(Part 2)

I was shook awake gently by a warm hand. I moaned a little, not wanting to get up, but I opened my eyes anyway. The eyes I met were blue, but there was something different about them. I remembered that Jeb spent the night with me in my bed, but I wanted to know why he was waking me up at the crack of dawn on a weekend.

“Quinn,” his voice was grave. “Wake up. Something happened…”

I was wide awake now. My eyes shot open and I was out of bed as fast as my body could; I didn’t bother to cover up my half naked body. I rushed through the house on wobbly legs, tripping several times and making enough noise to wake the dead.

I stopped at the opening of the living room and front room. The tiny TV was still on, the sound almost muted. I stared at the couch. The thin lump didn’t move, didn’t shiver, didn’t even make a wheezing sound. There was a mild rancid scent in the room, a scent that wasn’t there last night. It slowly dawned on me about what Jeb had implied by 'something happened.' He found it before I did.

I dropped to my knees and cried again, screaming at the top of my lungs, begging and hoping that it wasn’t true. It couldn’t have been time; he still had several months left to talk, no matter how weak his voice would be. Through my sobs I could hear Jeb, calm as ever, on the phone.

“I’m calling for an ambulance to be sent to 192 James Street,” he said. “A victim of AIDS has just passed away during the night. Yes, thank you.”

Arms wrapped around me and held me again as I sobbed long and hard into him. He picked me up and took me back to my room, bundled me in my bed and got me a glass of water. He dabbed a little on my face and got me calm enough to drink it without choking or inhaling it.

I was about to fall asleep but I heard Jeb talking to someone over the phone again. It was brief, but I didn’t care. He came back and kissed my forehead.

“Go back to sleep,” he said soothingly. “I’ll take care of everything. Then we’re going to pack up your things and you’re moving into the guest room at my place. My parents are going to help with everything medical and legal. Don’t worry.”

I nodded slightly from under the covers and sort of turned around in my bed. He brushed my hair from my face and rubbed my shoulder. I heard something knocking at the side door and he got up to get it. It didn’t take very long for the paramedics to remove my father’s lifeless form from the front room.

I couldn’t get my mind around the idea that he was dead. He was the last of my family, but I was a legal adult, being eighteen. But it didn’t stop me from feeling like a little child, thrown to the streets because there was no one to take care of me, no one to be happy with – in a pure family way. There was no family, not anymore.

I fell back asleep and I stayed asleep. I slept through the whole day, because when I woke up, I wasn’t in my room anymore. The room I was in was larger by half the size of mine, the walls were a rich brown with light orange swirls, the ceiling was creamy white and the floor was covered with a fluffy auburn colored rug. I was in a bed that was about the same as mine at home, but it was longer and was centered against the side wall. Satin sheets to match room surrounded me with a deep chocolate comforter with black embroidery depicting flowers and a pattern of rain drops on top of that. It was really pretty.

Like Dorothy said, though not totally quoted: “I don’t think I’m at James street anymore…”

I sat up in the bed and looked around. Suitcase upon suitcase and multiple boxes were everywhere with words telling what was in each. The clock next to the bed read twenty after seven at night. I was going to go back to sleep, but the room unnerved me. I didn’t know where I was. Definitely not a hospital.

I got up and stretched before I went to the door that was slightly ajar. I looked out into a warm hallway, creams and tans with a light brown rug that looked just as soft as the one in my room was. I walked out and followed the hall to a mezzanine that overlooked a medium sized cherry wood staircase.

I stopped halfway down the stairs when I saw a fairly large black dog with a curved tail. It was standing right in front of the front door and it was looking right at me. I didn’t like it looking at me. It took a step towards the stairs when I moved to go back up. It growled at me… and I really didn’t like that. I held my breath and moved just the slightest - the dog moved as well. I was up against the side of the stairs and the dog started up the stairs towards me. Damn…

The front door opened just then and the most beautiful man walked through the frame into the house. He wore a regular beige suit and had a briefcase in his hand. His hair was a little shaggy, like Jeb’s, and it was the darkest blond – almost gold – I’ve ever seen. His skin was just as pale as Jeb’s and his leanness was similar as well. Luckily for me, the dog turned around and jumped up on him. He put down his case and shagged the dog’s fur.

“Good girl, Nova!” he said. “How’s my baby girl doing?” The dog, Nova, woofed in a greeting and jumped down off of him before scurrying away into a side room. I was still frozen when the guy’s eyes – also blue – came to me.

“Ah, you’re awake,” he said. “I apologize if Nova scared you. She’s harmless… nothing but a giant lap puppy by heart. Jeb called me about your situation. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you wish.” I nodded, trying to find my voice.

“I’m David, by the way. David Carlisle - Jeb's father.”

“Q-quinn Santorelli…”

Just then, thuds came from upstairs and a tall, thin door flew open. I turned to see what was happening and a little boy, also having golden blonde hair, ran out of a little closet-like room with stairs surrounded tightly by walls that led up to a third level. Another figure, obviously larger than the boy, came barreling down as well and chased the boy right past me. The flash of blue hair gave him away.

“Damn it, Jadyn!” Jeb screamed, rushing down the stairs three at a time. “I’m going to feed you to the dog if you don’t give me my USB drive!”

“Too slow! You gotta go faster if ya gonna catch me Jebidi-AHH!” Mr. Carlisle grabbed the boy around the waist and spun around once to slow the wriggling runaway. He took the drive from Jadyn and let him go, kicking him lightly on the bottom as he handed the device back to Jeb. He sighed, looking much older than when he was playing with his dog. He picked up his case and took the path the dog did. Jeb grabbed Jadyn and gave him a noogie when their father was out of earshot.

