Unraveling Mathias by Marisa Maichel (reading women TXT) 📕

"Jordan, if I go to you, will you let Sarah go?"

"Depends," she said. "Give me a kiss, and I might. Better yet, kiss her."

"Oh, hell, no," I said.

Jordan shoved Sarah toward Mason. My friend caught her in his arms.

"Admit it," Jordan cackled. "You love her, don't you, Mason? That's why you forced yourself to start crushing on Amara. You're in love with your friend's girlfriend!"

"It's true," Mason muttered. He tipped Sarah's head up. "Sarah, I love you. I don't know exactly when it happened, but it happened. I'm in love with you, and I have been for a while now."

Sarah burst into tears and ran to me, where I embraced her tightly and glared at Mason and Jordan.

"Aw, look, he's angry!" Jordan taunted. Some officers rushed toward her, but she jumped over the bridge and out of sight.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR - ANGER

To say I was livid would be an understatement.

Sarah was taken to the nearest hospital. They put her on some medicine to keep her calm and some more to knock her out. She was checked for internal injuries. Mother and Alexander stayed with her to talk to her and keep her calm.

I stayed long enough to tell her I had to leave. I couldn't stand the sight of Mason Godfrey. He was in the waiting room, and I glared at him as I walked by. He had the decency to look ashamed. The only reason why I had left was because I really, really, wanted to kill him.

Everything was going to hell.

Sarah made a full physical recovery, and was let out of the hospital a couple days later. Alicia had been called, and she left rehab early to be there for her daughter. Sarah and Mother talked for a long time, and Sarah again admitted that she hadn't been taking her medication like she should have.

Sarah had been taking anxiety and depression medication in addition to prenatal vitamins.

I saw her the day she got out of the hospital. She looked at me and greeted me, but didn't kiss me or tell me she loved me. I wondered if that meant it was truly over. I kissed her several times and told her I loved her, and she just responded with "Thank you."

I went over to Mother and Alexander's house later. The nursery was almost finished. The average couple spends about five thousand dollars on a nursery; Mother and Alexander spent almost a million dollars.

The wallpaper was littered with ducks and sailboats, the other side of the room painted a light blue. His crib was painted white to match his changing station, and Mother added a rocking chair from my own babyhood. A light brown bookshelf with dulled edges was added, filled with picture books. A chest of toys was in another corner.

Mother was talking about a baby shower, and Sarah told her that she should throw one for herself. Mother liked that idea.

Sarah herself was less excited. She was worried about something going wrong.

"It'll be fine," I told her, kissing her on the nose. "Sarah, I love you. Why don't you ever say it back?"

She blushed. "To be honest, I'm ashamed."

"Of what? You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm embarassed about the fight we had the other day. And about what happened later on."

"Sarah, the fight was completely my fault, not yours. And I would have never let you fall or get hurt."

"I have nightmares about it."

I kissed her forehead. "I'll tell Mother. Why don't you try out the rocking chair?"

She thought that was a good idea, and sat in the chair. "He likes it."

"I knew he would." I kissed her again. "I love you, Sarah."

"I love you, too, Reese," she said, turning pink again.

"I love you more. Much more."

She leaned forward and kissed me between the eyes.

"I'm going to therapy on Fridays," she said. "That negotiator who tried to reason with Jordan hooked me up."

"I'm amazed she survived," I said.

"I am, too. But apparently she was wearing a bulletproof vest. We should have known."

"Yeah."

"So, therapy on Fridays, I give birth on the seventeenth, and then cheerleading tryouts."

"Cheerleading? Oh, right. You were a cheerleader before."

"I was. And I loved it. I should have never quit." A tear fell out of her eye. I licked it away. I tasted the bitter taste of eye makeup and the salty taste of human tears.

"You'll be perfect," I told her. "Everyone loves you, or will, at least. You're very likable. You're beautiful, and smart, and kind, and you've been through a lot. You'll be okay."

Somewhere in the background, someone turned on some music, and "A Time For Us" by Barratt Waugh started playing.

"This song is gorgeous," Sarah sighed. "It always reminds me of the greatest love stories. Romeo and Juliet. Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. Tristan and Isolde."

"And now Reese and Sarah," I said.

"Sarah and Reese," she replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Aren't you done yet?" I growled.

"Do you want this done right, or do you want it done fast?" Louis snapped.

I grumbled. I had asked Louis to hack into all of Jordan Hart's social media. He was currently on the first one, Facebook, and he had already been working on it for an hour. The bitch needed to pay for trying to kill my Sarah.

Louis cursed. "She turned her location off. I need to check something." He typed away on the laptop. Sarah had bought a laptop months ago to keep here, but she never used it anymore. She said she didn't need it anymore.

I wondered how she could pay for it, and then I thought about all the money she'd saved by stealing. Still, she'd been working as a waitress at the time, and working at that cafe couldn't have paid much. Then again, she'd been added to the family payroll. I decided to ask her about it.

My abdomen tightened as Louis started fighting with random pop-ups.

"If Sarah's not going to use this anymore...." he trailed off. He looked at me hopefully.

"Don't you own five computers already?"

"Yes, but they're all junk. If she can sacrifice this laptop..."

"Fine, I'll ask her."

