A one-shot roughly based on events that occur in my other story, Movie Mode, although it is not necessary to read it to understand this and they're not based in the same universe. Written for my lovely girlfriend's 18th birthday! Happy birthday, Ariza! I hope you like it.
Bluejay
Jessi was bleeding. Quite a bit, actually.
She wiped the blood from her hand with a wad of tissues, but it was only replaced by more. Red stained her fingers, palm, arm, drying in the tiny crevices of her skin, streaking over a tapestry of scars like spilt milk. She tore out some more tissues almost desperately, wincing when blood dripped onto the table, and pressed them against the wound.
It was an accident. She hadn't meant to smash the bottle; she hadn't even realised it was there until she knocked into the table, because of course she had to knock into the table. She was surprised she wasn't dead with how clumsy she could be at times.
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She just had to knock into the table. It just had to be Ivor's spare potion bottle. It just had to hit the wooden floor instead of the carpet.
And now she was getting blood everywhere because a large shard of glass just had to slide into her hand in her haste to clean up her mess. Stupid.
She was so stupid.
Maybe she had some money lying at the bottom of her bag. She could run down to the market and buy him a new one before he got back with Jesse and Harper and they'd be none the wiser; she'd already cleaned up the glass. Of course, there was the little droplets of blood on the carpet, but they weren't too big. She'd probably be able to scrub it out. Maybe she could find one of the hotel's cleaners and ask to use their supplies.
But what if they charged them extra for getting blood on the carpet? What if she couldn't get it out even with the supplies? What if she did and they charged them anyway? They could charge them just for her using their cleaning supplies.
Well, Jessi didn't actually know whether or not they would be charged extra, be it for her using the cleaning supplies or getting blood on the carpet. But she'd rather not risk it. Heck, they might not even let her use their cleaning supplies in the first place.
Grabbing some more tissues, Jessi wrapped them around her stinging hand and pressed. She was in the middle of pulling more tissues out of their box to clean up the splatters of blood she'd left on the carpet when she heard the click of their hotel room door opening.
"Jess, we're back!"
Her back straightened as though it had abruptly be replaced with a blaze rod, her heart leaping into her throat. Red began to seep through the tissues.
"Uh, he- hey!" she called, grimacing when her voice cracked, "I'm- I'm in the bathroom!"
The floorboards creaked as they made their way inside the room, the door closing behind them. There was a series of light, jumping thumps as her brother skipped over to the bathroom door and knocked.
"We got you something from the market!"
"Really?" said Jessi, although her mind was not on whatever they had gotten her; she was a bit busy throwing the bloody tissues into the toilet and grabbing clean ones to mop up the blood still pouring from her hand.
"Yeah! It was just outside- Harper's gonna go back down if you wanna check it out yourself."
"Aw- Awesome," Jessi stammered. She threw the last of the bloodied tissues into the toilet and used her elbow to flush it, her non-bleeding hand already occupied with keeping the clean tissues against the gash. She heard Jesse say something to Harper in the other room, and then Jessi abruptly realised she'd used all the tissues and she definitely didn't have enough money with her to replace both those and Ivor's bottle, if she even had any money to begin-
"Jessi?"
She jumped, spinning to face the closed door; that was Ivor. She swallowed. "Ye- Yeah?"
"Have you seen my potion bottle?"
Her heart thundered. Her breaths grew shorter. "U-Uh-"
"Is that blood?"
The cheeriness that had been nearly ever-present in her brother's voice was gone. He sounded surprised. When he spoke again, it had changed to worry.
"You okay in there, Jess?"
"Good!" Jessi hastily assured, "All's good!"
"... You sure?"
"Yup!" Jessi, forcing cheer into her voice; it sounded fake even to her own ears, "Everything's fine!"
There was a pause. She could almost sense them looking at each other. Then, almost unsurely, her brother's voice filtered through the door again.
"Okay, if you're sure," she heard him shuffling his feet, "Uh, where- where'd the blood come from, though?"
"I've got- I've got no idea," Jessi lied, bending down and hastily rummaging through the sink cupboard for the fifth time, praying that there was some sort of bandage or something she could use, "It's- It's probably just, you know, juice."
"... Juice."
"Yeah," Jessi swallowed, pulling back out of the sink upon finding nothing, dread curling in her chest, "Juice."
There was another silence. Then she heard the crumpling of a plastic bag, followed by the squeak of the little bin's hinges opening, and her heart sank to her stomach.
"Where did- That's my potion bottle!"
Jessi flinched, panic constricting her chest and making it hard to breathe. There were voices in the other room, and the bathroom's door handle rattled as someone tried to open it, only to discover it locked. There was another knock.
"Jess, what's going on? Come on, open the door!"
"Uh-" her voice broke. An aching burn was settling on her chest, demanding air, air, air. Blood was seeping through the last of the tissues. Goddammit, why could she just stop bleeding?
Voices, voices, voices. There was too much noise. Too much everything. Tears burned in her eyes. There was another knock on the door; Ivor's voice replaced her brothers.
"Jessi, open the door."
She shook her head frantically, even though she knew they couldn't see her; a throbbing lump was in her throat, and liquid overflowed in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. There was more knocking, this time a little more frantic.
"Jessica, open the door!"
"It's okay, Jess!" Jesse called, "None of us are mad, I promise! We know it was an accident!"
Her back pressed against the wall. Her legs had been turned to jelly. The aching pain in her chest was growing, spreading, spiking. Her breathing came out in ragged, harsh gasps. She pressed a hand against her collarbone, pressing, pressing; she absently noticed, at the back of her spiralling mind, that the bloodied tissues had fallen to the tiled floor.
Noise. Noise, noise, noise. She couldn't tell if it was coming from the other room or if it was just the rush inside her skull anymore. She slid against the wall, to the floor, unable to breathe. She couldn't breathe. Why couldn't she breathe?
There was an enormous crack. Then Ivor was kneeling in front of her, hands hovering as though he wanted to pull her into a hug but knowing that was not a good idea.
"It's okay, it's okay, you're okay," he mumbled, quickly, as though panicked, as though he was gong to have trouble breathing soon, "Come on, just breathe with me, okay? I know it feels like you can't breathe, but you're actually breathing too fast. Everything's okay, you're okay, I just need you to take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Can you do that for me, bluejay?"
No. No, she couldn't do that, because she couldn't breathe, how was she supposed to just breathe when she couldn't, she couldn't, she couldn't, couldn't, couldn't.
"-Jessi, please, please just breathe-"
Fire, fire, a burning ache in her lungs.
"-You're okay, I promise you're okay-"
Blood. Blood, pooling on the floor. So much blood. So much blood.
Why couldn't she stop bleeding?
"-Jessica-"
Make it stop. Make it stop. Please make it stop.
"-It's okay, it's okay, bluejay, you're alright-"
Make it stop, stop, stop.
Jessi was bleeding.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Jesse sighed, "Jess, come on-"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Jess-"
"No."
"Fine," her brother sighed, scrubbing tiredly at his eyes, "Fine."
