She hugged him tight to her and whispered something into his ear.
"I don't want to go!" Jamie shouted when Elena tugged him back. Jamie had his arms out trying to reach Tatiana but Elena pulled him behind her roughly. I stepped forward and both Tatiana and Elena looked my way in surprise not realising I had seen the whole thing. "Mummy!" Jamie squealed, struggling to break free of Elena's hold.
"You're hurting him," Tatiana called out, getting anxious. Jamie was scared. I could see it in his gaze and hear it in his voice. Tatiana stepped forward and looked like the scariest vampire, well in her case half blood, I'd ever seen. Tatiana's arm whipped out, in a blur of movement, and suddenly she had a hold on Elena's wrist. Her grip was so tight I could see Elena's knuckles turning white. "Stop hurting him," she whispered harshly.
Elena gasped in pain, "You look just like your mother."
Tatiana's hold on Elena's wrist tightened slightly, only letting go when Elena released Jamie.
"Run, while you can," I spoke after a few moments of silence.
They all looked up surprised and Elena and Jamie were gone in the blink of an eye. The only noticeable part of their departure was the slight breeze across my face when they left. Tatiana was suddenly in my arms. When her shoulders started to shake, I comforted her in the best way I could. I brushed her hair back from her face and rubbed her back trying to calm her down. "Shh … it's okay," I repeated over and over again as her shoulders shook.
We ended up walking back to her safe house as she hung onto me for comfort. The hunters stared at us, noticing how close we were. I felt like telling the whole world that I didn't care what she was because that was what made her. If she wasn't a half blood she wouldn't be Tatiana Cruz and I loved her because she was herself.
Tatiana settled on the couch and I went to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. "Do you think I'll ever see Jamie again?" Tatiana asked, spoiling the silence.
I didn't know what to say, obviously I didn't know the answer. But I had to tell her something. I believed that Jamie loved Tatiana and he would do anything to see her. "Yeah, I think so," I replied, trying to sound convincing.
I walked over to the couch holding two mugs, handing her one when I sat down. She sipped the hot chocolate appreciatively. "It's soo good."
I smiled and wiped the tears off her cheeks with my thumb. "You will see him again." Then I added hesitantly, "I promise."
She smiled a little and set her hot chocolate down on the coffee table. "I'm sorry my-I mean Elena did that."
"Hunters take risks just by being here; it's not your fault. It's Elena's," I said, trying to get it through her head. "I'll tell my father what happened when he gets back."
"What are they going to do with the body?" she asked nervously.
"We have a small cemetery area, and a funeral service," I replied.
"Were you close with the victim?"
I shook my head, "No but you know that girl that came in before?" When she nodded, I continued, "They were kind of going out."
She winced. Ouch, I just made it worse.
"No one blames you," I reassured her.
"Will you get in trouble from your dad for letting Elena and Jamie go?" Tatiana asked, looking me straight in the eye.
I hadn't thought of that and was I going to get a hell of a talk when my father found out. "I can handle him," I shrugged.
"Why would you do that?" she asked whispering.
"Because, I knew that Elena wouldn't back down and I knew you wanted her to leave. I just wanted to do what was right instead of following my dad's orders."
Her hand held mine suddenly and then she brought my hand onto her lap, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. "Thank you. Even though I didn't want Jamie to leave I knew he had to, because he can't live here."
I hugged her to me, when all of a sudden the front door swung open startling us apart. My father stormed in with his hands fisted, ready to punch something. "How dare you!" he shouted, pointing at me with his index finger. "You let them escape!"
"They were never prisoners!" I shouted back, suddenly feeling cold.
"I needed Elena!"
"What for? To torture her and make her see what she's done to Tatiana's real parents? How do you think Jamie would feel to see his mother like that? He's only a kid for god's sake!" I tried to reason with him. "You can yell at me all you want, but I'm not backing down; not this time."
