A Dark Past
"Grandma, when am I going back home?"
Elise looked at her young grandchild and sighed. "You're not, baby. this is your home now."
Mercedes looked at her confused. "So everyone is coming here?" She asked, crawling on the sofa to sit next to her grandmother.
"No baby, they're staying there and you're going to be staying with me."
Mercedes took a minute to process her grandmother's words before realization sunk in and fresh tears started forming in her eyes. "Did I do something bad?"
Elise' head dropped and she took a deep breath. "No, you didn't do anything wrong at all… you're just going to be living with me okay?"
Mercedes' lip quivered, she was trying to understand the best she could but it didn't make sense. "Is mommy and daddy mad at me?"
"No… how about we make some cookies and watch a movie?" Elise offered as she studied her granddaughter's face seeing that she was confused and hurt but it changed to excitement.
"Okay! Can we watch Cinderella?"
Elise smiled and nodded. "Yes baby, we can watch whatever you want."
"Mercedes…"
"Grandma, I'm sorry…"
"Mercedes… I'm not your grandmother." Sam said gently, shaking her, watching her eyes as she blinked.
She looked at him confused before looking around, Sam took off his robe and draped it around her. "I… what?" She muttered and he sighed, grabbing her hand and led her back to the guest house.
It had been a few days since she came to stay and this was the first time he'd even remotely seen her outside of them passing each other. He wasn't even sure how he heard her but he could tell she was sleep walking and was considering locking her in the room across from him for safe measures. The walk from the guest house to the main one wasn't short so she had to have been wandering around far longer than she had been in the house. He'd been leaving the door unlocked just in case she needed anything.
"Here." He said opening the door and guiding her back inside. "Are you okay?"
Mercedes looked at him again before looking around. "I'm… in your guest house." She muttered.
"You've been here for a few days… Mercedes, is there something… do you need something?"
She shook her head. "No, I… I haven't. It's been a long time since that's happened. I'm… I'm sorry." She said, softly.
"Don't apologize… Just-" He started before stopping because he didn't know what to say.
Mercedes grabbed his arm. "It's okay, I'm okay… just old memories and old ghosts." She reassured and he couldn't help smirking.
"So you are a witch." He quipped and she looked at him before frowning.
"Judging by how pale you are, all my theories about you being a vampire seem to be true." She retorted with a sly smile.
"I see you're back to whatever version of you, if you need something though… please let me or Sara know. I'll have her bring you some breakfast." He said, turning to walk out.
"Oh that won't be necessary."
Sam looked over his shoulder at her. "It wasn't an offer." He replied then left leaving her slightly annoyed but thankful that he didn't press on why she was wandering around.
She sat down and sighed. "Happy birthday nana." She said softly.
Flashback
"Sweet pea, it's time to get up."
Mercedes groaned, covering her head with the covers. "I don't wanna go!"
Elise let out a chuckle. "It'll only be for the night and then I'll be there first thing in the morning to get you. Grandma wants to celebrate her birthday with her friends this year."
Mercedes sat up smiling. "You could always leave me here… it's not like I'll throw a party or anything." She joked, reaching into her night stand and pulling out the gift she'd gotten her. "Happy birthday nana."
"Oh will you look at that, you didn't have to get me anything." Elise said opening the card first and reading it as Mercedes watched. She read the card before opening her gift which was a beautiful locket.
"Open it!" Mercedes encouraged and her grandmother obliged, opening the locket and smiling brightly seeing a picture of the two of them.
"Oh it's from when we went to camping, I love it, sweet pea!" Elise said, pulling her granddaughter into a hug. "I love you, sweet girl."
"I love you too nana!" She replied smiling before frowning when she heard the knock on the door.
Elise pulled away, seeing her frown. "That's the car for you… remember it's just one night."
Mercedes nodded, slipping away from her and getting out of bed. "I'll be dressed shortly." She muttered and Elise wanted to tell her she should just stay home but her parents requested she stay with them.
"I'll just let you get ready then…" Elise said with a sigh.
"Cedie!"
Mercedes smiled when she saw her little sister. "Hey Carla! I missed you!"
"I missed you too! Are you coming to stay with us?" She asked excitedly.
Mercedes looked at her parents who seemed disinterested in her presence. "Just for tonight… then I'm going back home." She replied.
"But… but this is home." Carla said, confused.
Their mother cleared her throat. "Carla, baby we've talked about this. Mercedes doesn't live with us, she lives with your grandmother."
Their father sighed. "I have business to attend to, I'll see you later okay sweet girl?" He said, kneeling down and hugging Carla. "I'll see you too Mercedes."
After her father left, her mother laid out the rules which basically was for her not to bother her in any way and that dinner would be served promptly at seven. She went into her office and stayed in there which was okay with Mercedes because it wasn't like she really knew her mother anymore and it gave her time to spend with her sister.
"So I see you're here… again." Nathan said leaning against the door frame of Carla's room, Mercedes looked at him and frowned,
"Just for the night then I go back home." She explained almost like it was a mantra.
