Bloody Mary // J. Hale

Hit and run

Jasper sat frozen in the driver's seat, utterly still, eyes wide as if he couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened. His mind reeled. I hit something. The words echoed through his head, sounding foreign and impossible. Never had he imagined himself losing control, his supernatural instincts ensuring he was always one step ahead of danger. And yet, there it was—a heavy thud, the scent of blood filling the air, and the brief flicker of distraction that had caused it all.

The Marston girl—Jenna. She had distracted him. It wasn't just her presence, but something deeper, something in the way she seemed to exist on the periphery of his awareness, pulling at his focus. Even the pull of the blood from the deer they had struck wasn't enough to overpower the confusion that clouded his mind. And now, all he could do was sit there, unable to move, frozen by the weight of what had just happened.

But unlike him, Jenna sprang into action. She didn't hesitate. Her gaze shot toward Jasper, her concern immediate and genuine.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, her voice tight with worry, eyes scanning him for any sign of injury.

Jasper blinked, pulling himself from the fog of his thoughts just long enough to shake his head. "No," he replied, the word clipped, mechanical, as if it had taken effort just to force it out.

Jenna didn't waste another second. She quickly assessed the situation, her movements brisk but calm. She opened the car door and stepped outside into the cold, her breath visible in the frosty air as she glanced around for the deer they had hit. Her eyes landed on the animal, lying several feet away, its body trembling in pain as it let out faint, heart-wrenching cries.

Without hesitation, Jenna crouched beside the injured creature, her expression softening with empathy. She reached out, hesitating for only a moment before resting a hand gently on the deer's flank, feeling the rapid rise and fall of its breaths. Its pain was palpable, and she could feel the helplessness of the moment sinking into her.

Jasper watched her from the car, his chest tightening at the sight. She moved with such compassion, her concern for the animal overpowering any fear or shock she might've felt about the accident. His senses, heightened and always alert, caught the faintest tremor in her hands as she touched the deer, but her resolve didn't falter.

He could smell the blood—the irresistible, intoxicating scent of fresh life spilling from the creature. It stirred something deep and primal within him, an urge he had been fighting for decades that now felt dangerously close to the surface. He clenched his fists, fighting against it, forcing himself to remain in control.

But Jenna's focus was entirely on the deer, unaware of the silent battle raging inside him. She stroked the animal gently, whispering soothing words to it, as if somehow she could ease its suffering just by being there.

For a brief moment, Jasper's eyes softened. There was something about her—something that pulled him back from the edge, something that made him forget the scent of blood entirely and see only the kindness in her actions.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the deer, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm so sorry."

Jasper closed his eyes, willing himself to stay calm. The accident, the blood, Jenna's unexpected compassion—it was all too much. But he couldn't look away from her now, couldn't pull himself out of the strange mix of emotions swirling inside him.

And for the first time in a long while, Jasper wasn't sure what to do next.

Jasper carefully exited the car, every movement controlled, deliberate. He approached slowly, his steps light on the frozen ground, the smell of blood still hanging in the air like a tangible force between them. Jenna sat on the cold earth, her knees tucked beneath her, cradling the deer's head gently in her lap. Her hands moved over its fur with a tenderness that struck him, as though she were trying to comfort it in its final moments.