Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.

Warnings: Slash, Nonrelated & Incest, Language, Reincarnation

Author's Note: Hi everyone! Yes, I'm still alive and am still writing stories for . Please see the Author's Note at the end of this chapter for a further explanation regarding my six month disappearance.

~*Chapter Four: Return to Us*~

Recap:

At the bottom, I stop for a moment and listen, discerning the direction of the voices before once again tracking them. Rounding a corner, I spot Matt, his back to me, sitting in a leather, wingback recliner, arms wrapped around his brother's waist, a brother who is currently straddling his lap—in a non-brotherly way. Confused, I stay in the shadows.

"I can't take this anymore, Matt, it hurts too much," Tyler says as he clutches his brother's shirt. "Why can't he remember us?"

Matt lightly brushes his younger brother's hair back and kisses his forehead. "I don't know, but it's the same every lifetime, Tyler," he says softly, his fingers playing with his shirt hem. "Why should Jere remember us now?"

My breath stills. Why are they talking about me? What do I have to do with any of this? As far as I know and remember, I just met them recently.

Tyler sighs. "I know, but it's so hard, seeing him, touching him, and yet he doesn't remember anything that's happened between us, whereas I do. I just want him back, Matt."

Pulling him closer, Matt rocks him back and forth. "I know, so do I. You two were together a lot longer before I came into the picture, so it makes sense that you're hurting more than me."

"Matt, I can't lose Jere again. I won't survive it this time. I won't," Tyler says softly, tears choking his voice.

Numerous questions tumble through my mind. How could Tyler, Matt and I have been lovers? I've never met them before in my life. What exactly does he mean when he says "this time"? Has this kind of thing occurred before? Unable to hear anymore, I turn and race towards the stairs; unfortunately, my foot catches on the corner of something and sends me stumbling forward, crashing into a table and toppling it over. Something—a lamp?—shatters. I flinch. Seconds later the lights flood the room and then I'm staring up into Tyler and Matt's equally shocked eyes. Weakly I give them a small wave.

"Uh…hi," I say, not knowing what else to say, but it's clear that they know I had been listening to their conversation.

Oh shit, they do not look very happy. Then again, if they'd eavesdropped on one of my conversations or interrupted an intimate moment, I wouldn't be too thrilled either. Swallowing hard at their prolonged silence, I crabwalk backwards, my eyes flickering back and forth; would anyone notice if I disappeared?

"How much did you hear?" Tyler asks his tone strained.

"N-Not a lot..." My eyes flicker around the room, hopeful for a distraction. "I didn't hear very much."

"How much?" With a blur of movement, Tyler drops to his knees beside me and grips my chin, forcing our gazes to lock. Frowning, I stare at him before glancing towards where he stood moments ago and tensing. That's at least six feet away. Now unless the light's playing tricks on my eyes, there's no way he could've crossed that distance with human speed. Tyler's grip tightens and my eyes snap back towards his. "How much did you hear, Jeremy?"

Unbidden my shoulders slump and my eyes close; there's no way I can escape this situation. Besides, what's the worst they can do to me? "That we've been in some kind of relationship and that you guys couldn't lose me again." Releasing my chin, Tyler trades looks with Matt. Instead of looking angry like I expected, they seem concerned, worried. "So you guys wanna explain what you're talking about because up until two days ago, I've never seen you before in my life?"

Lips pressed together, Tyler shoves a hand through short-cropped hair. "Not in this lifetime you haven't."

Excuse me what?

"Tyler," my eyes narrow in confusion, "sarcasm isn't gonna help."

"I'm being serious."

An uneasy tension settles as I glance back and forth between them. Tyler must be living in a fantasy world or something, because there is a fine line between reality and fiction.

"Jere, do you want to come in here and maybe sit down?" Matt asks, gesturing towards the room where he and Joe were sitting previously.

I shake my head and climb to my feet. "No. No, I want answers," I cross my arms, "and I want them now."

"So much for us doing things subtly," Matt mutters.

"You know, Matt," Tyler spins to face his brother and jabs a finger at him, "if you had just let me tell him when I wanted we wouldn't be in this situation."

His older brother snorts and rolls his eyes. "Right, and then after you scared the poor boy shitless, what were you planning on doing next, Tyler?"

