing off into the land of dreams where golden eyes watched me sleep with a hunger that was unnerving as well as oddly comforting. I was about to fall into the arms of whom the eyes belonged to when a shriek penetrated through my music and into my mind. My eyes snapped open and I ripped the head phones from my ears. I ran to my desk and roughly opened it, grabbing the gun and rushing into the living room. I looked into the face of my frightened mother who was being chocked by a large fat hand. Both figures were stark naked and thrashing against each other. The man was roughly thrusting into my mother against the wall while she gasped for breath. I flipped the safety off and cocked the gun, pointing at the mans back, gaining his attention. He turned and faced me with excitement and lust visible in his eyes. Another one who thought it was arousing to toy with someone's life during sex. He let go of my mother and she crumpled to the floor. Fear flashed in his eyes, along with the slowly rising anger.
"What do you think you're doing, kid? Put the gun down before someone gets hurt." He said with a bite to his voice.
"You should've thought of that before you started rough handlin' my mom." I told him, my voice filled with ice. He just smiled back and told me her life was in no danger. I gave him my own smile, though I could bet it was sickeningly cruel looking, and said, "too bad the same can't be said for you." He blanched and ran for his clothes. My hand holding the gun followed his every move. He ran out the door barely clothed, hobbling as he pulled up his pants. I walked to the door when I heard the ding of the elevator and slammed it shut. I dropped my arm and flicked the safety on. I placed the heavy object on the kitchen counter and made my way to the living room. I found my mom, kneeling on the floor in a thin robe, sobbing into her hands. I went over to her and pulled her into my arms.
"I'm so sorry, hun. I'm so sorry, Jasper," she sobbed over and over into my shoulder. I made shushing noises, trying to calm her. Her tears eventually stopped and she became lax in my arms. I sighed, picking her up with some struggle; she was small, but not horridly so. I carried her to her room and placed her under her sheets for sleep. "I love you, Jasper dear." She whispered before she fell into a deep sleep. I kissed her cheek, "I love you, too," and walked out.
I walked to the kitchen, grabbed another bottle of water, and downed half its contents. I looked over to the metal object that sat on the counter, mocking me. I slowly picked it up, and felt the heavy weight return, not only to my hand, but to my shoulders, reminding me that my father left me to take care of my mother on my own.
Once back in my room, I placed the gun in its respected home and returned to my window to pick up the fallen iPod. I tried to find peace by looking out the window at the full moon. And as that peace was just in reach of my hand, it was ripped from me as the overwhelming feeling of being watched came back with a vengeance. I lifted my window and climbed out onto the fire escape and into the cold, my eyes darting abound to find anything out of place. I bare feet begged for protection when I walked over to the railing and looked down below, finding nothing out of the ordinary, but still feeling as though I was being watched. I looked above and saw something flash on the roof. I ran to the ladder and started to climb, thanking my father for my long legs and arms. I jumped onto the roof and searched the area.
I stopped when I heard what sounded like a chuckle. I couldn't tell where it came from, it echoed all around me from every shadow. My blood was rushing and my head was pounding from the adrenalin running through my body. I started backing away to the ladder when something in the shadows not a few feet from me caught my eye. My blood went cold, having nothing to do with the frigid air, as I stood frozen to the spot I was in. I could see nothing but two piercing yellow orbs and a set of glistening white dagger-like teeth. The eyes gleamed with the excitement a wild animal would hold when it found its prey. I immediately realized that I had no means of protection. In my rush to find out who had been following me, I forgot to grab my blade or gun. The mouth was set to a grin that was all feral, the teeth threatening.
The eyes closed, as did the mouth. The trance I was in had been lifted, and yet, I dared not move. I could barely make out the shape of a body: tall and muscular, the body of a man. I saw the head move, as if he was cracking his neck. The yellow eyes opened and were on me once more while the cheshire grin returned. My breath caught in my throat, my ears were assaulted by the rushing of my blood and beating of my heart, and my vision became slightly blurred by my fear. This only seemed to excite the being in front of me further. His grin stretched to a sickening size and a tongue darted out to caress the pointed features. My eyes widened as my legs started to move, but not in the direction that I begged them to. I was walked towards the frightening being. I was inches from the person and could see him no better than when I was feet away. His eyes pierced into my own sending chills down my spine. The grin left and the mouth disappeared from my vision.
