Chapter 21 - Hasty Introductions
"You're sure he said Jasmina, not Jasmine?" Sam asked while she fussed over Danny's injuries. The most notable one was a gash across his forehead - that's where the blood and ectoplasm was coming from.
"He said Jasmina," Paulina rubbed her fingers together, wincing and cursing under her breath. She looked down at her hand. The tips of her thumbs and index fingers were cut. They had small pieces of glass clinging to them still. She brushed her right cheek with the back of her left hand. That was bleeding as well. She couldn't remember, but she must have panicked and called Sam and Tucker with her broken phone. She looked down at her lap - she was seated cross-legged - and saw the glowing, shattered screen.
"Who the hell is that?" Sam groaned through gritted teeth.
"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault," Paulina shuddered, a hiccuping sob falling from her lips.
"Tucker, go deal with her, I can't deal with this right now," Sam pressed a washcloth to Danny's head, her voice frantic and furious.
"Paulina, hey, come here," Tucker crouched down next to her, pulling her head into his chest. Paulina cried into his shirt. He smelled overwhelmingly like cologne. She had to keep herself from pulling back - she'd never particularly liked the smell of men's cologne.
"She did this. She took Star. She has Jazz. She did this, she did this, and it's all my fault," Paulina continued to sob, her voice cracking.
"Hey, it's not you're fault. Who are you talking about? What's going on?" Tucker's voice was slow and careful - and tense. Of course he was worried about Danny. Paulina's breakdown was merely an inconvenience for him.
"My mom. She- she's dead. I saw her in my dream. She took Star, and she has Jazz. When- when I woke up, Star's mom called me and- and told me Star's missing," Paulina sniffled, her head still buried in Tucker's shirt.
"We don't know that for—" Tucker started.
"My mom's name is- is Jasmina," Paulina pushed away from him so that she could look at his eyes. "She told me she'd kill Star if I didn't- if I didn't bring you and Sam and Danny to her. She said- she said she'd kill Jazz, too."
Tucker froze, his eyes widening while he stared right at Paulina. "S- Sam, you might wanna hear this," he called over to the goth, who was still fussing over Danny.
Suddenly, Danny gasped and sat up, causing the other three teens to jump in surprise. "Jazz!" he yelled, his eyes flashing green before fading back to blue.
"Danny," Sam threw her arms around the ghost boy, hugging him tightly. Danny looked around in shock before wrapping his arms around Sam's back, burying his head into her ratted black hair.
"Sam," he breathed, a small smile lingering on his face. The two broke apart, and Danny scanned the room, his eyes eventually landing on Paulina. "Oh. What is she doing here?"
Paulina took a long, shaking breath. She looked at Sam and Tucker, who both eyed her apprehensively. "I- uh—" she began.
"She found out about- about your secret," Sam explained, ringing her hands in front of her.
"Wait, what?" Danny asked, his eyes focusing on Paulina. "I swear, if you tell anyone—"
"She hasn't," Tucker jumped in, smiling awkwardly between Paulina and Danny.
"We trust her," Sam put her hand on Danny's shoulder. The two shared a meaningful look before simultaneously looking away and blushing, causing Sam to drop her hand.
"Uh, ok," Danny smiled awkwardly at Paulina. "Well, um, welcome to team Phantom, I guess?"
"Thanks," Paulina nodded, using the back of her hand to wipe the strange mix of tears and blood from her cheek.
"Jasmina," Tucker reminded Paulina, who looked up at him with big, sad eyes.
"Wait, you know something about her?" Danny asked, pressing the cool washcloth Sam had given him to his injured head.
Paulina nodded, letting herself take a deep breath before speaking. "She's- she's my mother. I think she died recently. She says- she says she'll kill Star and Jazz if I don't bring you guys to her..."
The other three teens looked at Paulina for a few moments while she avoided their gazes. After a few seconds, she felt Tucker's hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, smiling sadly. "I know you and Star are best friends - and Jazz is a part of team Phantom, too. If she says she'll kill them, we'll make sure she doesn't."
Paulina turned to Sam, sending her a questioning look. Sure, Paulina and Star were best friends, but the popular teen was under the impression that both Sam and Tucker had known that they were potentially more. Sam rolled eyes. Boys, her expression seemed to say. In all of his obliviousness, Tucker hadn't realized that Paulina and Star had feelings for one another. Despite the palpable tension in the room, that thought almost made her laugh.
