Wanted

Joey

                                                                                    Joey POV

One day after another, I did my best to check on Jewel. She was unlike herself now. She stayed in her room most of the time and if she weren't there then she would be in the woods. I do not know if I should tell mom, dad or even grandma. If not them, then maybe aunties. No, I cannot betray her like that, but I can't keep watching her rip herself apart either. The night she called out for that vampire's name, she broke down into tears and I felt my heart shattered just watching her. I've never saw her like that before. Sure, her feelings have gotten hurt before, but she has never shattered like a vase. At this point I am scared to even think about if she can recover. If that vampire were really her mate, I do not think she could get over this. My thoughts tormented me, and just thinking about her on her death bed made me want to scream. My twin was in pain and there was nothing I could do. How can I even call myself a big brother when all I am doing is sitting here brewing over my thoughts? I need to find a way to help her and now.

"Joey. What is on your mind?" Margret asked with a small pout on her face. It was kind of cute. "I'm sorry, but I was just thinking about a way to help my sister." She nodded her head. Thankfully, Margret was very understanding. I apologize to her again and left her room. I had to do something to help my sister. I cannot just sit around kissing Margret. I tracked mom down and it was pretty easy since she was in the kitchen. "Hey mom, can we talk?" She looked at me with a smile and nodded her head eagerly. "Yes, yes, of course. What is it that you want to talk about?" My mom's smile is contagious. She is super pretty and her gorgeous long silver hair illuminated her face. I wonder if my hair will ever get like that. "Well, I just have a question for someone that I know." She raised an eyebrow at me but smiled. "This someone you may know. Is this a friend?" I thought about how to answer and then smiled. "Yes, it is a dear friend to me." She nodded her head and continued to chop carrots. "Well, go on. What is it that you need to know?" I thought about how to proceed for a second. "Well, this friend that I know is dating someone." She immediately put the knife down and turned to smile at me. "You're dating!" She practically screamed at me. "No, mom, this is my friend about whom we are talking. My friend, now focus." She apologized and continued to chop the carrot. "So, this is the problem. My friend really likes someone, but they do not know if that person is their mate. How can you tell if that person is your mate? My friend said when they hold hands, they feel tingly. Is that a dreadful thing?" My mother dropped her carrot, her knife, and froze. She then turned to look at me with a big smile on her face. "Well, I'll be darn. Your friend found their mate. You should introduce me to this friend so we can talk more. I'm sure I can offer a lot of useful advice." My mother was smiling, but on the other hand, I know I looked frightened. My mother stared at me for a while, and her smile slowly dropped from her face. "What's wrong, Joey? Are you not happy that you found your mate? Or that your friend found their mate?" She asked, and I blew up, unable to control my thoughts. "It's not me, Mom! It's Jewel!" I covered my mouth quickly with my hand but from mothers facial expressions, she heard me. Oh crap, I messed up. I MESSED UP BAD! A big smile plastered on her face and she turned to leave but I grabbed her hand. "This is great news! No wonder why we haven't seen Jewel around here in days. She must be all lovey-dovey with her mate that she forgot to tell us. We have to go tell your father. He will want to meet his daughters mate as soon as possible." It became clear that I had made a big mistake in talking to mom but I've already come this far so I might as well just tell her. Who knows, she might actually be able to help Jewel out of her slump? "Mom, just listen first and at the end if you still want to tell dad then I do it. However, for just this moment, listen to me." This made my mother stand still. She had a curious expression in her eyes but she remained silent. "Jewel has actually been in the forest by our house every day, alone. Her mate... Is a vampire but she doesn't know for sure. We talked about a lot down at the riverbank so I know my sister is scared. She is confused and unsure at the moment. I have no knowledge about how to save her from the deep end so that is why I have come to talk to you now. I know it has been days since then but I really tried to figure out the answer myself so that I wouldn't betray her. In the end, I have never felt the body tingles that she described but I know she was happy when she talked about him because her eyes sparkled." My mother stayed silent for what felt like too long before she spoke again. "That boy's name was Jasper, right?" She surprised me with that question since she was so calm and composed. I agreed and she placed a hand on my head. "You're good big brother, Joey. I'm proud I gave birth to you and I appreciate you trying to help your sister. It was a good decision to tell me. Where is your sister now?" Mother was taking the situation seriously and I for once was glad I talked to her. I led her to the riverbank and there we found Jewel sitting and hugging her knees. From the faint sounds of sniffles, you could tell she was crying before we arrived. Her hair was a tangled mess down her back and she was wearing that jacket again. She wore it every day. "Hey, Jewel." I greeted her and sat down beside her leaving mother by the trees. "Oh hey." Jewel turned to smile at me. Her eyes were sunken and swollen red. That's what crying everyday will get you. "Hey, sweetie." My mom sat beside Jewel with a smile on her face. "Mom?" Jewel sounded shock and then she turned to look at me with a glare. "Don't be mad at your brother. He was just worried about you so he came to talk to me about some imaginary friend. He did not expect me to be smart enough to follow him out here. He is innocent." Nice save mom, whew. She really covered for me! Jewel gave me a small smile and an apology before turning back to mom. "Now, talk to me. I haven't seen you in days, Jewels. You look really tired right now like something is troubling you. What is troubling you so much that its draining you?" My mother asked, acting like she knew nothing. That's a good angle. Wow, mom is really calculating. It's kind of scary. She was acting like I told her nothing and was gently applying pressure as a worried parent to get Jewel to talk. Impressive!