Safe and Sound

Chapter 7

Michael's POV

The bastard. Who the fuck does he think he is? I know one thing, he isn't Shane. I've had suspicions for months now. He just wasn't acting... right. Shane wasn't like this. Shane didn't act the way this dude was acting. I knew it wasn't him. And whoever tries to tell me, "Don't worry about it Michael, he's still shocked from what happened with the Draug" can suck it. It's been months...nearly a year since what happened, he came out alive. He should be happy. Weird stuff always happens in Morganville, this stupid event can't change a person completely. It definitely wasn't due to the Draug.

But I couldn't put my hands on what it could have been. What would have changed him so much that he acts so incredibly different? He loved Claire. He always secretly told me how much Claire helped him through everything. He hated to admit it, but he could never live without her. But looking at him now, he's trying to live without her. By fucking killing her.

Not only his own wife, but mine too. I let Eve go up there to see if Claire was okay. Claire was acting more different than Shane. But I knew Claire, when she acted different, something definitely was happening. I didn't know what talk to her about it, though. Sure, she's basically my little sister, but she's a girl. When it comes to girl talk, I leave that to Eve. But in this situation, I should have gone up there myself.

I thought they were talking, I thought they were just having a girl talk and Claire was pouring everything out to Eve. Obviously not.

When you hear a blood curdling shout like I did, you never forget it. It stays in your mind for as long as you live. It brings back memories that you never wished to relive. The way my wife screamed my name from upstairs made my blood boil. It made my skin colder than it ever was before. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It made me furious that anybody would make her scream like that.

I knew going upstairs would change everything. The peace would come out of the Glass House.

They looked helpless. Alone. They looked beaten and bruised, like they'd been abused for their whole lives. Claire was awful. Her skin was black and blue and her face was red with blood and cuts. She didn't look anything like Claire. The only reason how I knew it was Claire was because...well, who else would it be?

Looking at Eve made my blood burn into my body. 5 minutes ago she was fine. She was just worried about Claire. Then she went upstairs and bang...five minutes later she has a huge black bruise forming on her left cheek, her hair was muffled and she was bleeding from somewhere...a lot.

I couldn't contain my anger. I just let it go. I didn't care if he was my best friend. I didn't care that I've known him for years. I didn't care that he's had a bad past. I didn't care. He hurt the two most important girls in my life and I could never, ever let him get away with that.

He was strong. I admit that. Even with my vampire powers, I couldn't control him. I couldn't beat him even if had a charge object to defend me. I tried with everything in me to beat him; to cause him the pain he caused for my girls. But it was no use. He was beating me. He slammed me down onto the bed, pinning me by my wrists. No matter how much I struggled, kicked and punched; he wouldn't let go. Now I knew something was happening to him. I'd play fought him many of times before, and he got rough, but never like this. I've known Shane for years and never in the years I've known him has he been this strong. It wasn't Shane. It just couldn't be him. He raised his arm to take a blow at my face. I could see everything flashing before my eyes. Would he kill me? Would he hurt me enough that I would be as scared as the girls? Would he make all three of us terrified of him so for the rest of our lives he would treat us like dirt and torture us?

He raised his arm higher; he was going to get the best punch he could. He scowled and me before... before something changed.

I clung to his t-shirt... praying for him to stop. It was in his eyes. They just changed. It wasn't the colour... or the shape. It was something way deeper inside him. His whole face softened as he stared at me. Before I knew it, the pressure of his hands was released from my wrists and he was on the other side of the room with his back against the wall, breathing hard.

I got myself together and ran to Eve. She was sat on the floor by the wall, holding Claire in her hands. I slouched down beside her and pulled her into my side. We both stared at Shane, who breathed heavily, staring at the floor. "Jesus..." He muttered. He fell to his knees, staring at nothing. I didn't know what to do, didn't know how to react. He'd changed again. He looked like Shane. He hadn't changed physically but I could tell... I could just tell that this was Shane. This was the old Shane. But could I trust him?

I got up from the floor, causing Eve to grab onto my hand. "Michael." She choked. Her voice was rigid, soft, scared. I told her it was okay and turned towards Shane who had his knees hugged to his chest. He looked so lost and scared himself. I slowly walked towards him, taking my time. I didn't know if he was going to change back to a monster. I had to be cautious.

I stopped in front of him, causing him to look up. Tears ran down his face as he looked at me. My heart ached for him. I hated him. Hated him with a burning passion for what he did to the girls, but was it possible for it to not actually have been him? It looked like Shane who was abusing the girls, but was it?

Shane stood up, making me take a step back. Cautious. When he saw my scared face, he let tears run down his face as he ran his hands through his hair. "Michael.." He cries softly. I don't say anything. I don't do anything. I just look at him. He definitely wasn't the same guy who had me pinned to the bed, ready to kill me 2 minutes ago. "Michael I know this is crazy but please..."

I ignored him. I turned around and walked back to the girls. I heard Shane sigh behind me and stuff his head into his hands. I kneeled down beside Claire, who was still unconscious. I felt her pulse, even though it was obvious she was breathing. I wanted Shane to see. I wanted him to see what he had done to her. Even if it was him or not, he still did this to her. I pulled my phone out of my pocket as I stroked Claire's hair.
"Hello, 911. What's your emergency?"
"We need an ambulance for the Glass House on Lott Street, my friends unconscious."
"You have an ambulance on the way sir, do you know what caused her to be unconscious?"
"Yeah..." I paused for a second, looking at the wounds on Claire's face and body. I looked at Eve's wounds. Every time I looked at her I felt anger bubble around my body. "Yeah, she was hit. A lot."
"Hit? Hit by what?"
"Hit by her boyfriend. He's still here. So I suggest informing the police." Eve gasped and grabbed my arm.

"MICHAEL!" Shane shouted. I didn't look at him. I just continued talking to the operator. "Okay, sir. We have the ambulance service and some police on their way. Just stay calm and they should be there any minute."
"Okay, thanks." I hung up and picked Claire up bridal style.
"Michael, you need to listen to me! I didn't do it! I died.. I... my mum.. my dad.. Alyssa... please, just let me explain Michael, please!"
I shook my head. "Explain it to the police, mate. Eve, baby, can you walk?" Eve nodded as she clung to my shirt. She was injured, very injured. But at least she could walk. I took Eve and Claire into my room and lay Claire down on the bed.

Sirens blared in the distance. I sat on the bed with Eve in my arms, waiting for everything to blow up.

Woo, new chapter! :D After writing this, I'm so excited to write the next few chapters because I know exactly where I'm going with it! Do you think Michael, Eve and Claire will ever forgive Shane? Who will understand that it wasn't him first? Please review! And again, follow me on twitter for updates! stephaniecrow9 Thanks for reading!