Looks change but do people (Frelance & Notte)

[Notte]

When Mercy got to Jason’s house, she looked around with wonder. Looking at every picture that had him in it and some of his aunt. She was like a little kid, looking around with curiosity and wonder. She had been gone for five years and this was the first time that she had been to his new house. The place seemed to be extremely neat and tidy, like her house, only it was noticeable that the person who cleaned the house was either a germaphobe or had an obsessive compulsive need to clean. She followed everyone up the stairs and into Jason’s room. She stopped when she saw the picture of herself and looked at it before she snooped around, wondering what was in the notebook.

When he kicked the box out of the closet, she was the first one to get too it, opening it up she found a bunch of what appeared to be homemade video tapes. Some of them had blank labels, other’s had titles. Picking up a video out of the box that was titled ‘First Birthday’, she put it in, thinking of how it would be a video of Jason. She sat on the floor and pressed the play button, but the scene she saw was not one that she expected. Instead of it being Jason’s home, it was her grandmothers. There was a pile of presents in the front and a chocolate cake with Mercy’s name scrolled across it and one candle that was lit. Maids were running back and forth laughing and getting everything ready. In the background you could hear a laughing baby and when her grandmother walked in with her, the maids lined up and her grandmother started up the Happy Birthday song. Everyone was smiling and having a good time, her grandmother held Mercy in her lap while a maid brought a small piece of cake for “the birthday girl.” Mercy dug her chubby little baby hands into the cake and proceeded to smear it on her face, laughing while she did so. Her grandmother was laughing behind her, telling her that she was supposed to eat the cake. That’s when she brought Mercy’s hand up to her mouth and took a bit of the cake even while Mercy got it all over her, herself, and their clothes. Proving that baby’s and chocolate cake icing do not go together, but it seemed like a hell of a fun time.

A tear rolled down Mercy’s cheek as she watched the video, seeing the love that her grandmother had for her. She watched in awe as she was cleaned up and put on the floor and heard cheers when she got up to walk, straight to the presents where she was being called over too. They all encouraged her to unwrap her presents, but mostly her grandmother helped her to unwrap them. And just like a baby, she was more interested in playing with the wrapping paper and trying to eat it then playing with the actual toys. Her grandmother was on the floor with her, getting her interested in playing with some toy. That is when a shrewd voice rang out, “What is this disgusting mess?” and her mother walked in, followed by her father. The baby laughter abruptly stopped and she looked afraid as she tried to hide herself in her grandmother’s arms.

“What is your problem? Coming into my house like that, which I do believe you were uninvited.” Her mother gave a tiff noise as if she owned the world and could go where she pleased, when she pleased. “We’ve come to retrieve the brat, the public expects to see her birthday, even though the damn thing isn’t worth celebrating at all. Completely useless child, can’t do anything right, should have just gotten an abortion when I found out I was pregnant. Get it cleaned up and dressed properly, can’t have it going out looking like that.” Her grandmother stood up with Mercy in her arms, “This is your daughter, and how dare you talk about her like that. I would say if anyone was useless it was you. The only right thing you and my son ever did was bring this beautiful girl into the world. Why not try loving someone other than yourself and the money that my son brings in, you gold digging trollope.” She tried to give Mercy to her mother, but her mother jumped back and Mercy almost fell to the floor if it wasn’t for her grandmother holding her. “You can’t even hold her unless it’s for the public, let alone be a mother. Just give custody of her over to me.”

That was when Mercy’s mother flew into rage and grabbed Mercy so hard by the arm that she began to cry. “Give me this brat, she came from my womb, I can do whatever the hell I want with her.” She tugged and pulled Mercy out of her grandmother’s arms even as she screamed and cried at the top of her lungs, “Stop crying you impertinent brat” She shook her so hard that Mercy’s whole body moved, “Stop that right now!” She kept on shaking her by the arm until Mercy stopped crying and stopped moving. Her grandmother was yelling the whole time trying to get her to stop and when she noticed Mercy had stopped moving, she screamed, “You murder! I will have you in jail for this! How could you hurt your own child!?” Her grandmother was over her still form crying, trying to rouse her, feeling for a pulse. As she did so, Mercy’s mother ran away and her father just stood there in the background with no expression at all.

That was when the film shut off and Mercy just sat there, watching as the snow on the TV turned to nothing, not hearing anything at all. Not able to form a coherent thought in her head. Her fist were clutched so tightly that they were turning white, but her nails bit deep into her palms and blood started to leak from the side of her hands. She had never even known that there were videos of her before, let alone, why Jason had them. Had he watched them? What did he think of her when he saw them? Was it pity that he felt or could he see how strong she really was?

Before anyone could stop her, she ripped the tape out of the player and threw it across the room before she picked up another tape without looking at the tile and put it in. “This is Hannah Leland coming to you live for WLN News. I’m standing outside of residence where an attempted murder was just made on two children; ten year old Jason Kyles and the nine year old heiress, Mercy Suou, daughter to the President of the Suou Corporation. No details have, as of yet, been given about the attacker.” Screaming sounded in the background and the anchorwoman ran forward with the cameraman following her. “Two ambulances have arrived on scene; the first child is being taken down on a gurney and they don’t appear to be moving. Screaming can be heard from inside the house.” The camera closed in on the door of the house as they were bringing out one of the gurneys, but it was indecipherable who was on it. That is when Mercy came running out of the house screaming Jason’s name and covered in blood, both hers and his, a large gash was cut across her throat. The reporters voice got excited. “It appears that Mercy Suou has run out of the house, covered in blood and screaming what appears to be Jason’s name. She is fighting against the EMS and Police in order to get to Jason.” The cameraman had a close up on Mercy just as a Medic restrained her and injected her with something that immediately knocked her out. They put her onto a gurney and pressed something hard into her neck to stop her bleeding before they loaded her into the second ambulance. The woman looked back at the camera as it returned to her, “What had happened here tonight? And will either child live to tell the tale?”