An awkward silence grew between them. A heaviness settling in her still aching chest, Jessi refused to look at him, picking at the bandage around her hand. An uncomfortable heat rose up her neck.
The door open; Jessi's gaze darted over to it. Harper and Ivor were talking quietly, almost like an argument, but they stopped the moment they stepped into the room. Jesse picked almost anxiously at his nails; he hated it when people fought. They both did.
"Everything alright?" Jesse asked.
"Oh, yes, of course," Ivor assured, plastering on a smile, "We were just discussing whether or not we should go out for dinner."
Jessi's chest went cold; they'd already planned to out for dinner tonight. It was reserved.
They were thinking of cancelling. Because of her.
"We should go."
Ivor frowned, handing her the ice pack he'd retrieved; she accepted it gratefully and pressed it against her hand.
"Are you sure?" he asked, "We don't have to."
Jessi shook her head; her fingers were steadily growing cold from holding the ice pack in place, "No, we- you guys reserved it ages ago. Why shouldn't you go?"
Ivor opened his mouth to answer, but seemed to reconsider a moment later. He closed his mouth, brow furrowing; Harper huffed quietly, keeping her voice to a low hiss, as though in the hopes that Jessi wouldn't notice.
"I told you."
The potionologist sighed, "Alright, we'll go to dinner. Just…" again, he sighed, "Make sure you keep that hand clean."
Despite herself, Jessi's lips twitched, if only slightly. She gave a promising nod. "Okay."
The gloomy atmosphere- which Jessi hadn't even realised was gloomy to begin with- lifted slightly. Her brothers' eyes darted from her to Ivor to Harper, before he paused, seemingly considering something. Apparently coming to a decision, Jesse leapt to his feet and planted his hands on his hips.
"Let's go to the beach," he declared; then, faltering slightly, he turned to look up at Harper, "Can we go to the beach?"
Harper's lips twitched into a tiny smile. She shifted her weight, putting on an exaggerated look of consideration. Jesse did a strange, bouncing hop over to her, placing his chin on her shoulder and giving her those puppy-dog eyes Lukas claimed to be the work of the devil.
"Pleaaaaaaaase?"
"I dunno," Harper said, unable to keep that teasing smile off her face; she turned her head to look at the potionologist, "What do you think, Ivor?"
Ivor hummed, stroking his beard, "I'm not sure, Harper. Should we?"
Jesse's gaze snapped to his sister, "Back me up here, Jess!"
She giggled, "The beach sounds good."
Harper chuckled and ruffled a beaming Jesse's hair, "Alright, you two. Go get changed and we'll head down to the beach for an hour."
"Yes!" Jesse exclaimed, throwing his fists in the air; he darted to get his swimsuit.
"Only for an hour, though!" Harper called after him, "We've still got dinner and there's the firework show later tonight."
"Got it!" Jesse said, digging through his bag in search of his swimsuit.
Ivor shook his head, looking amused, before seating himself next to Jessi. His eyes darted over to her hand, his amused look slipping, and then trailed up to her face.
"You know I'd never hate you for anything, right?" he asked, voice soft; her brother had vanished into the bathroom the change. The doorknob had been broken off. "No matter what you do."
Jessi shifted in her seat, running a cold thumb over the ice pack. Her voice was a nearly inaudible mumble. "I know."
"Okay," Ivor muttered; he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her in a one-armed hug, "You wanna get ready?"
She forced a smile into place. Her hand was a horrible mix of burning and freezing.
"Sure."
Due to salt water having a tendency to make cuts and scrapes feel like amputations, Jessi stuck to the sandy shore. That's not to say she didn't go in the water at all; just that she didn't go any deeper than up to her knees. Which, considering her height, wasn't all that far away from the shore to begin with.
Eventually, she retreated back to the sand, quickly finding the tiny grains sticking to her wet feet. The beach was surprisingly scarce of people; there was, of course, quite a few others, but not to the point of being packed. Towels and umbrellas were spaced a decent amount apart, although the majority of them were close to the water.
Jessi found their own little spot, seating herself down on her cartoon, sunglasses-wearing sun towel. Despite her efforts to keep it clean, sand had gotten all over the bandage around her hand and was probably in the wound itself. It stung every time she moved her thumb and there was a strange tingle up her forearm. At least the bandage was still on.
A high-pitched squeal had her eyes snapping up. Waist high in sea water, Ivor had lifted Jesse into the air; he dumped him back into the water with a massive splash, abruptly cutting off the boys yelling as he disappeared from sight. Harper said something Jessi didn't catch, although it was clear she was laughing. Her brother resurfaced a moment later and playfully shoved Ivor in the chest.
And they just started… playing. Ivor grabbed Jesse again, and the boy gave another startled squeal, a ginormous grin on his face as he struggled to escape the man's grip. Harper laughed again, only to gasp loudly when Jesse accidentally splashed her in his escape attempts. This led to her splashing both him and Ivor back, and then they were splashing back, and it evolved into a full out water war. They were all grinning widely and laughing and… and…
A heaviness settled on Jessi's chest. Mouth abruptly void of spit, she tore her gaze away, turning it to the grains of sand. It was everywhere. Up her legs, in her wound, on her towel, in her hair. Most certainly in her swimsuit as well, now that she thought about it. Everywhere.
A steady ache settled just above her eye, pulsing. She scrubbed wearily at her forehead in the hopes of soothing it, but it didn't really work; a particularly loud laugh had her climbing back to her feet and, carefully avoiding looking out to where her brother was splashing about in the water, she hastily marched away. It took her a moment to think of where to actually go, and she paused mid-stride, lost, before spotting the little bar just up ahead. She made a beeline towards it, skirting around a few scattered umbrellas and towels and children playing in the sand.
The bar was of decent size, a couple of people sitting around with drinks, others drifting in and out to take their orders onto the beach. An employee, distinguishable thanks to their bright yellow shirt, looked up from where they'd been in the middle of wiping down the counter as she entered; she ducked her head and slipped into the bathrooms, assuming they'd simply return to their cleaning.
The bathroom might as well have been just as sandy as the beach. She glanced around, at stained mirrors and muddy stalls, and wondered if she would have really used it if she'd actually needed to.
Jessi sighed, leaning against the wall, glad the place was empty. The silence was soothing, despite the beach having not been particularly noisy aside from the occasional bouts of laughter and joyful yelling. Most of which had been coming from her brother.
Maybe… Maybe if she'd been there from the beginning. Maybe if she and Jesse had met Ivor and Harper at the same time, instead of him meeting them and then later finding her- maybe… maybe then she'd be out there, instead of in here. They looked as though they were having fun.
What if she just- no. No, no, no. That was stupid, stupid, stupid. She showed up too late; simple as. Besides, even if she hadn't, who's to say that she would have ever been able to develop the same relationship Jesse has with them? She'd only have gotten in the way. She was getting in the way. The only reason they invited her on this stupid vacation was because she was his twin; they felt obliged to include her in on 'family time.'
He was their son. He'd been their son for a while now.
But that didn't automatically mean she was their daughter.
