Noelle||Jordan Parrish

Chapter 46

I wake up from my deep sleep with a small gasp. I feel around the bed and find that Jordan's side was still empty and cold. I push myself to sit up, suddenly feeling claustrophobic having fallen asleep in my clothes from yesterday. I make my way to the bathroom, feeling every ache and pain from yesterday. I start the shower and strip down before walking inside. My body readily welcomes the heat from the water, and my eyes flutter closed as the muscles in my body begin to relax. I do my best to wash away the memories from yesterday with the water flowing down the drain.
Once I am dried off, I begin to get dressed, pulling on some jeans. Once my bra is on, I reach over to pull a shirt over my head, when I catch my reflection and tears begin to well up in my eyes. My eyes rake over the bruises and cuts that cover my body as flashes of last night burn in my mind. Woods, tunnels, bright lights, pain, death.
Soft footsteps pull my attention away from my reflection and I am quick to pull my shirt in front of my, hiding my exposed body. I look over to see Jordan standing in the doorway still in his police uniform. From the look on his face, he was worried.
He walks over and slowly pulls down the shirt, fully viewing the extent of my injuries. It takes him a second to form the right words. Inside his green eyes wages a battle of anger and guilt. "Noelle, what is this? What happened to you?"
I let out a sigh and pull the shirt over my head, "We couldn't save them... Brett and Lori. A car hit them, and me."
He takes in a breath, his fists clenching in anger, "Who hit you?"
"We don't know, but a lot of people saw it. They saw that Liam is a werewolf, I don't really know what happens now." I admit as I move to pull a jacket on, a tear escaping my eyes.
As I sit down and pull some shoes on, Jordan stops me, wiping the tear from my cheek, "We're gonna get through this, you know that right?"
My gaze lowers to my hands in my lap, "I don't know if I'm strong enough this time."
He reaches over and pulls me to look up at him, before tucking a section of my wet brown locks behind my ear. "You are the strongest person I know, you can get through this, we just have to fight... together."
I let out a sigh of relief, my spirits lifted. I have to fight, for the ones we lost and for the ones we could lose. I wrap my arms tightly around Jordan and he's quick to pull me close to him.

******
"They were murdered," Scott states, staring at the group of of standing in Argent's bunker. "Killed by the new hunter in Beacon Hills. You know, when he took out the Hellhound, we thought it was just luck. That we were dealing with an ametur. But now we know that whoever this new hunter is, he has a teacher."
Argent's eyes darken as he crosses his arms over his chest, "Gerard. Which means this is my fault. I'm the one who let him go."
"You couldn't have done anything," Lydia states firmly.
"He could have killed him," Malia suggests blatantly. All of us shoot her a look of annoyance. She shrugs her shoulders in defense, "Just saying."
"We're not executioners," I tell her.
She shakes her head, "You are when it comes to war."
I let out a sigh nodding my head, "That's why we are going to make peace."
Lydia frowns apprehensiveness written all over her face, "With Gerard?"
"Lydia, you know what's coming. We all keep using the same word, war." Scott states, staring at her with pleading eyes.
Malia's dark eyes dart back and forth between the four of us, "So what stops a war from happening?'
"A peace summit."
I hum in agreement, "We meet face-to-face with Gerard. Find out what he wants and then we stop all of this before it gets any worse."
Lydia tilts her head, "The last time Gerard was at peace was with Deucalion. He blinded him and then killed everybody else, including his own men."
"I'll go. I know he's not going to kill me," Argent states.
Malia frowns in concern, "You sure about that?"
"Not really."
Scott lets out a sigh of exasperation, "All we need is to find out what he wants. Then we can bargain."
Argent looks up at Scott, his eyes filled with concern, "Even if he does agree, his terms might be difficult to meet. If you are going to negotiate with him, you're going to have to figure out just how much you're willing to give, and how far you're willing to go to stop a war."
The four of us exchange looks as Argent walks away. This wasn't going to be easy, Gerard has never taken our side. A man like that with a heart of steel doesn't change. This is something we all know very well, but at this point, we need to try everything we've got.