 

[Evo Var]

Linday had almost gotten to the box when Mercy beat her to it and grabbed a video. She bit her lips and went back to sit beside Clark on the bed. She hoped that the video would not be too bad. When the movie started she smiled and looked over at Clark who took her hand and then went back to watching the screen not sure how it would turn out but within a few seconds he was smiling at the happy scene.

Jace and Jadien watched as Mercy put a tape into the tv as they sat on the ground with their backs against the bed. Jadien took his sisters hand and held it tightly and could feel her doing the same as they braced themselves for the worst. As the movie started to play they kept their emotions to themselves and their faces were blank. But when Mercy’s parents came into the video Jace started to squeeze Jadien’s hand until finally it was being crushed as Mercy’s grandmother was checking to see if Mercy was okay. Jace had not shown any emotion and she was determined not to but inside her was in turmoil over what she had just witnessed. Everything that Jadien had told them and what she had found out herself had become quite clear to her now. Mercy’s mother and father were not parents and they could hardly be called human after how they treated their own flesh and blood.

Linday wiped her face trying to hide the tears that she had not been able to hold back as she watched. She was regretting mentioning the other tapes but it was too late now to do anything but see how things played out. She felt Clark’s hand on her shoulder as he turned her into him. She lay her head on his shoulder and watched as Mercy grabbed another tape from the box and put it into the TV. She didn’t want to see what horrible event that the next tape held.

Clark held Linday’s hand tightly as he watched the movie but he wanted to do more than just hold her hand. He had known that Mercy had not deserved what she had been put through but even he had not thought that it had started so young. He chewed the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood as he tried to keep himself calm even though his eyes were burning with hate.

Jason put down the bag as he turned around and at first he seemed a bit confused when he saw the movie that was playing on the tv. When his memory cleared and he realized what was on the videos he made a grab for the box and was able to pull it out of Mercy’s reach but unfortunately he was not fast enough and she had grabbed another tape.

He moved past the box and tried to stop Mercy but was unable to get her to leave the video. All the fight went out of him as the next video had started. Watching the first one had been bad enough since he remembered how hard it had been for him to accept that he could not do anything to protect Mercy when the video had been shot. This one was painful in a different way since it was the report that had been made that highlighted one of the worst nights of his life. As he watched he sank down beside Mercy and watched silently as the events played out. He had seen the video to many times to count but it hurt just as much each time he watched it.

 

[Notte]

“This is Hannah Leland coming to you live for WLN News. I’m standing outside of residence where an attempted murder was just made on two children; ten year old Jason Kyles and the nine year old heiress, Mercy Suou, daughter to the President of the Suou Corporation. No details have, as of yet, been given about the attacker.” Screaming sounded in the background and the anchorwoman ran forward with the cameraman following her. “Two ambulances have arrived on scene; the first child is being taken down on a gurney and they don’t appear to be moving. Screaming can be heard from inside the house.” The camera closed in on the door of the house as they were bringing out one of the gurneys, but it was indecipherable who was on it. That is when Mercy came running out of the house screaming Jason’s name and covered in blood, both hers and his, a large gash was cut across her throat. The reporters voice got excited. “It appears that Mercy Suou has run out of the house, covered in blood and screaming what appears to be Jason’s name. She is fighting against the EMS and Police in order to get to Jason.” The cameraman had a close up on Mercy just as a Medic restrained her and injected her with something that immediately knocked her out. They put her onto a gurney and pressed something hard into her neck to stop her bleeding before they loaded her into the second ambulance. The woman looked back at the camera as it returned to her, “What had happened here tonight? And will either child live to tell the tale?”

The movie cut out for a brief minute and a distressed noise fell from Mercy’s lips as she grabbed onto Jason’s hand, after a pause and before she could take it out, the recording changed to when they were in the hospital, both in surgery. Mercy’s parents were there, her parents sobbed for the publicity camera’s and asked for privacy where they were brought to a private room. The camera moved and appeared to be pinned to something, her grandmother perhaps. The person was walking until they got to a doctor and her grandmother’s voice could be heard, but not seen. “Doctor, you do everything you can for both of those two, I do not care the cost. If anything happens, I will personally have this hospital shut down and take away the entire surgeons staff licenses. After the surgery is done, I want them taken to the same room. They are not to be separated, do you understand me?” The Doctors face bulked and turned ashen when she threatened him, but he nodded given into all of her demands.

When her grandmother walked away, she entered into a small private room where her parents were. Her father was talking nonchalant on his cellphone and her mother was sitting in a chair fixing her makeup and hair. “Have neither of you have no shame? That is your daughter in there fighting for her life!” Her mother made a bark of a laugh, not bothering to even look up at the woman. “Ha! That woman would have done me a favor should she have killed the little brat. Oh well, at least there is still time for her to die on the tab-“ The harsh words were cut off as her mother was slapped across the face by the aged hand of her grandmother. “You are a despicable bitch, you don’t care for anyone but yourself or the money and fame you think you can acquire. Don’t forget, Vanessa, I still have the power to take you down and ruin you. Get the hell out of this hospital room and take that good for nothing son of mine with you.” Her mother left in a huff, her father trailing along behind her still on his phone as if nothing happened. The small sad whispering voice of her grandmother could barely be heard, “where did I go wrong?”

