Don't Look in the Basement

Chapter 13

 I know its been months since I last updated and I apologize. My sister has been going through a very serious illness, but she is getting better and the school year is almost over as well, so that means I have more time for writing and updating this story! This chapter is a little short, but it plays an important role and kind of sets up things for here on out. Other than that I hope you enjoy!!! I appreciate all the reviews and votes and it really means a lot. (: 

   I could hear faint voices in the hallway outside of the room. I had been alone for about five minutes, pacing the floor, another nervous habit of mine, and trying to listen in on what they were saying to each other. So far I had had no luck.

  Frustrated, I made my way back over to the rug by the fireplace, and sat down. I could still hear murmuring voices outside, occasionally one voice raised itself over the other. This continued on for another few minutes.

   My throat was dry and felt raw. I knew I needed water and food, but I also knew that Jacob could care less about whether I was dehydrated or not. I stared down at the rug and studied the color. It was a faded shade of emerald and in a way reminded me of the color of Jacob's eyes. At first I cringed just even thinking about it, but after I studied it more I thought that maybe this was the color that they would have looked like when he was human. I tried to remember the small glimpse I had had into his past, and after I thought about it more, I was almost certain that his eyes were that color. They had been portrayed in a kinder light then, compared to now.

   I continued to think about it. I remembered the story Dominic had shared with me and comparing it to the images that I had seen, I almost felt sorry for him. If he had been treated differently when he was younger or was shown more compassion by his uncle, I could almost be sure that things would have turned out better for him. I thought back to Dominic's statement. I suppose he would have done great things if everything had turned out differently. The more I thought about it, the more I started to believe him.

   I thought about that name Dominic had mentioned. Franchesca. I pieced it together with the image I had seen of Jacob clinging hopelessly to the girl with the long dark hair before they were both torn away from each other. She must have been very important to him, he might have even been in love with her. I began to slowly understand everything he had gone through. Life had made him bitter and being turned into what he was now had only made him crueler. But still it wasn't an excuse for him to ruin lives. Including mine and my families.

   The door burst open suddenly, startling me. The fact that Jacob was quickly striding over to me, didn't help matters either. I managed to get to my feet, but before I could do anything else, he was right in front of me.

   "Don't move an inch or you will regret it." He spoke quickly and he had an almost crazed look in his eyes, but I held still for my own good.

   I heard another set of footsteps enter through the doorway, before Dominic appeared right behind Jacob. "Which side?" Jacob snapped at him.

  "The right." He hesitated momentarily before answering. There was a concerned look in his eyes and he kept focusing on me. Especially, when Jacob moved my hair aside exposing my neck. He stared intently at it for what felt like minutes, analyzing it, before a look of relief spread over his face and he stepped back. "See you were wrong, you must have been seeing things." He spoke to Dominic with a satisfied tone before stepping past him.

  "You know that’s not all that must be done to make sure." Dominic replied slowly. Jacob froze mid-step and turned around. Once more he looked nervous, almost afraid, but when he caught me staring, his expression turned stoic.

  I still had no idea what was going on or what they were even talking about. It wasn't good whatever it was. But I knew it had something to do with those marks on my neck from earlier.

  Jacob walked back over to where I still stood, but I started to take a step back. He grabbed my arm before I could move again, as his other hand reached out to my neck.

  "Hold still. This isn't going to hurt." His voice attempted to be reassuring, whether to me or to himself I wasn't sure. But what he had said turned out to be the biggest understatement of the century, if not of all time.

  As soon as his fingers came in contact with my throat, they started to burn. It felt like my skin was on fire and the feeling soon spread everywhere. It was agonizing, almost impossible to describe. I was aware that I was screaming, but my own voice sounded far away. It felt like he was killing me and I was sure he might have if he hadn't pulled away.

  I dropped to my knees almost instantly, but the pain was gone as quickly as it had come. My palms were sweaty and my face felt very hot, and as I looked up, I saw that both Dominic and Jacob were staring at me in shock. Jacob then stared down at his hand and looking also, I saw that the skin was blistered and red, but already it was starting to heal.

"My God..." Dominic spoke quietly, but his voice trailed off.

  What in the hell had just happened? I had never felt anything like that in my life. I was certain that not very many other people had either. I wasn't the only one who was surprised though.

  "He told me this could happen, but I never thought it would. This isn't right." Jacob placed his hand on his forehead, "Shit." He looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he went into a torrent of curses.

  "What's going on? What is he talking about?" I looked at Dominic for any answer or explanation. But he just stared at me dumbfounded.

"It means that you're bound to me." Jacob spoke slowly in realization.

   The room went silent. Bound to him? What was he talking about? He sure wasn't peachy about whatever it meant, which also meant that it wasn't a good thing for me either.

 He stared at me with wild eyes, “This changes everything."

  What could he mean by that? Then it slowly began to dawn on me. If it was what I thought it was, I might puke. Oh please, please, let it not be that whole "soul mate" crap. Just thinking about it made it seem even more ridiculous than when I had read it in sometimes badly written paranormal romance novels. As I said the silent prayer in my mind, Jacob's gaze never left mine as he seemed to ponder over whatever was troubling him. 

   "Please, can you tell me what is going on?"  Turning, I continued to implore to Dominic who after recovering from whatever momentary shock he had gone into, looked at me and began to open his mouth to speak.  But Jacob quickly interrupted him.

   "It means princess, that if something happens to you and you die, then I'm also out of luck. Catch my meaning?" He spoke through gritted teeth and his words dripped heavily with sarcasm that was caused in part by his anger.

   Thankfully, it was not what I had expected him to say and I immediately felt foolish for thinking about such a crazy idea. But my mind still was trying to comprehend what he was saying. If I died, then he would also die? I continued to repeat the simple statement over and over in my head. That meant that he couldn't hurt me, and if he couldn't hurt me then maybe I could get away. If I could get away and get help for Henry, then maybe Jacob could be taken care of. The flood of new possibilities and reuniting with my parents soon dominated my thoughts, and I almost smiled. But two more sentences destroyed all those thoughts and sent me crashing back to reality.

  "I know what you must be thinking, but the funny thing about this is it works both ways. If anything happens to me, your luck runs out too."  As he spoke he managed a small half-smile that contrasted greatly from the rage in his eyes.

   I soon understood how he felt and could only sum it up in the same word he had used a minute ago. Shit.