Mercy's All That You Need

After that night out on the deck when she got caught staring at Brian by the girls, Mercy noticed an increase in Matt’s attention on her. No, simple attention wasn’t right—it was driven through his concern for her and whatever might have been going on that he didn’t know about, but Mercedes was so caught up in her sleepless days that she barely acknowledged it.

The days where she was jolted awake by another dream of Syn and the days where she would purposefully not sleep at all were starting to really take their toll on Mercedes. For the three days in between the night outside and the night of the party, Mercedes did things in an automated, zombie-like fashion. She was always awake before everyone else, stowed away in her study working diligently on her schoolwork. It proved to be a great distraction for her, even though her mind couldn’t absorb as much of the information as it would otherwise have if it was properly energized.

Matt’s concerns were valid—his little sister was indeed struggling to cope with the challenges her new life presented her with. He just didn’t know how much trouble there actually was, and how much of it (in Mercy’s opinion) was self-made.

Things wouldn’t be nearly as awkward between her and Brian if she didn’t have such confusing feelings for him. Or rather if she could have hidden them better. Mercy always wore her heart on her sleeve, though, so it was no surprise she sometimes couldn’t help but to gawk at the man, temporarily unabashed.

The limited exchange between the two didn’t go unnoticed to Matt, either. He seemed to evaluate the situation, over those few trying days. The more he saw the more his concern for Mercedes amped up. Even still she didn’t notice the extra attention he focused on her when she was around—too lost in her own mind and trying not to so much as think or look at Syn. That would have in turn spurred the memories of her dreams. Then it would just get embarrassing.

It wasn’t until around noon on Friday, the day the party was to be held, that Matt burst through the door to Mercedes’ study looking frantic and also a little haggard.

From her spot sat on the floor surrounded by all of her school work she’d done over the past few weeks, she shot to her feet. Her hand went straight to her racing heart and she tried to calm down when she saw it was only her brother. He must have been in a panic when he couldn’t find her asleep in her room where she should have been.
What with all the unexpected appearances lately, Mercy was especially on edge.

Matt shut the door on a sigh, chest puffed in what Mercy guessed to be panic. When he turned back to her he looked especially tense, and Mercedes dropped her hand and looked down at all of her schoolwork, wary and unsure. Midterms were coming up soon, and since she couldn’t (or wouldn’t) sleep, she figured she’d used her time wisely. Matt didn’t looked happy in the slightest to see her good study habits, however. In fact, he looked disappointed in the way he rubbed his tired eyes while he glanced from her mess of papers and then up to her.

“You should be in bed, Mercedes,” he said, voice thick. “You need rest.”

A tremor of guilt overcame Mercedes and settled low in her stomach. She didn’t understand it, but it might have had something to do with the distance she’d slowly but surely put between herself and everyone else in the house over the last week or so. Having stood so suddenly she felt dazed, and she slowly lowered herself back into the free space on the floor, opting to thumb through an old practice test instead of facing her worried brother. The only response she could offer him was a weak shrug.

He didn’t approach her, probably having sensed how skittish she felt and instead sat on the small sofa in between the bookshelves. Hazel eyes determined, he looked to her expectantly. “What’s been up with you lately, Mercy?”

Right away she racked her mind for a viable excuse. It sucked, in her opinion, that he found her up so early. Usually around four or five in the afternoon, she’d very quietly return to her bedroom so she wouldn’t be asked any questions about why she was awake in the first place. She wondered what had Matt so concerned. Was it simply the fact that she wasn’t asleep when she should have been?
“Midterms are coming up,” she gave him the first and only half-assed excuse she could think up. “So I want to get a head start…”

“Bullshit,” Mercy jumped at his sharp, loud reply. She snapped her eyes up to his. This was the first time in a long time that he was actually angry with her, and it scared her. “You could easily study in the nighttime, like normal people.”

She almost wanted to tell him that ‘normal people’ weren’t nocturnal or vampires, so his point was moot. Such a reply would only serve to anger him further, unfortunately, because it was obvious he was in no mood to play around. She kept quiet, unsure of what to do with this confrontation. It came out of nowhere, and this time she didn’t have a jumbled speech prepared to ward him off.

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, hands steepled under his chin while his lips were set in a frown and his eyes assessing. When he speared her with a long look, he was downright intimidating.

“Is it about your mother?” She shook her head. By that time he was long used to her quiet way of going about things, especially when things got intense. He didn’t bother her further for a verbal answer. She wasn’t lying either—yes, she was still upset with the path her mother chose to take, but that was only a small part of why she couldn’t sleep. By no means the determining factor.

“I know you haven’t been sleeping,” she paled further at his correct accusations. He leaned back against the sofa, resolute. “I won’t sit around and let you live like this, kid. If you don’t tell me, I’m going to keep guessing.”

