Post by Chris Metaxas on Jan 17, 2009 2:36:46 GMT -5
A story about Jane's sister, Taylor, watching Jane in her new life as a spirit and her opinion of various people in it. Alice is one of Jane's friends in my head and yes, knows Chris is Artemis.
She sat down right next them, feeling out of place in the warmth of the house. She was used to the cold of the streets, not the warmth and love at a home. She smiled as she watched Jane sitting next to her friend on the couch, reading a comic book together. Alice, the girl’s name was; adventurous, daring and outgoing. It fit well, she thought, with Jane’s stubborn, determined and kind nature. Alice was a bit naive to the true dangerous of the world around her and could almost imagine Alice thinking Jane’s old way of life was fun, thrilling and adventurous. But, she was willing to learn about a world she did not know of, in fact, that’s what she seemed to liked to do; it seemed that she wanted to know about things that were new to her, things she did not know a thing about. She wasn’t scared of the new, of the seemly odd, and for that, Taylor couldn’t do anything else but respect that.
“Batman,” Alice commented with a smile as she opened the comic book to its next page, “Is the most fitting comic for you.”
“Why’s that?” Jane asked, looking up from the page and at Alice.
“Because,” Alice said with a smirk, “Your dad’s a Batman wannabe.”
Jane giggled a bit; though she wouldn’t call Chris, or Artemis, dad. Not yet. Taylor knew why; she could not trust this happiness to stay, not after losing her family. Taylor felt the same when their mom had died. The only person she trusted was Jane. She wondered if Jane knew how happy she was that she had died in place of Jane. How happy she was Jane had a life now, had a family.
“Whose his Joker then?” Jane asked, with an amused smirk.
“I don’t know, maybe Lea,” Alice said with a shrug, “She is pretty nuts.”
Taylor wanted to hold on to Jane tight at the name. Lea, the insane vampire who ate innocent people. Lea, Artemis’ arch enemy. Taylor prayed that this wouldn’t get Jane in trouble, wouldn’t get her killed. Jane was a tough one, if Chris went to fight to the death, she’d go to. Taylor knew she didn’t want to lose another person she loved again. And Taylor heard her conversations to herself at night. She did love him, she did. It just felt all very strange for her, someone loving her again. Being protected when she had been trying to learn how to protect herself, how to be as tough as stone. Taylor prayed as well that nothing would happen to Artemis; for it would crush Jane.
“Lea,” Chris said, walking into the room, “Puts the Joker to shame…last night three people were murdered walking home…and I think Lea is responsible.”
“You have no proof of that,” Jane reminded him, looking up from the comic, “People are murdered all the time.”
Taylor winched a bit. A qualm she had with Chris was she found him a tad judgmental. A criminal was a criminal no matter what. It didn’t matter why the person did it. It didn’t matter if they were trying to save their starving sister. And he had no right to blame someone of always doing wrong; sure, Taylor hated Lea and her deeds, but she knew what it was like to be blamed for things you didn’t do.
“With the blood sucked completely out of their body?” Chris asked, sitting a chair next to the couch, “That’s the work of a vampire and there’s only evil vampire I know of here, and that’s Lea.”
“I hear when she kills someone,” Alice said, her eyes wide, but not with fear, with a kind of fascination, “She laughs…she laughs and laughs and laughs so loud you can hear it all through Forks.” Alice looked as if she almost wanted to meet Lea; as if she wanted to go find her and fight her off.
“Sounds like Lea to me,” Chris said with a sigh, “She’s one sicko…I mean, who does things like that?”
“Oh, I bet she’s not so tough!” Alice proclaimed, standing up on top of the couch, the comic book falling to the floor, “I mean, she can’t even do her dirty work in the morning, the coward! She has to wait until no one’s looking to do her dirty deeds! Er…” she said to Chris, “No offense, Mr. Metaxas.”
“None taken,” said Chris, with a small roll of the eyes and chuckled slightly.
“Alice,” Jane warned, “Night is when the scariest people come out…you can’t take it so…lightly…it’s dangerous out there. There are people out there who wouldn‘t mind shooting you without a thought.” Jane and her sister both shuddered at memories of watching people being mugged and beating to inches of their lives right in front of them.
Alice, however, pouted, sitting right back down. Taylor wondered what Alice thought of when Jane warned her of these very serious matters. Maybe she thought Jane was exaggerating and ruining her fun. This girl needed to learn about the dangers of the world, but, Taylor had a feeling it wouldn’t be so easy. She’d probably learn in the hardest way possible.
“Jane’s right, Alice,” Chris said, looking at his new daughter, as if trying to see for just a moment what Jane had seen all her life, “There are some pretty scary people out there.”
Chris thought of Jane as tough, as almost a rock, and Taylor knew it. He didn’t understand what she had seen, didn’t understand how she could’ve survived. Her survival of all the horrors of life inspired him on the toughest and most dangerous cases. Taylor smiled and toke Jane’s hand softly in hers. “A rock,” Taylor said, unheard by them, for she was just a ghost, a spirit, “yes, my friend, truly, this is true…but please be careful and don’t let her break.”
