Our Own House | Closed.

“What if he isn’t even alive anymore,” Artemis whimpered. “What if all we find is some horribly mangled body?” The brunette nuzzled her face into Zack’s neck, inhaling his scent as she began sobbing. She didn’t know why she couldn’t seem to stop crying but she couldn’t. She was drowning in guilt and hopelessness. “If he’s just a body I don’t want to find him,” she whimpered. “I can’t face he died because of me.”

“I was trying really hard,” Matt admitted. “I could tell your parents matter a lot to you.” He was honestly a little worried if they hadn’t liked him that Fae would stop seeing him. Of course he wouldn’t have to worry about that now but he still couldn’t help but wonder about it. “What would have happened if they hadn’t liked me,” Matt asked. “Would you have stopped seeing me?”

“He didn’t die because of you,” Zack mumbled, sighing as he sat up. He was honestly getting tired of her blaming herself for everything. She knew she wasn’t the cause but chose to blame herself anyways because she didn’t have a definitive answer of what happened to her brother. Either that or she was just being stupid. “I need to go feed.”

Fae looked over at Matt. “No,” she said. “I wouldn’t care if they absolutely hated you. It’s my life, and if I want to be with you, then that’s my decision.” She climbed out of the car when they got to his place, shutting the door behind herself and walking inside with him. “I really like your house. I’ve always wanted to live in a normal house, but my parents refuse to move.”

“Feed from me,” Artemis mumbled. She sat up and moved her hair to the side so her neck was completely visible to Zack. If she couldn’t help her brother maybe she could do something right for once and help Zack. She wiped a few tears that had stained her face, hoping he would accept her offer because if she was honest with herself she didn’t trust herself to be alone.

“Well you can visit anytime,” Matt stated. “And maybe one day after we’re both out of school we can move in some place together so you can a house of your own.” The werewolf hoped he hadn’t overstepped any boundaries when he had said that because he honestly liked the idea of someday living with Fae.

Zack shook his head. “No, I’m not going to feed from you,” he said. “I’ll lose control, and I’ll kill you.” He didn’t even want to consider the idea of feeding from her, because he knew if he lost control, she’d be dead in an instant. He walked out of her room and went downstairs. Besides, she’d just healed and she needed all her blood right now.

Fae looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “You want to live with me?” she questioned, laughing softly. “You’ve only known me for a couple of weeks and you’re already thinking about living with me? You might regret that once you get to fully know me.” She thought it was sort of cute that he was thinking about the future, but it also scared her a bit at the same time.

Artemis frowned, upset that Zack stormed off the way he had. “Would it really be so horrible,” she mumbled. The brunette assumed Zack wouldn’t have heard her response so she closed her bedroom door when he left the room and sat back on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. She hated that for the first time ages she felt so utterly depressed and helpless. She just wanted the feelings to end.

“What about you could ever make me regret wanting to live with you,” Matt asked. “I mean you’ve been very honest and transparent about things with me.” He honestly wondered if she just didn’t like him the way he liked her. Or maybe she only considered him like some sort of fuck buddy. Of course Matt had never been so sure about his feelings for someone before either so maybe she was right. Maybe he was moving too fast.

Zack frowned when he heard Artemis’s words. He walked back upstairs and opened her door. “Yes, it would be so horrible,” he said. “Do you want to die? Really?” He stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. “Don’t answer that question.” He rubbed his face. “I can’t willingly allow myself to hurt you like that. If you died because of me, I would never forgive myself.”

“I’m not sure,” Fae said, shrugging her shoulders, blushing slightly. “I guess it’s just hard for me to believe you really like me that much. It’s a bit overwhelming.” She really did like him back, and she wanted to be his girlfriend. But everything was moving so quickly and she just wasn’t used to it. Plus, she wasn’t really the type of person that thought about her future. She liked to live in the present. Especially after what happened with David.

Artemis stood up, walking over to her dresser and pulled out Apollo’s switchblade she had kept hidden there. “At least I’d finally be useful if I died feeding you,” she replied. She stared at the switchblade in her hand for a few moments before she shoved it into Zack’s hands. She didn’t want to admit outloud once Zack left she planned on trying to end her life and she knew she would never forgive herself if she had used Apollo’s knife to kill herself especially if he was somehow still alive.

“I know this sounds crazy but I think I’m falling in love with you Fae,” Matt admitted. He knew it was a big deal to admit what he had so when he parked outside of his house, he bit down on his bottom lip nervously. He really hoped she wouldn’t freak out on him now. The last thing he wanted was him admitting his feeling cause her to hate him or distance herself from him.