The scene was cut and forwarded to the point where a doctor was there, telling her grandmother that they had both made it out of surgery alive and were in the same room. She was escorted there and left alone with the two small still bodies on the bed. Mercy was the closest to the door and Jason in the other bed; they were both hooked up to IV’s filled with fluids and blood. She walked between the two children and kissed first Mercy’s head and then Jason’s. Brushing his hair out of his face as she pulled back, she sat in the chair between the two beds holding one hand from each child. She talked in a low voice, “Jason, I know that you can hear me, and I want you to know what happened isn’t your fault. You will be alright and everything will turn out ok one day. It won’t always be easy and some day’s the pain can just feel like the weight of the world is sitting on your shoulders, but that isn’t the case. You have people who love you, Mercy and me, we are your family. You are such a good boy Jason and you will grow even more into a good strong man, I’m not just saying that either, I’ve seen it. Seen it in the way that you brought my granddaughter to life, taught her how to laugh and how to smile. I’ve seen it in the protectiveness that you two have over each other. The way that even at such a young age and with both of you wise beyond your years, you love each other. And let me tell you, that love is only going to grow stronger and deeper. I’m going to try my best to keep you both safe. I love you, Jason, and so does my little Mercy.”

The clock on the hospital wall ticked by and was cut hours ahead of time to where Jason was screaming and trying to get out of bed in order to find Mercy, when he saw her, he calmed down a bit. A few minutes later the doctor and two nurses rushed into the room as Jason tried to get out of the bed and go to Mercy, he had pulled off his heart monitor and the doctor had thought he flat lined. The tried to restrain him on the bed until Mercy’s grandmother came in and calmed him down before getting the nurses to push the two beds together before Jason fell asleep again with his hand gripping Mercy’s. From that point on, when one was asleep and the other awake, they would sit or lay in each others hospital bed, curled up around the other. They shed some tears and held onto each other. They tried to bring the other to laugh or to smile, trying to heal each others pain.

When the doctor came in and asked to speak to the grandmother in private, she walked out into the hall with him, leaving the two children sleeping in each others arms. “Mrs. Suou, they can both leave tomorrow, but I’m afraid that Kyles might be put into a foster home until his next of kin can be found and notified, that is if they take him in.” Her grandmother made a very unladylike snort towards the doctor. “Doctor, come hell or high water, that boy is coming home with me and Mercy. I don’t care whatever legalities I have to jump through in order to get it that way, make it that way. I will even talk to his next of kin.” After that, she went back inside and the video forwarded to them going home to Mercy’s grandmother’s house and his grandmother and her staff welcoming them all home with love and smiles.

After the tape was over, Mercy stood up, not wanting to be touched by anyone, it hurt so much. The complete lack of love from her parents, what they had gone through that night. She walked over to the window and stared at herself, the room dead quiet and then she couldn't help it. She screamed and slammed her fist against the window over her reflection, breaking it. With bloodied hands she walked over to the VCR and ripped the tape out before she threw it against the wall. It hurt, it was just to much. To much pain that they had both gone through. The only reason why she didn't break it was because of her grandmother's words and love to Jason.

 

[Evo Var]

Jason gripped her hand as soon as he felt her take his hand. It had been so long since he watched the movie that it felt like he was reliving the night. During the pause his mind flashed images that filled in spots that were not shown on the TV. As the screen came to life again Jason started to remember what went on in the rest of the movie and so his grip tightened on Mercy’s hand as the hate he had for her parents burned in his eyes. He tried to relax his grip so he did not crush her hand and eventually he was able to relax enough to do so. When the scene changed and showed her grandmother looking down at them he started to blink knowing what was coming but he was powerless to stop it. After he watched her kiss Mersy’s head then his he closed his eyes and let his head hang low as tears streamed down his face freely. He listened to her words. He had watched and listened to this part of the tape that he knew it off by heart. It had been one of the things that had eventually helped him out of the depression he had been in when Mercy left.

When the tape ended and Mercy pulled away from him Jason didn’t attempted to comfort her. For the first time he could think of no way to help her deal with what she had just witnessed. He stared at his hands as he listened to her scream then the smashing of the glass that followed. When she pulled the tape out and threw it against the wall Jason’s head shot up and he started for the tape but slowed when he saw that it was fine. He collected both tapes and walked to the box where he placed the tapes back into the box. Just as he was about to put the lid back on he read the tile on one of the tapes and smiled a bit to himself as he took it out of the box. He wiped a few tears off his face then pushed the tape in and sat down beside Mercy. A few seconds before the tape started he pulled Mercy onto his lap and hugged her tight enough that she would not be able to get out of his grip.

When the video started it showed Jason and Mercy outside sitting under a tree in the back yard of the grandma’s house. Jason was sitting beside Mercy with his shirt bunched on the ground a few feet away. They were playing with a few toys when Mercy’s nanny came into the frame and clicking her tongue she picked up Jason’s shirt. “Jason, why is your shirt off?” Jason had tensed slightly as he heard her click her tongue and now tried to avoid her eyes while he played with Mercy. It was not until Mercy stopped playing and game him a look that was as close as she could make the nannies that Jason finally looked up. “It itches and I don’t need it. It’s nice out today, why do I need to wear it?” He pointed to the scab that almost covered his healing wound. He had sounded confident in his question inside of winy as some might have expected. There was a light hearted laugh from off camera then the angle shifted and moved closer to the three. “Go sit and just film I will make sure everything is fine.”

The camera was jostled a bit then it moved back to the chair it had started at. When it settled Mercy’s grandmother was sitting with them on the ground. “You can keep it off out here but if we go back inside do you promise to put it back on?” Jason looked up at the women who done so much to him and nodded before he shifted the way he was sitting and started playing with Mercy again. Their grandmother was pulled into the game by Mercy and Jason as they gave her toys. They were smiling again as Jason mumbled about putting his shirt back on a few minutes later. Before they walked onto the porch and sat down to eat a snack that was being placed on the table.

