Mercy's All That You Need

Mercy sat on the edge of her bed after rushing back to her room, a stray tear falling from her cheek every few moments as she thought about her mother, her betrayal. Her chances of not making it out of this alive. Her chances at life.

Her optimism was quickly wearing thin, and she clutched the blankets on her bed with two rigid hands as she thought. Matt was on a wild goose chase for her mate and she desperately wished she could do something to help, but there isn’t exactly a ‘match.com’ for vampires, is there? It wasn’t safe to go outside by herself, she always had to have someone watching over her. How the hell was she supposed to even look for her mate?

She was doomed. Hopeless. And now this with her mother, all over money? A sob escaped her lips before she could stop herself, and quieted almost instantly when she heard someone approach her door, pausing at it. It couldn’t have been Matt; he was either still in a fit of blind rage or asleep—something she had no hope of then, and Brian was the only other soul awake. Her heart made a leap at that, and she waited in quiet anticipation for what Brian would do.

Would he come in—would he sit by her while she cried? Would he comfort her? For some reason… a reason she didn’t want to think about, she actually wanted him to. She wanted him instead of his hoodie, which was forgotten out in the living room during the verbal crossfire.

When the footsteps continued on, light and slow, she collapsed back onto her bed and buried her head into a pillow, thankfully quiet sobs escaping her lips. She cursed her mother for lying to her for her entire childhood and Brian for being such a jerk, and for not being successful in finding her soul mate.

If Ariel really had been lying to her for so long… since she was being supplied with money since her childhood, then that meant her mom had kept the secret of her Change for much longer than she used to hope.

That alone was enough for Mercedes to cry over. Then there was the fact that Ariel was desperate enough to come back and ask for more?

Mercy might have been naïve for setting her hopes so high in so many things, for believing Brian would want to be around her after just an apology, for everything… but she wasn’t stupid. She realized that her mom probably had been serious about wanting her to come back and live with her in Oregon again, if only in order to receive support from Matt. Even more still, she might have only offered to make Matt sweat and maybe then he would pay her off.

All the possibilities made her nauseous, and she sat up in fright when she felt as if she were going to throw up. This is what she did to herself. And what did she do to deserve it? She wondered over that fitfully, and buried her face into a pillow when the feeling of nausea finally passed. Even if she had the chance, even if she was allowed, she would never go back to her mother. Not when Ariel didn’t really want her there; she never really had. The money is the only thing Ariel ever liked about Mercedes.

Things might not have been the greatest since Mercy started living with Matt, either. She’d been attacked on more than one occasion, and one of those times could easily have been fatal. A shiver of fear ran down her spine as she thought back to that night, to the vampire that almost killed her.

But then Syn had saved her. God, just his name left her in confusion. Did he hate her, did only save her life so he wouldn’t get in shit with her brother? Or did he actually feel something for her, other than hate?

The questions swirled around her brain until Mercedes couldn’t even cry anymore. She didn’t even know if she should have been happy to be there, away from her mother. But with her life constantly at stake she wasn’t even sure.

Fed up, she sat up in her bed once again but this time she stood, walking numbly toward the door. She remembered the hoodie out in the living room, waiting to be retrieved. As she shut her door she swiped at her cheeks, making sure there were no remnants of tears, regardless of how puffy her cheeks might have been. Walking was good; it kept her busy and away from such negative thoughts.

She hauled herself out to the living room at a snail’s pace, barely making any noise as she walked; if anyone heard her up again, someone would be out to investigate. And she didn’t want anyone losing even more sleep over her.

As soon as she saw the hoodie she picked it up, pushing her arms through the sleeves adjusted it on her shoulders. It might have been miles too big for her, but she simply rolled up the sleeves until they fit comfortably near her wrist. With a somewhat relieved sigh, she wrapped her arms almost protectively around her middle. For some reason the hoodie was quickly becoming somewhat of a life-line for her. It made her think back to that night… how she got it. Back then it kept her from freezing, wearing it then was too comforting for words. And Brian had given it to her.

She stared out through the foyer where she knew the boxes with all of her school materials laid. Contemplating, she bit her lip at the thought of going through the boxes. It didn’t seem like a bad idea. It would keep her mind busy and away things like mates and greedy mothers. Life and death.

Decided, she retrieved just one of the boxes and hauled it back to the sofa, finding it hard to carry and almost dropping the box on her toes before she heaved it onto the floor beside the sofa. Wouldn’t that be a great wake-up call for everyone?

Mercy had only taken out a couple of textbooks and glanced through them, sitting tensely, before her eyes began to droop and her posture relaxed significantly. As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn’t stop herself from wondering who her mate would be, and if she had one at all.

Mercedes woke up with a start, feeling smooth cotton sheets beneath her fingertips. The only light illuminating the room was a single lamp on the night table off to her right. She wasn’t in her room, yet she didn’t feel an ounce of fear.

Turning her head into one of the many pillows on the bed, she breathed in the scent, smiling at the familiar smell and let out a comfortable sigh. Cologne and cigarettes. Brian. Even though she was in Synyster Gates’ room, she wasn’t scared. Not in the slightest… in fact, she actually felt safe, which was a rare occurrence in itself with the last few weeks’ incidents.

She opened her eyes further, still groggy, and tried to make more sense of her surroundings. She was only mildly surprised to see Brian hovering over her, sitting on the bed beside her. If she’d been in her right mind, she would have realized that he was the one who’d woke her up. Instead of being alarmed at his appearance, she gave him a dreamy smile and stretched languidly. It felt as if she’d gotten more sleep then than she did since her Change started.

The expression on his face, however, abruptly made her alert. The chocolate brown of his eyes changed to a dark, murky brown, but not the black color she’d learned to fear. The sense of urgency yet peacefulness had her sitting up in his bed, her gaze steady on him. She felt it—she felt what he was feeling. Need. And she was willing to give whatever it was to him. She needed to fill his needs.

Her throat suddenly constricted, and with a small gasp her hands flew to her neck. A cough erupted and was followed by several—Syn merely smiled at this, as if it were normal. As if any part of this was normal.

In an instant, he pulled her onto his lap. Such close proximity didn’t bother her in the slightest. The ache in her throat was still there, scratching its way up her throat. But while in his arms it seemed to have dissipated a little. Quickly catching on to how he affected her, Mercy rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his torso, listening to the calming influence of his heartbeat.

Syn pulled her away after a moment, and she whined in protest. The peace she felt resting in his arms was unlike anything she’d felt in her life. However, the look in his eyes silenced her. “I need you, Mercedes.”

As if she knew what he meant… as if she knew any of what was going on, Mercy lifted her wrist to him. Inviting him. A smirk settled across his thin lips as he held her arm, kissing his way up her fair skin before resting his lips on her delicate wrist. His eyes rolled up to look into hers, fangs protruding slightly out of his mouth, before he bit down.

Mercedes came out of her dream shaking, feeling disoriented as she nearly tumbled off the sofa while trying to sit up. Her hand went to her heart, feeling the quick, panicked pulse.

This complicates things. A lot.