Beasthood (The Hidden Blood Series) (4 page)

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Chapter 5-
Lock~

Saturday May 7
th
, 2011, 10:34 a.m
.
-
Jaz’s House.

“
You’ll call me when you get to the nearest petrol station?”

“
Yes, mum,” Jaz sighed as she handed her small suitcase to her Uncle Bo.

She’d only seen him a few times but from what she had seen, she knew he was a very polite, kind man. He was about an inch or so taller than her, making him shorter than average for a man. However, he was built like an ox under his bohemian tweed jacket, checkered shirt and velvet waistcoat. She only now observed the muscular shape of his arms beneath the colourful shirt as he took the suitcase from her.

She gazed at his smooth, youthful skin -apart from a few crows’ feet caused by years of smiling- before he turned away. She liked that part about him the most. His washed-out hair was thinning at the front and turning steely grey at the sides making his real age hard to guess.

He was a quiet, but witty man who knew a lot about old-fashioned automobiles; in fact, anything with an engine always made his eyes light up. That was all he and her father seemed to talk about. Apart from these things, she didn’t know much else about him. But she found him easy to get on with and she figured that’s all that really matters.

His bright, kind brown eyes, and thin-lipped mouth always appeared amused and a little smug, as if he was laughing inwardly at his own private joke. Today, however, his jaw was wound tight, and he seemed distracted.

He carried her luggage a few steps before the driver took it from him silently. Jaz was too busy being strangled in a bear hug from her mother to notice. When she managed to escape the strangle hold, her dad took his wife's place, gently wrapping his arms around Jaz. Then his grip round her back tightened. Her heart skipped a beat. It felt like a goodbye hug. A real goodbye.

Why is he being so dramatic?

She couldn’t see what had happened in the past that would make him so worried. Aunt Erica wasn’t a serial killer. Was she?

Of course not! He would’ve called the police and sent her packing. Don’t be an idiot.

Jaz looked him straight in the eye and said, “I’ll call you everyday.”

“
I know you will,” he smiled back gently, though inside he knew she couldn’t keep that promise.

Her aunt grabbed her shoulders to swivel her round to the car. It was a shiny, black Mercedes but that was as far as her knowledge about cars could gather. A bit too mature for her taste but she liked the idea of sitting in it. She really wanted to drive it too but wasn’t planning on asking. It was then, when she thought about driving that she finally locked eyes with the unknown driver.

He was standing at the bottom of the driveway with his back leaning against the Mercedes passenger door, watching her. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her since she'd walked out the house, but she didn’t know that.

The feelings that had been rushing through his head, his heart, even his blood and bones and nerve endings were so overpowering everything tingled as though they were alive. His skin was on fire but it was a good feeling. Like scratching an itch. A long awaited, irksome, exasperating itch. 

So this is what it’s like,
he thought, as he'd watched her come out of the house.

Now he understood that the passionate feelings he had felt for Lora were only a tear drop to the whole world’s oceans in comparison to what he felt for Jaz. At least, what he had the potential to feel for her.

He found it ridiculously unfair and betraying. Lora had earned his love and affection, Jaz hadn’t even looked at him yet. But when she did, all those negative thoughts drained from his head. Every thought disappeared and all he could do was study her.

             
Everything about her was considerably darker and Delphian in comparison to her sister.

Lora's hair had been honey blonde, her face golden, glowing and always smiling, her eyes bright blue like the sky. He glanced upwards. Not a cloud in sight. It was the first time he looked away from Jaz. He gazed back down at her. The sun was out and made her fine, shoulder-length hair transform from dark brown to a deep brick red. It brought out the natural pinkness of her fair cheeks.

Her skin was ivory-pink and flawless. Apart from the dark shadows under her eyes there were no blemishes. Her lips were smaller than Lora’s, not as full either, but they were a prettier shade of dark pink and were set in an amused curve that he liked immensely. She had kind, warm eyes that looked olive green away from the sun, but a deep blue when she turned towards it.

             
Jaz stared at the man who she’d never seen before and yet was sure she recognized, like she was experiencing deja vu.

He was very tall. Probably six foot five, she guessed as she observed him next to the car. He was slim too but she could see even with a suit on, that he was built. He wasn’t wearing a tie which seemed odd; like he didn’t want to appear he was trying too hard but still wanted to make the effort. She blinked a few times, wiping away that idea. She was over thinking things again.

Something bright and metallic winked at her as it reflected the sun and she glanced down. He had a silver ring on the third finger of his right hand. It looked old. Something that she suspected he’d inherited from his father and his father before him. It interested her.
He
interested her.

His eyes were striking. They were so dark she couldn’t tell what colour they were. They were shaded by black eyebrows and separated by a long, thin nose like a sword.

He wasn’t pretty or boyish. She suspected he was much older than her though she wasn't sure by how much. He could have passed for anywhere between twenty-eight and thirty-eight at a push.  His features were sharp and strong. His mouth was thin and hard. He had a shaven
head which just exaggerated the darkness of his eyes and made it more difficult to pinpoint his age. His skin tone was a dusty olive colour.

When she looked at him, especially with the black suit, all she thought was ‘Italian gangster’. It made her giggle a little inside. He noticed the momentary change in her eyes and became instantly curious.

She observed him as she approached until they were but a few feet from each other. They gazed at one another for an awkward few seconds before her aunt saved them both. “Oh sweetheart, I forgot to mention, this is our driver.”