Nathan walked in and sat beside Carla. "You do know they only wanted you here because the Washingtons are coming over, they're trying to woo some investors for dad's campaign."
Mercedes looked away. "I'm here because Nana is away for her birthday…"
He snickered. "No, you're here because mom and dad paid her a lot of money so that she would let them keep you for the night. No one wants you…" He taunted.
"I want Cedie! I want to go live with Cedie and Nana." Carla said, smiling at her sister.
"I would love that." Mercedes managed to get out.
"Too bad moma will never let that happen because you're not really a Jones." Nathan chimed in before getting up and walking towards the door. "You should be happy Nana wanted you otherwise you'd be somewhere under a bridge, homeless." He added, with a devious smirk.
Mercedes turned, wiping her eyes. "I never did anything to you… why are you so mean?"
"Because I don't like you either and I don't want you here so you should just run away it's not like anyone would miss you. I mean Nana has the money, there's no reason for her to come back for you now."
She shook her head. "Go away, just let me play with Carla." She said getting choked up.
"Enjoy it while it lasts because we won't be seeing you again after this." Nathan said before leaving. Carla looked at her sister before giving her a hug.
"I want you Cedie and I love you." She said softly.
Mercedes sniffled. "I love you too, I'm going to go to the bathroom." She said before walking out of the room and down the hall. She started to go to the bathroom but the words her brother said kept making her feel even worse so instead she headed down the back staircase and out of the backdoor.
That was the first time she ran away and the only time someone came looking for her.
Mercedes wasn't entirely sure when she fell asleep but she was woken up by the sound of shuffling before noticing Sam's housekeeper leaving. She sat up, stretching, letting out a yawn before heading into the kitchen to see what she brought over. She inhaled and smiled at the smell of fresh fruit and what looked like homemade biscuits and jam. She started fixing her plate when she noticed the note attached to the tray, she grabbed it to read it.
Witches have to eat too.
SE, Vampire.
She snickered, shaking her head and placing the note back down.
"See you got my note." She heard and looked over her shoulder. She couldn't help her semi-shocked expression. He wasn't wearing a suit like he usually did, he was in a simple Henley and jeans. Sure she's seen him outside of a suit but that was only on Sundays and he wore a work jumper.
She looked away after feeling like she'd been looking too long. "I thought vampires needed to be invited in before they could enter." She said continuing to fix her plate.
Sam let out what sounded like a chuckle. "You did, last night and besides, this is my house… aren't witches bound by a coven? Shouldn't you be with them?"
The corners of her lips turned up slightly. "Is there a reason for this intrusion?"
"Honestly? I wanted to check on you." He answered, grabbing a biscuit and some jam. He looked over at Mercedes, who was staring at him confused. "I know but you kinda scared me last night so…"
She nodded slowly as she sat down at the bar. "I… it's my grandmother's birthday. No, I don't want to talk about but it's just a difficult day."
Sam leaned against the counter taking in what she said before shrugging. "So no demon haunting then?"
She rolled her eyes. "I think that's more up your alley… haunting I mean." She quipped and he smiled fully for the first time.
"Well, since I know you're back to your normal self I can stop caring again." He said standing upwards and turning to walk out as she sat there with a semblance of a smile.
"Thank you." She said softly hoping like hell he didn't hear but he did and chose not to acknowledge it for her sake.
"Stacey I don't want to wear this…" Sam grumbled tugging at the bow tie she forced him to wear.
She sighed, fixing the bow tie. "Tough, you said I get to dress you and this is what I wanted you to wear." She replied, taking a step back and looking him over. She picked out a hunter green and gold suit jacket, the pattern consists of both dark and light hues of green with flecks of gold and a pair of black tailor slacks.
"Why did you have to pick this?" He questioned looking at himself and shaking his head. "I wanted to wear black."
"And you are." She said, dismissively.
Sam looked at her frowning. "Pants don't count besides, how is gold a forest color?"
"Gold is the shade of the sun when it hits the forest floor, so it works. And it was never specified that it wasn't an enchanted forest." Stacey replied before looking at herself.
She opted for an ice blue, off shoulder ball gown that had lace detailing along the skirt and a sweetheart neckline, her hair was in long ringlets cascading down her shoulder with ice blue and white butterfly clippings.
"So this is some frilly thing?" He asked and she scuffed.
"No Samuel! We have to make this year very fun, there's a lot of new business owners and they need to know our town is perfect for their business."
"Fine but I'm not doing any speeches or talking to people." He muttered looking at his watch. "Car will be here shortly."
"Stevie's meeting us there, so we won't have to wait on him." She informed him before going off to slip on her shoes.
"This isn't too much is it?" Mercedes asked Marley who smiled and shook her head.
"You look beautiful!" She replied and Mercedes scuffed.
"I feel like a fool wearing this heavy thing… is there a reason why ball gowns are a requirement?"
"Stacey Evans loves a good gown, besides best dressed wins a cash award!" Marley said giggling. Mercedes looked at Marley in an off the shoulder navy blue ball gown that was covered in sequins, her hair was in a low bun with tendrils cropping her face and she paired it with white gold jewelry.
