by Sammie J
Peppa’s cries somehow bring me back into focus, I know she needs me. All three of us lie on the ground together, each of us in our own torment. Everything changes when Saul and Cruz turn up. I’m blamed for putting the Vampire race in danger and Peppa is taken away from me. I crawl inside myself but hear everything that is being said. I need to know that Peppa is ok but Jacob’s dead body needed to be addressed first. I can’t feel any guilt at killing Jacob. I would do it again and again if it meant he couldn’t hurt Peppa and I make sure everyone in that room knew that. But I can feel guilt over the fact of what Peppa has been through and was in the vicinity when I took a life. I feel very selfish for asking Juan what I did next, but I can’t let go of the hurt that it causes me.
After Juan explains to Cruz about my mother, I know then that he believed it to be true. That bruises my ego a bit because I am still having doubts. This is my mother and I didn’t want to believe she is capable of such things. Saul is the sensible one out of the lot of us and quickly lets us know some of what needs to be done. My eyes rest on Jacob’s body and I voice the question that my mind brings forth. Juan answers it and then I take him to my family home.
I’m forced to put up with my sister and father for about a minute, and then the woman who I’m here for, shows her face. I have never seen my mother show hate before, but her face contorts with it as she aims her venomous words at Juan. I get her attention and when she is in my arms, she continues her attack on Juan. I whisper in her ear, “I know it was you who cancelled the gigs.” I actually told myself all the way there that it can’t be her, but I know she will never admit to it so I wait for her reaction and then I have my answer.
Once we are inside the snug where my parents go to have their evening drink, I simply ask her turned back, “Why?”
She slowly turns around and takes a large gulp of her drink and says, “I have no idea what you are talking about, Noah. You know your father told me why you disappeared. You really should have come and talked to me. I have suffered from depression for years.”
I shake my head, knowing she is going to be difficult and the only way I can get the truth from her is to catch her out with a lie, “An anonymous letter was sent to my house Mother, claiming your involvement and there was a taped message you sent to one of the venues. So, I will ask you again, why?”
She didn’t hesitate in answering me, “Because of you son. Lara told me you are in relations with him as well as Peppa. I won’t stand by and watch that thing out there take your happiness away from you being in a normal relationship. Let him have Peppa, you can find a nice young lady to settle down with. You are not gay. That thing out there is leading you astray.”
My jaw drops but she doesn’t stop there, “I despise him and what he stands for. He is taking you away from me Noah. Can you not see how much pain I’m in because of him? He deserves to hurt as much as I do.”
She seems unhinged in her reasoning and I stride over to her and rest my hand on her arm, “I love him mum and Peppa too.”
She shakes her arm and my hand falls away, I’m left astonished by her next words. “Love? What do you know about love? You give your life to a man and agree to his sexual needs. The thrill of a threesome sounds promising, especially when two people are filling your fantasies, but then you start to notice you get left out more. Then the betrayal starts, the other two meet up in secret and you catch them at it. To then be told it’s over, it will never happen again. Can you not see Noah? I don’t want you to go through what I did.”
And there it is, the reason why. I’m left speechless but in a weird way. I sort of understand why and feel sad for her, she wanted to protect me. But I know that my relationship is different from what she had experienced and she has no right to interfere with that. “I’m sorry my father did that to you, but can you not see what you have done is wrong? You could have destroyed my livelihood.”
She laughs, “Good. Then that bastard won’t be around to take you away from me.”
I'm not sure where my mother is at mentally, but something is wrong here. “Mother please listen, I’m different from dad. I don’t put Juan first or Peppa, our relationship is equal. I love them both and they are who I want to be with.”
She stares at me blankly, “Noah, a woman should be with one man and one man only. If you continue in the direction you are going, you will need to make a decision. I will never accept your relationship, so it’s either me or them.”
I shake my head dumfounded, she has no idea what she has just asked me. I have no choice and her making me do this cuts me to the core. Tears stream down my face as I lose all respect for my mother and give her the only answer I can, “I’m sorry, I will always choose Juan and Peppa.” I then call for Juan as there is nothing left to be said and sorrow pours from me as he uses his mind control on her.
Once again, I hide within myself, but watch and listen to what is going on around me. I’m not feeling anything, just taking it in. Juan kisses me goodbye and Cruz disappears. I’m left with Saul to clean up blood and bits of brain and bone that belong to Jacob. I work away, detached from the situation. If I think too hard on it, I will start to feel some remorse for Jacob and frankly he didn’t deserve it. Saul wants the place spotless so we cover the area ten times over to make sure no evidence is left. Cruz makes an appearance and Saul tells him to write a note for Lara and he asks if women leave kisses on the end of notes.
Saul suddenly lets out a string of curse words as he stares at his phone. He starts pacing with the phone attached to his ear, “Fuck, why didn’t I see this. Fuck, fuck.”
With concern in my voice, I ask him, “Is it Juan?”