A hand came up to my face, colder than the air around me. It was soft, yet hard and powerful all the same. It slowly slid to the back of my neck, raising goose bumps in its wake. The hand forcefully pulled me to the owner, and I was flush against a hard body. I could smell the man and took in his intoxicating scent that thrilled and alarmed me all at once. I could feel my body start to tremble either from the cold air, the cold body pressed to my own, or the person said body belonged to, whoever the person was.
"Jasper." My name was breathed huskily in my ear. The voice was deep and sensual and spoke many thing at once. It was also my downfall as I blacked out not soon after.
***
"Jasper. Jasper, dear. Jasper?" I head my mother's voice calling out to me. My eyes fluttered open to an onslaught of bright light. I flinched away, my head aching already. "Jasper, did you fall asleep on your window sill? You've got to be sore. Come on, get a shower, and I'll start breakfast." My mother's voice rambled on in her sternly worried tone. She was right, though. I was sore. My entire body was stiff and numb. I slowly got up, cringing in the process, and worked my kinks out. I heard a thump to the floor and looked down at my iPod. I must have fallen asleep with it in last night. I picked the device up and turned it off before walking to the shower. I shed the clothes that I'd been wearing since yesterday and stepped into the almost scalding water. I let the heat cascade over me for a few minutes, loosening my muscles and soon washed the grime off.
Stepping from the shower, I quickly grabbed a towel and dried off the excess water so as to not let the chill get too harsh. I wrapped it around my waist and entered my room to find a change of clothes. At my dresser I pulled out a pair of boxers and dropped the towel to slip them on. As I was reaching for a pair of jeans, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end. Shock hit me with full force as the activities from last night rushed into my mind just about knocking me off my feet. The yellow eyes, the feral grin, the cold skin. My hand unconsciously reached up to my cheek where the being last night had touched. I couldn't remember anything after that thick voice had said my name. How did I end up on my window sill? How was my iPod still in my ears? I remember throwing it to the ground when my mother was attacked by that man. Unless, that was a dream. Then everything that happened was a dream. But... I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair.
"What the fuck happened last night?" I grit out through my teeth. I was so frustrated when this shouldn't have mattered.
"I better not hear you foul mouthing in there, Jasper. Now get in here. Breakfast is ready." Trust my mother to have bionic hearing at the wrong moment. I quickly pulled on my jeans and a white tee shirt, heeding the warning hidden in her voice. I tried to shrug off edgy feeling and joined my mother in the kitchen. The delicious aromas and racket of my mother's cooking wafted into my senses: the spicy scent of sausages and bacon coupling with the sound of the meats sizzling in the pan, melted butter that would be drizzled atop steaming grits, the hissing of fried eggs and the strong peppery balm of onions and peppers in the hash browns. I closed my eyes and breathed in each scent deeply, scenes from my childhood back in Texas claiming me. I opened my eyes and was greeted by mother's warm smile. I gave her a lazy one in reply and sat down at the table. She hefted a great quantity onto my plate which I gladly tucked in to. I moaned; the food was more delectable than it smelled. She sat down with her own slightly smaller foods and ate, though, more slowly than my self. Halfway through the meal I looked up at her, a question at the front of my mind and begging to be asked.
"Mom, what happened to the man from last night?" She stopped mid bite, swallowed the food that was currently in her mouth, then cleared her throat. I hated to ask, she was never comfortable to acknowledge what it was she did, even if I was well aware. But I had to know. I had to know if last night was a dream or not.
"He left early this morning, dear. Why do you ask?" Her gaze never lifted to mine. She was embarrassed, and I couldn't blame her.
"I was just wondering. I had an odd* dream is all." She nodded lightly and returned to her meal. When we were both finished she cleared off the table and made to clean up the rest of the kitchen. I told her thanks, entering back into my room. I heard the tell tale vibration of my cell phone going off and searched for the device. I found it in the pocket of my previous days pants. I opened it to look at the screen and saw many missed calls and text messages. They were all from my two friends: Emmett and Alice. Sighing, I sifted through them all. They were mostly the same message, 'where are you?' 'What happened?' 'Are you alive?' I laughed at their concern but nonetheless, messaging both of them back reassuring that, yes, I am still alive. I could sense the relief through the words they sent back, urgently demanding that I meet them up and explain myself. Of course I agreed, but there was not much to tell, considering everything that I thought had happened turned out to be a dream.