Jason let out a soft laugh as he watched a much young him arguing with Mercy's grandmother over just putting a shirt on. His grip loosened on Mercy as he stopped trying to hold her and just tried to comfort her. "Do you remember those days? I never wanted to put anything on over the scar until it was fully healed." He spoke softly to Mercy having completely forgotten about everyone behind them watching the video with them.

Back on the screen the scene had skipped some time but Jason and Mercy were still wearing the same cloths so it was safe to assume it was the same day. They were crouched beside a pond as they pointed at the fish swimming under the surface. They tossed some food into the water and laughed as the fish swarmed the surface and ate it up. After a few a little bit of time they stood as one and walked away holding hands down a path that went to one side of the pond. The film skipped to them sitting on a swing set and laughing at something that was not in the camera.

When the screen went blank again Jason gently put Mercy onto the floor and went over to the box. He started looking through it and pulled out another tape that had only a sticky note on it. As he went back to the tv he pulled the box with him sliding it across the floor and seemed to just realize that everyone was still there. Blushing a bit he cleared his throat. "Would someone mind getting the first aid kit from the kitchen downstairs?" He waited until he saw someone stirring before he went back to Mercy and ejected the tape only to slide in a new one.

Linday had disentangled herself from Clark when Jason asked for the first aid kit. As she left the room Clark started to get up a few times not sure if anything he could do would help Linday at the moment since he was feeling so much at the moment that he was not sure what he could make sense of anything. In the end he stayed where he was and tried to pull himself together.

Jason pulled Mercy close to him again and started watching the TV as the picture came up with both Jason and Mercy running into the same pond that had been in the last video. They were about the same age but this time both their wounds were fully healed. As soon as they got into the water Jason and Mercy started to splash each other and were soon disappearing under the water for stretches of time that lengthened each time they went under. Until finally Jason popped his head up and slowly rose up but kept his hands just under the water as Mercy came up and they both watched the fish that Jason held just under the water. Jason was giggling as it squirmed in his hands and when he passed it to Mercy she started laughing at the feeling of the fish's scales against her skin. They soon let the fish go and were swimming above and under the water again. eventually a maid came into view and set some snacks out on a blanket that was set near the pond. Jason and Mercy came out of the pond a few minutes later and wrapped towels around them selves as they walked over to the treats. Jason started to shake his head like a dog and sprayed water everywhere earning him a surprised shriek from a maid who had been walking by which sent the children into fits of laughter as they sat down on the blanket letting the sun dry them off as they ate. Not long after they started eating them created some game that only children can understand that involved the food somehow. They kept playing until they had finished off all the food then got up and walked away with the towels around them still.

 

[Notte]

Mercy felt nothing, it was all so shell shocked that she wanted to go numb from the emotional anxiety of it all. The only people that have ever cared about her were her Grandmother and Jason. God, she didn't even know her parents could be that bad. She remembered most of the bad stuff that they had done to her, the names that they called her, but this... this was beyond her knowledge of understanding. Her hand was bleeding freely and she didn't even notice or care. When Jason got up to grab a new movie, she didn't know if she wanted to watch. Not like she had a choice when Jason pulled her into his arms and wouldn't let her escape.

She relaxed as she saw what played out on the screen, when they were young and didn't care about anything else except for having fun with each other and her grandmother. It was nice, seeing them all smile, hearing their laughter with nothing of it being interrupted. Like Jason, she too forgot of the others in the room with them as they watched first the horror of their childhood and then when they started to heal with each other. It was both painful and heartwarming. When Jason spoke to her, she looked up at him and smiled softly, "Yes, I remember. Gran would do anything to make us laugh, she was so understanding, and we were inseparable." She kissed his chest where she knew his scar to be and then gave him a caste kiss before she went back to watching the movie. "Gran really did give us back our childhood." Her voice was sad, even as she smiled, "I still really miss her though."

When the movies were over, Linday came back and wrapped her hand. She looked over at Jason and smiled, "there is one more that I want to watch." She moved over to the box and pulled out a tape that was titled Violin recital. She sat back down in Jason's lap and switched the movies only to press play. It started with a regal party held in a high classroom that showed overly extravagant items just because the people were rich and they could flaunt their wealth. There were high class politicians, CEO's, celebrates, royalty. Anyone that was in higher standing and fame. That is when Mercy was announced to come to the stage, a younger version of herself walked onto the stage, grabbed in heavy Japanese robs and looking like royalty. She couldn't have been more than seven. She bowed to the audience in a Japanese fashion and was given her violin. As the piano started to play, Mercy brought up her violin under her chin and started the melodic tunes to Schubert's Ava Maria. It was perfect and she seemed to fall into the music even though her lips never twitched in smile for the crowd. Her movements were graceful and prepared as she struck the strings. On and on she played, no matter the difficulty level of the piece and she never missed a note.

Finally, at the end, she played the last string, brought her violin down and bowed once again to the crowd. Everyone clapped and cheered, whispering about a protege, a young genius to the musical arts. That is when Mercy got back up from Jason's lap and turned the movie off, knowing what was going to come next. "I knew that I never messed up." She sighed and sat down next to Jason, leaning her head against him and yawning. It was all emotionally exhausting and she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, but she was afraid that she would suffer nightmares.

Jaiden began clapping, "You were wonderful Mercy, it would be amazing to hear you play live. It was like you were giving life to the audience as you played." He really didn't know what to say, knew that Jace couldn't speak, but he just had to tell her how amazing she really was. To live through that, so many bad things, and to make such beautiful music, he was in awe of her. "I bet you have a great singing voice as well, don't you?" Mercy looked up at him and blushed, "I don't know, one day you will have to find out."