He nods his head yes, “With everything that has happened with Peppa, I think tonight has made everything a whole lot fucking worse. Hang on while I text him to find out where he is.” He peers back up at me, “If I know my brother, watching you drain the life from Jacob has pushed him over the edge. I’m scared Noah, if this is true, he will have retreated back to the past, to when I let the blood lust take control and I killed human after human. I think he wants to meet the sun.” I don’t have time to react as his phone beeps, “Come on, I know where he is, but please let me do the talking Noah.”
When we get to the top of the hill I break down at the sight of him and run over to hold him to give him some comfort. As he talks away with Saul I want to tell him, “My blood lust is under control. I don’t feel the need to kill anymore. I only killed Jacob because he was hurting Peppa,” but I remained quiet. The more he talks the more my anger wants to burst free and I push away from him before I say or do something I shouldn’t.
I have found something out about each of my parents tonight, but I didn’t expect to hear that my sister is Cruz’s Entwined. I really didn’t have time to process that, but he is warned.
Juan actually goes there next, saying we will get over him. He is lucky I didn’t punch his damn lights out. I let out my anger with words and I want him to understand that we will be nothing without him. I lose my temper and he loses his. I can see what I'm saying isn’t helping him so I make a decision. I hope he will see that my love for him is enough to bring him back, but in truth, it is because I'm a stubborn bastard and I also hope with me saying I will meet the sun with him, he will see I am worth staying alive for.
I see a flash of something cross his face when I tell him leaving will kill Peppa. He remains silent and I let him, because I know he is thinking of her. Peppa arrives next. I knew she was on her way as I heard Saul on the phone, and her emotions affect mine as she steps out of the car. I let mine flow then too. Juan needed to sense them so he knows what this is doing to us and that our love is worth staying for.
Peppa is our last chance, I know that and she does too. Listening to them both talk is heart-breaking and in my head I beg Juan to listen to her. In those moments, I see how strong Peppa really is and when she says she doesn't blame me for killing Jacob, I swear my dead heart beats as my love for her only grows more. It is when Peppa
asks Juan why we saved her tonight that a plan comes to mind, but Peppa ends up attacking him. I'm frantic that things have turned for the worse.
I don’t have anything to lose then, so I use a bit of reverse psychology: I pretend that I don’t care, but offer him a future. Then I do something that I never thought I would, I walk away. I sit in the car and wait. My head falls in between my hands. A grief rockets through me, that I can only describe as the feeling you feel when someone dies and I weep for what I think I’m going to lose.
Jade taps me on the shoulder, “Noah, look out of the window, he has chosen to stay.”
My head snaps up and I see my lovers kissing and I feel relief as Peppa kisses him back. She managed to bring him back and I owe her everything for that. I vow, then and there, to love these two people more than life itself. I will do everything in my power to show them that our threesome will work and no one will ever be left out. Peppa gets into the car and I hold her tightly to me. When Juan gets in, our eyes meet and I mouth, ‘I love you.’ Tears burst from his eyes as he pulls us both into his arms. A lot of concerns are explained in the drive back to Jade’s and we all know a lot more was to come.
When we finally make it to bed, I couldn’t be happier or more content. Tonight has proven how strong our love is. I let them sense that love through our connection and Peppa certainly feels it through my erection that I press against her ass. Dawn is here and I'm delighted that I am falling asleep again in Peppa’s arms and the last thing I remember is asking her to marry me.
Chapter 21 (PEPPA)
Waking up to feeling not only one hard on pressing into me, but two, is the best feeling in the world. Of course, I can’t do anything with them as neither of the men they are attached to are awake, but I didn’t see anything wrong with having a quick squeeze. As my mind quickly catches up with me, I replay everything that happened from last night again. I remove limbs from my body and sit up taking a few deep breaths to calm myself. My eyes take in the fine beautiful frames of my men and I trace each of their features with my fingers. We all suffered in some way last night, but we have come out the other side alive. Does that make us stronger? I have no idea, only time will tell. I know I will have nightmares about last night for a while to come, but I have these two men to see me through them. I would have a battle within myself, but I need to move on and enjoy my life again. This meant letting go and not focusing on the bad.
Should I even care that I am involved in a murder? Yes, I guess so, and if it was anyone else but Jacob, I would. In my eyes, Jacob deserved to die. He was an evil man who wanted it all, including me, but we can’t always have what we want, especially if it’s by force.
My eyes rest on Juan and I smile as I watch him sleep, he is so beautiful to me. I could have lost him and that makes my heart ache. I forgive him and that is what we both needed to move on from, but we do have bridges to build between us and deep in my heart I know we can get through them.
It is then I heard the beep beep of my phone and noticed it is resting on the bedside table. I climb over Noah, giving him a quick kiss on the lips, and pick up my phone. I find messages from Monica asking,
where the hell are you?
And another saying,
Lara has been ringing asking if you feel better, you have so much explaining to do lady.
I then see a message from Lara saying,
I received your note, don’t worry, I can cope for a day, feel better soon. And it is great that Noah is back!
Standing there holding my phone in my hands, I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. They really did sort everything out last night. Oh well back to reality it is then and to face Monica. I need to use the bathroom before I leave, but first I phone for a taxi to take me home. I find some paper and leave a message, asking if they can both visit me tonight as I need to talk to them. I lean across the bed and give them both a kiss, then I arrange their arms and legs so when they awake, they will be in each other’s arms. I say goodbye, even though I know they can’t hear me and I make my way home, knowing I will see them later.
