Chapter Fifteen
'Something's wrong,' Tally whispered.
'You bet something's wrong young lady!' her father yelled angrily. 'There are just no words to describe how disappointed I am. Where did I go wrong? Am I such a bad parent that I could actually raise a child who could do something so heartless?'
'Larry,' Diandra said putting a calming hand on her brother's. 'This isn't your fault.'
'I wasn't talking about what I did,' Tally said quietly. 'It's Jess, something's wrong with Jess.' Tally was sat with her father and her aunt in Diandra's tiny living room. After leaving the hospital she had come straight here to tell Diandra what she had done. Her father was still in the middle of fixing the burst pipe when she got there, and as much as she wanted to wait until he was gone to confess all to Diandra, her aunt had picked up on her obvious agitation and forced it out of her.
Now Tally was being overwhelmed by strong feelings of anguish. Feelings that weren't hers. The only other persons feelings she'd ever been able to sense were Jess's and that had only happened once, two years ago. The memory of that night made Tally shudder. It had been the night Jess and Dora had been badly beaten at the Onyx.
'What about Jess?' her father asked quickly. 'What's wrong with her?'
'I don't know,' Tally stuttered. 'She's upset. I don't think she's in any danger, but something just doesn't feel right.'
'I'll call your house,' Diandra said getting to her feet, 'Just to make sure she's okay.'
'She's not there,' Tally said shaking her head.
'What do you mean she's not there?' her father snapped.
'She's trying to find out who the witch is that supplied the ingredients for the potion.'
'Why didn't you just tell her?' Larry Devereaux asked angrily.
'Because I don't know,' Tally replied. 'I got them through a vampire at The Onyx.' Her father let out a harsh sigh and covered his face with his hands.
'Please don't tell me that's where she is,' he said with annoyance.
'She insisted on going,' Tally told him weakly.
Without another seconds hesitation her father leapt to his feet grabbing his car keys off the coffee table.
'Diandra, take her home please. I'm going to find Jess.'
OOO
Jess didn't feel the cold as she emerged from The Onyx. The adrenaline that was pulsing through her veins had left her numb to everything except the anger she was feeling. Luke took out his phone and called a cab. Jess leant against the wall and shut her eyes before opening them again quickly - every time she tried to block out the world around her she was bombarded by visions of Laila, and by a sense of guilt so great that it crushed her heart. She glanced down at her hands and for the first time she noticed that one of her palms was bleeding. Nausea swept over her, quickly followed by panic.
She hated blood, especially when it was her own. There wasn't much, but she noticed that there were small shards of glass embedded in her skin. She began to whimper and cry as she looked down at her hand in shock.
'Jess, what's wrong?' Luke asked walking over.
'I've got glass in my hand,' she managed to say between small tortured sobs. Luke stopped in front of her and took hold of her hand gently, inspecting the damage.
'Well that's what you get for trying to be a bad ass,' he said softly. Jess burst into full blown sorrowful sobs. 'Hey, hey, hey, it's not that bad.' Luke said soothingly. 'Okay, so the bad ass joke wasn't funny - I'm sorry, but look, these little pieces of glass are nothing. I can get them out no problem.'
Jess slid to the floor, still crying uncontrollably, resting her head in her one good hand. 'What did I just do in there?' she whispered. Luke sighed before sitting down on the pavement beside her.
'You picked a fight with a vampire,' he said matter of factly. 'That was very brave of you - very, very stupid, but brave none the less.'
'What am I supposed to do now?' she said to herself softly.
'I called a cab,' Luke replied. 'I'll take you home.'
'No, I didn't mean that,' Jess whispered.
'You mean Malachi?' Luke asked. Jess nodded. 'Don't you worry about him,' Luke told her rubbing her back soothingly. 'I won't let him hurt you.'
Jess let out a small laugh. 'I'm not worried about him hurting me,' she said. 'I mean I know I should be, but I'm not. What bothers me is the fact that I just blew any chance of getting him to help me.'
Luke frowned. 'What did you need his help for?' Jess sighed before filling him in on the events that had occurred after he'd left her house earlier. Recounting them like that made it seem all the more real to Jess, all the more hopeless and by the time she'd finished she was shaking, consumed by tears.