"Uh," I wave both my hands at them, "still here and I'd appreciate you not be talking about me like I'm background furniture."

For a while neither brother answers, both of them staring at me; after a few seconds, I shuffle backwards and swallow, my fists alternating between clenched and unclenched as beads of sweat prickle along the back of my neck. What's with the creepy staring? It was just a question, not a case of life or death.

"What do you know about reincarnation?"

Caught off guard, it takes me a minute to process Matt's question. What does reincarnation have to do with what I overheard? "I know it's where we get our term soul mates and it's the fact that you keep marrying the same person in every life just in a different body." At their prolonged silence, I press my lips together and sigh. What else is there to say? I may find the subject fascinating, but I'm not consumed with an unhealthy obsession to read and study everything ever written concerning the topic.

"Do you believe in it?" Tyler asks.

I shake my head with a soft chuckle. "That kind of stuff only happens in books. We live in reality."

"Oh you think so?" I stumble backwards as again he appears in front on me and steps closer, ignoring Matt when he seizes his brother's arm, the fingers digging into his flesh and the nails leaving half-moon shaped indents. Tyler's sure to be spotting some ugly bruises come morning. "Then explain to me how I knew where to find you before your teacher pointed you out?"

I shrug, not sure how to respond. Does he really need to stand so close? "M-Maybe you saw me outside before class started or something."

"Do you really believe that?"

"What the hell am I supposed to believe, Tyler? Why are you trying to sell me some crap about the three of us being reincarnated lovers?"

"Not us, Jere," he says after a short pause, "you."

My mouth drops and I stare at him, my eyes blinking once, twice, three, four times and yet I don't know what to say. How does one react to something like this? Reincarnated lovers—are those even possible?

"Excuse me w-what? How is it possible that I'm the reincarnated lover, but you two aren't? That's impossible. You two are…eighteen or nineteen and unless you're reincarnated too…or some sort of vampire this little fantasy of yours won't work."

"Exactly," Matt says in a hushed tone.

I glance over at him and frown. "What?"

"We go by a lot of different names, but yes, we're vampires." My heart stills as I press my hands against the wall behind me for support. Vampires? They're real? "Wow," Matt's eyes widen and he's gazing at me in surprise, "it feels so strange to actually say it aloud."

Unable to share his enthusiasm, I shoot a quick glance over his shoulder, my escape routes limited to either the hallway leading to the front door or the staircase to the second floor—both are long shots, but I'd rather not become a midnight munchy. Swallowing hard, I shift my attention back to Matt and Tyler. However, if they really are vampires, then they probably can hear my escalating heart rate along with the adrenaline pumping through my veins. An unpleasant sense of foreboding coils in my stomach, my throat too dry to swallow anymore.

Crap. Did their eyes just flash red?

Without waiting, I press my foot against the wall and push off, racing passed them. A surprised shout of my name echoes behind me. Grateful for those extra seconds, I make them count and stumble down the hallway, seizing everything I can and throwing it behind me; anything to slow them down. About five feet away from the front door, I allow myself a brief sense of victory.

I'm almost free.

A body slams into mine and shoves me into another wall, the impact forcing me to cry out in pain.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I stiffen at Tyler's voice, his lips hovering near my ear. "A-are you gonna kill me now?"

"What?" My vision blurs as I'm flipped around so my back's to the wall. Blue and dark brown—not red—eyes stare at me. "What...what did you say?"

"Well isn't that what vampires do—drain people dry? Isn't that why you brought me here? Am I your next meal?"

While Tyler gapes at me in horrified silence, Matt shakes his head. "Jere, that's not why we brought you out here. We're not going to eat you."

"Then why, Matt?" Is it even possible to trust a vampire? Don't they possess some preternatural ability to persuade their victims into doing whatever they want? "Why am I here?"

"We wanted you safe…and away from Klaus."

Klaus.

My chest tightens. So that was their plan? "Did you purposefully drive us apart?"

Seconds pass.

Yet, Matt doesn't respond.

Throat tightening, I try to catch his eye, but he refuses to look at me. So they purposefully drove a wedge between my best friend and me? Is there some hidden sense of rivalry going on?

"Jere," Matt's voice catches my attention. "Klaus is a vampire. So are Anna, Katherine, and Rebekah." He lifts his head and our gazes lock. "We're all vampires."

