Beasthood (The Hidden Blood Series) (10 page)

~
Chapter 12-
Confront~

Tuesday May 10
th
, 2011, 7:
20 p.m. -
Driver's Bedroom

             
She hadn’t heard the approaching footsteps like Driver had, so the sudden flash of movement outside the door of his room made her panic. It was only then she realized the door was open and she studied it, weighing out her options until the face of Aunt Erica followed by an old woman half hidden behind her, cut Jaz’s ideas to run down.

Driver didn’t make any attempt to hide his annoyance at their presence.

Jaz stepped back unconsciously. She felt very threatened but hid it well as she glowered at her aunt with pure hatred.

Traitor!
she thought with a hiss.

             
It took her aunt less than ten seconds to determine what had happened by the scene in front of her. Maria didn't take her eyes off the young girl who was so much like her son. The same eyes. She had her mother's ivory complexion. Her father's straight hair, though his was raven black. The red tints that appeared in the light belonged to neither of them. She'd inherited that from Maria. It made the old woman's heart ache though her facial expression didn't change a millimetre.

             
Jaz wanted to strangle her aunt. Her aunt!?

How could she do this to me!?
She couldn't breathe evenly, the woman's presence upset her that much. Driver noticed the change in her and eyed her with regard.

             
There was a tense pause before Driver cut the air with his sharp voice, which threatened to crack like thunder. “Erica,
what
are you doing here?”

“
We saw wh-”

“
I told you not to come in here!” his thunder voice bellowed.

             
Erica shifted on the spot uneasily. Her facial muscles were stiff. Maria seemed unmoved by his rage. Jaz froze in place. There was another pause. The air was electric with anger, now from both sides. “We've done it your way for long enough,” Erica began heatedly.

             
Jaz didn't like the idea of the very tall, violent man who'd sliced up her hand, bruised, imprisoned, kidnapped and mangled her feet -which she still hadn't dared look at; they were now throbbing and she had to put her full weight on her heels instead because of it-  having control of her fate.

             
She sank back, finding the wall inches from her cell doorway and leaned against it, allowing her feet to rest and to be as far as she could from him without going back into that awful cell.

“
Are you planning on taking over, Erica?” he asked in a voice that could have curdled milk.

             
Jaz clenched her teeth flicking her gaze to her aunt.

             
Erica was watching Driver warily but her voice was confident and defiant. “Look at what's happened to her!” she spat, holding out her hand in Jaz's direction. Everyone inspected Jaz's bloody hand at the same time. She hid it behind her back self-consciously.“Right under your nose! By your
own
hand if I'm not mistaken!”

“
You are.” His deep voice sliced through the air like an Executioner's axe. “But if you think you can do better... be my guest,” he challenged, stepping aside with his hand held out towards Jaz, as if offering her to the traitor.

             
Erica was about to argue -afraid of the responsibility and Driver's warning eyes that said 'be careful what you wish for'- when a loud voice growled, “No.”

             
Everyone snapped their heads in Jaz's direction. Driver had to crane his head round to look back at her. He regarded her curiously. She was scowling at her aunt with revulsion. 

             
Erica's mouth opened ready to reason with her niece but Jaz shook her head in response, glowering at the traitor with fierce eyes. “I
hate
all of you -make
no
mistake,” Jaz shot a cutting look Driver's way. He raised his head a fraction enough to show her he got the message. She turned away, focusing back on her aunt.  “-But if I had to pick out of all of you people to be '
responsible
' for me, -if that's what you call it-
you,
” she pointed at Erica venomously,
“would be the
last
person on Earth I'd ever let that fall to.
Ever
.” She swept her hand to her side to emphasize the finality of her statement.

             
Erica's jaw dropped open. Maria smothered a smirk that was threatening to appear on her usually astringent mouth. She felt for her daughter, truly she did, but the fiery spirit and fierce eyes of the young girl were intriguing and entertaining to watch.

             
Driver gazed at Erica,  a tad smugly.

             
It was almost as if Jaz had indirectly given him a compliment,
and
supported him- though she'd made it very clear that was the exact opposite of what she'd done, with one hard look aimed at him.  So of course, he knew it was futile to think it, but it didn't stop him wondering at the idea, and liking it.

“
H-how can you...?”Erica began, dumbfounded. “I'm your aunt!” She protested, the distress and hurt written all over her face. It was the worst she had ever felt, since her father died. Jaz's real grandfather, Vern. That was saying a lot.

“
Exactly!” Jaz screeched, springing forward, standing tall and audacious as she glared squarely at the short woman; all pain and fear forgotten in an instant. Her aunt gaped at her uneasily. “You were supposed to protect me, watch over me and what did you do!?”

“
I
am
protecting you! We all are!”

“
Bullshit!” Jaz roared. Everyone went silent.

             
Driver peeked at Jaz from his right eye but didn't look at her directly. Ever since the others had entered his room he hadn't looked her in the eye.

             
Maria swallowed and watched the girl carefully. The old woman was closest to the camouflaged buzzer by the door. She'd be there in a flash if things got out of hand. She was much faster than she looked.