Luke put his arm around her and drew her into him, he couldn't help it. So the two of them weren't exactly the best of friends, but he couldn't stop himself from wanting to comfort her, and she couldn't stop herself from wanting to be comforted. She leant her head against his chest and cried as he wrapped his other arm around her and rested his head on top of hers.
Before she could stop them, her arms were reaching around his waist and she was clinging onto him tightly. She couldn't help it, she needed someone to hold onto, someone to make her feel safe - and strange as it was Luke did make her feel safe. It was as if they'd held each other this way too many times to count. Quickly, the pain in Jess's heart began to lessen, all she could feel was Luke's arms around her, his strong chest supporting her weight. A serene calmness flowed through her like a soft gentle breeze.
'Everything will be fine,' Luke whispered against her hair. 'Even if you don't find any witches who can help you, I know some who might be able to. Things are going to be okay Jess, I promise you.'
Jess pulled away from him slightly, looking up at him, about to speak. But as her eyes met his the words disappeared. He placed a hand on her face and wiped away the last of her tears, looking at her tenderly. Suddenly images began to bombard her again - but this time it wasn't Laila. It was Luke, when he was human - when the two of them were in love. He had looked at her that way so many times, and the memories of this made Jess's tears return.
'Hey, don't cry,' he whispered gently. 'Don't cry.' His voice was so soft and filled with affection. She had heard him speak in this tone before, but only in her dreams. Wherever you go, I'll find you. We'll be together again. Those words were the last ones he'd ever said to her before the vampires had killed him. Before she lost him. That was the promise he had made, and he had kept it. He had found her. They were together again. As if reading her mind Luke leaned in slowly, and before either of them realised what was happening Luke's lips were on hers. The world fell away as she melted in to him. The hard concrete of the walls and the pavement disappeared and were replaced by a soft golden haze, enveloping them, separating them for the rest of the world.
Suddenly Luke pulled away. 'I'm sorry Jess,' he said quietly. 'I shouldn't have done that.' But Jess didn't hear him, she was leaning into him kissing him intensely I missed you! Jess thought. I missed you so much, and I didn't even realise until now.
Luke was kissing her back, holding her gently. So you do remember me, Luke said in his mind. And you're admitting it! There hasn't been a day gone by that I haven't missed you Jess. Not one single day. The sound of a car gunning its engine as it roared down the deserted street broke their connection. Jess looked up to see her father's car racing towards the club.
'Dad!' she said in shock. She began to untangle herself from Luke's arms and the two of them got to their feet just as her fathers car came to an abrupt halt on the curb. The drivers' side door flew open and Larry Devereaux leapt out of the car, running towards his daughter.
'Oh Jess! Thank God you're all right!' He cried flinging his arms around her.
'How did you know I was here?' she asked.
'Tally.' That one word was filled with so much tension that it hit Jess like a brick. So he knew. He knew what his little baby girl had done and he was no happier about it than Jess. 'What happened to your hand,' he asked, noticing the blood. Jess looked at the ground.
'It's kind of a long story, and not one I'm particularly proud of.'
'Come on,' he said wrapping his arm around her shoulders with a sigh. 'Let's get you home.'
'Uh, Dad?' Jess said as he steered her towards the car. 'Hang on a second.'
'What's wrong?' he asked.
'Nothing,' Jess replied. 'It's just...this is Luke.' She gestured towards the green eyed boy and Larry noticed him for the first time. 'He's a friend of mine.'
Larry stepped forward and shook Luke's hand. 'Ah yes, we've met briefly,' he said. 'You stopped by the house the other day.'
'Yeah,' Luke replied.
'Well hop in,' he told Luke, nodding towards the car. 'I'll give you a ride home.'
'Oh that's okay,' Luke replied. 'I called a cab.'
'Nonsense,' Larry replied. 'Get in.'
With no more discussion the three of them climbed into Larry's car, Jess and Larry upfront, Luke in the back. What a night, Jess thought silently. As she looked out at the bleak landscape speeding by in a blur she knew that the worst was yet to come.