I shake my head. "T-that's impossible."

"Why?"

"Because we live in reality," I say, my tone edging towards hysterical. Why are they both clinging to this fantasy of being vampires? What's wrong with being human? What's with everyone's current fascination with the undead? "What you're talking about is pure fiction, fantasy. I grew up with them. I even live…lived with Klaus and he's no vampire."

"Jere—"

I smack aside the hand reaching towards me. "Just stop with all the lies and stay away from me!"

I'm not sure how long I've been lying on this bed with the pillow clutched against my chest, especially since there isn't a clock. Unseeingly, I stare at the wood paneled wall before shifting onto my back. For a guestroom, the décor, though spare, is tasteful. On one side of the bed, there's a small window, a pale, white curtain swag looped across the drapery rod while two bookshelves stand sentinel-like on either side of the window. There's a small closet on the other side of the bed. Across the room and halfway between the doorway and wall, there's an old, oak wood desk complete with desk lamp. While very comfortable, I miss the ambiance and familiarity of my own bedroom.

Why am I still here?

The thought flashes through my mind, but unfortunately I have no answer. After shouting at Matt and Tyler to stay away from me, instead of running out the front door, like any sane person would, I raced up the stairs and locked myself in here. Oh fabulous survival skills there, Jeremy; trap yourself in a room where you'll be easy prey. If this were the opening of a horror film, I would definitely be the idiotic character who dies first.

Although neither brother has bothered me, I can still hear the faint sounds of movement downstairs. At one point I even notice a lingering shadow under the door and tense, but the expected and dreaded knock never comes. At the sound of retreating footsteps, I breathe a bit easier but the knots in my stomach coil tighter. Just because they didn't attack then doesn't mean they won't later.

Rolling over, I glance over at the window before sitting up and shuffling over to it. Seconds slip pass as I eye the latch, my hand hovering, indecisive. Outside there's a small platform before the roof dips downward in sharp slant. As long as I watched my footing, I could cross it before climbing down. However, as my attention again returns to the window, I hesitate. Would it squeak? Swallowing hard, I bite down on my bottom lip, squeeze my eyes shut, and flip the latch open.

Absolute silence answers.

Releasing a relieved sigh, I push open the window, my movements careful and unhurried before grabbing my duffle bag, which Matt or Tyler must've brought up from earlier, and crawling over the window sill. An early morning chill wraps its fingers around me and I shiver, clenching my teeth. In the distance threads of sunlight circle the horizon and I use the light to guide my footsteps. At the edge, I kneel down and toss my bag over; it lands on a nearby patch of grass with a soft plop. When neither Matt nor Tyler appears, I ease myself over, fingers gripping the edge as I feel my body drop so my feet are dangling. Off to my right, there's a large tree so I shimmy my way towards it and use the branches to climb the rest of the way down. Once my feet touch solid ground, I crouch and wait, again listening for any sign that Matt or Tyler heard me.

Again there's absolute silence.

Apparently they're not real vampires because then they would've heard me.

Retrieving my bag, I race towards the forest, pausing long enough only to grab a jacket and slip it on, before I'm running again, dodging low hanging branches, and jumping over rotting logs. I need to put as much distance between Matt and Tyler and myself.

Leg muscles cramping and screaming in agony and my throat burning, I slump against a nearby tree slump and close my eyes while struggling to catch my breath. Unbidden my thoughts flash back to my discussion with Matt and Tyler. If they were right and vampires existed, that would mean that Klaus, Anna, Katherine, and Rebekah—the four people I'd grown up with, laughed with, confided in, and trusted—had lied to me.

Yet, Klaus always claimed he would do anything to protect me and that I was his best friend. Were those lies too? Did he just see me as some sort of pawn that he could manipulate into doing whatever he wanted? I shake my head. I should've heeded Klaus and the girls when they advised me to stay away from Matt and Tyler.

Or are Klaus and the girls the ones I need to avoid?

"What is wrong with me?" Pushing off the tree trunk, I shove aside the thought and resume walking. "If there's anyone I can trust it's Klaus and the girls."