Taylor had been a rock to Jane. She had acted brave, as if she were made of stone. But, there were times when she just wanted to break down, where she thought she couldn’t handle it anymore. It got too hard to act brave, yet she did. She hoped Chris would never ever take Jane’s apparent toughness and forget she could break.
Jane’s eyes suddenly widened and she gasped, obviously feeling Taylor’s touch. “Taylor?” she said breathlessly to herself. Taylor instantly pulled her hand away. She wanted Jane to know she was here, but she didn’t want to hurt her by reminding her in a sense, she wasn’t.
“Jane?” Chris asked, concerned, “Are you ok?”
“Ya,” Jane assured, “For a moment…I just thought…I could feel her.”
There was silence in the room, no body really knowing what to do. Alice put her arms around her friend’s waist. Her eyes looked as if they were trying to see beyond; trying to see Taylor.
“It’s ok,” Jane said with a small smile, hugging her friend back and smiling at Chris, “Because…I can feel her…and I know she feels happy…I know she’s happy for me…for us.”
“That’s great!” Alice said, smiling widely, surprising Chris and Jane with her sudden excitement, “I’m glad I can be a reason for making her happy…for making you happy.”
“Me too,” Chris said, looking thoughtful and suddenly went to the couch to sit between Alice and Jane. Jane looked at him, confused, wondering what he was thinking about.
“Jane,” Chris said to Jane seriously, “I love you very much…and I know I can’t be the person Taylor was to you…I know there are things she did that I just can’t do. But…I’ll try; I’ll try to show you how much I care about you as much as she did…I promise. I love you so much”
“Oh Dad,” Jane whispered, her eyes filled with tears, then they bother were frozen at the words she just spoken. Taylor too was stunned. He was going to take care of her, he was going to love her as much as she had. He loved her…he did, maybe as much as a dad should. Her dad never loved them, it wasn’t even right to call him that, so she didn’t know how a dad was suppose to be, but she supposed they should be like this…trying their hardest. Taylor felt tears in her eyes…Jane had a dad now, she had a family.
Chris and Jane stared at each other silently, and Alice said she had to go home, leaving and letting the two have their moment. Jane then hugged Chris tightly, tears streaming down her face, “I love you…” she said, “But…you have to promise me one thing…that you’ll never leave, that you’ll always stay.”
“I promise,” Chris said, returning the hug, “My daughter…I promise.”
Taylor left them right there, letting father and daughter have their moment. But before she left, she said only one thing, “Take care of her…please, I leave her to you now…please stay with her, because I love her so much.” And then she left, leaving the two holding each other in their arms.
She sat down right next them, feeling out of place in the warmth of the house. She was used to the cold of the streets, not the warmth and love at a home. She smiled as she watched Jane sitting next to her friend on the couch, reading a comic book together. Alice, the girl’s name was; adventurous, daring and outgoing. It fit well, she thought, with Jane’s stubborn, determined and kind nature. Alice was a bit naive to the true dangerous of the world around her and could almost imagine Alice thinking Jane’s old way of life was fun, thrilling and adventurous. But, she was willing to learn about a world she did not know of, in fact, that’s what she seemed to liked to do; it seemed that she wanted to know about things that were new to her, things she did not know a thing about. She wasn’t scared of the new, of the seemly odd, and for that, Taylor couldn’t do anything else but respect that.
“Batman,” Alice commented with a smile as she opened the comic book to its next page, “Is the most fitting comic for you.”
“Why’s that?” Jane asked, looking up from the page and at Alice.
“Because,” Alice said with a smirk, “Your dad’s a Batman wannabe.”
Jane giggled a bit; though she wouldn’t call Chris, or Artemis, dad. Not yet. Taylor knew why; she could not trust this happiness to stay, not after losing her family. Taylor felt the same when their mom had died. The only person she trusted was Jane. She wondered if Jane knew how happy she was that she had died in place of Jane. How happy she was Jane had a life now, had a family.
“Whose his Joker then?” Jane asked, with an amused smirk.
“I don’t know, maybe Lea,” Alice said with a shrug, “She is pretty nuts.”
Taylor wanted to hold on to Jane tight at the name. Lea, the insane vampire who ate innocent people. Lea, Artemis’ arch enemy. Taylor prayed that this wouldn’t get Jane in trouble, wouldn’t get her killed. Jane was a tough one, if Chris went to fight to the death, she’d go to. Taylor knew she didn’t want to lose another person she loved again. And Taylor heard her conversations to herself at night. She did love him, she did. It just felt all very strange for her, someone loving her again. Being protected when she had been trying to learn how to protect herself, how to be as tough as stone. Taylor prayed as well that nothing would happen to Artemis; for it would crush Jane.
“Lea,” Chris said, walking into the room, “Puts the Joker to shame…last night three people were murdered walking home…and I think Lea is responsible.”
“You have no proof of that,” Jane reminded him, looking up from the comic, “People are murdered all the time.”