When I stroll into the lounge, a voice from the kitchen shouts out, “Finally, the dirty stop out returns home.”
I walk over to the sofa and throw myself down on it and shout back at Hans, “This dirty stop out would love a cup of tea.”
I hear him laugh and a couple of minutes later Hans is sitting across from me and I’m sipping on my drink. “Just so you know, I have texted Monica to let her know you are back, so expect her to come charging through that door like a bull.”
I laugh as an image of Monica with a ring through her nose and snorts of air projecting from her flared nostrils, scorning me for staying out all night, enters my head. “Oh crap, is she really that mad at me?”
His face turns serious, “She is worried about you Peppa, we both are. You haven’t exactly been yourself lately.”
My brows draw together and I bite my lip with worry. Just then the front door opens and slams shut. Help! How do I tame a bull? Monica storms in and flings herself at me, “Thank god you are ok.”
She pulls back from me scrunching her nose up in disgust, “Bloody hell Peppa! Where have you been, a grave yard? You stink.”
My heart speeds up a bit as I think to myself, if you only knew. I decide then and there that it is best not to mention Jacob’s death. “I’m sorry I made you worry. What started off as a crap night turned out better in the end with Noah, Juan and I being together again.”
Monica hugs me and asks me to explain, so I end up telling them both about what happened on the top of the hill. Monica isn’t happy with Juan, because of the way he lied to me, but by the time I finish my story, I can tell she feels some sympathy for him. That makes me happy, because I want my best friend and boyfriend to get along.
Han’s makes a joke about me smelling so bad, even his wolf has buried his nose into his fur and I make my excuses to go and clean myself up. Taking a bath felt amazing, I not only cleansed myself of the filth that covered my body, but also the filth I am hanging onto. I want to look towards the future and leave the past where it belonged and tonight’s conversation with my men is going to be the start of moving on.
When I walk back into the bedroom Monica is sitting on my bed looking really worried, she is sitting there biting her nails. I plop myself down on the bed next to her and nudge her shoulder, “Monica, what’s up? I hope you’re not still worried about me?”
She tries to smile, but I can tell it is for my appearance, “Now that things are settled with you and the vampires, I guess they will be coming back here to live? Staying here with you, and meeting Hans, has blown my world apart for the better. It has given me independence and I’m not at my sister’s beck and call. As it turns out, she is coping great without me. Then there is Hans, he has no job, nowhere to live and I’m not sure where we go from here.”
My arm sneaks around her shoulder and I laugh, “You can stay here until you sort something out with Hans. I’m not going to kick you out because my vampires will be coming home. You were here for me Monica and I will be there for you. But, may I suggest talking to that wolf of yours about what he wants to do and maybe I can have a little word in Noah’s ear about a job for Hans.”
She squeals and wraps her arms around me, “Thank you, thank you, I love you.”
With a mouthful of her curly hair lodged in my mouth I mumble, “I love you too.”
After Monica leaves me to it, I lie back on the bed and before I know it I drift off to sleep. I’m brought back awake by the constant beep of my phone and I fumble around in the dark searching for it. Through blurred eyes I can see the time is 6.30 pm and after rubbing the sleep from them I find a message from Noah,
Just read your message sweetheart, Juan has a gig tonight, but we will be over after that. Juan says he needs to talk something through with you too. I can’t wait to see you, I love you. xxx
My stomach twists with butterflies, not only at the thought of seeing them again, but a
t what Juan wants to talk to me about. I text back,
I’m looking forward to seeing you both, tell Juan I love him and Noah I love you too. xxx
I move off the bed and get dressed into some PJ’s, then my phone rings. I pick it up thinking it might be Noah, but it’s Lara’s number I read. I detect a gnawing guilt and almost don’t answer it, but Lara deserves better than that so I press the button and speak before she can, “I’m so sorry about today Lara. I haven’t been a great help this week but I promise to make it up to you next week.”
She screams down the phone, “Don’t worry about that! Tell me have you seen Noah? I’m so happy he is back, you must be over the moon.”
I laugh at her enthusiasm, but the guilt at knowing beforehand where Noah was all along, still plays on my mind but I push it aside. “Yes, I saw him last night with Juan and we are all together again and I couldn’t be happier.”
I hear her clapping, “Oh that is so good to hear Peppa! I’m so happy for you all.”
“Thank you, Lara. Are you busy this weekend? Do you fancy coming over for a drink? We haven’t had any girlie time for such a long time.”
She claps again, “Yes, please! I would love that, let me text you when I know I’m free and thanks Peppa, it will be good to spend some time with you outside of work.”
We say our goodbyes and I head to the kitchen to make something to eat. Monica and Hans are cuddled up on the sofa talking away and I don’t want to interrupt so I wave at them and leave them to it. I hoped they still had their clothes on by the time I made my sandwich and headed back to the room. I find the room empty when I walk back in and I end up turning the TV on while I ate my sandwich. I settle on watching an old Elvis film and then another, but the anticipation is rising inside of me waiting for my visitors.