Zack scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I’m so tired of hearing you say that shit,” he hissed, beginning to lose his temper without even realizing it. “What would your brother think if he heard you speaking like that? Do you really think dying would make him feel proud? I know if my sister killed herself, I’d be anything but happy about it. I would probably hate her for it. Do you want Apollo to hate you?” He began to pace back and forth, his eyes beginning to burn a bright, vibrant green.

Fae’s eyes widened slightly. “Really?” she mumbled, surprised at his words. She wasn’t sure what to think or feel in that moment. She was so shocked, not that he felt that way, but that he had admitted it to her. It was pretty obvious he had strong feelings for her, but just hearing him say it out loud surprised her a bit. “Wow, I . . . don’t know what to say. This is a bit overwhelming.”

“For all we both know he’s fucking dead,” Artemis snapped. “He abandoned me and he left me alone!” She felt herself start to get angry, glaring at Zack when she noticed his eyes start to almost glow green. “Just go,” she hissed. “If you’re not going to let me be useful for once in my life I don’t want you around.” She turned her back to Zack, grabbing the biggest bag she had and began shoving clothes haphazardly inside it.

“We can just forget I said anything,” Matt stated. “I get it. You don’t feel the same way.” He turned his car on again and pulled out of his parking spot. “I’ll take you home at least,” he mumbled. He was honestly expecting the worst out of Fae’s initial reaction and while it hadn’t really been negative he was expecting it to turn out negative.

Zack glared at her, grabbing her arms and pressing her back against the wall. He leaned in close to her face, his hand moving to wrap around her throat. He didn’t say anything, just pressed his face into her neck and bit down hard, letting her blood flow into his mouth. He moaned against her neck, pressing her body firmly against the wall. He was so lost in the moment that he wasn’t even keeping track of how much blood he was taking from her.

Fae frowned, reaching over and placing her hand on top of his. “Matt, stop,” she said. “It’s not like that.” She waited for him to stop the car before she pushed the gearshift into park. She turned to face him, reaching up and gently touching his cheek. “I really, really like you, and I want to be with you. Just, you saying that you’re falling in love with me, it’s a lot to take in. I’ve only known you for a few weeks and I’m not used to things moving so quickly in a relationship. It took me a whole month before I would even kiss David. Just please, give me a bit of time.”

Artemis let out a small cry of pain when Zack’s fangs pierced her skin, moving to run her fingers through his raven locks as he fed. She didn’t know why everything felt better and more clear while he drank from her but it did. She knew she had freaked out on him and he had been nothing but patient with her. She was honestly lucky to have someone who cared for her like she knew Zack did.

“I’m sorry,” Matt frowned. “I’ve never really felt this way about someone and I was scared you didn’t feel the same at all.” He moved the blonde’s hand to hold his and gave her a small smile. “Do you still want to cuddle,” he asked. “I heard I’m a good pillow for being as buff as I am.”

Zack continued to drink from her, blood beginning to drip from the corners of his mouth, down his chin and onto his shirt. He gripped her neck tightly with his hand, his nails digging into her skin. He could feel her body growing weaker the more he drank, but he couldn’t stop himself. It was like the more he had, the hungrier he got, and the more blood he wanted.

Fae smiled and nodded her head, giggling softly. “Cuddling sounds good,” she said. She climbed out of the car and waited for him, taking his hand and going inside with him. She was glad he’d calmed down and that he hadn’t gotten too upset about what she said. She didn’t want to push him away, but she just needed a bit of time to adjust to how quickly things were moving. She wasn’t used to it. She didn’t want to jump into something she wasn’t prepared for.

“Zack,” Artemis spoke. “You need to stop.” She could feel herself getting weak and she knew she needed to stop him before he killed her. The brunette gripped Zack’s hair in between her fingers, using what little strength she had left to pull him away from her neck. She quickly covered her bite marks with her hand, leaning against the wall as she watched him. His eyes seemed more vibrant than they had before and she wasn’t sure why.

Matt lead Fae into his room, figuring he’d leave the door open so he didn’t piss off his parents and pulled the blonde into the bed with him so they could cuddle while laying down. “Do you think Artemis and Zack are okay,” he asked. “I worry about Zack around humans sometimes.” He knew his friend could handle his bloodlust but sometimes he could have a bit of a temper.