His face turned white and I could feel Tatiana's presence behind me. My father stood there in shock at what I had just said to him. His fists loosened and I relaxed my tensed body. He rubbed his face roughly with his hands, shifting from anger to sadness. "I'm sorry, son. I just … it's nearly the anniversary of …" he wasn't able to finish the sentence.
I had forgotten. It was soon the anniversary of when mum left and we usually had dinner together as a family since I had always worried that my dad would do something stupid if he were alone. Tatiana had me so distracted I hadn't even thought about her. "Dad, why don't you get some sleep? Camille and I will take care of things."
When he started to shake his head I nodded at Camille, standing in the doorway. Camille walked towards him, putting her hand on his shoulder she guided him outside and to his house.
"I'm so sorry," I sighed.
I turned around expecting Tatiana to be a metre away from me, but instead I just felt her lips on mine. Her lips were moist and I wanted so badly to kiss her forever; to stay here and just taste her lips for the rest of my life. A deep moan escaped from my throat and I wrapped my arms around her, feeling so complete. It felt like such a relief to kiss her, there was nothing between us anymore, we knew everything about each other. There were no more secrets and I had no more guilty secrets to worry about.
Somehow we were in her bedroom, kissing, barely pausing to breathe, while we got rid of our clothes. Down to our underwear, we settled onto her bed wrapped in each other's arms, listening to our hearts. Her hair tickled my bare chest as I brushed my fingers through it. Nate or Daniel would've thought what Tatiana and I were doing was silly and weird, as we were only cuddling but it felt safe. It felt like coming home.
Tatiana
I
t felt like home. I felt safe and warm and I hadn't felt like this … well since before my father passed.
I never wanted to leave. I wanted to just cherish all of these moments because I felt like, at any moment, he might back away and tell me it was a mistake; or someone would tear us apart.
I squeezed him tightly, my arms around his waist, and he smiled down at me, stealing a quick kiss. It was a light kiss; I hardly felt it, but it made me want more.
"I take it this means you've thought this through?" Ethan asked, cocking an eyebrow.
I laughed, "Yes and no, but I want this."
My heart jumped out of my chest when his hands moved up to my bra strap. "Tell me you love me," I demanded softly.
He smiled devilishly, "I love you with all my heart."
My heart stopped for a second and then rocketed sky high. I felt myself go all warm inside and I snuggled up closer to him. Today was one of the best days of my life and I would never forget it. I would never forget how much I loved Ethan. I couldn't imagine life without him that was how special he was to me. We laid there for who knows how long, but it felt like hours, even days. I just wanted to lie here forever. When we heard a knock on the front door, Ethan got dressed quickly and opened the door. I followed after him once I was ready. Camille looked the same as always.
Standing up straight, she said, "Julian would like to have you both as company for dinner."
"When?" Ethan asked, alert.
"Now," Camille replied, giving me a look before walking off.
The sun was setting – I hadn't realised how late it was. Camille's look told me one thing for sure, it was something important. "Should I be worried?" I asked nervously as I looked up at him.
He shrugged, "I think he wants us there because he needs us there."
"Needs us?" I asked, prompting for more information.
"Eight years from today, my mum left us. The first year she left, my dad was … unstable so every year we make sure that we're here for him in case he does something stupid. We usually have dinner and then pray that she's okay," Ethan's shoulders slumped a little and I hugged him tightly around the waist. His arms wrapped around my body and then he pulled away. We both walked to Julian's house hand in hand. Julian's house wasn't fancy or any bigger than mine. It was exactly the same, except it had a dining room. Candles were lit and food was already prepared on the table. Someone I didn't expect to see, standing next to Julian, was Brendan.
"Brendan?" Ethan asked confused.
His head was tilted to the side as he stared at us.
Julian stepped forward and said, "Tatiana, Ethan, please sit down."
We were silent, at first, as we ate our dinner. To my surprise Brendan was the first to speak. "Has Ethan been treating you right?" He was smiling.
I laughed a little, "Only when he wants to."
Ethan smirked and squeezed my thigh, then asked seriously, "What're you doing here, Brendan?"
