Chapter 2

The first night for Scarlett was tough beyond belief. Terrible nightmares of her past came flashing before her eyes. She slept little, hardly able to bring herself to close her eyes. Jax came running every time she woke up screaming. At first, he thought she was being attacked—then he realized, it was her mind attacking her. He did his best to comfort her but he struggled with comforting anyone. He just sat there, in silence, on the other side of the bed as Scarlett wept until she fell asleep or asked him to leave her.

Soon days turned into weeks. Scarlett was slowly healing, rebuilding her strength back in her injured leg. As time went on, she grew more comfortable around Jax. Not only did he have one sister, but two. He was the middle child in the family, different from Scarlett being the only child. Scarlett had no family outside of her mother, and when she died, it left her with no one.

Jax's parents hadn't come back since the other week, leaving the pair alone. Scarlett had the split removed two days ago. They misjudged the injury, seeing it was only sprained in multiple places rather than a break. Jax had also finished healing the week before.

❧

Jax set the plate down in front of Scarlett. He had made breakfast for the both of them, seeing as Scarlett had no knowledge of cooking. "T-Thank you.." Her stutter hadn't dropped off as he thought it would, still it didn't bother him. She smiled at him softly, waiting. Jax looked up from his plate, frowning. "You can eat," he pointed his fork at her eggs. Scarlett fiddled with her hands in her lap, staring at her plate.

He sighed. "Are you okay?" For a brief few seconds, she didn't say anything. "I-I'm sorry. It's.. not you. I'm s-still trying.. to forget rules I was given." Scarlett apologized, biting her lip out of nerves. "Do you want to talk about them?" He asked her, stabbing his fork into a piece of egg. "I promise, I'll listen." She shifted her gaze from the plate of food to Jax's face. With a simple nod, she was interrupted by a greeting.

"Did you make breakfast?" Jax's older sister, Maya, set her jacket on the chair next to Jax. "I did. Help yourself." Maya nodded to Scarlett in a greeting as well. Although Maya wasn't necessarily approving of the idea of freeing Scarlett at first, she's growing to accept it day by day. However, it didn't mean Scarlett and her were on speaking terms. In fact, Scarlett was lucky enough to even get a nod.

Scarlett gave Maya a gentle smile, refusing to speak around her. Closing her mouth, she simply let her food grow cold on her plate. "You need to eat," Jax spoke, pulling out the chair beside him for Maya to sit in. Scarlett only shook her head, pushing the plate forward, away from herself. Jax set his fork down. "Is it because of Maya?" Again, she shook her head.

"Scarlett."

"Let her go, Jax. It's okay if we.. don't feel comfortable around each other yet."

"You don't feel comfortable around her? She won't eat or speak around you." Jax turned his eyes to Maya, staring at her. Maya frowned, lowering her head. "I don't want her to not.." "Well, she is. I don't think you get that. Look at her," he gestured to Scarlett across the table. Her body was crunched inward, shoulders especially, and hands sitting in her lap still. Her eyes were cast downwards towards her feet, unable to look at either of them.

Maya gave an apologetic look, pushing her bangs from her eyes. "Scarlett, it's okay. You can eat, speak—who am I to tell you that you can't?" Scarlett slowly lifted her head, eyes wavering. "Y-You... have every r-right too. You're a pureblood and.. I-I'm not." Silence filled the room. Finally, Jax spoke. "Maya. I think... think you should go. Stop by later, alright? It's—" But, Jax was cut off by his sister. "No, I understand. I'll come back at another time. Take care of her." With those words, she left through the kitchen's back exit, leaving her jacket on the chair.

"She forgot.."

"It's alright, I'll give it to her later. Do you want your food heated up?"

"Y-yes, please."

"Now do you want to talk about the rules?"

Scarlett nodded. Her eyes followed Jax's movements as he heated up her food, the reached into the refrigerator to grab a blood bag. "Y-You don't.. want it fresh?" "I already said I'm not drinking from you." "B-but.. when.. when was the last time you h-had blood?" Jax set the now re-heated plate of food in front of her again. "About two months or so ago." He responded casually. It was unusual for any vampire to go longer than a than two weeks without blood. It was even rarer for over a month—practically unheard of if past that.

"W-Why? You need b-blood." Scarlett regarded that comment with concern in her voice. At the moment, Jax was all she had. If she lost him in any way, she would be brought back to the slave shop. It was the last thing she wanted. Jax only shrugged, like he was avoiding the question. "J-Jax..."

"I don't want to talk about it, Scarlett. Please, leave it." Scarlett bit her tongue from saying anything more about the topic. She had barely eaten half of her plate, but it was more than enough for her. Jax finished the rest of his plate and the blood bag. "Did you have enough?" "Y-Yes. Thank you.."