Aggravated, I grip my hair and glance at my surroundings, growing more and more helpless. I've been stumbling around these woods for at least twenty minutes, if not longer, and I have no idea whether I'm going in circles or nearly out. Nothing looks familiar and yet everything does. After a moment I reach into my pocket, pull out my phone, and punch in Klaus' phone number. Halfway through dialing, I snap my phone shut with a humorless laugh. I'm in the middle of nowhere with no clue as to what town I'm close to. How would calling him help?

The hairs on the back of my neck rise.

Spinning around, I spot Tyler standing a few feet away. Somehow the sight of him both terrifies me but at the same time doesn't. Is it just because I've now accepted that I'm going to die?

"Is this the part where you kill me and hid the body?" I ask quietly. Goodness knows with how big this forest is it'd be years before the police found my body.

"Do you really think I'm going to kill you now after spending so many years trying to keep you alive?"

I close my eyes and groan. Why can't he let this vampire crap go? "Tyler, you're not making any sense."

"Jere, I'm not here to kill you. I've been watching and following you since you left this morning."

"So you really have no intention of letting me go?"

"Damn it, Jeremy!" Tyler throws his hands up in the air and I jump at his sudden display of anger. "I don't want you dead. Neither does Matt. We never wanted things to come out like this, but we've spent the last sixteen years searching for you and when we finally did, you're with him and we…I…"

"Tyler lost it." Matt materializes beside his brother.

Sighing, Tyler shoots an exasperated look at Matt. "Don't pretend it didn't affect you too."

"There is so much wrong with this conversation," I mutter to myself as the older siblings argue. When it grows quiet again, I find them watching me and press my lips together. Perhaps I have some sort of death wish or maybe I just don't care anymore but I can't fight my growing curiosity about everything that's happening. "Call me crazy, but there is a small part of me that might believe you so if you'll explain this whole thing, I'll stay and listen."

Twenty minutes later, I'm standing inside Matt and Tyler's house. After leaving my duffle beside the entrance, I follow them down the familiar hallway and nearly chuckle as all traces of my earlier flight have been cleared away. Veering to the right, I'm once again in the lounge where all this started. Tyler motions for me to take a seat and I choose the leather, wingback chair. Settling into the small, two-person couch across from me, Tyler and Matt launch into their story. While they admit they can't reveal too much of our past for fear of influencing my current decision, they do admit to meeting me after they became vampires. During that initial time as well as all the ones that followed, I was just as stubborn and hesitant to trust them. However, that never discouraged them and they remained patient, gaining my trust and friendship first before pursuing any sort of relationship. Unfortunately, none of them lasted, due to me dying in mysterious and tragic circumstances.

As I listen, I struggle to give their words the benefit of doubt, give them ample time argue their perspective, but rewriting sixteen years worth of reality within just one conversation isn't possible. Not only am I confronted with the belief that vampires exist, but also the concept of reincarnation. Neither aspect should be possible. Oh, they're both great details in stories but in real life?

It's not natural.

Moments after they finish and wait for me to digest everything, I'm staring down at my hands in an attempt to sort through my conflicting thoughts. "Look," I swallow a few times to clear the hoarseness of my voice, "I'm going to need time to accept all…this," I say, gesturing between the three of us. They nod, neither surprised by my comment. "However," they both stiffen as I continue, "I need you to understand something: I'm not the Jeremy you used to know…your reincarnated lover…whatever my previous name was. I'm not him anymore. I'm just me: Jeremy Gilbert. I know you've spent years searching for me and everything but I just can't…it's too much to accept right now." Tyler's jaw muscles twitch as he starts to protest, falling silent only when Matt grips his shoulder and shakes his head. I shoot him a soft smile, grateful the older brother sensed I wasn't finished. "That being said, I can't and won't ignore what you've shared with me. I'm not sure I believe in the whole reincarnation bit, but you do and I willing to accept that. Also, I'm not promising anything, but I would like for us to try to be friends."

Tyler releases a sharp exhale and the tension in his shoulders drains while Matt offers me a relieved but thankful smile. "We would like that too."

Author's Note: Okay so the last six months…after last Christmas—the first Christmas since Mom died—I just wasn't feeling up to writing, despite the fact that my fingers itched to resume my stories. Then on March 1st, all hell broke loose…or so it seemed. From that day till just a few weeks ago, I've been swimming in stress, frequenting the hospital, and getting screwed (and no, I don't mean in a sexual sense.) As some of you may know, I've been trying to return to school for my teaching credential—not an easy task due to all the requirements needed before one applies.