Angry tears burnt in her eyes. Angry at herself for even considering such a thing possible. Angry at the people that separated her from her brother. She wiped them away, throat painfully tight; the door suddenly opened and she jumped, heart leaping in surprise, before hastily turning her back to it and swiping at her eyes again. She took a peek at the mirror, watching as the newcomer hastily made her way into one of the stalls. It locked behind her.
Jessi let loose a heavy sigh, scrubbing the signs of tears from her face. She glanced in the mirror and, satisfied that she looked perfectly happy, turned and made her way out of the bathroom.
Jesse, Ivor and Harper had returned to their umbrella. Ivor and Harper were busying themselves with drying off, while Jesse hadn't bothered, instead deciding to flop into the sand and start messily building a sandcastle, seemingly uncaring about the fact he was literally caked in it now. Jessi made to head towards them, but stopped. She wasn't all that sure why. The heaviness had settled in on her chest again (as though it had left) and almost seemed to be weighing her down, stopping her from going any closer. They were all still smiling.
They looked like a family.
Those tears returned, burning in her eyes, blurring her vision. Jessi took in a deep, trembling breath. Her chest ached.
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.
She'd told herself. Again and again and again and again. Yet a tiny part of her had still hoped.
A stupid, tiny part of her.
He was their son. They were his parents.
Not hers.
She turned around and left the family alone.
Jessi's intention had been to go back to the hotel room and simply sit there. Maybe fish out a book or two. Say she hadn't been feeling well.
And while she did change out of her swimsuit and fish the book she was currently reading out of her bag- Hybrid- she wasn't able to get herself to focus on it. She kept reading the same sentences over and over and over again without taking even a single word in. Finally, Jessi huffed and threw the book down on the bed.
The hotel room wasn't exactly massive, but it wasn't small either; it had a couch, a balcony and two double beds. Ivor and Harper shared one, while she and Jesse shared the other. There was still the faint traces of stained blood on the carpet. The bathroom doorknob gleamed in a stream of sunlight from where it was perched on the edge of the dresser.
She sat in complete silence. Even the clock hanging on the wall wasn't ticking; it looked like it was broken.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Sighing, she pushed herself off the bed. Too loud, too quiet, too much, why was it all so much? It was starting to get on her nerves.
She shook her head and began to make her way to the door.
She needed a walk.
In total honesty, Jessi hadn't intended to walk far. In fact, she hadn't intended to even leave the hotel. So just how she ended up taking a stroll in the woods, she wasn't all that sure.
But here she was.
The trees were towering, leaves dancing in a gentle breeze. A sheep was just off to the side, grazing at a patch of grass; twigs crunched beneath her boots. The sky was blue. Bright, bright blue.
She kept walking. She wasn't sure where to or for how long or in what direction, she just kept walking. One foot in front of the other. There was the occasional shuffle of an animal searching for food, a squirrel darting across a tree branch, a bird twittering from its nest. There was noise, but it was quiet. Peaceful.
It was nice. To walk alone.
The blue of the sky shifted slowly but steadily with the sun; from a bright, bright blue to a dimly lit yellow. It was only when Jessi noticed this that she paused, startled, and realised that she had absolutely no weapons on her whatsoever and that nightfall- as well as the monsters that came with it- would be upon her shortly.
She also realised that she had no idea where she was.
For a moment, Jessi could only stand there, baffled. A panic settled in her chest, causing her heart to bang against her rib cage; she tangled her fingers in her hair, taking deep breaths and slipping her eyes shut. Panicking would get her nowhere.
Her eyes darted around, and she tried to peer over the tops of the trees in the hopes of spotting a particularly tall building in town, but the dancing leaves blocked any sightings from view. Releasing a huff of frustration, Jessi rubbed at her forehead in an attempt to ward off an impending headache, before biting her lip and going in the direction she was almost certain she came from.
Almost.
Nearly.
Not really.
She walked, a bit more rapidly than she had been before. Nerves made her jumpy, every crunch of a leaf a lurking zombie, every rustle of branches a stalking spider. Despite it not being all that chilly, Jessi wrapped her arms around herself in a strange sort of hug.
She kept walking. And walking. And walking. The pale yellow of the sky turned into blazing streaks of oranges. The sun was steadily starting to disappear over the tops of the trees. Shadows grew across the forest floor. It would've been beautiful, had it not meant an incoming certain doom.
Stupid girl.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She didn't understand what was wrong with her. First, she broke Ivor's potion bottle, then cut herself trying to clean it up and had a goddamn anxiety attack in the bathroom. They just had to come back before she could get everything cleaned up; they just had to break off the doorknob and tear into the bathroom to make sure she was okay. She just had to be a moron.
Jessi groaned, still having no idea where she was. She blinked tears from her eyes, scowling at having to do so in the first place, and kicked at a tree root jutting out of the dirt. This only served to earn her a stabbing pain up her toe and she pressed her lips together to avoid crying out, although all it really did was muffle it.
She hopped about on one foot for a moment, making a load of muffled noises and a few choice words that would have likely earnt her a cuff over the head had Ivor or Harper been there. Another root twisted out of the Earth and caught her foot, sending her flying backwards and smacking harshly against the side of a tree, tearing the breath from her lungs. She slipped down into the dirt, mouth open in silent gasps, a horrible throb up her back.
Jessi lay there for a long time, struggling to regain her breathing. There was pain, up her toes, through her hand, over her back and chest. It made returning to her normal breathing rate a downright agony.
The sky grew darker. From blazing oranges and yellows and pinks to a deep purple laced with a gentle magenta. She couldn't see the sun over the trees anymore; only the traces of its light across the sky. It was growing darker. It was going to get darker. Terror settled heavily on her already struggling chest.
Groaning, Jessi dragged herself to her feet, swaying unsteadily. Then she blanched, stumbling back a little, upon spotting the deep crevice she'd very nearly fallen down. She could see a pool of water, created by a small waterfall, at the bottom. Ore was dotted across the walls.
Rubbing her chest, Jessi stepped away from it. She'd rather not fall down there.
"Jess!"
She jumped, spinning around. Her brother, still in swim shorts but now wearing a shirt and shoes, darted over to her, relief clear on his face. She opened her mouth, but he leapt into her arms before she could get anything out.
"We've been looking everywhere for you!" he exclaimed, hugging her tightly, "You just disappeared and- and-"
He cut off, taking in a few trembling breaths as though in an attempt to calm himself down; he pulled away, gripping her arms. Guilt weighed on her shoulders when she realised he looked as though he were about to cry.
"Where have you been?" he asked, voice cracking. Jessi glanced away; now that she had to explain herself, she wasn't really sure how to. Heck, she could hardly explain it to herself, let alone someone else. Especially when it was her brother.
"I dunno," she muttered, because, honestly, she didn't. Jesse's brow furrowed deeply at that.
"What do you mean you don't know?" he said, "We've been looking for you for hours, Jessi! We thought something had happened to you! Dad's moments away from calling the guards and reporting you missing!"
Jessi blinked, "But it hasn't been twenty-four hours."