I started scrolling through speed dial.

"Hello?"

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hey, handsome. What's up?"

"You know that laptop you leave here? How did you pay for it? I remember you bought it while you were out with me one time."

"I'd been saving for a laptop for personal reasons, but I decided to quit using it, because I decided forgiveness is better than revenge. You can have it if you want it."

"Yes!" Louis pumped his fist.

"Wow, I...wow. You bought a laptop just to get revenge on Scarlett?"

"Yes, and then I decided that was stupid. I'd rather be known for my kindness rather than my beauty."

My sweet Sarah had bought a laptop just to get revenge on Scarlett Hart, and now she had decided she'd rather forgive than be vindictive. How sweet was that?

"I know it was stupid and selfish," Sarah continued. "Kind of evil, actually. But I don't want to be evil."

"Evilness is Alexander's game," I said.

"Exactly! So let's leave it to him."

I was surprised how nonchalantly she had told me this. Then I remembered our promise to be more honest with each other, and I was proud of her.

"Uh oh, speak of the devil," Sarah said. "Alexander's coming my way, and he looks mad."

"He always looks mad," I said. "Alexander, you'd better not hurt her."

I heard him speak over the phone. "What do you take me for? I'm not going to harm Sarah!"

I was suspicious. "You'd better not, or I'll tear off both your arms."

"Duly noted, son. Sarah, Marina wants to talk to you. She will call you later, Reese."

"If you hurt her in any way-"

"I know, I know. You'll tear off my arms."

I heard Sarah make a small noise. "Um, I guess I'll talk to you later, then." She hung up.

Louis was trying hard not to laugh. "You are crazy! But that's why I love you, little cousin."

I grumbled and told him to focus. He stuck his tongue out at me and turned back to the computer.

I needed a break. So I went outside and started sniffing around. Making sure no one saw me, I rolled in the grass like a cat. I noticed Father watching me from the door. I sat up and acted like I was going to pounce on him. He pounced first.

We wrestled for a bit, with him pinning me.

"Now your shirt's dirty," I told him.

"So what? Playing with you is more fun than stupid meetings all day."

I went back inside and questioned Louis.

"I found her location," he said. "It says that she, or at least the phone, is in New York."

Father nodded to Dimitri and Stephan, and the guys slipped out quietly.

"I need a break," I said.

"You need a shave," Father told me. I rubbed my chin. He was right. Did Sarah notice? Did she like stubble?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jordan was found ten miles north of New York City. Dimitri and Stephan brought her back in record time. I told them they didn't need to be gentle with her.

Now I faced her in the torture room, held up by the guys.

"Do you realize who I am?" I boomed.

"You're the Lone Goth, Reese Emerson," she grinned.

"No," I said. "I am Prince Reese Emerson. Do you realize what you've done to me?"

"Why do you care?" she snapped. "She's just a stupid bitch who got knocked up by my real brother!"

I slapped her. "Start explaining, and don't leave out any details, or I'll have Dimitri tear out your precious blond hair one strand at a time."

"Fine," she said. "It really began with Michael. His ghost appeared, and he told me to look at my birth certificate. It said Claire and Brian, not Gwen and Simon!"

"Scarlett's parents?" I asked.

"Yes, that bitch's parents. I may have put a little spell on Scarlett that made her more controlling and horrible after Mason rejected me. What's wrong with me? What do Scarlett and Sarah have that I don't? But while I was in New York City, I realized that Michael Nales' ghost lied to me. Claire and Brian are not my parents, either. I don't know who they are, but they aren't Gwen and Simon, either! I'm adopted!"

"Honestly, so what? Lots of kids are adopted. My uncle Mathias-" I broke off, because talking about Mathias seemed like a bad idea. "Anyway, that's no reason to be evil."

"Don't you know? We're full of problems. Mine is sociopathy, according to Doctor Kepner. She told Gwen and Simon that their adopted daughter is a sociopath and a narcissisist! Can you believe that?! I'm perfect! All except for one thing, and that is that my real parents gave me up as a baby. What did my real mother think when she handed me over? Did she know she would never see me again?"

She was crying now.

"Did she even care?"

"Your mother?"

"Yes. Who was she? Is she even still alive? Did she know that she was sending me to live with witches and warlocks?"

"Let her go," I told the guys. They released her. "You have six hours. Pack your shit, and leave this city. You are not allowed within three hundred feet of Sarah Harper Cresley. If you come within three hundred feet of Sarah Harper Cresley, the punishment will be death."

She ran out, still crying.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE - SIBLING RIVALRY

"Move it, fatty," Father said to Uncle Soren.

"You always call me fat," Uncle Soren grumbled.

"Because you are," Father retorted.

Uncle Soren pulled up his shirt and squeezed his stomach.

"Okay, maybe I do have a little belly. Still, you're worse than a preteen!"

"One, you have more than a little belly, and second, I am over two thousand years old with a seventeen year old son!"

"Mine is three hundred and sixty seven years old!"

"He acts more like a teenager than mine does!"

"Enough!" Grandfather yelled. "Fenrir's death, you two are like children."

For once, they both looked embarassed and ashamed.

"I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I'm not," Uncle Soren said.

"Stop that right now, both of you. You give me a worse headache than the actual