 

[Evo Var]

Jason smiled down at Mercy as she spoke of how wonderful gran had been. He hugged her a bit tighter as she kissed his chest then his lips. He could only agree with everything gran had done for them and a few times he had had to wipe a tear off his cheek but it was nothing like before. “She kept the world out when we needed to be with each other.” He ran his fingers through her hair and nodded to himself. “I miss her to. We will make her proud though.”

After Linday had wrapped Mercy’s hands Jason let her go while Linday went back to sit with Clark. When the next movie started Jason smiled and closed his eyes as he listened to the music. It was a wonderful sound that he had not let himself listen to for years. “You hit every note. When I found these in my things I listened to you play for hours until I was sure that you had hit every note.”

Clark had clapped with Jadien but when he had finished speaking Clark moved to the edge of the bed. “Jason had spoken of your grandmother a few times and I can see were you find your balance between strength and gentleness.” He smiled and sat back as Linday moved up and sat on the floor. “I would love to hear you sing sometime or play something if you would prefer. Music has never been my thing.” Smiling she stood up and took Clark’s hand pulling him to his feet. “We should go, I want to make sure the house is cleaned before I go to bed tonight and I am sure something was missed during the cleanup.” It was partly true but she also wanted to get away from the tapes and after seeing Mercy yawn she had a feeling she would soon be sleeping anyway. “We will see you two tomorrow.” With that she and Clark left the house. They took their car since the twins had driven their car to the house.

Jason had been watching Mercy while she spoke with everyone else but when Linday and Clark left he looked over at Jace and Jadien. “Would you mind if I asked you to leave? I just think we need some time alone right now.” Jason glanced at the clock and knew his Aunt was coming home soon and for once he felt like he should try and welcome her home. He slowly got to his feet and looked over at his window as he thought of how to fix it. It was a double pained one and Mercy had only broken through the inner pain so at least the window was still closed. “I can call someone to replace the window tomorrow. “ With a solution in mind for the window he looked back at Mercy. ”Mercy do you want to stay the night here with me?”

 

[Notte]

After she spoke to Jaiden and before Clark or anyone else could talk, Mercy had closed her eyes and lost herself into unconsciousness. Her breath was deep and even and she laid against him, falling asleep against him as if they were little kids again. A single tear slid down her cheek as she slept as memories of Gran played throughout her dreams. Maybe what Clark had said got to her even in her sleep, that she was balanced between strength and gentleness. But she was only strong when it came to protecting the ones that she loved, just like Gran was. And, even, like Gran it probably hurt so much the way that she was treated by her own son and saw how they treated Mercy, she still managed to smile through the pain. That was the kind of woman that Mercy wanted to be, her parents had raised her to be mindless and hard, but her Gran raised her to be strong, loving, and kind.

Jaiden and Jace got up when Clark and Linday did, Jace had something she wanted to say, so they waited behind, but when Jason asked them to leave she nodded her head in understanding. "See you tomorrow." They turned around to leave, but when they got to the door, Jace looked back at Jason and Mercy with a genuine smile. "Jason, you have a wonderful woman." With that, they left and drove back to their home.

 

[Evo Var]

Jason put and arm around Mercy as he realized she had fallen asleep already. He brushed some hair out of her face then looked up at Jace as she spoke. “Thank you Jace.” He gave her a smile before picking up Mercy and walking over to his bed. He brushed an area clean that was big enough for her then left her there as he started cleaning off his bed. When it was cleared of everything but Mercy and the blankets he sat down next to Mercy’s sleeping form and started to undress her. He knew she liked to sleep nude and he figured she would not mind if he undressed her since she could not do it herself. He took his time undressing her to make sure he did not wake her. When he had finished he pulled the covers up and over her before leaning in to kiss her forehead. He climbed in after quickly stripping and climbed into bed. He lay down with his arm around Mercy as he closed his eyes. It took him about an hour of reliving the past good and bad before he was able to fell asleep.

Helon walked into the house a few hours later and noticed Jason’s boots right away. She looked at the other pair of shoes that were beside his but after a moment she just closed and locked the door before heading upstairs to her room. It was well past midnight when her shift had ended and by the time she had gotten home it was well past one in the morning. Sighing she went through her usual rutine of a shower then a quick snack before she went to her room and got into bed. She could not sleep since her mind was focused on what she would say to Jason in the morning. He stayed out all night all the time but school had been out then and now she had to make sure he went to school and get good grades. There was no way she would be able to pay for all of his college and he knew it so the best way for him to get the education he deserved was to get a scholarship.

The next morning Helon got on a pair of sweats and slipped on a t-shirt before heading downstairs since she did not have to work today. Once downstairs she turned on the radio and listened to some talk radio as she started a pot of coffee and sat down so she could flip through the paper before starting on the sudoku in the back of it.

Jason woke up the the sounds of Helon's usual morning radio. He opened his eyes and yawned. He smiled as he saw Mercy laying next to him. He kissed her neck before he slipped out of bed and clipped on a pair of black cargo pants and a plain grey shirt he pulled out of his closet. He walked downstairs and into the kitchen a minutes later. "Morning." Helon looked up and set down her pen as she gave Jason her full attention. "Why did you stay out all night?" Jason went straight over to the coffee pot. "I was in my room last night so I don't know what your talking about." Helon stood up and walked over to Jason and moved beside him so she could see his face. He finally glanced at her as he grabbed a cup of coffee. "Fine Jason, if you want to be like that then who's shoes are those and where did you spend the night after your first day of school?" Jason looked away and was about to start adding sugar to his coffee when Helon reached over and pulled the cup out of his reach. "Fine, I spent the night with Mercy and she is sleeping in my bed at the moment." He would have laughed at the shocked expression of his face if he was not so tired. He settled for taking back his coffee and mixing it before he walked to the table.

