Chapter 13
Ash stormed out of his home with Mary-Lynette in his arms. He was furious. Typical of his mother to show up and make a scene. What had she done wrong?
Well first of all, she had showed up. Ash knew that she was grieving for his father, but he knew that it was mostly an act. His parents had grown apart a long time ago.
Then she had the nerve to hold Mary-Lynette hostage before forcing the girls to take her upstairs. That part didn't bug him much. He trusted his sisters to take care of her - after all, they did just that for almost a year when he left.
Finally, his mother dared tell him that Mary-Lynette didn't love him and that she was only using him. Like he'd buy that one.
Being careful not to hit anything, Ash placed Mary-Lynette in the passenger seat of his car and buckled her in before walking around to the driver's seat. Making sure not to hit the many potholes which littered the streets, Ash slowly drove towards the Carter household, hoping Mary-Lynette would wake up before they got there. Praying that he wouldn't have to explain it to her parents.
As he pulled up in front of the house, Ash sighed. Mary-Lynette was still passed out. He had no doubts that she was alive because he could still feel the silver cord connecting them. He gave it an experimental tug, hoping to wake his soulmate. No luck. Dammit. This was gonna be so much fun. In a foul mood, he lifted Mary-Lynette from the car and walked up to the door. Now, should he knock? Or just walk in? He was with Mary-Lynette so it would probably be okay for him to just walk it, right? Thankfully, Ash wasn't left to consider his predicament for very long. In front of him, the door began opening, showing a yellow light through the cracks forming around the perimeter.
He took a deep breath and steeled himself as the door opened completely to reveal Mary-Lynette's father standing with a disapproving look on his face, Claudine right behind him.
"Ash? What happened?" Mr. Carter began seriously; worry taking over his voice halfway through.
"Well, sir, I'm not really sure. I was speaking with my mother at the time, and the next thing I knew, Mary-Lynette had passed out. She was with my sisters at the time as my mother wished to speak with me in private. It was probably something to do with her heart maybe?"
The Carters just nodded and gestured for Ash to enter the house.
"You can lay her on the couch in here if you want. Or there's her bedroom upstairs. The couch would probably be best - your arms must be getting tired." Claudia offered.
"I'll take her upstairs, if you don't mind. And don't worry," he added with a smirk, "vampire strength, remember?"
With that, Ash headed up the staircase, closely followed by Mr. Carter and Claudine.
"Mary-Lynette's room is that one," Mr. Carter said, pointing to a door left slightly ajar.
Ash nodded and headed towards the room, when Mark popped his head out from the door across the hall.
"Hey As- What's wrong with Mare?" Mark was definitely worried. He probably thought it was Ash's fault too. Great. One more member of the Carter family who distrusted him with his soulmate. Brilliant.
"I'm not really sure. She just kinda passed out," Ash lied. Well it wasn't a total lie; Mary-Lynette really did just pass out - to his knowledge at least - and he wasn't with her at the time, so he didn't know the reasoning.
Not wanting to be left out, Mark followed Ash and his family into Mary-Lynette's room.
Entering a large but cluttered room, Ash walked over to the single bed and placed his beloved stargazer gently on the blankets. He sighed sadly and took a look around him. The walls were painted twilight blue. He noticed glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the roof. He laughed to himself. Typical of his little stargazer. There were various star-related stickers and posters around the room. Mary-Lynette had always wanted to be one with the night. He assumed this was her way to do so. After the Carter family followed him in, things began getting awkward for Ash. He wanted to be there for Mary-Lynette, but her family's stares were almost too much to bear. But he couldn't leave her. He had to be there when she woke up. He had to explain what was going on and what had happened. More importantly, he had to find out what happened to her. Why she had passed out.
Sitting in Mary-Lynette's room, Ash looked around awkwardly at the small gathering. Mr. Carter caught his eye at one point, and Ash quickly looked at the floor. He was too frightened to hold his gaze long enough to see anything in them. Ash was frightened of the anger he expected to see.
"Ash?" Mr. Carter spoke out suddenly. His voice was quiet and nervous as though he was scared Ash would hurt him.
He looked up, his eyes looked almost white with the fear of Mary-Lynette passing out.
"I just want you to know," Mr. Carter began nervously, "that I don't blame you for Mary-Lynette being this way. You don't know how upset she was these past few months. Even though you've only been back a day, I've seen a change in her. I know you've good for her; and maybe she's good for you too."
Ash just stared at the man in awe. Was he just saying that he trusted a vampire with his daughter?
Hm, thought Ash, Maybe some humans could handle knowing about the Night World after all.
Looking down at Mary-Lynette, he thought of how she wanted him to stop treating humans as vermin. He was beginning to see why - some of them were actually decent.