His expression became serious. "I've decided to help you both."
"But you hate this," Ethan stated, still confused.
"I know, but we're talking about my little brother and Tatiana," he smiled faintly.
"Julian!" a voice shouted from outside. Someone banged the door loudly, everyone jumped. Camille was standing in the hallway keeping an eye on things and Julian gestured for her to check on what was happening.
When we heard the door open, a woman shouted, "Let me in!" It was Elena. Camille told her to calm down, but it only made it worse. I walked to the door. When Elena saw me she pushed past Camille and was suddenly squeezing me in a tight hug. "Oh thank god you're okay!" she said hysterically.
"Where's Jamie … what's wrong?" I asked, pulling away not sure how to respond to her hug.
"Jamie's with Brad … I was on my way to Chicago, and suddenly I heard people talking … about you. I listened in to their conversation and they were vampires. They're planning on attacking the camp to get to you," Elena said wildly.
I looked behind me and found Ethan standing there with Brendan and Julian. Ethan took my hand and rubbed his thumb across my skin, comforting me. I was terrified; I was scared for Ethan.
"This is it then, the time has finally come," Julian stepped forward.
"Tatiana? Help me!" a familiar voice shouted desperately.
I looked everywhere but it was pitch black.
"Tati!"
It was Jamie! I started to panic. Where was he? Why couldn't I see him? My arms were out in front of me, searching blindly. "Jamie!" I called out.
Silence.
I waited a few minutes, it seemed like a lifetime, before calling out to him again, but he wasn't there anymore. I was in this place all alone, with nowhere to go. Hell I didn't even know where I was!
I awoke with a gasp. I sat up quickly, my head spinning. That dream … it felt so real … Ethan stirred beside me and turned, putting his arm around me till I fell back beside him.
"Are you okay?" he mumbled, still half asleep. His hair was ruffled and his eyes were half open, looking at me as he yawned exhaustedly. "Another bad dream?"
I nodded, noticing that I was underdressed in my underwear and bra – my black lace bra that wasn't supposed to cover much. I turned pink and Ethan smiled lazily.
"You look beautiful," he whispered into my ear, tugging me closer to the warmth of him. I felt safe within his arms.
"I love you," I turned my head to see his face as I whispered to him.
He smiled and his eyes snapped open now, fully awake. He smirked, "I know."
I smacked him across the arm, playfully, and he growled and lifted me up, positioning me on his chest. He looked up at me in wonder, delicately holding my waist and gently rubbing his thumbs across my skin until goose bumps rose. My hands were on his bare chest, and I leaned down and kissed him there. I heard him catch his breath. His smirk was now gone, replaced with desire. He stared at me with hunger in his eyes. My hands searched and touched wanting to feel him, all of him; wanting to commit it to memory. I looked at him while I touched him and I wouldn't deny that his face mirrored my own.
"You're killing me!" he breathed unevenly.
I smiled mischievously. When he couldn't take it anymore he groaned and lifted my hands and entwined both of them. We were both fascinated as we stared at our clasped hands. His lips skimmed across my cheek and then to my jaw, teasing me. I sighed as his tongue pleasured the skin on my neck.
"I … love … you …" he whispered when his lips kissed mine again.
Ethan
M
an, she could really make my pulse race. I thought for a moment there I wouldn't survive her torment. God, I loved her. My phone vibrated on the bedside table and I decided to ignore it, not caring what was going on out there because right now I was living in the moment, here, with Tatiana.
"Aren't you going to get that?" Tatiana asked.
"Hmm …"
She pulled away and reached for the phone, handing it to me.
I sighed in defeat, answering in irritation. "What?"
"Son, you might want to come outside and see this," my father spoke into the phone and then hung up. My eyes narrowed slightly and Tatiana got up to dress.
"Why now out of all the days?" my hands were up, defeated, rubbing over my face. I was distracted by her donning a pair of jeans and a tank top. I never thought someone could be so sexy just by putting on their clothes.
She noticed my stare and she smiled, "What?"