I slipped into some socks and a warm pair of shoes and grabbed my jacket from the desk chair. I stopped and considered bringing one of my means of protection. Emmett and Alice would no doubt have something along with them, so I decided on just my blade. I grabbed it from its box and slipped it into a sheath, then on my hip. On my way out I informed my mother of my leaving and told her I would be back later that evening, kissed her head, and walked out the door and into the dark, frigid morning.
I was met with no problems while I reached my destination. It was our usual meeting place: a park just outside of the slums. I could see the large brute of my friend, Emmett, and the much smaller form of Alice, sitting under a large tree. Alice bounced over to me when I came into her vision and I enveloped her in a hug.
"Jasper! What happened last night? You didn't return my calls, or my messages! I thought you might have met trouble on your way home!" I chuckled and pet her small head. She scowled back at me.
"No worries. I just fell asleep early. I was more exhausted than I thought." She gave me a slight disbelieving look but tossed her insecurities away.
"Sure you weren't just tappin' some tramp, Jazz?" Emmett laughed and Alice just smacked him in the arm. "You know I'm kiddin', Al! Unless, Jazz really was tappin' some tramp." He wiggled his eye brows in a jokingly raunchy fashion**. They both looked at me and I just shook my head in complete disbelief, flopping down under the tree. They both sat down on either side of me and we flowed into an easy conversation filled with crude language, exuberant laughter, excited nonsense, and mocking of the rich fucks***.
***
As twilight came around, we parted ways to head for home. Alice left me with a tight hug, Emmett with a casual wave. I walked back through the slums, passing the chaos around me. I walked by a definite hooker and a shady looking fella. I over heard part of their conversation and wished I hadn't: "I want you to put it on my finger nail, then rub it between my toes****," the hooker looked appalled. I couldn't contain the disgusted look from my face. The lights flickered, the biting cold caused me to wrap my jacket tighter around me. I felt the overwhelming sense of deja vu slowly creeping up on me. I quickened my pace, trying to make it home as fast as I could without running and making myself look a fool.
I exited the slums and let a breath go I wasn't aware I held. I leaned up against a brick wall, closing my eyes to relax a minute before continuing on. It was the worst decision I could have possibly made. The weight of someone's eyes on me returned, making me nauseous. A violent shiver took over my body. I lifted my head and opened my eyes to see the being from my "dreams" the other night directly in front of me, his face still covered by shadows. This time when I met the yellow orbs I was less terrified.
"So you weren't a dream." I was surprised when my voice didn't quake. It was oddly steady. The being smiled.
"Of course not, Jasper. But I can be if you wish it. That is what you've been to me these past weeks." His voice was still the sensual octave I remembered it as. He stalked closer to me, his predatory gaze boring into my soul. I pushed myself off of the wall to stand at my full height. I pulled the blade from its sheath on my hip and gripped it in my hand. The man's chuckle was a sultry sound, vibrating through my body. "That wont work on me, Jasper." He was directly in front of me in an instant. My hand snapped up to press the blade to his neck. I press with force to break the skin as a threat. My blade was met with defeat. It bended like it was mere plastic. I dropped the metal to the floor, hearing it clank to the cement. "I told you so." His body pressed mine into the wall I was previously leaning on. I looked at him with what I hoped was a fierce scowl. I felt a pressure on my hips and passed it off as his hands gripping me.
"What do you want with me?" I bit out. His face was gone from my vision, now pressed firmly to my neck. He breathed in deeply. Exhaling, he replied.
"You, Jasper. And I'll have you." He nipped the flesh none too gently. A mark was sure to be left. "And no one else will." His voice was filled passion, desire, and power. I felt anger rise within me. How could he speak as if he owns me? He chuckled into my skin. The bastard. "Trust me, Jasper. You will be mine."
"We'll see." I retorted. He was gone before I could finish, but I'm sure he heard me, for I heard "oh, yes we will," as I walked away to my home. I have a stalker. Why am I not as phased as I should be? I shrugged and passed it off as nerves, even though they were nonexistent.
*Tribute to the beautiful Amber!
**Tribute to my lovely sister-in-law!
***My brother actually helped me with this. I had orignally put "snooty passerbys' and this was his definition for such a phrase. Much better, yeah?
****Tribute to my brother! He actually said this to my sister-in-law. You see where I get it?
Thanks for reading! Please review. It would be greatly appreciated.