There was no way she could get out of this, she knew then. Matt wanted answers, and he wanted them on his time.

“It’s Brian then, isn’t it,” he tried to keep his voice controlled but Mercedes sensed the anger lurking beneath his calm words.

She couldn’t help her reaction. It was instantaneous, unavoidable. “No,” she blurted as soon as her brother uttered Brian’s name, and she shot up again from the hardwood floor. It wasn’t possible. He couldn’t have known about the one-sided affair between her and Syn. Just hearing his name from her brother’s lips caused her to panic.

“It is,” he stood when she did, but with his height advantage he had much more of an effect in getting his point across. He was harsh and unforgiving in the way he spoke, and Mercy knew trouble was afoot. “He’s still tormenting you isn’t he, Mercedes?”

Stunned into silence, she staggered back from his looming figure and looked at him through wide and frightened eyes. Not today, of all days. Not the day of the party. This could ruin everything.

Did everyone in the house think that was going on with her? That Syn was bullying her, of all things? “After all these weeks,” Matt spat and then he was done with the conversation. He turned from her and stalked toward the door. “That son of a bitch is still fucking with you.”

“No, that’s not it,” Mercedes broke from her daze and followed him to the door. She couldn’t let Brian take the blame for this—something this time he had nothing to do with. Down to her last option, she grabbed onto Matt’s arm and tried without success to pull him back. She had to say something… anything to get him to listen. Or calm down at the very least. “This has nothing to do with him!”

Ever since the night of their fight when they fell into the pool, it was no secret things between the two men were still tense. Syn was indeed out of the house a lot more, and lately Mercy got to thinking Matt might have been the reason behind it. The only time he and Matt interacted was when everyone in the house was together, too, which was worrying.

For another long moment Matt looked over his shoulder at her, momentarily paused. Mercy knew where he was going. To find Syn. If she didn’t stop him a fight was sure to happen. With such dreadful thoughts, she pulled on his arm again in an effort to haul him back to her study and hopefully toward some form of sanity.

“Let go of me, Mercy,” he looked like he was restraining himself from simply yanking his arm from her, but she only shook her head in defiance. She wouldn’t allow herself to be the cause of their broken friendship again.

“Just listen to me,” she tried again. Her plea fell upon deaf ears. Matt reached for her hand and pried her much smaller fingers from around his forearm.

As soon as he strode from the room Mercedes was right there behind him. She grabbed his hand this time though it didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. It was daring in the first place to even think of touching him, but he didn’t shake her off or pull her hand from his; he just dragged her down through the hallway with him. He multitasked with yelling, too, which only served to further rattle Mercy’s nerves.

“You wouldn’t tell me if he was anyway, so I’m going to find out for myself,” he barked. “Just like the mall. I won’t let you take the blame for him again.”

Faintly Mercedes picked up the scent of breakfast being cooked out in the kitchen, but she couldn’t think about that then. She lost her appetite as soon as Matt started to shout.

“Matt, no,” between the two they sounded like a broken record. Mercy had nothing to back up her disagreement, and that was what kept her brother walking at a heated, determined pace. “Please just drop it. It’s not something I want to talk about!”

As much as she tried, Mercedes couldn’t think of anything to say to mollify Matt. She couldn’t lie and blame it on something else; he would see through it. Just like he saw through the night of her attack. He knew her much better than she thought he did. She certainly couldn’t tell him the real reason. While it might have cooled things between him and Brian, it would still make things a hell of a lot more awkward… and she wouldn’t allow him to pick on Brian any more than he already had. There was nothing.

Her view still of Matt’s tensed shoulders, she pulled on his hand in an effort to gather his attention once more. He ignored her again, and that only frustrated the girl even more.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” she said brokenly. “But it has nothing to do with Syn. I don’t know why you won’t believe me.”

“I’m not taking that crap today,” Matt set his jaw, unfaltering.

Tears stung at Mercy’s eyes and blurred her vision, but she looked up and dizzied herself through looking at the ceiling in order not to cry. She couldn’t. Not yet.

Finally fed up, she stomped her foot and released a small shriek. She dug her heels in, too, which effectively halted her brother though she suspected it was only so she wouldn’t cause injury to her own arm by holding onto him. Matt threw his arms up in exasperation and glared down at her. He no longer resembled her caring brother, but more like that of M. Shadows. The man who dealt with things through his anger. “What, Mercedes? What?”

By that time they were in the living room, near the foyer and through that the kitchen. She heard conversation halt in the next room and several heads peered out to watch the show. They had an audience then, and her face burned in embarrassment. When she thought it couldn’t have gotten any worse, she caught sight of Brian leaned against the archway. He had a bird’s eye view of the spectacle. She looked down, losing her nerve at his curious gaze. Her arms were limp at her sides.

