08 | Battle Scars

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SKIN & BONES
viii. BATTLE SCARS

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EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD a death wish anyway, Lorelai didn't like how anxious she was feeling as she made her return to the forest

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EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD a death wish anyway, Lorelai didn't like how anxious she was feeling as she made her return to the forest. Yes, Charlie told her to stay far away from it. Yes, Charlie just wanted her to be safe. But, in classic teenage fashion, Lorelai knew more than her father. And she knew that these "animal" attacks were actually vampire attacks. It was strange, trying to decide if she was happy to know that or if she was secretly horrified. Maybe both. Could two statements be true at once?

It satisfied her to be right. It worried her because the only vampires she knew of were the Cullens. What else could be causing those attacks? Were there other vampires lurking in town?

The only person that might tell her the truth was Jasper. And so, she had returned to the woods.

Despite this, it still scared the shit out of her when he suddenly appeared by her side anyway.

"Jesus, fuck!" Lorelai pressed her hand over her chest, her feeble heart pounding. Her hair had flown back at the gust of wind his presence had brought. "You need to stop doing that. I think I might actually have a heart attack one of these days."

"I'm afraid you'll need an actual heart for that to happen," teased Jasper, smiling at her dramatics.

Normally, Lorelai would have laughed, but Waylong's death kept coming back to mind. It was strange. She really hadn't thought too deeply about it until now, but after Billy's ominous warning about the so-called animal attacks, her gut was telling her there was more to these attacks than anyone really knew. 

It didn't take Jasper long to sense her anxiety. Jasper asked, "What's wrong?"

Lorelai pressed her lips into a line. "I don't really know how to ask you this. Like, I'm not really sure if we're there yet."

"If it's any consolation, you've seen me at my worst," Jasper lightly said, but even that didn't get a smile out of her. "Rory, there isn't much you could do that would make me think less of you."

"It's the animal attacks," she finally blurted. "Are you...? Is your family...? I mean, I don't want to accuse you of anything, but my dad's gotten in my head about them recently, and I don't know—"

"Slow down," Jasper eased. A warm calm came over her. "You think my family and I are behind those attacks?"

"W-Well..." Lorelai hesitated. "I don't... want to go around pointing fingers. Like, you do your vampire thing, and I'll mind my business... I think. Maybe. I don't know! It's just, I've never encountered any animals around here that are capable of what's going on, and I was just... wondering—"

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