"So, Jasmina's your...your mom?" Danny asked skeptically. "She just looks so..."
"Young?" Paulina jumped in. "Yeah, I know. I saw her in my dreams. It's like she's in her twenties again."
Sam studied Paulina's disappointed expression for a few moments before some sort of realization seemed to hit her. "You...you didn't know your mom was dead, did you?"
Paulina sighed, picking tiny pieces of glass from her bleeding fingers anxiously. "Well, I don't know. I guess I never thought she'd die so soon. After she skipped town with that male model last year, I didn't know how long she'd survive - especially with her pill addiction. I guess I never thought she'd die this quick, though..."
"Oh, I'm sorry Paulina," Tucker sighed.
"Yeah, that sucks," Sam agreed, sending Paulina an apologetic look. "Don't worry, we'll find Star and Jazz - we'll figure this out, I promise."
Paulina nodded while her gaze drifted over to Danny, who sat close to Sam with a perplexed look on his face. "Where were you?" Paulina asked him slowly, grabbing a corner of an old blanket that had fallen to the ground and pressing it against her cheek.
"I- I don't remember..." Danny trailed off, rotating the cool washcloth on his head. "I remember going into the Ghost Zone to try and find whatever all the ghosts were talking about and...and then I was at Vlad's? That's all kinda a blur, too. I just remember some ghost named Jasmina - your mom, Paulina - taunting me and telling me to bring Sam and Tucker to her. Then...I woke up here. How- how long have I been gone?"
Tucker sighed slowly. "About a week."
"What?" Danny asked, trying to get up before stumbling back down.
"Hey! Take it easy! You might have a concussion or something," Sam scolded him, putting her hands on his shoulders. Again, they shared a meaningful glance before looking away, that familiar blush suddenly present on their faces.
"A week?" Danny breathed, looking around the room slowly. "A whole week. Wow."
"Well, hey, at least you're back. We can go to Wisconsin and find Jazz and Star, ok?" Tucker smiled at his best friend.
"Yeah, you're right Tuck, thanks," Danny smiled, leaning back against the side of the bed he was next to. "So, uh, what time is it?"
Sam looked at the small alarm clock next to the bed, letting out a heavy sigh. "Five in the morning. Tucker and I were just going to grab some breakfast, then we thought we'd hit the road, but you need to rest, Danny," Sam explained.
All the teens agreed, slowly cleaning themselves up. Danny took a shower in the tiny bathroom first while Sam and Tucker helped Paulina pick pieces of glass from her hands and face. When Danny got out, it was Paulina's turn to take a shower. Stepping in, she let the steaming water wash over her, wincing slightly when it hit her face and hands. She looked down at the dark bruise encircling her knee, and tenderly felt the bruised area around her eye. Her father finally felt far enough away not to do anything to her, but that didn't make her feel any less afraid. Now, she had a different parent to worry about - her mother. Paulina couldn't help but think it was all her fault.
When she finally got out of the shower, everyone seemed to be asleep: Tucker was laying on the bed, spread out so that all four of his limbs were hanging off the bed. Sam was on the couch, sitting upright with her head hanging to one side with Danny next to her in a similar position. Paulina threw on some of Sam's borrowed clothes and threw her hair into a messy bun, grabbing a stray pillow and blanket and cuddling up on the floor near the couch. She tried to fall asleep, but all she could find herself doing was tossing and turning restlessly.
"Can't sleep?" Danny's groggy voice cut through Paulina's rustling.
"No," Paulina sighed her answer slowly. "I can't have another dream..."
"Yeah," Danny agreed. "I get it."
For whatever reason, Paulina believed him on a deep level. After all, he must have gone through a thousand times what she'd gone through. He probably got nightmares too. The two wide awake teens laid there while the sun came up, resting in the comfortable silence and waiting for their mutual friends to wake up.
Hey everyone! Guess who got an aweful case of writer's block?
I'm so super sorry I didn't update sooner, I just didn't know how to wrap up this chapter. Actually, I'm still not too proud of it, but the next chapter will be better - I promise!
As always, thanks to everyone who favorites, follows, and reads - an extra special thanks to everyone who reviews!
Until next time,
~Ash