Mr. Carter sat at the head of Mary-Lynette's bead, while Claudine sat beside him, with Mark in between. They were all stroking her or holding her hand. Ash felt a bout of longing to touch his soulmate. Everyone else was gathered around her so that he was shoved awkwardly and unceremoniously off to one side. Noticing the look which Ash had on his face, Claudine gestured for him to come closer. He cautiously did as she ask, and suddenly found himself wrapped in a warm embrace.
"You're family now, you know that, right?" Ash was taken aback by this sudden gesture of love given to him by this woman. He was under the impression that she wanted nothing to do with him.
"Th-Thank you." he stammered, embarrassed.
Stepping back to his position at the foot of the bed, Ash brushed his hand against Mary-Lynette's foot, he found it to be ice cold. Claudine noticed him shiver slightly as the cold temperature gave him gooseflesh up his arms.
"May I?" he asked, gesturing to her feet.
Claudine nodded, and Ash proceeded to climb onto Mary-Lynette's bed, sitting so her feet were on his lap. Hoping to warm them, Ash rubbed them vigorously. He was just happy to be near enough to her to touch her.
After a minute, Mr. Carter couldn't take it anymore. He wanted his daughter back. He couldn't bear to see her lying there on her bed, looking so small. In his eyes, she was still his little girl. She always would be.
"Ash? Would you be able to do me a favour?" he asked, more confident sounding this time.
"Mm?" Ash made a questioning noise, engrossed in warming his soulmate's feet and ankles, lost in his mind.
"Is there any way that you could wake Mary-Lynette up?"
Ash considered that idea. It was true, he probably could've. He scolded himself mentally for not thinking of the idea himself.
"Ya Ash!" Mark piped up, "Use the soulmate link to call her back to you!"
"I can try," Ash said; not wanting to bring their hopes up too much just in case something went wrong.
But nothing's going to go wrong, he thought to himself.
Ash took a deep breath before leaning forward and placing his hands on Mary-Lynette's. He was sort of laying over her, but he really didn't care. All that mattered was getting Mary-Lynette to wake up, and physical contact strengthened the bond they shared.
Mary-Lynette! Ash called out mentally. Mary-Lynette can you hear me?
Ash gave a tug on the silver cord just to make sure she was still there.
Mary-Lynette, love, it's alright. Everything's okay now. We're at your house, in your room. My Mom is still at my place, and the girls will keep her from coming anywhere near us. Your Dad and brother and Claudine are all really really worried about you. I'm not worried - I'm devastated!
Mary-Lynette's eyelids fluttered ever so slightly, and Ash vaguely heard a gasp from Claudine, who was amazed at what Ash could do without even opening his mouth.
Ash ignored her and the others. His focus was entirely on Mary-Lynette. Looking at her eyelids, he stroked the side of her face. Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, he called to her once more, gently tugging on the silver cord.
Mary-Lynette? Are you there? I know you are. Please please please just wake up. I need you Mary-Lynette! Your family needs you! Don't leave us. Just wake up, please?
Ash was begging by the end. Almost mentally in tears. He had one more idea though; and as cliched as it sounded, he hoped it would actually work.
Mary-Lynette, I'm giving you one last chance. Wake up, please?
And with that, Ash leaned down closer to Mary-Lynette's face and paused there, anticipating the moment.
Goddess, please make this work! He prayed silently.
Finally, Ash closed the distance between their lips, and softly kissed his soulmate, fully opening the bond between them.
A/N: MY MUSE IS BACK! Of course, all the wonderful reviews (and a very long and inspirational PM) helped too! You guys are the greatest!
So I hope you enjoyed this chapter - I know I enjoyed writing it :D And there is definitely more to come still! (Have been feeling like writing lately for no particular reason other than just to write).
What did you guys think of this chapter? Do you think Ash's idea to wake Mary-Lynette will work (by the way, I'm so sorry about using such a cliche... I just couldn't resist adding it in)
A very very special thanks from the bottom of my heart (or whatever part is the important part) to my awesome reviewers:
musicbaby2013: Haha Hopefully she does... Guess you'll just have to wait and see :P
smilinggalxoxo: YAY! Thankyou! I'm glad that I've managed to get you guys to the point where you're putting yourselves into their shoes, and experiencing physical emotions in regard to what's happening! Hehehe
kinanbon x3: I definitely have to agree with you on that one! And sorry... Adding suspense is how I make sure you all keep reading :)
Night-Alice: Thanks! Suspense is super-fun to write, I must confess ;) That's good that you're wondering what's gonna happen - means I've got you all where I want you *cackles*. And hopefully I'll be able to implement some of those spectacular ideas into the next chapter! They just didn't seem to want to fit here... But nevertheless, they shall appear!
: You got it! Hahaha Your review definitely put a smile on my face :) LoL
peppa12: Thanks! And hopefully this meets your expectations
ernesdo: Awwwwww thank you SO much! Reviews like this are the ones that quite literally make my day! And thankfully she's returned, meaning hopefully quicker and longer updates :D
As always, I love you all, and you guys are the people who put a smile on my face when I open my email and look at my inbox in the morning! :D
Have an awesome day!