'No fuckin way!' Shane shouted, slamming his hand down on the tabletop with a echoing thud.
'Shane...' Claire said softly.
'No way Claire, that bastard is bad news...we let him in here he will stab us in our sleep!'
'He's changed... he's my brother...'
'I don't care who he is... he has stabbed me, nearly killed me! He nearly killed Claire too! Over my dead body is that bastard living under this roof. Michael say something, it's your house!'
Michael was sitting to Eve's left; he was just sitting listening; and hadn't said a work in the entire discussion. Taking an un-needed breathe, he sat forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table.
'Well we have a choice; either we let him stay here or we say no...'
'And my mom loses her protection! Michael this is my mother, she is a horrible woman, but she is my mom...' Eve's voice caught, making everyone look her direction. 'She loses her protection means she dies; you know it does.'
'Eve I'm all for protecting your mom but he is a killer; if we let him live with us, we may as well let Jack the ripper or Ted Bundy come and house share.'
'Where would he even stay?' Claire wondered aloud, making Shane look at her with disbelief in his eyes.
'Don't tell me you're actually considering letting him stay here?'
'It's her mom Shane...'
'It's her murderous brother Claire! He hurt you, I am not letting him in this house, that close to you.'
'We don't have a choice Shane; Eve show him the letter.'
Eve got up from the table and came back pulling the battered cream envelope from her bag and passing it to Shane, who roughly pulled the single sheet from the envelope and read his brow furrowing more with each word.
'24 hours? How long you known about this?'
'A few weeks maybe...' Eve said.
'And your just telling us now? What about you?' He said looking at Michael.
'A couple of weeks...didn't realize Claire was home today...'
'So you still wouldn't of told us you were debating letting a freak live under this roof?'
'Shane he is my brother… and this is all to save my mother!'
'Eve out of all of us I know… but it's Jason… '
'Shane I need to do this… I need to save her… '
'Hell no!'
'Honey you couldn't save your mom… but I can save mine…'
Shane stood up with such force the chair skidded and fell with a clatter to the floor, his face was a mask of fury but Claire could see the pain hidden deep within his eyes as he turned away and stormed up the stairs taking them two at a time, a few seconds later came the full thud of his door, and the only thing to break the suffocating atmosphere at the dining table.
'you didn't need to do that.' Claire said softly, standing but not breaking eye contact with eve.
'What would you know?' Eve replied her voice tinted with annoyance.
Before Claire could draw a breath to reply, Michael stood. The tall blonde vampire was wearing a face full of uncertainty but when he spoke his voice rang like a bell in the room.
'She's right Eve.' Eve's face looked like Michael had physically struck her, her mouth opened and shut with an auditable clink of teeth.
'Your taking her side?'
'On this? Yeah cause that was low, it was cruel Eve... Just like your mother.'
Claire left them to it, her best friend was someone she barely recognized; the face was the same but her eyes were cold and her words were like whips.