He sat down and sipped at the coffee as Helon joined him with her own cup but made no move to pick up her pen. "Want to give me a few more details? The last I heard she had been sent away and that was when you came to live with me." She watched Jason carefully knowing full well that Jason could lie better than anyone she knew if he wanted to. "She showed up at school on the first day." He looked up at her as he spoke again. "I had not seen her for five years, can you blame me for forgetting to call? I couldn't just leave her after she had just gotten back." She was quite for a minute as they drank their coffee. "So is that what your going to say if I ask why she is here?" There was nothing in her voice that would make him think that she wanted Mercy out of the house and it wan't an act since she did not mind Jason having the girl over even though she had not met her. "We were watching some home videos of ours that I was given when I moved in. We didn't want to go anywhere after that." Helon watched him but then just put down her coffee. "Okay well I have the day off so I will be here for most of the day." Jason just nodded as he kept drinking his coffee. He wondered if he should tell Helon more but he stopped himself and just tried to wake up before he did anything risky like that.

 

[Notte]

Marcy had slept like the dead, the emotional turmoil of watching those movies and the physical act of what they had done completely core her out, physically and mentally. She had not felt Jason leaving the bed, which spoke to how tired she really was. When she finally woke up, there was a small ache between her thighs, and when she got up it twinged just a little bit. "So this is what it feels like to become a woman?" She laughed softly to herself as she moved around, trying to get it to go away even though she loved the feel of it, because it made her closer to Jason.

When she opened the door to his bedroom, she heard voices and knew that she couldn't walk around naked like she would in her own house. Her dress was laying neatly folded up on the floor, with her corset and all other undergarments. She couldn't exactly put her clothes on herself, so she rummaged through Jason's clothes before she found an old black shirt. She pulled it over her head, but it didn't want to go down over her chest, so she kept on forcing it down until she heard a tear and it finally went down. "Oops, I hope he doesn't get mad." Her breasts brought the shirt up to just above her knees. "At least I'm covered." She yawned and walked over to pull on her thigh highs, making it look like she would have something on underneath the shirt. There was no hairbrush around so she couldn't brush her hair, but she did finger comb it and hoped that it looked alright.

After she was finished, she walked out of the room, and went down the stairs with her hair trailing on the steps behind her. Before either of them could see her, she tilted her head down and to the side, watching the scene play out. She stood on the stairs not sure if it was alright for her to come down and interrupt them. Honestly, she wished she had something appropriate to wear in order to meet his aunt, but it just wasn't going to happen without help. Maybe she could ask Linday and Jace for a girls day to go out shopping for normal clothes instead of the dresses and Gothic Lolita clothes that she always wears. She was still out of the line of vision when she called out, "Jason, is it alright if I interrupt and join you?" She stood on the stairs and waited.

 

[Evo Var]

“Jason, have you thought about going to college or university?” She tapped her pen on the newspaper as Jason looked up at her question. “Yes, I have put some thought into it and I have chosen a few that I will apply for when I graduate.” He studied her for a minute as he tried to guess why she had suddenly brought the topic of college. “Good, well I just wanted to know how much you have thought about it and I am happy to hear you have more of a grasp on things than most kids your age.” She paused for a moment then asked. “Have you thought about how you will be able to pay for the education? I can help but I will not be able to pay for all of it. So I just want to make sure you are thinking about how you will be able to finance your education.” Jason just shook his head and drank a bit more coffee now that he knew why she had asked about college. “Thanks put money won’t be a problem so you don’t have to worry about more putting more strain on you.” He spoke evenly but Helon felt like cringing when he came to the conclusion that she was only concerned with the money it would cost to send him to college. She tried to think of a way to make him understand that money was not the only thing that she was concerned about. When she heard Mercy’s voice she snapped out of her thoughts and back onto the topic of Mercy.

Jason looked up when he heard Mercy’s voice. “Yes, do you want cup of coffee?” Helon noticed the smile that tugged at his lips before he got up and walked back over to the coffee machine and started to make a cup of coffee. “How did you sleep?” Helon watched the door way until Mercy came into the room. Her jaw almost dropped when she saw the size of her breasts. She quickly composed herself and got a good look at Mercy before she stood up. “So your Mercy, nice to meet you.” She held out a hand to Mercy and smiled as she asked. “Weren’t planning on spending the night hu?” He glanced at the shirt that was obviously not hers.

 

[Notte]

Mercy walked into the room looking at smiling at Jason, slightly embarrassed when she noticed his aunt's jaw drop. "I slept very well, I was very mentally drained after watching some of those movies. I had a few dreams about Gran though. May I have some tea instead of coffee?" When Helon walked over to her, she shook her head and gave a smile before looking down sheepishly at her outfit. "No, I didn't plan on it. I fell asleep while we were watching movies, I honestly don't even remember the others leaving. As per a formal introduction, which I hoped I would be wearing something more appropriate for," Mercy bowed her head and part of her upper body in her traditional fashion. "It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Mercy Suou. I do apologize for making you worry over Jason's safety and spending the night without your permission."

They moved back to the table and Mercy jumped up onto a chair, making sure that she wouldn't sit on her hair. Mercy pulled Jason's coffee cup next to her before she noticed the content and wrinkled her nose. She didn't know how people drank coffee, it was too bitter. When she drank it, there was less coffee then milk and sugar. Her stomach did growl from hunger though and a stained blushed her cheeks as Helon looked at her, "If you are hungry, I can make breakfast. Maybe Jason will have time to eat it for once instead of just running out the door." She got up from her spot and went over to the refrigerator and pulling out eggs, bacon, and a few vegetables. Before long she had the stove on and the vegetables chopped, mixing them in with the eggs.