One of the requirements is the CSET (California Subject Examination for Teachers) and it is a real nightmare! Since I want both my multiple and single subject credentials (able to teach K-12th grade), I need to take and pass 8 CSETS, one of the tests featuring five subjects, including history. Now I haven't studied history since high school and it's been a few years since I graduated college (do the math). Thankfully I pass that one. However, I failed (twice) another CSET.

When I attended the information seminar about returning to CSUEB for my teaching credential, I found out the deadline for all these requirements was March 31st, then it moved to May 1st, and then May 15th. Unfortunately, no one made the distinction between department and university requirement deadlines. Though when I called the department out on that, they claimed they did during the information seminar. Either way, because of the miscommunication, I neglected to submit my university application by May 1st. Since I wasn't the only student to suffer from this lack of communication (hopefully these people learn something from this experience and make it so everyone understands what needs to be done and when it's due—honestly it's not that hard), the department attempted to file for an extension. I was told to retake the CSET I'd failed and would hear the final outcome by May 31st. Well May 31st arrived and with it two huge disappointments: the denial of the university application extension and my second failure of CSET subtest III (Physical Education, Human Development, and Visual Arts). However, it wasn't a total loss because now that I knew I wasn't going back to school, Dad booked the Alaska trip he and I'd been discussing. (To be honest, I wanted to go on this trip more because it would take place shortly after the one year mark of my mom's passing and though it's been a rough year for me, it's been even harder on Dad; he needed this trip.)

Okay, so it sounds like everything is pretty much set, right? Nope! The following Monday, CSUEB contacted me and asked if I still wanted to attend their school in the summer. Apparently, if I submitted an appeal letter, the department could fix it so I got into the credential program even though the deadline had passed. Well it would've been nice knowing this detail on Friday! Both Dad and I pissed—nonrefundable trip to Alaska already bought and paid for! Despite the annoyance, I called CSUEB and thanked them for their offer but I'd already made summer plans and would see them next year.

Now regarding the "frequenting hospitals" part, I really have. Since March 1st and because of the numerous amounts of stress assaulting my body, it exploded. Yeast infection turned bacterial infection turned I-don't-know-what-the-hell-is-wrong-but-it-really- hurts-in-a-particular-female-body-part. Yeah, definitely not fun, especially since the doctors had no freaking clue what was ailing my body. I spent so much money on those visits, it was ridiculous! Then a few weeks ago, I got sick and what do ears do when you're sick? They clog up. Even after I recovered from my brief sickness, my ears remained clogged. Dad said not to worry, but something didn't feel right. My ears shouldn't still be this clogged. So I tried a few different nasal decongestants (including Sudafed). Nothing worked. Then one night, from about 8 PM till 3 or 4 AM, a sharp, shooting pain tore through my ear as if someone were ramming an ice pike repeatedly into my ear—try sleeping with that kind of pain. Thankfully, sometime in the wee hours of the morning, I finally fell asleep only to wake up with blood crusted on my ear. After cleaning off and after checking to confirm my ear wasn't still bleeding, I went to work.

Several days later, my jaw began hurting. So I contacted my dentist and the receptionist advised me to seek medical help. Oh joy because hi ho, hi ho, it's back to the hospital I go.

Once my doctor looked at my ear, she told me I had a perforated eardrum—a hole in my eardrum and that's why blood had leaked out. For the next three weeks, I was taking more antibiotics and ordered that when I took showers, I needed to wear a cotton ball with petroleum jelly to protect my injured ear. That was so much fun, trying to keep that ear from getting wet. Sorry, my body's not that flexible and it can only bend so much for so long before it hurts. Thankfully, an ear specialist examined my ear about a week ago and he announced that there were no signs of scarring or any hole reopening—I was free to take showers normally again!

So that's been my last six months and why I haven't updated or anything, but have no fear, I will be resuming my stories and now that this chapter update has been posted, I'm going to work on the next and final chapter of Open Your Heart to Us and hopefully it'll be up soon. Thank you to those of my readers who have stuck with me throughout all this drama—you're the best!