"I've never seen someone do that and look sexy at the same time," I said huskily.
"Sexy?" Her surprised look settled into smugness as she took in my compliment.
I quickly put on my pair of jeans and came up behind her. "Very sexy." I planted a kiss on her cheek and then looked for my shirt. When we opened the front door, we walked out hand in hand, wondering why so many hunters were gathered in one place. "What's going on?"
Suddenly all the hunters looked at us and backed away. When the crowd separated, we saw Jamie smiling brightly, still in the same shorts and blue jumper. "Tatiana!" Jamie slammed into Tatiana. I looked at her face and knew she would be surprised to see him. She held onto my hand, but wrapped her other arm around him. "Ethan!" Jamie wrapped one arm around me while keeping his other arm around Tatiana. Surprised he was happy to see me, I put my hand on his back.
"Ethan, this one's a full vampire, do you want us to lock him up?" Camille came out of nowhere and nodded towards a vampire. He had blonde hair that reached his eyes and dark brown eyes, and was standing quietly in his tight blue jeans and grey hoodie. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at Jamie, Tatiana, and me together, hugging.
"Brad?" I heard Tatiana squeak uncomfortably.
Jamie let us both go and hid behind both of us as the hunters stared in confusion. Tatiana squeezed my hand tighter. So this was Brad … well he did look like a Hollywood star, not one shiny blonde hair out of place.
"Hey," Brad said a little awkwardly shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, I'm Ethan. It's nice to finally meet you," I said as calmly as I could manage and I felt Tatiana's hand relax into mine. She was scared we would hurt each other.
He hardly acknowledged me and anger flared. But when Tatiana squeezed my hand reassuringly and looked up at me with a huge smile on her face, I calmed down and smiled back.
"I'll let you two catch up while I show Jamie some moves, okay?"
She nodded and I took advantage of the moment to capture her lips with mine just for a second, letting Brad know that he couldn't cross the line otherwise he had to deal with me. Tatiana smiled shyly when I pulled away, then blushed scarlet. I walked away and felt Brad's stare burning into my back, but I didn't look back. Jamie skipped beside me, thrilled that he was going to learn some moves.
We practised with the cro
ssbow, working on his aim. I made sure no one was in sight otherwise he would've hit someone. When he started to calm down and focus, he was able to hit much closer to the target. He was a really fast learner. I remembered when I first tried I hit someone in the butt. Yes in the butt, I know, funny right? Not really when my father was giving me a look of disapproval and I just laughed.
When I told Jamie about my first time with the crossbow, he beamed with pride and I chuckled when he nearly tripped over a rock. Jamie laughed along with me. It felt nice to share this with him. But I couldn't stop thinking about Tatiana and what she was doing with Brad, not that I didn't trust her, I did. But I didn't trust him … there was something fishy about him and I was going to find out what.
Tatiana
W
e walked around the camp in silence. I knew I had to say something first. "I'm sorry I ran off, you gave me a hell of a surprise."
"It wouldn't have worked out anyway, you're in love with him," Brad stopped mid step.
"I was never in love with you Brad, I'm sorry," I shrugged, unable to come up with anything else. When there was silence I said, "Why are you here?"
He rubbed his face with his hands, pulling back his hair. "I just wanted to see if you were okay. I was already on my way to see you and I ran into your mum and Jamie. Something was worrying her so Jamie stayed with me, I took the car and your mum ran here. Looks like I've wasted my time though since you're more than okay. "
"Can you please stop! You're being unfair! Stop being an arse," I seethed.
Brad winced and then sighed, "I'm sorry okay? I've been in love with you all my life and I wasn't expecting you not to love me back!"
I stepped back, feeling like he had just slapped me in the face. My blood boiled as I glared at him.
"Did you actually think I would get on my knees and tell you that I love you just because every other girl would do that? Well I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm not like them! If you actually thought I loved you then you don't know me at all!" My hands were balled into fists and I took a few more steps back before running back to my house in pain. My stomach clenched as I closed the door behind me, locking it.
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