             
Jaz smiled civilly though it wasn’t as wide as she might have hoped. She did however, hold out her hand to shake his. He slowly reached out and the moment they touched she felt a strange static shock. It wasn’t the normal kind. She could feel it spark through her whole body. It wasn’t real- not in the physical sense. It felt like something more than that and it bewildered her.

She suddenly felt urges she didn’t dare voice out loud. Impulsively, she released a very small, ragged breath before she could hold it back. She was thankful it hadn’t been any louder. Unfortunately for her, Driver heard it very clearly. It thrilled and excited and  uprooted him.  

She blushed at the reaction of her body and just stared at him. His sharp eyesight saw the colour brighten her cheeks. The satisfaction he felt appeared in a tiny smile that was fleeting. Jaz wasn’t sure if she’d really seen it or if she’d imagined it. They released hands.

“
Nice to meet you…?” she began in a quiet voice, waiting for him to tell her his name.

“
Driver,” his voice was so low, buttery and powerful she had to gather herself for a moment.

What the hell is a matter with you!?
She shouted at herself in disgust.

She cleared her throat almost inaudibly and frowned for a split second when she suddenly realized something. Had he refused to give her his name?

She thought it would be weird -and probably embarrassing- to ask so she just nodded her head absently and forced a smile. It made her look so uncomfortable he had to hold his lips together firmly to contain the wide grin itching to stretch across his face. He managed to avoid exposing his teeth. He very rarely showed his teeth.

“
And of course this is my niece, Jasmine,” Aunt Erica managed to keep the flow of the conversation going as if oblivious to the awkward silence only seconds ago.

“
Nice to meet you, Jasmine.”

It’s Jaz,
she was tempted to say but kept her mouth locked tight. She figured if he wasn’t going to be on ‘first name’ terms then why should she bother?

When she finally got in the car, she looked briefly at her parents.

She couldn’t restrain the sudden anger and frustration from bursting through her emotional banks as she watched them. She’d felt this way on and off for a year. The old wounds of their distrust in her, still stung; even now when she could clearly see the concerned looks on their faces. The kind of look any parent would wear when they were saying goodbye to their child. She couldn’t help but feel a little resentment wondering, if they had believed her from the start, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so bad and she wouldn’t even be sat in this car.

             
They were thinking the same thing. Her father had been up all night painstakingly analyzing all his actions of the past year. They’d made a mistake. He could see that now.

             
They’d done it all for the right reasons; at the time. They had come to the conclusion the year before, that making out she wasn’t a virgin despite her protests, would have been safer for her in the long run. It was vital that her aunt believe she had miscarried. They’d prayed when the manipulative witch showed up that she’d believe it all.

             
He’d convinced the doctor with a generous bribe to tell Jasmine that she had miscarried just so she'd never learn the truth about what had happened -he hadn't been able to look in the mirror ever since. And he'd also pushed the doctor to say that she was unable to have children. Though it sounds the complete opposite, it had been done for her protection, at least until they were ready to to tell her the truth. But it was too late now.

             
On top of all the things he regretted doing or not doing, he'd also had to hand out more money to make sure the doctor kept to his story in case anyone came asking.

             
His wife had not been happy about it but he was sure that would be all the proof her aunt would need to see that Jasmine wasn’t the one ‘they’ were looking for.

             
‘They’ were the group of people he wished never to meet and had feared the moment they would show up. He’d hoped that day would never come, but her aunt smashed that to pieces the moment he realized who she was. She’d been following Jasmine around like flies to shit ever since. And she hadn’t believed the doctor either.

             
It took all his will not to look at her aunt with the burning venom simmering just underneath the surface of his very thin mask. Instead he kept it in place, continuing to smile at his daughter who he feared he’d never see again.

              He was more convincing than his wife whose smile was sunken at the sides. A weak, pained smile Jasmine was quick to notice.

She had always had a sharp eye for unravelling the hidden emotions just beneath the surface by studying people’s faces carefully. It was trying to figure out why they were there in the first place that was the hard part.

She thought it was all down to her distress of not being with her daughter. Her mother hadn’t made any sign that she'd wanted to join them, even though it was impossible with her busy schedule. Jaz didn’t blame her for that but it still upset her that she’d never done anything like this with her mother. A spa day was a mother-daughter thing to do. Not that she was ungrateful to her aunt. The sadness behind her mother’s eyes upset her. She flashed her mum a genuine smile; all traces of bitter resentment vanished, disintegrated.

             
The smile was only visible to her parents for a few seconds before the car pulled away. She looked back at them and gave a small wave as she watched them standing on the road. They didn’t wave back. She found that odd. The truth was they couldn’t bring themselves to wave back. It made it seem like they were happily accepting the fact she was going.

             
Jaz felt a pang of guilt for all the times she’d been cold or difficult towards them, especially today.

I’ll make it up to them
,
she thought resolutely. Though she didn’t know how long it would take before she could finally forgive them. She promised herself she’d try at least.

                                                                      *

              For the first half hour, Jaz remained silent.

             
Her thoughts shifted back and forth through time but mostly the monotonous drone of the motorway kept her in a quiet, semi-comatose state.

             
Occasionally her aunt – who was sitting next to her in the back- leaned forward to the seat in front, to mumble inaudible chops of conversations to her husband. Uncle Bo would intermittently respond in his soft, alto voice. It was almost the same tone as the engine so instead of trying to understand what they were saying, she ignored them, preferring to look at the blurred objects flying past the window.