"It doesn't have to be twenty-four hours," Jesse groaned, "If you have genuine concerns, you report to the police anyway. It just doesn't become official or anything until twenty-four hours have passed."
"Oh."
"Yeah," his gaze hardened into a glare, albeit a teary one, "Oh."
Jessi looked away, shuffling her feet. After a moment, Jesse's glare melted with a heavy sigh.
"Let's just get back to the hotel," he said, wrapping his hand around hers and gently beginning to tug her back towards town, "Hopefully we'll run into Harper and Ivor before they start screaming the place down."
Jessi wasn't sure why they'd be doing that, but decided not to question it. She'd never made him cry before. At least, not after they were separated; they'd probably made each other cry all the time when they were toddlers. But this was different.
She opened her mouth- maybe to apologise, maybe to ask him whether or not they'd gone to dinner- but she never got the chance to say anything. She saw the incoming arrow out the corner of her eye, and only had enough time to jerk her brother out of its path before it embedded itself into the trunk of a tree. Jesse gaped at it, eyes bulging, before his head snapped around; she followed his gaze, just in time to see the lurking skeleton send another arrow flying from the safety of its cave.
Her brother yelled, leaping out of the way and dragging her with him. The arrow sunk into the mud; they had, of course, brought their weapons with them, but they'd left them in the hotel room. Who brings enchanted swords to the beach, after all?
They made to duck around the corner, behind the trees, where the skeleton wouldn't be able to shoot them from its cave. But then there were the tree roots.
Dammit, the stupid tree roots.
They snagged at their feet, leaving them tripping and tumbling over each other. Jessi smacked her mouth against her brother's shoulder. An arrow whizzed over her head. Pain shot up her ankle, but she hardly had time to register it before she was falling head over heels. She was weightless; wind rushed past her. She saw the purple sky.
Then she slammed into an overhanging ledge.
She heard the crack, the smack, rather than felt it; she flew off the ledge almost as soon as she hit it, spinning, twirling, tumbling, before she hit the ground.
Jessi was fairly certain she passed out for a few seconds. Possibly even minutes. But when she became aware again, she quickly wished she hadn't; pain was everywhere, aching and throbbing and spiking and exploding all over her body. Her legs, side and shoulder hurt especially.
She lay there, face down, unable to move. Her breaths were short and ragged, a tad frantic; she squeezed her eyes shut against the spiking agony, desperately trying to stop the flame-inducing tremors trying to take over her body. Strange, pained noises escaped her throat, as though she were some sort of wounded animal.
She passed out a few more times. It was difficult to say how many. There was nothing except for throbbing pain whenever she was awake; too much to think. Too much to even process what's happened. It was like she was drifting in a river that couldn't make up its mind in what direction it should go in.
An hour must have past. Maybe two or three. Maybe even more. Jessi couldn't really say. All she knew was that, upon finally opening her eyes, it was a lot darker than she remembered.
Slowly, she raised her head- a task that was much more difficult than it should have been. She was surrounded by stone and common ore; she squinted, trying to see if there was anything else, but there was nothing. A bird squawked somewhere high, high above her.
Gritting her teeth, Jessi pushed herself up onto her elbows. Agony flared up her leg and side, a searing fire, and she drew in a sharp breath, collapsing back into the dirt. Lungs contracting and chest blazing in a throbbing hellfire, she gasped breathlessly for a long moment. Finally, she tried again, although she was only able to rise a little.
"Jess?" she called, voice breaking; she swallowed, "Jesse?"
She received no answer. Heart thumping quicker, Jessi took a few steady breaths, before pushing herself up properly. Pain flared a second time, lighting striking through her chest and up her shoulder, but she gritted her teeth harder and grunted through the flames.
"Jesse," she panted; lightning shot up her leg, tearing a scream from her throat, "JESAIAH!"
A groan, somewhere out of sight. Her head snapped towards it.
"Jessi?"
A relieved sob caught in her throat, the prickle of burning tears at the back of her eyes, "Jess? Where- Where are you?"
There was a pause, almost as though he were getting his bearings. Another groan.
"What happened?"
Jessi drew in a shaky breath, blinking scared, pained tears from her eyes, "I- I think we fell."
Her brother was quiet for a long moment. She heard him grunt loudly; he must have shifted.
"What's wrong?" Jessi asked immediately, "Are you hurt?"
"Uh…" she heard him shifting again, and could almost sense his wince, "A- A bit."
"A bit," Jessi echoed, "How- How much is a bit?"
There was a pause, as though he were considering the question, "Let's just say that everything is… just ow. Everything's just ow."
Jessi laughed at that. Tears overflowed in her eyes, trickling down her cheeks like rain on a window. It was strange laughter. No humour. Blundering more on a sob.
"Ye-Yeah," she said, wishing she would stop laughing, stop chuckling, because it hurt more than she could have ever imagined, sparking lightning all over her body, "Same over here."
Her brother was silent. Jessi wiped at her eyes, breathing trembling breaths, forcing the laughter to die. There was a small shift and a grunt.
"I- I think I can get up," Jesse said. There was obvious pain in his voice. "Ju- Just lemme-"
A muffled cry. She could hear him wheezing.
"How bad?" Jessi asked, trying to force her pounding heart to calm down. There was a pause. Nothing but him wheezing.
"B- Bad," Jesse finally stated. He sounded like he'd just ran a hundred laps around town. "But- But I'm- I'm okay. I'm okay."
"Yeah," Jesse swallowed; she could feel something wet against the leg of her dungarees, "Yeah, I'm- I'm okay too."
Silence grew thick. They both knew they were lying.
It was broken, finally, by more grunting. Then her brother's head appeared over a mound of dirt and stone, sweat beading his forehead and face twisted into a grimace; he collapsed against the mound, chest heaving, trembling. He was covered in dirt; skin decorated in black and purple and blue; a nasty gash was above one of his eyes, blood sticking his hair to his forehead; his arm was twisted at a gut-churning, horrible angle. The back of his hand was touching his forearm.
"Hey," he murmured. Jessi forced a smile.
"Hey."
The silence returned. Jessi tried to get up again, but thunder roared and lightning struck, tearing a gasp from her throat and shoving her back into the dirt. Jesse, whose eyes had started to drift shot, jolted back to awareness, heavy eyelids flying open.
"Don't move," he ordered. She chuckled weakly around heaving breaths.
"You moved."
"I don't have an open wound up my leg."
Jessi blinked slowly, her foggy brain taking a moment to register what he was saying. Then she twisted, carefully, trying desperately to look but keep the lightning at bay- it took her a moment to see the blood. To see the massive tear in her dungarees. She swallowed, stomach-churning, and turned back to her brother.
Breathe.
"Your arm's broken," she pointed out, but her voice was a lot weaker, a lot huskier than it had been before. Jesse glanced at his arm, the disgusting, impossible way it bent, and quickly looked away.
"Didn't notice," he muttered, and chuckled, as though trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.
Jessi took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. She swallowed. "You- You see a way out of here?"
There was a pause; he was probably glancing around. Then a sigh.