Zack stared at Artemis after she pushed him away, slowly beginning to realize what he’d done. He immediately darted out of her room, heading downstairs and for the front door. He felt so insanely guilty, and all he wanted to do was run for the hills. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to face her again. What if she hadn’t been strong enough to push him off? What if he hadn’t been able to run? He would have killed her easily.

Fae shook her head. “He seems like he can control himself pretty well,” she said. “I don’t think he’d ever intentionally hurt her.” She bit her lip, sighing softly. “I’m more worried about Jimmy . . . I know I shouldn’t be, not after what he did to Artemis, but I just can’t help it. I know that wasn’t him. I mean, I want to believe that it wasn’t him. I just can’t wrap my head around it.”

Artemis watched Zack, noticing the look of guilt swarming through his eyes. She tried to reach out for him, slumping down to the ground as he ran off. She weakly crawled over to her phone, dialing Johnny’s number as she leaned against the side of her bed. She pressed her hands to the bite wound on her neck, hoping she wasn’t still bleeding and that Johnny could help her find Zack.

“I think you’re right,” Matt replied. “He seemed crazier than normal when he was with Pierce earlier.” The merman also seemed angrier than he had ever seen the other boy. It was honestly kind of weird for the werewolf to witness. He never expected Jimmy to have a single mean bone in his body and in the gym at school he seemed like every bone in his body was mean.

Johnny picked his phone up almost immediately when he saw Artemis was calling him. "Hello? Artemis? Are you okay? I was so worried about you. You took off earlier," he mumbled, sighing softly. He could hear her heavy breathing on the other side and he frowned. "What happened?"

Fae nodded her head. "I just hope there's a way we can get him back before he gets too far gone," she said. She gently pressed a kiss to Matt's neck, sighing contently as she cuddled up into his side. "I think Pierce has something to do with the cult too. Maybe they pulled Jimmy in. I think he's been really vulnerable without Artemis at his side all the time. What if they got to him?"

“I need help,” Artemis whimpered. “Something happened and Zack ran off on me.” She slowly managed to stand up and walked to her bathroom, grabbing a towel and pressed against her neck. “Can you bring a first aid kit with you,” she asked. “We don’t have any gauze or anything at my house.” The brunette was still bleeding a little and she was getting worried Zack had grazed her artery or something when she had pulled his mouth away from her neck.

“We’ll get Jimmy back,” Matt promised. “I don’t think Artemis could handle losing Jimmy and Apollo both for long.” The werewolf could tell the brunette really cling to both her brother and Jimmy for support. He couldn’t understand why but he kind of just assumed it was because she was the younger sibling. “Honestly if she was a twin the way she’s acting would actually make sense but she’s not.”

"Yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can," Johnny said. He hung up and grabbed some supplies before he asked his dad for a ride to Artemis's house. He told him that he'd call him when he was ready to come home before he got out and rushed inside. He ran upstairs to her room, frowning when he saw her bleeding. He quickly unzipped his backpack and took the supplies out. "This is all we had."

"I saw the pictures in his room," Fae said. "I swear they're twins. I mean, I've seen siblings who look alike, but they just look too much like each other to not be twins." She thought for a moment, biting her lip. "Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I think there's something bigger going on here."

Artemis gave Johnny a small smile, glad she had people she could rely on while Jimmy and Apollo weren’t there to help her. “Thank you,” she mumbled. “I just need to stop the bleeding and then we need to go find Zack.” The brunette took the supplies from Johnny, cleaning around the wound before she used some suture glue that was in the box and put it on top of the wound before she put some gauze and medical tape on top of it. She noticed Johnny staring at her in the mirror and bit down on her bottom lip. “I promise after we find Zack I’ll explain everything.”

Matt nodded in agreement. “She even smells a little different now,” he stated. “And her just losing her virginity to Zack shouldn’t have changed her scent at all. It has to be something else.” He knew bring up another girl’s scent was probably weird to do but it couldn’t be part of the big puzzle they were trying to solve. “Did Artemis ever say when her parents were going to be back in town,” he asked.

"I can't believe he drank from you," Johnny said quietly. He had only known the other boy for a few weeks, but Zack had made it very clear in those few weeks that he would never, ever, drink from a human. "He didn't, like, do it without consent, did he?"

Fae shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. She bit her lip as she sat up, moving onto her knees and straddling his waist. "Do you think maybe we could just have us time? For a few minutes? No talk about anyone else but you and me?"