"You look magical, like a princess."
Marley smiled, twirling around. "You think so? I know I don't have a business but me and Stacey are old friends so I got an invitation."
Mercedes nodded. "You will definitely win!"
"I don't know, your gown is gorgeous! How'd you find one so quickly?" She asked.
"Kurt… he cornered me and I gave in." She replied, admiring her own dress. It was a hunter green long sleeves lace gown that had green flowers and leaves embroidered into its bodice. Her hair was in a high curly bun with specks of gold placed throughout and she paired it with gold leaf jewelry that matched her heels.
Kurt said he'd been wanting to work on a real body for years and told her that she would be his personal Barbie doll. She couldn't help laughing when he said that because she was far from ever being considered Barbie.
"Well he definitely made you into a vision." Marley complimented right as both of their phones went off. Marley checked hers seeing it was from Santana. "She said she's wearing red and to hurry the hell up."
Mercedes chuckled, checking her own, surprised that it was a message from Sam.
Almost the witching hour. Jiggle the handle before locking it.
-SE
She caught herself smiling before shaking her head replying to him.
Let's hope you've had enough blood, would hate for you to attack those innocent people at the ball.
She shut her phone off, looking at Marley who was sporting an amused expression. "What?"
"You're blushing…" She replied and Mercedes shook her head.
"I don't blush, come on let's hurry before Santana comes and drags us out by our ears." She deflected, grabbing her clutch and leading them out of the guest house.
"What do you mean she isn't here?" Elise asked her daughter in a panic.
Monica looked at her mother and shrugged. "Nathan said she ran off before dinner, I assumed she was out back." She replied nonchalantly.
"HOW LONG AGO WAS THAT? I LET YOU KEEP HER FOR ONE NIGHT!"
Monica rolled her eyes. "Let me? Last I checked, she was my child and I'm allowing you to keep her. Don't confuse your role in this, Elise!"
Elise shook her head. "You don't know that girl, you don't know anything about her and you just… did you even go looking for her? Dinner was hours ago and she might be hurt!"
Monica sighed. "No, I have other things and children to attend to but maybe she's in the tree house?"
Elise moved past her daughter and hurried to the backyard, looking around before spotting the tree house. "Mercedes? MERCEDES! It's me sweetpea!" She shouted but didn't hear anything. "Mercedes, you can leave with me… just please…"
"She's not up there…" Carla said softly. Elise looked down at her other granddaughter.
"What do you mean? Where is she?" She asked.
Carla looked away sadly. "I asked her to let me come but she told me no… she said she was running away."
Elise ran her hand over her dress. "Did she say where she was going?"
Clara shook her head. "She just said that she loved me."
"Oh Lord…" Elise said pulling out her phone and dialing 9-1-1 to report Mercedes as missing. She walked back inside, shaking her head. "I am going to call the police and I know you don't want this getting out so you better find my grandbaby!" Elise said to her daughter and son-in-law.
Monica looked at her husband before he simply nodded, pulling out his phone to make a few calls. "David will have his people find her…"
"You have thirty minutes and not a minute over, she better be at my house and she better be completely unharmed! I can not believe you would treat that baby like this!" Elise shouted, before storming out to head to her place.
Elise sat on her couch checking her clock every second until there was a knock on the door and she ran to open it. When she swung the door open Mercedes was standing with her head down.
"Oh sweet pea!" She said, pulling her into a tight hug before looking around behind her but not seeing anyone. "How did you get here?"
Mercedes sniffled. "I guess they had someone find me…" She answered before she began crying. Elise pulled her inside and led her to the sofa.
"You can't do that! You can't run away from me… I was so worried and I couldn't find you!" Elise fussed, holding on tightly to Mercedes as she began to cry too. "I can't lose you sweetpea. You don't have to go back there I promise."
Mercedes sobbed, wrapping her arms around her grandmother. "Nana, why do they hate me? Nathan said they paid you to let me come over, is that true?"
Elise sighed. "They did pay me but not because of that. It's for everyday expenses and you need new school clothes and soon it'll be time to get you a car… I didn't want you to go over there at all."
Mercedes looked at her grandmother, seeing that she was telling the truth. "I don't want to go back but I would very much like to see Carla."
"I will talk to your parents about letting her come over on the weekends. What about Nathan?"
"I never want to speak to him again." She answered softly, furrowing her brows. "He hurt me with his words…"
Elise nodded. "How about we go out of town for a few days?"
Mercedes beamed. "Like where?"
"Well you've been hinting about Disney and-"
Mercedes squealed, hugging her grandmother tightly. "Are we really going?" She asked excitedly.
"The sooner you get packed, the sooner we can go!" Elise said and Mercedes jumped up, running to her room to do just that. Elise waited until she was fully in her room before covering her mouth and letting out a low sob.
She wasn't sure why her daughter was treating Mercedes this way but she vowed to never let her feel that kind of hurt again.
If only she were able to keep that vow…
Until next time!
Update: my fever broke and I feel normal! Also thank you all for the amazing reviews!