Opposites Attract

Return

Within a few days they had almost made it. They were only about a mile away, and both of them were practically bouncing. Molly had the slight suspicion that Jax wasn't as happy as he appeared, but she kept it to herself, smiling along with him.

Her suspicion was confirmed when they arrived the next morning. Jax held his breath for a moment before knocking, and he completely shattered as his mother answered.

She was drying her hands with a dish towel as she did, only to drop it when her son practically collapsed on her.

"Jax, what's goin' on?" she managed, frowning as her son buried his face in her shoulder.

"It was-" he choked, and when he spoke again he was choked up, "It was dad. There was a- a necromancer. He was- He-"

She cut him off, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing his shoulders.

"Why don' ya both come inside, and we'll talk more 'ver dinner. I was just goin' to call the twins down."

Jax never let go of her arm, letting her lead him to a chair and sit him down.

"Mick! Sammy!" she called, "Your brother's home!"

There were thumping footsteps on the stairs and in seconds Mick and Sammy were in the doorway. They both ignored Molly completely, moving fast to their brother's side and wrapping their arms around his shoulders. For all their hyperactivity, they seemed to know what their brother needed, and he wrapped his arms around them a moment later.

"Hey," he murmured, pressing his forehead against each if theirs in turn.

"You okay Jax?" Sammy whispered, mussing his big brothers hair.

"Eh. I'm all healed up now."

"What? Who hurt you?"

"We'll talk about it after dinner," their mother interrupted, setting out five plates. The twins only noticed Molly when she took her usual seat.

"You came back too?"

"Very observant, aren't you?" Molly teased.

They grinned at her, taking their seats as their mother served dinner. Jax didn't eat, making silent eye contact with his mother and Molly and trying to keep a straight face.

"Alright," his mother said as she cleared away the plates, "Now why don' ya tell us wha' happened?"

Molly half-expected her to send Mick and Sammy out of the room, but she didn't, and they both leaned forward in quiet anticipation.

Jax took a deep breath and started the story.

"When I found Molly, only a little while after I left home, she practically begged me not to make her go back. And I already knew before that that I wasn't going to. I decided to help her, since the explosion had been massive and people were probably in danger.

A few days later we finally got enough rumors to find out what had happened. The village was attacked by a rebel group called the unifiers, who steal magic, with the exception of those who swear their allegiance.

So we spent a while getting stronger, and we thought we were ready."

He stopped, taking a deep breath before he continued.

"We weren't. The woman who told us about them had mentioned a necromancer, saying that he was the most dangerous, because he could read emotions. He knew what would mess you up the worst.

We didn't take it seriously, not like we should have. So of course he saw right through us, right when we first saw him. He was just a guy. He didn't look like someone who had that sort of power.

He just... snapped his fingers, and just like that we knew we were screwed. He revived dad and Molly's... Mol, can I say?"

She nodded, closing her eyes for a moment.

"All of it?"

She nodded again.

"He revived dad and Molly's mom. I wasn't really aware for a minute. I remember I threw up. I remember Molly looked like she was in a trance. And then... He whipped me. Just like he used to. Just like I dream about every night. And Molly was... Her mom was holding her, and I don't know what happened, but I remember she was screaming, and the next second she managed to get between me and the belt. She took the next two herself, but he grabbed her by her hair and made her watch while he-" Jax choked, putting his forehead against the table. He took several deep breaths, before he sat up and continued. "He grabbed me by my arm, and I honestly don't know what he would have done.

We figured out that Molly's mother was taking our magic. She was completely out and I barely had any, but I managed a couple blades. I got us away from him and Molly had to..."

He looked at her again, and she gave him a quiet nod.

"Molly had to kill her mother."

The table, though it had been quiet before, went absolutely silent.

"It turned the tide. Molly killed the necromancer, and dad along with him. And since then we've been on the way home."

Molly finally managed to open her eyes, scanning the table's reactions. The twins looked horrified, struggling to hide their anger. And their mother's expression was furious.

"Mom?" Sammy asked after a moment.

"Hm?"

"Maybe Jax and Molly should go to bed. Maybe we all should."

"I don't want to sleep," Jax said as Molly shook her head.

Sammy sighed, crossing his arms. Molly had never noticed the small scars on them before.

"You still need to," Mick argued.

Jax scowled lightly, giving each of his brothers' hair a tug.

"How about you two go to bed now, and I'll go to bed in a bit?"

Molly wasn't fooled for a second, but the twins smiled and went up to bed.

And then there were three, Molly thought to herself.

"Jaxon," his mother said softly, "ya really ought ta-"

"Jax."

"What?"

"Please. Just call me Jax."

"Jax. Ya need ta sleep."

"You know I can't, Mom."

"Try."

He crossed his arms and got up, sighing as he muttered, "I'll be going then."

Molly let him walk out on his own, giving him his space. She could only handle his mother's gaze for so long though, and she got up and went to her own room.

Lying down in her hammock, she felt her stomach start to twist. She covered her eyes with her hands, letting herself slip away.