"Do you want to talk about the rules still?" "N-Not anymore." Her answer was simple, but it was clear the window for the topic had closed. "You sure?" He only received a small nod. Jax cleaned up the kitchen. Scarlett sat quietly, unsure if he would want help or not. Even if he did, she knew he wouldn't let her. "You n-need blood." Scarlett was tired of holding it in. It bothered her.

"I drank the blood bag. I'm fine." Jax argued, setting plates away. "Y-You and I.. both know that's n-not true. Y-You're eyes just flashed r-red." Scarlett got up, standing in front of them. She was right. They flashed red again, a sign of hunger and a need for fresh blood. Slowly, she rolled up her sleeve, waving her wrist in his face. Just like her neck, it was also covered in teeth marks from other vampires. "No." He shoved her arm away, growling. A small, scared noise came from Scarlett as she took a step back.

Still, she persisted. Scarlett held her wrist up to him again, and, again he pushed it away, more angrily this time. "J-Jax." "Scarlett." She was beginning to grow slightly frustrated with him, which was rare for her ever too. This time, when he went to speak, she pushed her wrist into his fangs. Jax's eyes widened as he tried to pull away, but she kept her wrist there, in his mouth, as she stepped forward. Blood ran down her arm, dribbling on Jax's chin. "D-Drink it."

His eyes relaxed in a sad glance, sinking his fangs into her wrist. She winched, her lip quivering as she tried to hide her pain.

Scarlett's eyes began to grow heavy, feeling dizzy. She gently pushed on Jax's chest, now, trying to tear her wrist away. Jax drank for another second, finally taking his fangs from her arm. Her knees grew weak and they almost buckled, but Jax caught her in his arm. "I.. knew I was going to drink too much." He held her, licking the blood from Scarlett's wrist to stop the bleeding. At the moment, he didn't care about the blood on his chin. Jax gulped, bringing her upstairs.

"I'm sorry," he repeated multiple times. Scarlett hadn't said anything, instead, just closed her eyes as she was set on the bed. Jax rolled down her sleeve, sighing heavily. He took a step back, wanting to give her space. She caught him by the arm, her grip barely there. She was weak from the amount of blood loss.

Her grip tightened. "S-Stay. I don't.. want to be a-alone.." She whimpered, eyes fluttering as she tried to stay awake. "You need to rest." He commented. Scarlett still hadn't let go. "P-Please." "I drank too much from you. I don't want to hurt you again." Jax couldn't forgive himself if he did. He broke his promise to himself—to not feed off of her. A frown etched its way onto his lips, gulping.

"P-Please."

"I don't..."

"Please, J-Jax."

Finally, he sighed, giving in. Jax walked around to the other side of the bed. "If I stay, do you promise to rest?" She nodded weakly. With another sigh, he sat down. "Are you comfortable with me laying beside you?" Again, another nod. Jax paused, running a hand through his hair. He laid down beside Scarlett, staring up at the ceiling. He blinked, turning to look at her from the side. He studied her; the way her chest rose and fell, or what pictures he could make in the freckles he saw.

Sun cracked through the blinds, spilling on the both of them. Contrary to popular belief, the sun didn't bother vampires. It didn't burn their skin, but it bothered their eyes more than other species. Scarlett opened one eye. "Y-You can c-close it." He nodded, sitting up, shutting the blinds. "Better?" "Yes." With a satisfied nod, Jax laid down beside her again. Scarlett's eyes were closed once more.

Jax inched closer to her, their arms touching, side by side. Suddenly, Scarlett spoke.

"How would you feel if I said I wanted to leave? That I wanted to see the world.."

"Alone?"

"Yes. I-I... I've never been outside.. of my cell. This.. is the only place I've seen. I-I want.. to see the w-world. I want t-to know what's.. outside of here." He gulped slowly. "I would go with you, you know." Those words caused Scarlett to open her eyes, turning her head to look at him. Their faces were about a foot and a half away. "Y-You would?" He nodded.

"W-What if I want to.. do it alone?" Jax frowned at her answer. "Then I'd wait for you, that is if you would come back." Scarlett was silent. In truth, she had no clue what to say. She bit her lip.

"I-I will. I'll c-come back." Jax nodded, a small smile on his lips. Scarlett chuckled gently. It was the first time she's laughed in who-knows-how-long, and, the first time Jax has seen her laugh. In a few seconds, she quieted, staring at him.

"You.. c-can call me Scar... instead of Scarlett.." "Scar it is then." They both smiled at each other again. Finally, Scarlett closed her eyes for the third time.

"I-I'm taking a nap."

"You do that. I'll be right here."