Once Upon a Time (Editing)

Chapter Three--Max

Silence. Jack stands, nodding, as if he knew all along that Jay's father was Death. "Max, can you please restitch her cheek." And he leaves. 

I take Jay into one of the spare rooms before racing through the house to find the medical kit. I found it in the kitchen. Grabbing it, I made to leave the room, but an arm across my chest made me stop. Sam steps in front of me lazily, his eyes wondering across my face and the kit in my hand. 

"Where are you going, brother?" He asks, his voice quiet. 

"To help a friend," I reply back calmly. 

"And who would that friend be?"

I shake my head at him, closing my eyes. I try to walk forward, but he pushes me back. "Stay where you are."

"Sam," I say warning. "Let me through."

"Only if you tell me why your helping her," he replies, his tone threatening. 

"And if I don't? If I don't tell you, what will you do?" My voice stays quiet, despite the fear growing inside me. I feel as though something is clawing at me, trying to get out. 

"I will kill her," Sam whispers in such a way that I know he's not lieing. 

I don't reply. Why am I helping this girl? What has Jay done for me? She was to late to save my aunt, she was almost to late to save us. All she has brought to us is disaster and a false hope. But then I picture her, sitting on the bed where I left her, blood still dripping from the open cut. Jay looks at me, with her light jay eyes, her auburn hair tangled and covered in blood around her face. 

She looked so lost, so alone, lie she had no idea what had happened or what she should be doing. I remeber seeing her for the fist time. We would have been nine, ten years old, then. Jay was standing alone in the crowd, watching the people around her. Her eyes then locked on me. 

I walked over to her then, her eyes never leaving me. Jay's hair was pulled back into two braids that rested on the light green fleece she had on over a dark blue shirt. Her jeans had mud splattered up the pant leg. 

"Hello," she had said quietly once I stood in front of her. 

"Hi," I reply, stretching my hand out for her to shake. "My name is Mak."

"I'm Jas." She takes my hand and gives it a little squeeze. 

"Nice to meet you Jas," I had said, just like mother had taught me. 

"Nice to meet you too," young Jay said, with a quick glance over her shoulder. 

"Max!" I heard my mother call. 

"I have to go, Jas. Hope to see you again," I told the little girl with the green fleece as I ran over to my family. 

I blink and am back in the kitchen, Sam standing in front of me. "I have to help her, Sam."

Before he answers, Jack comes in. "What are you doing? Jay is bleeding and here you are bickering."

I slip past Sam and Jack, out into the dinning room. Then I dash through the house and back to the room where I left Jay. She is stilling sitting on the bed, but she has taken off the long sleeved shirt she was wearing, and is now in regular T-shirt. She looks up as I walk in. 

"Your back," Jay says quietly. 

"Yes, I am."

"I thought you were going to leave me, just like he did," she says, looking up at me, her eyes wide. 

"I wouldn't leave you, Jay," I say walking toward her and sitting in the bed next to her. 

She nods. I start to clean up the cut on her cheek. I can feel her grow tense beneath my hand as I place the cold cloth on her bloody skin. But she doesn't pull away or say anything. 

"This may hurt," I say, pulling the supplies I would need.

As I put the needle against her skin, getting ready to start, Jay pulls away. Her eyes shift from me to the door, and instantly harden with anger.

"What do you want?" She snarls. I blink at the sudden shift from scared and vulnerable to anger.

I shift so that I can see the door. In the door way stands a hooded figure, the hood of the cloak pulled so far over his face that all I could see was his chin. His cloak touched the ground and his arms were folded in front of his body.  

"Is that any way to greet a dear friend?" I could picture him smiling as he said that. 

"I couldn't call you a friend," Jay says. 

"The what, dear Jay, would you call me?"

"Go to hell," she says bluntly. 

I am still watching the man as he takes down his hood. The person in front of me is not a man at all, not much older then the girl next to me. His eyes are the same color as Jay's, but colder. His hair was darker, sweeping in front of his face. 

"Is that any way to greet family?" He chides. This young man is smiling. 

"You are dead to me, brother," Jay says, standing up. 

The boy shakes his head. "That is no way to talk to me, Jasmine."

Jay just stands there, looking at her brother with hatred. I stand up. "Who are you?"

"Didn't my dear little sister tell you?" He says with mock hurt. 

"I'm not your little sister," Jay says through her teeth. 

"No she didn't," I say before Jay could do anything irrational. 

"Then let me introduce myself. I am Colten," the boy says with a bow. "And you are?"

"Max," I say. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Max," Colten says with a nod in my direction. "But I did't come here to banter." He turned back to Jay, who stood, arms crossed over her chest, off to the side. "I came to warn you to stop what you are doing. The Governer will kill you, Jamie."

"Since when did you care about my well being?" Jay asks. 

"I have always cared about you, sister," Colten says quietly. 

"If you did care, then why did you leave?"

"Farewell," Colten says, pulling his hood up. "It has been a wonderful time." He turned and walked into the hallway. 

I made to go after him but stop at Jay's hand on my shoulder. "He's gone, Max. Don't bother."

She walks back over to the bed and sits on the edge. I sit next to her and start to stitch to cut back together. Jay remains silent the whole time, not even wincing as I pull the needle through her skin. I cut the string and finish it off. 

"There," I say, wiping the needle off and putting it back in the kit. "Done."

"Thank you, Max," Jay whispers, looking up at me. Her eyes are full of unshead tears.

I pull her into a hug, and as I do, I can feel her soft cries. She presses her head into my shoulder, and I whisper to her, "I'll be here, Jay. I won't leave you."