"No."
"Okay," Jessi muttered, more to herself than anything else; she opened her eyes, reminding herself to breathe, breathe, breathe, "Okay. Uh… Maybe- Maybe we can… dig our way out? Over at the walls?"
Jesse shook his head, "No tools. And even if there were, you honestly think we'd be able to dig out way out and drag ourselves through like this?"
"I'm just-" Jessi made an irritated noise at the back of her throat, pressing her forehead against the uncomfortable stone beneath her, "I'm just trying to- to throw out suggestions over here, okay?"
"I know," Jesse murmured quietly. A pause. "What're your injuries?"
Jessi paused, trying to think past the throb of her entire body. She released a shaking breath.
"I- I dunno," she admitted, "Leg's cut up. Pretty- Pretty sure a few things are broken."
"Like?"
"Ribs. Maybe- Maybe leg," Jessi glanced up at him, wincing both at her inability to do anything and at the pain that continued to spike, "It's hard to tell."
Her brother nodded, eyelids beginning to droop slightly. Jessi tried to stay as still as possible. The pain didn't even dull.
"What about- What about you?"
To her relief, Jesse opened his eyes properly. He swallowed, but his mouth was dry.
"Broken arm," he murmured, "Probably a few ribs too. I think my ankle's twisted, at least. Pretty- Pretty sure my head's bleeding too."
"It is," Jessi confirmed, "A lot, actually."
"Ah," her brother mumbled. They lapsed into another silence. Jessi almost thought he'd fallen asleep. Or perhaps knocked unconscious was a better way to put it. Well, whatever it was, he hardly budged when she forced herself onto her back. Which was both impressive and concerning, considering just how much she screamed.
She was fairly certain she'd passed out after finally rolling onto her back. When she became aware again, the sky above her was a deep, deep blue sprinkled with the twinkle of early stars. She could already hear the quiet hiss, groan and clank of impending monsters.
They needed to get out of the open.
Swallowing, Jessi turned her attention over to her brother. He was still lying on the mound of dirt and stone, breathing slow and haggard. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were still open, although his gaze was glazed and half-lidded. She tried to take a deep breath, but stopped partway when lightning sparked up her chest.
"We- We need to- need to get out of here," she stammered, gritting her teeth against the constant throbbing spike of agony all throughout her body. Jesse didn't answer. Her chest tightened.
"Jesse?" she called, reminding herself to breathe, breathe, breathe, "Jess, come on, answer me."
"Hnn?"
The relief almost had her passing out again; Jesse released a shaky breath, "We need to- to get out of here," she repeated, "Someplace where the… the monsters can't get us."
It took a long moment for him to respond. So long she'd thought he'd lost consciousness again. Then he grunted, pushing himself up on one trembling arm, and forced himself over the mound to collapse next to her.
"Okay," Jesse gasped, chest heaving again and face twisted in a pained grimace, "Uh… we'll need to- need to dig ourselves a shelter or something. Just enough to fit us both."
The mere idea of moving again put a heavy weight on Jessi's chest. She swallowed thickly.
"Alright, we- we can do that," she said, even though she was fairly certain that wasn't true, "We can do that."
Jesse looked at her, drying blood all over his forehead. They needed to get out of here as soon as possible. There was more at risk than just getting infected wounds, although that was certainly a giant concern.
Honestly, everything was a giant concern at this point.
The next few hours were a blur. The sky darkened steadily as the twins struggled to keep their pained cries quiet; they dragged themselves best they could to the closest wall and started to dig with aching arms, Jesse forced to only use one. They both passed out a lot. Sometimes together, sometimes separately. Jessi wasn't sure how long it took exactly; it might have been an eternity. She was just grateful that no lucky monster had stumbled upon them.
It was small. Too small to sit or stand up, although Jessi doubted they'd be doing any of that in the first place. But the twins were rather small as well, all things considered, and Jessi gently herded her brother to the very back. Gasping for breath, she settled beside him, her back to the opening so she could face him. She rested her cheek against the dirt.
"How you feeling?" she muttered quietly. Jesse blinked blearily, glazed eyes half-lidded.
"M'Fine."
"You don't look fine."
"Neither do you."
Jessi huffed, but was too exhausted, too sore to roll her eyes, "Yeah, well, don't- don't go to sleep. You… You might not…"
"Wake up?"
Her chest constricted. She swallowed around the lump in her throat.
"Yeah."
Jesse hummed tiredly, but he made an obvious effort to keep his eyes open, "Hope… Hope Mum and Dad aren't… aren't too worried."
"I'm sure they're looking for you," Jessi assured him; had she not had lightning crackling through her whole body, she might have been startled at him actually referring to them like that. He might just be a bit more out of it than she realised. Jesse blinked slowly, before forcing his tired eyes to lock with hers.
"They're looking for you too, y'know."
She blinked, surprised. Forced a smile through more than just the throbbing pain.
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
He continued to stare at her. Finally, his gaze drifted away. Silence descended. She could hear the monsters outside. The shuffle of a zombie somewhere in the crevice. She hoped it didn't hear them. Hoped it didn't see them.
Her mouth became dry.
"Jessi?" her brother whispered, so low she wouldn't have heard him had they not been so close; his eyes had drifted shut again. She licked her lips in an attempt to bring moisture back to her mouth, but it didn't work.
"Ye- Yeah?"
"Why'd you leave?"
She fell silent. Tore her gaze from his face.
"Just… Just wanted a walk."
She could feel his eyes on her. It took him a moment to say anything.
"How come you never said anything?" he asked quietly, "You scared us. A lot."
"Is this really the time to talk about this?" Jessi grumbled. He kept staring at her. Then winced, scrunching his face up as a bit of dirt fell into his eye.
"This is one of the worst situations I've ever been in," the boy muttered, looking like he'd seriously like to scrub at his eye but not being able to because he was half on top of his one working arm and there wasn't even enough room to move his other arm had it not been broken, "And that's saying something."
Guilt crushed Jessi's aching chest. She kept her gaze on the dirt. "I'm sorry."
Her brother rolled his eyes, "Sorry for running away or sorry because a skeleton shot at us and we fell down a hole?"
"If I hadn't-"
"Terrifying your family is your fault," Jesse cut her off, "Us hiding in a hole because we fell down a bigger hole is not your fault."
Jessi went quiet. She absently dug her fingers into the dirt. The weight on her chest grew heavier.
"They're not my parents."
Her brother blinked, surprised. Turned to stare at her again.
"What are you talking about?"
She clenched her jaw. Forced herself to breathe past the constriction in her chest, the throb of her bones, the filth of their muddy hidey hole.
"They're not my parents," she repeated, firmer this time, "They're yours, but they're not mine."
Jesse blinked at her. It was hard to tell in the dark, but she was fairly certain he was turning red.
"They're- They're not my-"
Jessi rolled her eyes, "You literally just called them family. And everyone can see it. Trust me."
"But- But that doesn't-"
"Jesaiah."
He shot her a look, "Jessica."
"They call you bluejay," she pointed out. Jesse's brow furrowed.
