Chapter 6:
Alaric got out of his car in a rush and made his way to the front door while his mother's words resonated in his head.
She wanted to go out with friends for a night out. You know how young people are Al and well the night didn't end as one would hope…..she's lucky to be alive Al. I called you but you wouldn't answer the phone and then she told me not to bother calling anymore…. You were so obsessed with finding Isobel that you didn't see that Isobel had found her…Talked her into doing dreadful things making her think as if it was the right things to do… If I had known Isobel was here I would have sent her to you long ago but now its too late. Jade figured out for herself that her mother was gone and now a monster she told me she tried avoiding her but Isobel wouldn't have it. She wanted Jade to be a vampire like herself. Jade refused and Isobel caused the car crash that killed her friends, leaving her the only one left alive…
He felt offal the feeling that was running through him made him want to gag. He was disgusted with himself he'd left her to fend for herself while he was here obsessing over a woman who was long gone. The Isobel that now lived was cold, viscous, and selfish. But now he felt like the selfish one as well. The only person he had left in the world he left undefended.
In the house Jade sang along to a song playing from her ipod while she put water to boil on the stove unaware of her father staring at her through the kitchen entrance looking defeated. He smirked as she danced to the tune he could not hear but that she sang at the top of her lungs. Minutes passed as before she noticed his presence in the kitchen with her.
"Oh my gosh!" she said putting a hand to her heart, "How long have you been there?"
Alaric laughed and her cheeks turned a bright red. "Hey don't laugh that's not nice." she said hands on her hips now.
"No, no you looked so cute it reminded me of a long time ago. You loved to sing."
She smiled, "I still love to sometimes."
They both stood there awkwardly for a few minutes before Jade continued what she was doing on the stove.
"You spoke to grandma?" she said over her shoulder.
"Yeah I did."
"No wonder. You look like you were run over."
"Jady...I'm sorry I –"
Before he could finish his sentence Jade turned around quickly and interrupted him "Don't"
"But Jade if I would have known I would have done something."
She made a motion with her hand to him as if not to worry about it and dismiss the whole thing.
"It's not your fault Jady. You know that right? If anything this is in my hands I'm responsible I never should have left you over there with your grandmother alone. I should have protected you."
Jade didn't answer him she just looked at the tile floor. The emotions from earlier in the day were coming back to her.
"Look at me Jade. Please."
"I don't want to talk about this…" she said walking out the kitchen and upstairs toward her room.
He followed her determined. "You gotta talk to me Jade? I have this feeling that you blame yourself for what happened to your friends. It's in your actions. Going off with Damon and nearly getting your self killed. Its like you want to die Jade."
His words hit her like stones and she felt her eyes start to sting. She had to get out of the house away from here. So she put on her sweater and shoes ready to leave.
"What are you doing?" he said at her door. "You're not going any where until you speak to me."
"Don't you dare tell me what to do! You were never there! Why the hell should I listen to you?"
She pushed passed him and rushed down the stairs to the door.
Again he followed her as she jogged up to her car.
"Damn it Jade, you can hurt me all you want just get back in the house its not safe out here." He said tapping on her car window.
She shook her head as tears ran down her face, started the car and sped away.
I never should have come here.
Were Jades thoughts as she sped down the towns streets getting annoyed looks from the people walking on the side walk.
I'm just as in danger here as i am any where else. It would be better if I was alone some where. Where there were no vampires but that was impossible they are everywhere.
She thought to herself now parked in front of the Mystic Grill. She looked at her self in the rear view mirror to make sure her hair wasn't sticking up in all directions and her glasses were on straight. When she was satisfied with herself she opened the door of the car and got out. Once inside the grill she headed straight towards the bar area for a much needed glass of wine to relax her nerves.
"You again" said the bar tender recognizing her.
"Yeah hi" she said sitting on the stool.
"What will it be? Same as last time?"
She smiled a crooked smile at the bar tender, "No make it a glass of your best merlot please."
The bar tender nodded and went away to retrieve her order. Five minutes later the bar tender came back with a glass which she immediately took a sip of.
"Drink much?" said a voice from in back of her.
"Give me a break" she said putting her head in her hands.
"Does my presence bother you?" Damon said sitting himself on the bar stool next to hers but facing away from the bar and at her instead.
Jade looked up at him at her right. "Is it already Friday?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"I've had a really bad day." she said looking forward now at the many bottles that stood in the other side of the bar.
