By My Hand

Untitled Part 13

Chapter 15

The cellphone in Vincent's pocketstarted ringing. The sound grated against the absolute silence thatpreceded it. Fred dug in his pockets for it simply to make it stop. Answer it. The phone felt warm in her hands and not just fromVincent's dwindling body heat. She could feel them, watching heras she stared at the phone in her hand. Fred tapped the acceptbutton without another thought.

"WHAT THE HELL VINCENT!" Thebooming voice was livid, almost indistinguishable as either male orfemale. "You swore you had no idea where she was! Then I see herface plastered all over the tabloids with you! She's been therethe entire time?!" The woman on the phone was speaking throughgritted teeth.

"Vincent is dead." Tamsin statednumbly as she stood over Fred looking at the phone in her handdisbelievingly. Tamsin's words tightened the knot in Fred'schest.

"Where is she!" The woman snarled.

"Here." Fred stated head cockedslightly.

"Oh, thank god." The voice on theother end was relieved.

"Mom?" Rafael had to be imaginingit, but she did sound markedly similar.

There was pause. "Rafael? Is thatyou?" No one spoke. "But... you died."

"Why does everyone think I'mdead?" His nostrils flared.

"How are you still alive?"

"Because of..." Rafael started.

Fred's malevolent black eyesnarrowed at him. "Me." The word was little more than a snarl, andnot sound that belonged to Fred. Layered hisses, snakes given theability to speak. The phone fell from her hand and she shovedVincent's body off her lap. Fred stood, unblinking, her hand stilldripping with Vincent's blood, and grabbed Rafael by the front ofhis shirt and lifted him off his feet.

"I brought you back! I kept yousafe, again and again, I pulled you across an ocean, across a countryfor her! Reached out for you over and over, and you ignoredus!" It wasn't Fred.

Rafael glared back at those scowlingblack eyes. He needed it off balance, needed it to be Fred again. He'd seen her standing there with Vincent, saw his hands on her andjust acted. He'd grabbed the knife on the ground on an impulse,he'd just wanted to protect her. He hadn't smelled Vincent wasmortal until it was too late. If he'd known...

"You didn't get rid of thatmemory spell he put on me." He wrapped his hands around its wristbut didn't struggle.

"She wanted you safe! That was all." It spat at him. "I had limits."

"Then why pull me to the same cityas her? How was that to keep me safe?" He sneered at it.Rattle it.

"When she missed you, I did what Icould." Something that could have been mistaken for a laugh passedthrough its lips. "She didn't just bring you back, she made mebring you back permanently." It hissed the last word.

Tamsin walked slowly up to Fred,apprehensive. Tamsin was wary of it, like it was a threat to her,stronger than her. "Fred couldn't have known that's what shewas asking of you when he died."

Fred's head whipped towards Tamsin,and Tamsin actually retreated a few steps her hands raiseddefensively. "She wouldn't listen to me! She wanted him withher forever so I obeyed." It snarled, those black eyes stillunblinking.

"What does Fred want now?" Rafaelgrowled.

"Me." Its' lips curled. "Tokeep her safe from you!" Rafael shoulders ached from the tensionof his shirt on his skin keeping him off the ground. This thingcould have killed him in a second but it hadn't. The werewolfsnarling at the mortal, it was the same old power balance.

"Because you've done such a bang upjob of protecting her until now." Rafael snapped. "I know you'rehurting but you don't get to walk away from me Fred! Talk to me."

"She doesn't want to talk to you." It purred, or tried.

"I wasn't giving her the choice."

"She'll try and kill you." Itgrinned a little too broadly. The muscles in its arms hadn't somuch as twitched as it continued holding him off the ground.

"I can take it." Rafael tried tolook past it. "I know you're pissed but you still have to talkto me Fred." He yelled, anything to make her react.

Her eyes lightened somewhat. "Pissed? You think I'm just pissed at you!" Fred screamed. "Youmurdered him!" Fred choked out. The grip on his shirt tightened.

"And I'd do it again." Heglowered at her. Paul, Rupert and David were all looking at him witha certain amount of apprehension, as if they thought he might havelost his mind talking to her like this. Tamsin was smiling, almostamused that he might be about to get himself killed.

Fred's upper lip twitched. "Hedeserved it. For what he did to you, what he let that thing do toyou." Rafael continued glaring at her.

"And what do you deserve?" Thehurt in her eyes twisted him.

"That's debatable, but look me inthe eye and tell me you could have gone back to living with him,sharing his bed and not wonder every second of every day if he wasn'tabout to turn back into a monster. You would have second guessed himfor the rest of his life."

"I would have had him for the restof his life!" Tears ran down her face again.

"You never would have trusted himagain."

"I don't trust you!"Fred's eyes were almost bright green again, and her arm was shakingwith the effort of continuing to hold him up. "That monster madehim do the things he did! Vincent had no control of it, couldn'tstop it from hurting me." He voice caught. "What's yourexcuse?" She swallowed hard.

"I don't have one." Rafaeladmitted.

Fred set Rafael down, her arm wasthrobbing from holding him so long but she hardly registered it, shejust wanted him level with her again. "Jealously." She snarledat him.

She had often wondered just how deepthat ran in him. The look he'd get sometimes, how he bristledanytime she'd mentioned a suitor, his initial reaction to herwarming to Vincent. "Tell me that's not what this was. Look atme and swear that you... killed him... only to keep me safe, notbecause you were jealous or wanted revenge for what he did to you."

Rafael didn't say a word. He wantedto, his lips parted but nothing came out, he wanted to tell her shewas wrong but it would have been a lie.

 A small coughing noise issued from thecellphone on the floor. "Can we save the rest of the dramaticstill we're all in the same room? Sounds like we all have somestories to tell but I'd feel much better if we were somewhere safeto do it."