"They call you that too."
"What?" Jessi blinked, "No, they don't."
"Yeah. They do."
"No. They. Don't."
"Yes. They. Do."
"Since when?"
"Since- Since always!" Jesse exclaimed; he gasped, choking on his tongue, squeezing his eyes shut, face twisting into a pained grimace. Jessi's own eyes widened.
"Jess?" she said, "Hey, be- be careful."
Her brother lay still for a moment, a slight tremble to his frame, taking deep, even breaths. She wished she could do something, anything to help. But of course she couldn't. She was so useless.
This was all her fault. All her fault.
Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.
Finally, Jesse swallowed, releasing a shaky breath. Jessi chewed on the inside of her cheek.
"Are- Are you… ?"
"Fine," Jesse grunted through clenched teeth. He glanced over at her. "I'm- I'm fine."
Jessi remained unconvinced. She shifted, gritting her teeth, and glanced over at the opening. She could see the bony legs of a skeleton. She wondered if it was the skeleton that had tried to shoot them.
She scowled at it.
"So- So," her brother swallowed; she turned to look at him again, a tad reluctantly, "Is this what… what the whole thing with the- the potion bottle was about?"
"No," Jessi said, perhaps a little too quickly, "No, I- at least I- no."
Jesse raised an eyebrow, "You don't sound so sure."
She scowled at him, "It had nothing to do with it."
"Alright," Jesse murmured. He glanced up at the too close ceiling. It was getting rather claustrophobic. "They- They love you too, you know."
"Sure, Jesse."
"They do."
"I told you," Jessi said, refusing to look at him again, "They're your parents. Not mine."
"But we're twins," Jesse pointed out, brow furrowing, "Shouldn't that-"
"It doesn't work like that, Jess."
Jesse's frown deepened. He picked at a tuft of green grass. "Well… even if they're not really your… your parents…" he shifted, grunting quietly as he chest spiked, and tangled his fingers with his sisters, "You'll always be my sister."
Jessi was startled by the sudden spark of tears in her eyes. She swallowed thickly, burying her face into his shoulder. Jesse shifted a little closer.
"I'm sorry we're in this mess," Jessi murmured. Her brother pressed his cheek against the side of her head. It was uncomfortable- seriously uncomfortable, especially with their injuries- but he couldn't bring himself to really care.
"S'not your fault," Jesse sighed, "We'll be okay."
"Okay," Jessi said, burying her face a little more into his shoulder. She took a deep breath and released it slowly.
"We'll be okay."
Monsters. She could see them, stumbling about aimlessly, oblivious to them. The night grew darker. To the point that she couldn't even see her brother anymore, not that they'd been able to see each other all that clearly to begin with. She could feel him gently brushed against her arm. At some point, he'd either fallen asleep or passed out.
The only reason she didn't start panicking was because she could hear his breathing. Ragged. But Steady.
Thank god it was steady.
The pain never left. It stayed, a constant throb, an aching pulse that only grew worse. Lightning shot through her limbs every time she so much as twitched. So she stayed perfectly still, listening to her brothers breathing, to the spit and hiss of bloodthirsty monsters mere inches away.
She might have passed out once or twice. It was hard to tell. But one moment she was watching the strange legs of a lurking creeper, praying that it wouldn't get too close and ignite; the next, light was creeping over her face, and there was the stench of burning flesh.
Squinting, Jessi glanced over at her brother, worry settling in her chest upon realising he had yet to stir. She reached out, biting her tongue to muffle the pained cry, and carefully poked him in the cheek.
"Jess?" she croaked, "Jesaiah?"
He hardly moved. It was getting harder to breathe.
"Come on," she rasped, blinking the sting from her eyes. She poked him in the cheek again. "Come- Come on, Jess, please, please, wake up."
Ragged, steady breathing. His eyes remained closed.
The pressure in her chest increased. Jessi gasped, trying to breathe, but her lungs wouldn't expand. It was like they'd been punctured.
"Wake up," the girl croaked, and warm liquid finally sprouted from her eyes, trickling down her cheeks at an angle; her chest burned; the hole that had kept them safe throughout the whole night was getting smaller and smaller and smaller and it was going to crush her, it was going to crush him, and she couldn't even move out the way, she couldn't even breathe and she was so stupid, stupid, stupid-
"-sica! Jesaiah!"
"-Kids! Please-"
Black spots danced in Jessi's vision. She blinked rapidly, heart pounding against broken ribs, the pressure getting tighter and tighter and tighter, the walls shifting closer and closer and closer, moments from crushing their broken bodies into dust. She opened her mouth, fighting to yell, to scream, to make any noise they could hear. But it only came out in a quiet rasp.
"We're- We're-" she gasped, but received no air; the pressure grew tighter, "He- Help-"
Her brother still wasn't moving. She couldn't even tell if he was breathing anymore. Terror gripped her shattered chest and a choked sob forced its way from her throat. It sent a spiking throb up her spine. She tried to breathe.
She couldn't.
A gentle, hissing spit. So quiet it took her a moment to realise she'd heard anything at all. Her hazy gaze lolled to the side, to their tiny entrance. The strange, flashing legs of a creeper greeted her.
Finally, finally, a gargled, half-choked, startled yell tore from her knotted throat. She jolted backwards, but that only sent lightning shocking up her body, thunder storming in her head, the black spots sparking to life before her eyes.
The smash of a shattering bottle. It was almost like she was back in the hotel. Unable to breathe because of the shards scattered across the floor. The flashing monster in front of her changed colour; flashing white to flashing red. It stumbled backwards. Another smashing bottle. It fell over and dust spread across the ground.
For a moment, nothing happened. Everything stayed still. Jessi's chest continued to heave, each attempted breath sending spiking throbs across her ribs. She could feel her hands trembling. Beside her, Jesse remained motionless.
The crunch of frayed tree roots.
"Jess? Jesse?"
Relief had the tension melting from Jessi's torn muscles. She stuck her hand out from their hidey hole, grimacing at the spike of pain in her chest the action caused, and raised her strangled, breathless voice the best she could.
"Over- Over here!"
She was answered by a relieved cry. Then there was shuffling, someone jumping from wall to wall, ledge to ledge almost effortlessly. Ivor landed in a perfect flip, and then he was crouching in front of their hidey hole, gripping her held out hand so tightly she was almost afraid it was going to bruise. His eyes were oddly shiny; it took her a moment to realise he was speaking at a rapid pace.
"-Looking everywhere," he was saying; he was almost completely pressed against the ground, trying to get a better look at them, "Is- Is your brother there? Are you two alright?"
Sniffing, the pressure on her chest still horribly tight but the walls seeming just a tiny bit further away, Jessi nodded, "He- He won't wake- wake up."
Ivor's eyes darted over her, to where Jesse's prone form lay. He squeezed her hand a little harder.
"Okay," he muttered, taking a few deep, steadying breaths, "Okay. Let's get you out of there."
"Ivor?" Harper called, most likely from the top of the crevice, "Ivor, did you find them?"