"Had a falling out with father dearest?"
She shook her head, "No"
Damon took a gulp of his own drink and looked around the restaurant.
"Did you find what we were talking about earlier?"
"No" she said drinking her wine, "I haven't even started looking for it."
"Tsk, tsk... Its ok you have till Friday still to find it."
"Damon" some one else said as Jade drowned the remaining wine in her glass and motioned for the bar tender to give her another.
Damon looked towards the person calling him, "Stefan what you doing here? Isn't it a school night?"
Jade laughed as his comment as if it was the funniest thing in the world but stopped abruptly when she noticed both boys staring at her.
"Sorry" Jade said going back to her new glass of wine.
"Jade right?" Stefan said looking quite worried for the person in which his brother sat next to.
"Yes" she said. "How did you know my name?"
"I know your father, does he know your out actually? I had spoken to him earlier about-"
She nodded at him smiling, "Oh of course he does"
Stefan eyed Jade worriedly before speaking to his brother again, "Damon please don't do anything stupid."
"Oh brother here we go again." Damon said rolling his eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey i sense some tension here." Jade said her words sounding slurred now. "I don't like it ".
Jade got up from the stool and rummaged through her purse to take out money to pay for her drink. She gave twenty to the bar man while the two men next to her whispered to each other.
"Well it was nice to meet you Stefan," Jade said with a smile." and Damon always a pleasure" sarcasm oozing from her words. "I gotta go. The two of you look like you may just bite each others throats off."
She waved at them walking away, while they again looked at her oddly.
"She is weird." Damon said as she walked away through the front door, "There is something about her that irks me I just don't know what ot make of her."
"Stop trying" Stefan said to him now sitting where Jade i been sitting moments ago. "It could only end badly."
Damon rolled his eyes, "It always the same thing with you over and over again Stef. So negative. I can't be curious about our new arrival in town? She is obviously a sort of threat."
"Yeah so threatning Damon." commented Stefan sarcasticly.
"What ever. I'm going to go see what she is up to."
"Damon-" Stefan was about to say something as to diswayed him from folowing Jade but Damon was already out the door before he could utter another word.
Jade fiddled with her long necklace as she sat on the park bench surrounded by trees and plants. She loved the smell of nature it completely relaxed her and that's what she needed to do right now. As she looked down at her necklace she examined the pendant that dangled from it. The pendant was pretty and large almost the size of her index finger. She remembered the day she had been given the pendant.
"Jade. Wake up Jade." someone's said from her dreams but it was not a dream she noticed. Her body was in pain, she started waking up. She was in immense pain to open her eyes was an effort.
"Good you're awake finally."
She then noticed someone called hand touch her cheek. "I can make it better Jade. There will be no more pain."
Jade opened her eyes and just like she has suspect, Isobel was there hovering above her.
"It was you, you caused the crash." Jade said her voice weak from the crash, she noticed that she was laying on the street.
"I gave you a choice Jade. You denied me and well i had to give you a bigger incentive to really know that your choice was definitely what you wanted."
Jade looked up at her, tears streaming down her face looking up at her monster of a mother in utter astonishment.
"The crash caused you to be thrown from the car straight through the window. You were dieing on the street."
"No.." jade said in disbelief noticing for the first time the taste of blood in her mouth. "tell me you didn't"
"I had to do something. I couldn't let you fade without giving you the choice."
A sob escaped from Jade.
"I gave you my blood... you healed instantly." Isobel smirked and stood up from where she was kneeling on the street next Jade.
Jade stayed on the ground feeling defeated.
"I'm giving you a choice. Live with it or die."
The next minute Isobel had snapped her neck...
Jade remembers later laying on a hospital bed and the way the thirst for blood made her body almost act of its own accord. Her grandma saved her that day . If it was for her gran she would have carelessly given in to her mothers wishes just because the thirst was almost too much to handle. She immediately told her grandma the situation and her mother cried with her that day as she grew week like anyone transitioning who hasn't fed will. She new it too, new i was fading until she placed a large necklace around my neck.
This will keep you alive Jade, never take it off because it is your last line to your human life. Though it will not quench your thirst for blood it will at least keep you from passing this night and the next ones after that...
The pendant that Jade now held in her hands kept her from dieing or becoming a vampire and was an every aspect her life line to her human world but she new how inhuman she was because her thirst for blood still made her throat burn like it was now.