“Please,” she resorted to begging and clenched her fists in a fleeting effort to contain her emotions.
With hardened eyes Matt pointed an accusatory finger toward Brian. He straightened at that, but he did not move from his place against the wall. He was on edge, and rightfully so. When Matt was in a mood and he had his sights set on you, you had to tread carefully.

“This is your fault,” Matt growled. Mercedes instinctually took a step back and away from him, sensing the danger already.

“Me?” Brian demanded. He launched himself from the wall and stalked closer. Mercy tensed from just the movement. He emitted a bitter laugh, and she’d never felt so miniscule in her life.

“You just don’t know when to fucking quit do you, Gates?”

Val was nowhere in sight and the situation was officially a recipe for disaster. Matt moved to the side and was effective in nothing more than blocking Mercy’s view of Syn. She had no idea what was happening, even while Matt was probably in some sort of weird primal protection mode. He saw Brian as a threat, and while she couldn’t understand it she knew it wasn’t good. She wished through her desperation that Val was around to reel Matt and his temper in. Today she was on her own.

“This is going to be good,” Brian said, levelled with a lethal edge. “What do I have to do with ‘this’?” He mocked. It hurt her more than it should have.

Matt growled as soon as Brian opened his mouth, the sound ominous, and Mercy heard the soft yet dreadful sound she came to recognize and fear. She jumped in front of Matt as soon as her ears detected the noise. The sight of two pointed teeth that protruded out onto his bottom lip scared her senseless, flashbacks of the vampire who attacked her involuntarily flitting behind her eyelids. His eyes had darkened to an opaque brown, reflecting the rage he held back. Matt focused on her, but it was as if he saw straight through her.

“Matt…” she knew there was no reasoning with him by then. No one in the kitchen looked willing to step in, but from the corner of her eye she noticed the three remaining men—Jimmy, Johnny, and Zacky—step forward when Mercedes placed herself between her brother and Brian. They seemed equally wary, however, as if they were aware that if they made any sudden movements to get Mercy out of the fray, Matt would snap.

“Move, Mercedes,” Matt said, hollow and animalistic.

Was she really in danger? She knew the answer was fairly straightforward, but she couldn’t stand down again. She had to hold her ground.

When she stole a glance over her shoulder to Brian in both alarm and warning, she saw that he too looked ready for a fight, shoulders tense and in a slight crouch. As if ready to strike. No longer did he look amused by the two siblings fighting; he was on guard. Prepared for Matt’s onslaught.

Mercedes couldn’t help but to think that all of this was her fault. Again.

Surprisingly forceful, Mercy raised her hands and pushed Matt back with strength she didn’t know she possessed. As soon as she touched him, though, his hands were on hers and he locked them in a tight grip as he threw her hands away from him. By then he was livid.

“It’s nobody’s fault!” Mercedes snapped, once again surprising herself. Before then, she never raised her voice because her temper had never had the chance to flare in such an outright way. It got his attention though, and she looked back to Brian with tearful eyes before she focused back on her brother. There was this indecipherable look in Brian’s eyes. No longer angry or amused. Mercedes didn’t have the time or patience to read into it. “And it’s definitely not Brian’s—don’t blame him for what’s happening to me, Matt. Because it’s not his fault. This isn’t something you can fix. I’m not something you can fix.”

As she rushed through her heated speech she watched as Matt’s lengthened canines slowly receded from view, momentarily caught in the very act. If it wasn’t so sinister, she’d have pegged the act as almost magical. Then he looked at her, wilted with dark eyes that looked almost as broken as she felt, and he disappeared.

Mercy was left there, crying and hysterical. The house was silent—silent in shock and awe. Mercedes felt immobile. Her brother was gone in the blink of an eye, all because she’d yelled at him for something he was only doing what he was supposed to; he was concerned for his little sister.

Guilt, despair and dread all mixed together in a dangerous concoction inside Mercedes’ already nauseated belly. Tears still blurred her vision but she didn’t allow them to fall. She swivelled her body toward the kitchen and took in everyone’s shocked expressions, but she couldn’t possibly absorb their reactions in such a state.

She looked to Synyster finally and stumbled back when she saw that he was watching her. He wasn’t crouched in a defensive stance any more. His arms were held at his sides and he looked just as dazed as she felt, still with that indescribable look in his eyes.

Only then, when she looked straight at him as if for guidance on how to deal with what had just happened in the matter of seconds, did he seem to come out of it. He shook his head and turned his back to her, stalking through the foyer and down through the opposite hallway.

Mercedes had never felt so truly alone than she did then. He bother left her, Syn couldn’t even look at her, and she knew her brother’s friends would never side with her. She was alone in every sense of the word.

Unable to bear the weight of reality or the stunned looks she still received from the spectators, Mercedes ran back to her room.