"They're here!" Ivor called back up to her. Even from all the way down there, Jessi heard her give a shaky, relieved sigh.
"Okay, I'll- I'll dig a path back up!"
Ivor nodded, taking a few more steadying breaths. As though preparing himself for what he was about to do.
"How bad are you hurt?"
"Uh…" lightning, shooting through her limbs, sparking through her whole body, thundering against her skull, "Not- Not too bad."
"Alright," Ivor muttered, squeezing her hand, "And your brother?"
"His arms broken and- and he's got a gash on his head," Jessi told him, unable to keep the tremor out her voice, "I tried- I tried to wake him up, bu-but he wouldn't- he won't-"
"Hey, hey, it's okay, bluejay, it's okay," Ivor murmured, clasping both his hands around her own, "Let's just get you two out of there, yeah?"
More tears sparking in her eyes, Jessi nodded, finding herself abruptly void of speech. Ivor nodded as well. He gave her hand another squeeze.
"I'm going to pull you out slowly," he informed her, a cold settling in Jessi's chest, "Head first, okay? I need you to tell me if it hurts too much."
Forcing herself to breathe, breathe, breathe past the pain in her chest, Jessi nodded. Ivor took another one of those deep, steadying breaths and reluctantly released her hand. Harper's feet abruptly appeared next to him.
"Are they alright?" she asked. Jessi never even had the chance to answer before Ivor was shaking his head and reaching carefully into the hole, gripping almost her entire arm.
"No."
He pulled. Jessi had hardly moved an inch before a strangled scream tore from her throat, agony popping and sparking across her body. Little black butterflies danced in front of her eyes, twirling their dark wings. She gasped, but that only made her chest throb. It took her a moment to realise there was talking.
"-Wasn't too bad!"
"Well, she obviously lied, Ivor!"
Jessi groaned, burying her face into the protective hand still gripping her arm. She heard Ivor release a trembling breath.
"Okay, bluejay," he said, "I need to pull you again, alright? We're going to go slow."
Tears trickling down her cheeks again (she wasn't even sure when they'd stopped, to be honest), Jessi shook her head, holding back a sob. She weakly tried to tug her arm away. Ivor tightened his grip.
"It's okay," the potionologist whispered, his voice trembling ever so slightly, "It's okay, bluejay."
She shook her head again because no, it wasn't okay, because lightning was zapping through every nerve in her body, an agonising throb through her chest, up her spine, down her shoulder and over her legs and he still hadn't woken up, hadn't even shifted, and she'd done this-
"I need to pull again, bluejay. I'm going to be as careful as I can, alright? I promise."
They needed to get her out of the way. They needed to move her so they could get to Jesse. So they could make sure their son was okay. It was obvious he was worse off than her. And even if he wasn't, he meant more to them. Of course he did. Why would they care about her?
Jessi grit her teeth. Squeezed her eyes shut. More tears rolled down her cheeks.
Ivor pulled.
Jessi screamed.
She passed out at some point. She wasn't sure when it had happened exactly, but she definitely had. Probably for about half an hour. Maybe more. Maybe less. It was hard to tell.
But one moment there was lightning striking every muscle, nerve and artery beneath her skin, flashing behind her eyelids, thunder booming in her skull and in her ears- then the next, she was looking through hazy eyes up at the early morning sky. The sparks remained, but had been dulled to a gruesome throb.
A horrid, agonising tingle went up her leg. Jessi grit her teeth, mouth dry and disgusting, stomach twisted with hunger and brain fogged with exhaustion. Her head lolled to the side and, after a few attempts, she was able to lift it slightly. Ivor was in the middle of wrapping a temporary bandage around her leg.
She dropped her head back down. Glanced over to the side, where Harper was helping a disorientated and half-asleep Jesse down some water. She breathed a tiny, shaky breath of relief.
The hands wrapping her leg paused. Then finished the bandage, pinning it in place, before Ivor shifted over; his worried, but clearly relieved face appeared above her.
"Hey," he murmured, voice almost sounding like it were about to break; he gripped her hand, rubbing his thumb over her palm, "How are you feeling?"
Jessi tried to swallow, only to discover she had no liquid in her mouth to do so. Her voice came out as a croak. "Sore."
Ivor nodded, squeezing her hand; he swallowed, and she was startled to find tears were filling his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, and his voice really did break this time, "I didn't want to hurt you."
Jessi stared at him, startled. Her breathing trembled.
"I's okay," she mumbled, "How- How else were you to get- get 'em out of there?"
Ivor glanced away, guilt in his shiny eyes. He opened his mouth, but paused. His brow furrowed and he shot her a confused look.
"Just… Just him?"
Lightning struck her shoulder. Jessi stifled a grunt, squeezing her eyes shut. It passed slowly, painfully slowly (quite literally), but it did pass. Ivor was still frowning at her.
"Jessi," he said, almost as slowly as the pain had left, "We were worried just as much about you as we were about him. You know that, right?"
"I dunno what you're talkin' 'bout," Jessi grumbled, clenching her jaw and breathing deeply as an uncomfortable throb settled in her chest. Ivor opened his mouth, almost looking angry, but he faltered and all that came out was a tired sigh.
"We'll talk about this later," he declared quietly. Then he bent down, sliding an arm beneath her knees and the other around her back, and carefully, carefully, lifted her into his arms.
But no matter how careful Ivor was, it wouldn't have stopped the thunderstorm returning. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, and Jessi wouldn't have been able to stifle her gurgled cry even if she'd been coherent enough to try. Ivor muttered apology after apology after apology, but she could hardly hear him over the buzz and crackle inside her own brain.
Darkness banged, kicked, clawed at her door, almost tearing it from the hinges; but it remained closed and, eventually, the darkness crept away. Leaving Jessi heaving around a throbbing chest and a buzzing brain, still huddled in Ivor's arms, each step sending a spike of agony through her body despite how securely he was carrying her. It took her a moment to realise they'd left the crevice behind and were making their way through the woods.
It took her tongue a moment to cooperate, "Wh- Where-"
"Shh, it's okay," Ivor shushed her, "Harper's got Jesse, don't worry. You'll both be fine."
She settled her head against his shoulder, wheezing. Sure enough, Harper was walking next to them, Jesse curled in her arms. His broken arm was held safely against his chest. He wasn't exactly asleep, but he looked like he was about to pass out. His head had been hastily wrapped in a temporary bandage.
Jessi swallowed, grimacing upon realising her mouth was still dusty and dry. She released a shaky breath, finally willingly letting her eyes slide closed. Ivor gently butted his head against hers.
"You'll be okay, bluejay."
She was comfortable. Surprisingly comfortable. Of course, it was ruined by the sizzling agony across her skin, but she was definitely a lot comfier than she had been before. She didn't want to wake up. She wanted to stay in the nothing. The nothing didn't hurt.
She almost did drift back into the nothing. Then she remembered.
Jesse.
Her eyes snapped open almost immediately. She was staring at the bland ceiling of their hotel room. The pain spiked, but she gritted her teeth and shoved it down. Where was he?