 

[Evo Var]

“Shit, right. One tea coming up.” He started opening the cabinets until he found the tea. “Well you did fall asleep while they were talking to you so I guessed you were drained.” After he had the water boiling he turned around and watched as Helon welcomed Mercy. He leaned against the counter as he watched Mercy and Helon. He was not sure if Helon had actually been true fully with him about Mercy so he was interested to see if she had been lying.

Helon smiled and looked down at what she was wearing then at what Mercy had on. “Well I guess I would say the same but all things considered I think we did just fine.” Helon was a bit taken aback when Mercy bowed to her since she was used to Jason’s friends who had never bowed. She lowered her hand to her side. “Thank you Mercy.” Before she could say anything Jason chuckled as Mercy mentioned him staying at her place without Helon’s permission. Helon glared at him since she knew exactly what he was laughing about but just shook her head started cooking. “Mercy me calling is a courtesy. My dear Aunt has stopped trying to have me get permission from her long ago.” Helon spoke up as she cooked. “Yes but I am glad you noticed it was not about the permission Mercy and thank you for it.” Jason looked over at Helon but said nothing as he brought Mercy’s tea over to the table with cream and sugar. “I do eat, just not here in the morning.” This time Helon laughed before taking a jab at Jason. “Ya that’s because you’re out all night with your friends.” Jason just rolled his eyes as he moved his chair a bit closer to Mercy and sipped at his coffee. “Ya but I am out helping them.” Jason seemed completely bored by the banter as if it was normal but he could not hide a bit of a smile that betrayed that he was grateful that Helon was accepting Mercy and counting her as family by not hiding anything from Mercy. It had taken almost a month for the twins to be accepted by her and even longer for Clark and Linday.

Helon set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of Mercy and Jason before getting one for herself and sitting down to eat. Jason looked at the plate for a moment then shrugged and started to eat slowly. After a few bites he swallowed and looked over at Helon. “Oh, just so you know I am going to call the window guys so they might be coming by today.” Helon set down the for full of food that had been halfway to her mouth as she looked at Jason with a questioning look. “Mind explaining why they need to come over?” Jason finished his bite before he lied completely convincingly. “I tripped and smashed the inner pain of my window.” Helon looked at him as if he was crazy then took a better look at Mercy’s hands and glared at Jason. “I am not stupid Jason.” He looked over at Mercy and swore as he remembered the bandages. “Okay, okay the videos were a little more than exhausting for Mercy but I am going to pain for the window so settle down. It was not her fault.” Helon looked to Mercy as if trying to figure out why she had broken the window without openly asking, with a groan she gave up and in a surprisingly calm voice as asked. “Would you mind giving me a few more of the details that my amazingly detailed nephew has held to himself?” The only hint of sarcasm appeared when she was talking about Jason.

 

[Notte]

Mercy was unable to reply to Jason as she talked to his aunt, so she let it go. Knowing that they had to get to relearn each other. She was surprised though, that she had fallen asleep in front of the others, that had never happened before, normally she wasn't able to fall asleep in front of anyone except for Jason or her Maid. In Romania, she stayed up for days on end, even after she had been there for years, only finally falling into exhaustion. She wondered what they thought of her after having seen those video's. Did they pity her? Revere her? Fear her? She had no idea and the thought of it would drive her mad. Had they talked of her after they had left, she wanted to know and yet she feared the answer and their response.

Mercy drank her tea slowly as it was put in front of her, listening to the good natured banter between Jason and Helon. When the breakfast was put down in front of her, Mercy dug in with relish, a sharp hungry that was slightly odd. After her first bite, she looked at Helon and smiled, "This is delicious, thank you." When Jason brought up how people would be coming into the house to repair the window, she flinched. And when Helon looked at her hands and questioned her, she shrugged and put her fork down, losing her appetite. "It was my fault and it was done intentionally in my rage over what I had seen in the video's. They were homemade family video's that were mostly recorded by spy camera's hooked onto a person. Mainly my Gran or my Nanny as far as I could tell. As Jason had said, they were not very... relaxing video's and pushed me over an emotional edge to the point that I physically reacted without even realizing it and then feel into exhaustion because of the mental drain that they had on me." She looked over at Jason and gave him a bright smile, "Thank you for trying to hide the truth, but it is alright, and I want to pay for the window since I am the one who broke it. That is only fair."

 

[Evo Var]

Jason glared at his aunt and was about to tell Mercy that she did not need to tell Helon anything when Mercy started to speak. He looked down at his plate and put his fork down as Mercy explained what had happened and the details of the videos sprang to mind. Helon glanced at Jason once when as she listened to Mercy but said nothing. When Mercy had finished speaking Jason looked over at her and forced himself to smile back and after a few seconds he couldn’t help but smile as he looked into hers. “Anytime you know that. As for the window that’s fine. ” He started to get up and Helon spoke up as he was about to leave the table. “Where do you think going?” Jason looked at her and shook his head as he picked up his cup and went back to the coffee machine. “Don’t worry about it Helon, as long as Mercy is here I am not leaving this house.” She looked at Mercy and studied her for a moment. She was not sure she liked the implication of Jason’s words not that she could really do much about it since Jason could easily move out if he really wanted to, instead she changed the subject. “Jason go and get dressed you should leave soon.” Jason gave her a suspicious looked but he came back to the table and ate a few more bites before he looked at Mercy. “I just need to get a few things. Do you want to call home and get someone to drop off new clothes?” Helon realized she had a chance to get Mercy alone and spoke up. “Jason she can call from down here if she wants to get some clothes but either way she has not finished eating so just go and I am sure she will cat will come up soon.” Jason glanced at her then let his hand rest of Mercy’s shoulder for a moment before he headed for the door. “I will be back down in a few minutes.” When he was upstairs Helon put down her cup and looked at Mercy with a gaze that was far more serious than any she had before. “I saw you two in the hospital before he moved in with you and I do not want anything like that to happen again.” She paused as she collected her thoughts. “If things get bad tell me so I can help because I know he will just lie and I doubt I will be able to see through his lies as easily then.” There was nothing cold in her eyes just an almost manic need to keep what was left of her family alive and healthy.