Taylor winched a bit. A qualm she had with Chris was she found him a tad judgmental. A criminal was a criminal no matter what. It didn’t matter why the person did it. It didn’t matter if they were trying to save their starving sister. And he had no right to blame someone of always doing wrong; sure, Taylor hated Lea and her deeds, but she knew what it was like to be blamed for things you didn’t do.
“With the blood sucked completely out of their body?” Chris asked, sitting a chair next to the couch, “That’s the work of a vampire and there’s only evil vampire I know of here, and that’s Lea.”
“I hear when she kills someone,” Alice said, her eyes wide, but not with fear, with a kind of fascination, “She laughs…she laughs and laughs and laughs so loud you can hear it all through Forks.” Alice looked as if she almost wanted to meet Lea; as if she wanted to go find her and fight her off.
“Sounds like Lea to me,” Chris said with a sigh, “She’s one sicko…I mean, who does things like that?”
“Oh, I bet she’s not so tough!” Alice proclaimed, standing up on top of the couch, the comic book falling to the floor, “I mean, she can’t even do her dirty work in the morning, the coward! She has to wait until no one’s looking to do her dirty deeds! Er…” she said to Chris, “No offense, Mr. Metaxas.”
“None taken,” said Chris, with a small roll of the eyes and chuckled slightly.
“Alice,” Jane warned, “Night is when the scariest people come out…you can’t take it so…lightly…it’s dangerous out there. There are people out there who wouldn‘t mind shooting you without a thought.” Jane and her sister both shuddered at memories of watching people being mugged and beating to inches of their lives right in front of them.
Alice, however, pouted, sitting right back down. Taylor wondered what Alice thought of when Jane warned her of these very serious matters. Maybe she thought Jane was exaggerating and ruining her fun. This girl needed to learn about the dangers of the world, but, Taylor had a feeling it wouldn’t be so easy. She’d probably learn in the hardest way possible.
“Jane’s right, Alice,” Chris said, looking at his new daughter, as if trying to see for just a moment what Jane had seen all her life, “There are some pretty scary people out there.”
Chris thought of Jane as tough, as almost a rock, and Taylor knew it. He didn’t understand what she had seen, didn’t understand how she could’ve survived. Her survival of all the horrors of life inspired him on the toughest and most dangerous cases. Taylor smiled and toke Jane’s hand softly in hers. “A rock,” Taylor said, unheard by them, for she was just a ghost, a spirit, “yes, my friend, truly, this is true…but please be careful and don’t let her break.”
Taylor had been a rock to Jane. She had acted brave, as if she were made of stone. But, there were times when she just wanted to break down, where she thought she couldn’t handle it anymore. It got too hard to act brave, yet she did. She hoped Chris would never ever take Jane’s apparent toughness and forget she could break.
Jane’s eyes suddenly widened and she gasped, obviously feeling Taylor’s touch. “Taylor?” she said breathlessly to herself. Taylor instantly pulled her hand away. She wanted Jane to know she was here, but she didn’t want to hurt her by reminding her in a sense, she wasn’t.
“Jane?” Chris asked, concerned, “Are you ok?”
“Ya,” Jane assured, “For a moment…I just thought…I could feel her.”
There was silence in the room, no body really knowing what to do. Alice put her arms around her friend’s waist. Her eyes looked as if they were trying to see beyond; trying to see Taylor.
“It’s ok,” Jane said with a small smile, hugging her friend back and smiling at Chris, “Because…I can feel her…and I know she feels happy…I know she’s happy for me…for us.”
“That’s great!” Alice said, smiling widely, surprising Chris and Jane with her sudden excitement, “I’m glad I can be a reason for making her happy…for making you happy.”
“Me too,” Chris said, looking thoughtful and suddenly went to the couch to sit between Alice and Jane. Jane looked at him, confused, wondering what he was thinking about.
“Jane,” Chris said to Jane seriously, “I love you very much…and I know I can’t be the person Taylor was to you…I know there are things she did that I just can’t do. But…I’ll try; I’ll try to show you how much I care about you as much as she did…I promise. I love you so much”
“Oh Dad,” Jane whispered, her eyes filled with tears, then they bother were frozen at the words she just spoken. Taylor too was stunned. He was going to take care of her, he was going to love her as much as she had. He loved her…he did, maybe as much as a dad should. Her dad never loved them, it wasn’t even right to call him that, so she didn’t know how a dad was suppose to be, but she supposed they should be like this…trying their hardest. Taylor felt tears in her eyes…Jane had a dad now, she had a family.
Chris and Jane stared at each other silently, and Alice said she had to go home, leaving and letting the two have their moment. Jane then hugged Chris tightly, tears streaming down her face, “I love you…” she said, “But…you have to promise me one thing…that you’ll never leave, that you’ll always stay.”
“I promise,” Chris said, returning the hug, “My daughter…I promise.”
Taylor left them right there, letting father and daughter have their moment. But before she left, she said only one thing, “Take care of her…please, I leave her to you now…please stay with her, because I love her so much.” And then she left, leaving the two holding each other in their arms.