Chapter 25
"Oh my god, Jeremy!"
Jenna screamed as she entered the house. She had been out on the town for the evening since she'd fly out the next day and had nearly forgotten to come home, as Renee would say.
When she did, she found Jeremy sprawled on the base of the stairs, blood pouring from a cut on his forehead, half of him turned the wrong way.
"Jeremy?"
She whispered as she rushed to him, feebly feeling for a pulse. There was none. Remembering the first aid classes she took in order to get hired at the airline, she pushed Jeremy's prone form on his back, tilted his head to clear his airway and began CPR
Behind her footsteps were heard, then a thud and Bella's voice asking for an ambulance.
"High school game has them all. Might be faster if we drove him there."
Bella's voice was artificially smooth, trying to calm her friend.
"Call Mason, tell him to meet us there. Then help me put Jer in his dad's car, it's bigger than mine. Go Jenna, NOW!"
She instructed when Jenna remained frozen in place and took over the CPR. Both women did their best to ignore the pool of blood they were kneeling in.
When Bella felt Jeremy's heartbeat start again, she stopped and looked around him ignoring how thirsty she suddenly felt. She'd be able to get a drink at the hospital. What had happened to him?
Where was Elena? It was 4 am, was the teenager out so late? Something shiny under Jeremy's leg attracted her attention and she put it in her jeans' pocket without thinking.
"Is he awake?"
"Not yet, come on."
Each wrapping an arm around Jeremy's waist, they half pulled, half carried, and mostly dragged him out to the car. Jenna got in the back with him keeping an eye in case it got worse. Bella paused a moment before getting in the driver's seat looking up at the second story windows. She'd swear she saw movement in one of the windows
"Bella, come on!"
The drive to the hospital felt like it was done in seconds and it wasn't long before they were pulling in front of the hospital and a pair of people in scrubs unloaded Jeremy onto a stretcher and carried him inside, Jenna fell in mason's arms sobbing and Bella leaned against the car to breath.
Something bumped in her pocket. A ring was there. It was a fugly thing done in gold and with a black stone in the middle and a gold engraving of something that looked like a child's depiction of a bird on it.
An image flashed in her mind and she gasped. As if on autopilot she walked inside the hospital, grabbed the hand of lady doctor to ask how Jeremy was.
"Are you family?"
"His aunt is my best friend."
"I can't divulge information on strangers, ma'am."
The doctor replied with a smirk, running a hand through her curly hair. Bella grabbed the hand, squeezed it and pulled the woman up to her own level
"Get this ring, put it on his finger, and let him die."
She instructed her voice a heavy monotone, brown eyes meeting green. The doctor lady winced but nodded as if in a trance.
"Go, doctor Fell."
Bella sneered after sparing a glance at the woman's nametag. Getting a headache, she rubbed the spot in the middle of her forehead
"How is he?"
Mason asked as he and Jenna reached her. Bella shrugged
"Wouldn't tell me. I'm not family."
Mason rolled his eyes, as Jenna's tightened and she stalked off in search of her dying nephew.
- - - Memories of a Past and a Present - - -
Hours passed before they had some news. The news were dual. First Jeremy died of his injuries; the no-longer-smirking-doctor apologized. And then he came back to life. Some kind of clerical error or machine error, apparently. This time the doctor was lethargic, nearly robotic in her manner. Over Jenna's cries of happiness Bella and Mason exchanged a look. Bella's lips quirked, Mason gave her a slight nod.
- - - Memories of a Past and a Present - - -
Jeremy downright refused to stay at the hospital longer than he absolutely had to. Doctor Fell fought to keep him, Jenna supported her nephew and in the end, Jeremy's last name along with the fact he was 100 healthy and he was discharged.
... Well, it helped that Mason basically growled at the doctor too.
On the drive home, Jeremy shared how he got down the stairs, what he found in the attic, his definite will to stay at Bella's place along with Jenna and how he had the sudden urge to
"Attend a party?"
Jenna was dumbfounded
"Kiddo, I know people that nearly die may be a tad different afterwards but... you hate parties!"
"Come on aunt Jenna. A party of all of us recreating an 1864 ball, might be fun."
"1864 ball?"
Bella questioned from her place at the passenger seat. Mason rolled his eyes as he explained that part of the founder's celebration was a parade in the theme of the founding year and a party at the end of the day that had a crowning of miss mystic falls as the crowning moment of the festivities.
"Naturally the title goes to a founding family descendant"
Jenna finished. Bella raised a brow turning in her seat to face her friend
"Sour grapes, Jen?"
- - - Memories of a Past and a Present - - -
It was late when Bella found Jeremy sitting on the windowsill, a cigarette in his mouth.
"I thought you quit."
"I did. It's a normal one. Wanna?"
Bella shook her head and watched as Jeremy put it back in his mouth and took a drag. She leaned against the wall herself and waited the teenager out. He'd crack soon.
And crack, he did.
"Elena isn't my sister."
He breathed. Bella nodded
"She's adopted. Jenna told me."
"No, I mean... she's not related to us."
"That's what I said, kid."
Jeremy groaned and licked his lips.
"Go through the albums in my bag. You'll understand what I mean."