"You know i can hear you shuffling behind me some where. Why don't you come sit with me on the bench?" Jade said still looking at her pendant rubbing the light crystal that sat in its middle.
Damon revealed himself from the shadows and sat next to her as she had said on the bench.
"What are you a witch? The only person who can possibly detect my presence from feet away is Bonnie and she is a witch." he said looking at on his left.
Jade laughed, "No I'm not a witch"
"I thought you said you didn't look for the piece of jewelry i asked you to look for?" he said looking down at the pendant that i held in my hands.
"how do you know this is what you want?"
"It looks pretty old. My age old and has a founders family crest on it."
"So" Jade snorted, "I could have a tun of other family air looms that look just as old as you and who knows can have magical powers."
Damon looked unfazed and sure as he answered, "Your family is only known for one item alone. You have no other family air looms that can possibly emit any sort of supernatural energy."
"Very good you have done your studying but this you can not have." Jade said and tucked the pendent back under her shirt.
"You understand that if you don't give me that item I'll possibly kill you."
Jade got up from she sat and stretched from sitting so long on the bony bench. Damon just eyed her waiting for her to do something rash.
"I'm already dead Damon."
Damon looked at her confused now, "No your not if you were dead you wouldn't be walking and if you are insinuating that you are a vampire well that cant be it because your heart is still beating. Now if you say you were a zombie well i have never come across those but i don't think that would be it either..."
"Oh jeez" Jade said rolling her eyes. "It keeps me alive."
"How so? Did it bring you back to life once or something because i know another item that can do that and i would gladly go get it for you and trade." Damon said with a smirk.
Jade suddenly looked weak like as if she had been fighting a long battle and she was worn through to the bone. She looked back a Damon his blue eyes on her and her green eyes on his.
"I can smell all of them around this town there blood calls to me." Jade said walking towards Damon while Damon stood his ground to her approach.
"Even yours" she said her green eyes now going down to his neck. "Yours runs cold but still hold the promise of life."
Jade ran her hands down his neck all the way down to his chest where she let them rest.
Damon noticed Jades eyes become clouded as if she was fighting an internal battle and for a second her green eyes turned black.
"Are you?" Damon said
"Am I what Damon?
"Your eyes couldn't have turned black?"
Jade looked down at her hands that rested on his chest nervously, "The pendant is the only thing that keeps me from completing the transition. But there is still one thing that it can not save me from, Thirst."
Damon looked down at her now concerned, "How long have you been like this?"
"Three months" Jade said her eyes growing dark again and he noticed her breathing grew labored. She drew away from him and leaned against a tree two feet away.
"Jade?" Damon asked putting his hand on her shoulder. But Jades eyes were dark and clouded again.
"Can you smell it Damon?" Jade now said closing her eyes as her breathing and heart sped fast.
Yes he definitely smelled it even if it was just a little drop spilled. It was blood.
Jade ran through the trees towards the smell and Damon ran after her. Since she was not completely vampire he was still much faster then her and caught up to her soon enough.
"Jade!" Damon said grasping her from the shoulders again making her stop. "Look at me Jade."
Jade though, still look towards the direction of the smell. "Jade!" Damon yelled a little loader.
Jade blinked a couple of times and snapped back to reality. She looked up at Damon her eyes watering, "I-I don't know what came over me…"
Jades eyes grew dark again and before Damon could do anything to calm her again she was behind him, her lips touching his neck.
Damon turned around quickly and grabbed her by the neck and pinned her against one of the many trees surrounding them.
Jade had her eyes shut as tears leaked from her eyes falling onto Damon's arm that held her against the tree.
"I need you to take out what in my jacket pocket Damon …quickly."
Damon rummaged through the pockets in her sweater and in one of them held a needle.
"You want me to stick you with one of your vervain concoctions?"
Jade nodded looking at the needle in his hands and back at him.
Damon sighed and looked down at the ground not sure what to do with this whole situation.
"This is not healthy…Injecting yourself with vervain until the thirst passes?"
Jade nodded again.
"What about if the thirst doesn't leave you tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that…"
"I'll hope for it to pass and if not I'll keep on injecting myself with it. Eventually it'll pass."
"And what happens the day it doesn't work anymore. Shit Jade you are becoming much more then some transitioning vampire. You almost bit MY neck and I'm a friken vampire."
"Can you just stick me with it already?" Jade said again
Damon did as she said with in the minute he held a passed out Jade in his arms.