She turned her head. To her relief, he was right there. Lying on the other bed, head properly bandaged, chest steadily rising and falling beneath the blankets. The dirt had been cleaned from his hair and face; had it not been for the bandage and the nasty bruise on his jaw (and whatever was hidden beneath the blankets), it would've looked as though nothing was wrong.
"Jessica."
Jessi jolted slightly, breath catching in a gasp as it sent sparks down her limbs. She heard footsteps, the creak of floorboards, and then a hand was gently supporting her head. Something brushed against her lips.
She swallowed, blinking open her eyes. Ivor was kneeling next to her, holding a potion to her mouth. He gave her a small, reassuring smile and pushed the potion a little closer.
"Painkillers," he clarified. Jessi blinked again, before obediently opening her mouth and downing the potion. It was surprisingly sweet, like cinnamon buns and cherries mixed together. Maybe with a hint of dark chocolate. The potionologist waited until she'd swallowed all of it before pulling the now empty bottle away and tucking it into his bag. He returned his attention to her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Sore," Jessi admitted, voice cracking; then, realising that her mouth was still disgusting, she grimaced, "And gross."
"Would you like some water?" Ivor asked. Jessi ran her tongue over the dry side of her mouth, before timidly nodding.
"Yes, please."
The potionologist nodded and stood, making his way over to a chest off to the side. Jessi's gaze trailed back to her brother as he ruffled through it. He got hurt because of her. Heck, he could've died because of her. All because she decided to be a stupid, stupid girl and get lost in the woods just before sundown.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Ivor was back. He seated himself on the edge of the bed, carefully helping her sit up enough to drink the water comfortably. There was an ever so slight tremble to Jessi's hand as she accepted the drink, and she almost spilt it as she greedily swallowed. She'd finished it in moments.
"Thirsty?" the potionologist chuckled. Jessi nodded, wiping her mouth as he took the bottle back. She looked over at her brother again. Ivor followed her gaze.
"He'll be okay," he assured, "Let's just hope neither of you get fevers. You're both fighting infections."
Jessi blinked. Guilt crushed her chest. "Oh."
Ivor tore his gaze from her sleeping brother, watching her for a moment. Jessi fiddled absently with the edge of the blanket. Then the potionologist sighed and seated the empty bottle on the nightstand.
"Okay," he said, shifting slightly so he was facing her properly, "Time for you to tell me what the heck happened."
Jessi blinked again. Then a heat rose up her cheeks and her gaze darted to the far wall. "I- I dunno what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh, sure," said Ivor, raising an eyebrow, "So where'd you disappear to?"
"Nowhere," Jesse murmured; the wallpaper wasn't the prettiest, if she were being honest, "Just a walk."
"Just a walk," Ivor echoed. He leant back against the headboard, eyes on his clasped hands. "Was a pretty long walk."
"I had a lot on my mind."
"Really?" the potionologists' eyes flickered over to her, "Like what?"
"Stupid stuff."
"If it made you take that long a walk without telling us you were even going anywhere," said Ivor, shooting her a pointed look, "Than it's not stupid to you. And so it's not stupid to me."
Jessi stayed silent. Ivor watched her for a moment. Finally, she sighed.
"I didn't- I didn't mean for this to happen," she whispered, "I didn't want this to happen."
"I know you didn't, bluejay," Ivor said, quietly, "I only-"
"Don't call me that."
Ivor paused, looking startled. He blinked once. Jessi kept her gaze on the far wall.
"What?" he asked, finally, "Bluejay?"
"That's Jesse's name," she muttered, "Not mine."
Ivor raised his eyebrows, "I'd always thought it belonged to the both of you. I didn't start calling your brother that until sometime after we found you."
Jessi hummed quietly, still not looking at him. Ivor considered her for a long moment. He cocked his head slightly.
"Huh," he muttered, more to himself than her, "So that's why you ran off."
Her eyes snapped over to him in surprise. She hastily turned away again. "What are you talking about?"
Ivor shook his head, "You really think that just because we met your brother first, we only care about him and not about you?"
Jessi bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it?"
"No, Jessi," Ivor snapped with surprising harshness; her gaze darted towards him, startled, "No, it doesn't make sense. Just because we loved your brother first doesn't mean we don't love you."
She stared at him. Then swallowed, throat suddenly tight, and looked away again. "Sure."
The potionologist's brow furrowed deeply, "Is that all you have to say?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"Oh, I don't know," Ivor sighed heavily, "Maybe that you know that we love you just as much as your brother? Or that you realise we do now?"
"Sure."
"Stop that."
"Stop what?"
"Jessica-" Ivor cut off, taking a deep breath and pinching the bridge of his nose. Jessi glanced over at him, biting her lip. Her brother slumbered.
He stayed silent for a moment. Then he released a long breath and dropped his hand back into his lap. "Do you… Do you not want us to love you?" he glanced at her out the corner of his eye, "Would you rather we just… weren't there at all?"
"No!" Jessi exclaimed, startling herself by how quick she answered. Ivor blinked at her, before he smiled softly. His gaze drifted back to his lap.
"I know Harper and I aren't your real parents," he said, slowly, "And we're not purposefully trying to replace them, we just… really care about you two."
Jessi sighed, "You don't have to do that."
Ivor frowned, "Do what?"
"Ha. Funny," Jessi murmured, "I don't… I don't want you to feel as though you have to… to care about me just because I'm your son's twin."
Ivor shook his head, almost looking amused, "That would be a rather ridiculous thing to say had this been any other situation."
"I'm serious, though," Jessi sighed, twisting her fingers in the blanket, "You're not obligated to… to even look at me just because you've practically adopted Jesse."
"Jessica," said Ivor; he slid off the bed to kneel on the floor, gently cupping her cheek so that she was forced to look at him, "I already know that. You being my daughter has nothing to do with Jesaiah."
Jessi's eyes widened. Ivor leant forward and pressed his forehead against hers.
"You're both my bluejays."
Her eyes were wet. Her throat ached. She tried to turn away so he wouldn't see, but his gentle hand held her in place. Jesse swallowed thickly. Ivor pulled her into a careful hug. She brought up an arm and hesitantly returned it.
"I'm sorry," Jessi rasped, even though she wasn't all that sure what exactly she was apologising for (although there were, indeed, many things for her to apologise for). Ivor held her a little bit tighter.
"It's alright," he murmured, "I love you, bluejay."
Her chest hurt. It hurt more than anything else. A quiet, sob-like noise came from her lips. Jessi buried her face into Ivor's shoulder. She was trembling again. The tears overflowed. Her voice was so tiny, so choked, that she doubted he even heard her. His grip tightening told her otherwise.
"I love you too."
She'd completely forgotten about the gift they got her from the market. It turned out they'd gotten Jesse the exact same thing. A necklace. A simple, silver chain. The pendant of a bird dangled from it, its talons gripping a metallic banner with Jessica inscribed across it in cursive letters. On the back: Love, Mum and Dad.
The pendant of a bird.
A bluejay.
There is only one happiness in life.
To love and to be loved.