             
Jaz's next words came out somewhere between a hiss and a snarl as she said, “I've been drugged, kidnapped, attacked, then dragged into this hell hole where I was violated, attacked
again
and god knows what the hell you've done to my feet! Did I mention
violated
!? With a metal rod!”

             
Driver cringed.

“
It's hard for me to explain but-” her aunt stammered.

“
Try!”

“
But
,” Erica forced the word and paused to make sure Jaz would listen. Jaz waited silently, her chest heaving. “But, it was all for your benefit.” Jaz breathed out a sardonic laugh, then frowned in disbelief. “There are a lot of things you don't know, and I don't want to just burden you with everything all at once,” Erica explained defensively, revealing her rising irritation.

“
Unbelievable,” Jaz mumbled, gnawing on the peeling skin of her lower lip and gazing angrily at the bumpy stone ceiling. She shook her head and looked back down at her aunt as she grunted, “Seriously? You have a
psycho
babysit me,” she glared fleetingly at Driver, “and do all
this
to me, no worries.... but you're afraid to '
burden me
' with some shit that you've probably made up anyway? Just like everything else this past year. Which says to me that you appeared out of the blue, clearly with only this ulterior motive in mind, so please spare me my sanity and tell me you're not my real aunt?”

             
Jaz was begging whatever god was listening up there that this evil witch wasn't in anyway related to her.

             
The offended look on Erica's face quashed Jaz's hopes. She gasped, her shoulders sagged, as if she'd just heard her parents had been in a terrible car crash. She shook her head as if that would make it not true. “No,” she whispered breathlessly. Driver shifted his weight to the foot closest to her but stopped. Now was not the time.

Leave her be.

“I
am
your real aunt. But, John... is not my brother.”

             
Jaz looked up at her aunt in a confused daze. “Wh-how?”

             
There was a moment of cramping, strained silence. The air was thick and heavy; Jaz could barely breathe under the weight of whatever the next  -clearly- significant and possibly life-changing words that were about to fire out of her aunt's mouth.

“
I'm the sister of your father. Your
real
father.”

             
Horror exploded out of Jaz's face. “
What?
” She nearly choked on the word. “You're lying,” she wheezed. She couldn't even convince herself she believed that, let alone the others.

             
For some reason, she knew it was true the moment her aunt had said it. Though the fact she was a deceitful liar gave Jaz an inkling of hope that this was a lie too.

“
No. I'm not. You were... adopted.”

             
The complete conviction in expression and voice cut Jaz's last hope dead. She was sure she felt two invisible strings in her heart snap. The sudden pressure on her chest made her fall back against her old wall for support. Her shallow breaths filled the silence. For Driver, it was as if he could physically feel her pain. He closed his eyes tight and turned the other way.

             
Erica gazed at Jaz with pained, watery eyes. “You belong here, with us,” she urged.

             
That did it.

             
Jaz's last hold of control severed and she lunged for the short, broad shoulders of her startled victim. Erica nearly toppled over but Jaz's vise-hold -her fingers digging into the bones- kept Erica on her feet.

             
Jaz shook the woman, who's head just reached the girl's pointed, small nose, snarling, “
Don't
talk to me like you're doing me a
favour
! I had a life before you came into it and tore it apart! If you ever
think
that I would pick
you
over my
family
-adopted or
not
!- because you're blood, think
again
! I will never, EVER trust you, love you, even LIKE you! John and Rachel have been and will
always
be my parents and nothing you or anyone else in this godforsaken hellhole can say or do will change that! GOT IT!?” Her usually small voice boomed across the room and it took everyone -even Jaz- a long minute to collect themselves.

             
Erica stared at her in shock. Her thoughts were incoherent, frantically pacing through a maze of affliction.

             
Jaz became Jaz again and slowly, almost apologetically let go. She could see how her raving verbal attack had upset her aunt. She'd feel sorry about it later, right now though, she was glad.

“
Er, should I come back?” came a high, whippy voice by the doorway.

             
Everyone had been so caught up in the moment that they hadn't heard the tall, slender, strawberry-blonde walking down the hallway. Their heads cocked up, or around -depending on their position- all aiming towards the doorway where the pretty girl stood waiting.

             
Jaz glared at her though it was an expression that had been fixed on her face from before. The girl glanced her way, even smiled a little -despite Jaz's reproachful look- before focusing on Maria.

“
No Skye, please come in,” the old woman invited in a low, tired voice.

             
The strawberry-blonde sundae sidled in as elegantly as if she was on Rollerblades. It was then Jaz noticed the green first aid pack tucked under her toned, freckly golden arm. She stared at the kit as if it were a snake.

             
She also realized Driver had moved away to the other end of the room to sit at the edge of a King-sized bed she'd only now observed for the first time. She had a moment to look around the room -to survey her surroundings, or just to take herself out of the present for a few seconds.

             
She gazed above Driver's shaven head to the wooden headboard, which was flush against the wall to the left of the open door. It was bold and similar to hers -though obviously bigger- and had pretty carving patterns along the top.