Mark and Linday got out of their car and walked over to Jace and Jadien. As they walked to the arranged meeting place they were both looking around to make sure no one was around. What they were about to talk about was not something anyone wanted to spread to more minds. Linday spoke first when they got the twins. “What the hell are we supposed to do now? I mean we know what those tapes hold and we can just leave it alone and let anything like that happen.” It was plan to see Mark had been thinking the same thing even though he didn’t say a word.

Mia waited nervously at the side of the school as she waited for Stefen. He was horrible but she needed to be around someone and even the people who agreed with her before hated her now. Sighing she pulled up the turtle neck she wore to hide the raw wound Mercy had inflicted on her the night before. She closed her eyes and sat down against the wall hoping Stefen might give her some comfort or at least protection from Mercy today.

 

[Notte]

Stefan found Mia sitting on her lazy ass and completely hiding her body between layers of clothes that offended him. As if she were trying to hide something. He had pulled her up and then listened to her whine about what had happened at the party, even showing him the mark that Mercy left on her. After seeing it, he could feel his erection growing and a sick twisted smile pressed his lips. Tugging her roughly against him, he put his lips over her wound and kissed it before he bit down hard enough to break the delicately scabbed over skin. Almost as if he were trying to taste Mercy through it, like an indirect kiss, he worshiped at the wound on her neck brutally. Liking the cries of pain that Mia made as he did so. In order to not be caught, he dragged her away roughly behind the school and into the trees, whipping her offending sweater off over her head with brutality and calloused actions, not caring if he hurt her in the process and enjoying when he did.

When she tried to fight back, he hit her, and her cries made him even harder. He undid her pants and turned her around, forcing her front against the rough bark of a tree. As he loosened his own pants and pulled his dick out, he forced hers down, holding her into submission with his mouth over her wound, biting deep, and his other hand digging into her waist. When they were out of the way, he raised her ass up and shoved his dick through her virginal sheath, liking the way she screamed and cried as he fucked her. Raped her. Stealing her virginity, altering her mind. All the while, he never released her neck until he came from the sheer pleasure of being that much closer to Mercy and something that she had touched and violated. Punished. "MERCY!" He shouted out her name as he came with such violence. Damn, he wanted to fuck her so bad, wanted to punish her for making him this obsessed... "My sweet little doll is going to be next." He dropped Mia and tucked himself back in, he looked down at her with a twisted smile, "Clean yourself up." And with that, he walked away. Feeling more happy and satisfied than he had in months. He couldn't wait until he could get his hands on Mercy, the object of his true desire. He could only dream of all the things that he had in store for her.

A month had passed since the pool party, the intimate act of making love to Jason, and having the others see just how much of a tormented childhood she and Jason had outside of each other and her grandmother. She can still remember the talk that she had with Jason's aunt, but the memories were still enough to cause her unease. At first the others didn't know how to act around her, not exactly skittish, but more of they treated her like porcelain with kid gloves. Whenever Jason wasn't able to be with her, Clark, Linday, Jace, or Jaiden would be with her - almost like a constant at her side as if they were bodyguarding her. There were times when she wondered if Jason had asked them to watch over her or if they choose to on their own volition. Sadly, her and Jason weren't able to have a repeat performance of being able to make love due to their hectic schedules and pure exhaustion, but they still spent every moment they could together.

Stefan had kept to watching her, stalking her, and the mere presents of him made her skin crawl with a dark unease. He bothered her greatly, but she would never show it to anyone. Mia continued to be a bitch, even after she had marked her, punished her, but instead of doing it to her face Mia had started to spread rumors to which she listened to on a deaf ear. Mercy thought the stress of it was starting to bore down on her, everyone treating her like something fragile that would break at any moment, Stefan and Mia and their twisted obsessive devotions, and planning a surprise party for Jason's eighteenth birthday. She had started eating more than normal and putting on weight that she wasn't at all happy with, she had even stopped wearing her corsets. Her stress levels even going so far as to making her try new foods that she thought would never interest her but now tasted good. Then there were the days where she would feel sick and just refused to touch anything, it was all wreaking havoc on her physically and mentally and emotionally, but it didn't seem as if anyone else really noticed or if they did they didn't say anything to her.

Finally it was the day of Jason's birthday and the party was ready in full swing, everyone hiding behind something in the dark as she and Jason walked into the door after their day out where they decided to go back to his house to finally have another round of love-making. She was terribly turned on, but would wait because she wanted to make this so special for him, to have him be with his friends and family. When she turned on the lights everyone popped out and yelled "SURPRISE!" Mercy being the loudest and the most happiest person to say it. She pulled him down and gave him a big kiss and a hug right in front of everyone with tears in her eyes, "I love you, Jason. Happy birthday."

Clark and Jaiden rolled out a big cake from the kitchen that they lit - every single individual candle. Just to make it funner for him to blow out. Of course, they had pizza's and sandwiches, chips and dip, and everything else that would be suitable for his birthday party. Presents filled up one table and the party went on with full swing.