Chapter 26
Olly screeched to a halt outside their home and jumped out, opening the back door for Ivan.
Ivan got out and helped Jamie. “Shall I carry you, love?”
“I can walk, it might be slow though,” Jamie replied. “Wait, I don’t want Karl or Kitty to see me like this.”
As they were talking, the front door opened, and Dave, Seth and Adrian ran down the front steps.
“Oh my god!” Dave exclaimed, looking at Jamie.
Ivan looked at Seth. “Jay doesn’t want Karl or Kitty to see him like this.”
“They’re in the kitchen,” Seth replied.
“Carry Jamie up to your room, you can do it before they see Jamie like this. I’ll follow you up,” Adrian told him.
“Okay,” Ivan said. “I’ll be gentle, sweetheart.”
“I trust you,” Jamie said softly.
As gently as he could, Ivan picked Jamie up and rushed him inside, Adrian quickly following, both of them a blur.
“Olly, do you know what happened?” Dave asked.
“His dad found him. He said Derrick saved him.”
“What? How? No, don’t answer that, let’s go up and see Jamie,” Dave said, as they rushed inside.
Ivan laid Jamie down and climbed onto the bed next to him.
“Jamie, I’m going to put my hands on you and see how badly you’re hurt,” Adrian said softly, sitting on the side of their bed.
“Don’t use too much energy on me, Adrian. You might need to help someone worse off than me later,” Jamie said softly.
Adrian leant closer to Jamie and smiled gently. “I’ll use whatever I need to heal you,” saying this, Adrian laid his hands on Jamie’s arm and closed his eyes.
Seth, Olly and Dave came into the room, staying silent and watching Adrian work.
Ivan was beside himself with worry; only the fact that Adrian was healing Jamie helped. As it was, Seth walked over to his side and laid a hand on his shoulder, offering silent support.
They watched as Adrian’s hair strands started to lose their colour and saw the cuts and bruises on Jamie’s face fade, his eye going back to normal.
A few moments later, Adrian opened his eyes and took his hands off Jamie. “How do you feel?”
Jamie moved, and Ivan helped him sit up. “Pain-free, and I can now see out of both eyes, thank you, Adrian.”
“You’re welcome. You had a broken cheekbone and eye socket. Brusing to your kidneys and stomach, and a slight concussion.”
“All the places he hit me,” Jamie said.
“What happened, Jay?” Dave asked him.
“I had just left the library and was walking past the alleyway when I was shoved into it. Dad started demanding to know where Karl and Kitty were. I wouldn’t tell him, hence the beating.
I called out for help, and the next thing I know dad went flying into the back wall, and Derrick was suddenly standing over my dad.
Derrick told me to leave, so I did, and then Ivan and Olly arrived. ”
“The alley was empty when I went to look; all I found was Jamie’s bag,” Olly added.
“Dad said that Karl and Kitty needed to be back living under his roof,” Jamie said. “There must be a reason why, and not just so he could hurt them.”
“We can look into that for you,” Olly replied. “I can also see if I can find what Derrick did with your father.”
“I don’t understand why he came to help me, though,” Jamie said, looking confused.
“When we catch up with him, we can ask him,” Seth said.
“Are you okay to come down to lunch, or do you want me to bring it up to you?” Dave asked.
Jamie shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but if I don’t come down, Karl and Kitty might worry.”
“You might want to change your clothes then, as you have blood on them and wash your face,” Seth suggested.
“I will,” he said, then looked at them. “I was bleeding, how come none of you jumped me?”
“There wasn’t much blood, and we’re not young vampires; we can control ourselves around blood,” Ivan explained.
“Good to know,” Jamie said, grinning.
“We’ll meet you in the kitchen,” Dave said, ushering everyone out and closing the door.
Ivan looked at Jamie and pulled him into his arms. “You’re trying to give me grey hairs, aren’t you?”
Jamie chuckled. “Well, I wasn’t planning to, but let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings,” Jamie pulled back. “How about you kiss me, then I’ll wash my face and change, and we go and have lunch, because for some reason I’m starving?”
“We can do that,” Ivan said, dipping his head and kissing Jamie.
They walked into the kitchen not long after and food was still on the table.
“Have a seat and I’ll make us some drinks,” Ivan said.
“Both of you sit down and I’ll make the drinks,” Thomaz said, standing up.
“Thanks, Thomaz. Max also thanks you for lunch,” Jamie said to him, sitting down.
Jamie saw Kitty staring at him. “What?”
“Why did you change your clothes? You weren’t wearing them this morning,” she asked, looking confused.
Karl looked up and stared at his brother, looked at Adrian’s hair, then back to his brother. “What happened?”
“Before I tell you, just know that Adrian fixed me right up, and I'm fine.”
“Just tell us, Jay,” Karl practically demanded.
“I ran into Dad earlier,” Jamie admitted.
Kitty leant into Karl’s side. “We’re not going back,” she said.
“Like I would let either of you go back to that house. I didn’t tell him where either of you were, so he used his fists on me, but as you can see, I'm completely fine now.”
“How did you get away? Did Ivan beat him up for you?” Karl asked, looking at Ivan.
Ivan shook his head. “Your dad was gone by the time Olly and I got there.”
“So he’s still out there?” Kitty asked, fear in her eyes.
“We don’t know where he is, but we’re going to look for and find him, princess,” Ivan said. “Remember, you’re both safe here.”
Kitty nodded and smiled at him.
“But we need to shop for school stuff this week. I’m not sure I want to go, knowing he’s somewhere close by,” Karl said.
“You don’t need to, dear. If you give me your clothes sizes, I can order your uniforms when I order Spencer’s and Jack’s,” Louise offered.
“We can do that, can’t we, Kit? Thank you, Louise,” Karl said.
“Yes, thanks, Louise. If you keep a total of what you spend on them, I can transfer the money over for you,” Jamie added.
“I never look at totals, dear, just let me spend money on their uniforms. I’ve never bought school uniforms before; this will be fun.”
“Okay, thank you, Louise,” Jamie said, smiling at her. He could order their other school supplies online later.
“I have some deliveries arriving this afternoon that I’ll need help taking down to the library,” Dave said to the table generally.
“Just let us know when you need us, and we can all help,” Seth replied.