“You little brat,” he said. “Keep your paws off my stuff. Touch anything of mine again and you’ll be sorry.” He let go and Jadyn rubbed his head as he started up the stairs, moaning something-or-other. He stopped right next to me and smiled wryly. He reached out, touched my arm and stuck his tongue out at Jeb before running up the stairs and down the hall I just came from to slam a door. Jeb had started pursuit but stopped when he was next to me, fuming about the kid. I only just noticed that he was shirtless... the skin taught aroundhis abs and defined on his chest. I swallowed a few times because I started drooling.

“My brother, Jadyn,” he said like he wan't half naked in front of me. At least he had a shirt on last night - he was only wearing a pair of jeans with a chain hanging down from his studded belt. He didn't have socks. “Lovely kid, isn’t he?”

“Y-yeah…” I whimpered. “I g-guess…”

He laughed a little and turned to me. His face was grave though and my own feeling of nervousness went away, replaced by something I didn’t want there.

“You met my dad,” he said in a gentle voice. “He’s a lawyer and has a degree in banking. He’s going to help you clean out your house, sell it and set up a better bank account. He’s also going to help with legal things, like you father’s will and such. You’ll be living here from now on, though, and don’t argue. I refuse to hear it. Your school record will be changed to accommodate.”

My head dropped and I nodded slightly. I really couldn’t argue with him… he was too perfect - in more ways than one. This was not at all what I expected to wake up to. He lived in a huge house, three stories, with a lot of rooms. He had a brother, a father, a dog, a mother… and from what I could tell, a whole floor all to himself.

His finger brushed against my cheek. He was wiping away a tear that fell from my eyes that I wasn’t even aware of. He pulled me to him in a warm embrace and tucked my head under his chin. I stopped breathing for a moment when my cheek touched his perfect god-like skin. I did more work trying to re-learn to breathe than I did to think about what had happened.

“It’s alright,” he said, though I don't think he knew how right things were right then. “Things will get better. Trust me. Now, let’s get you some food. You’ve been sleeping all day and had nothing to eat since last night.” He kept his arms around me as we walked down the stairs and took the path the dog and Mr. Carlisle took. I guess it was also the way to the kitchen.

And the kitchen was huge. You could easily fit about twenty people in there comfortably. I looked around at the Tuscan décor of the room; there were wooden countertops, a wooden table and even an old-styled wooden refrigerator with all the modern day features. Even the stove and oven were modern.

Jeb sat me down on a stool in the center island and went to the fridge and rummaged through it. I noticed that there were three bowls of water and food on the floor, one of them empty. That had to be Nova’s, but the other two…? I asked Jeb about it.

“We have two cats as well,” he said. “One of them is a fat Persian named Spryng. He likes to jump on things. The other cat usually stays up in my room with me. She’s my cat and she’s like a mini Bengal tiger. Her name is Amber. I doubt you’ll see her any time soon.”

He pulled something out of the fridge and opened the container. He sniffed it quickly and shrugged before throwing it in the microwave and pressing a few buttons. He went back in and pulled a few more things out and brought them over to the island. I watched him as he started serving me cold pasta salad. I ate it without a word, being too hungry to want to say anything anyway. The micro beeped and he went to retrieve the dish. The smell of chicken and cream came from the dish and he placed it before me with a fork and a knife. I dug in instantly, filling myself with the delicious food. I finished and left every plate practically clean.

He rinsed everything and put all the dishes in the dishwasher. He then whistled and in came Nova from another side room. He filled her bowl and gave her a few hard pats on the back before taking my hand and leading me back upstairs to the room I woke up in. He then proceeded to put my things away. I helped him after a while and we got it all done quickly and silently.

“When’s your mom coming home?” I asked as I closed the closet door. He looked at the clock.

“Not until much later,” he said, shrugging again. He wiggled his nose a little and cleared his throat. “She’s an ER manager over at ECMC. She won’t be home until about nine in the morning.”

Wow. A doctor mom and a lawyer/banker for a dad. No wonder he lives in a house like this.

“If your parents make all this money, and you live in an environment like this, why do you get sent to detention all the time?”

He turned his beautiful sapphires towards me and grinned slightly. “It’s really the only time I see my friends. And sometimes I just don’t want to come home because of baby Brat two rooms over.”

“You spent the night at my house,” I said. “Didn’t your parents…?”

“I called them as soon as you fell asleep,” he answered as he sat on the bed. “As long as I drop them an address, they’re okay with me spending the night wherever, so long as I come home to shower, change and go to school if it’s a weekday. They’re okay with it otherwise.”

“Oh.”

There was an awkward silence between us. He bounced on the bed for a few moments, the springs squeaking slightly.

“You like Tim Burton movies?” he asked. I nodded. “I got Sleepy Hollow from NetFlix in the mail today. Wanna watch it with me?”

“Sure,” I said. He got up and I followed him out of my room and to the open door with the stairs. I walked up behind him, the chains from his pants jingled as he walked and the sound was a little comforting. But I was mostly concentrating on how his skin pulled taught over his thin shoulder blades as he moved. I figured looking at his back and shoulders were better than his ass... which was about seven inches in front of my face. I began drooling again.

His room was about the same size of the kitchen, and it was really warm up there. I looked around the room once I was in it and the top door was closed. There was an entertainment system with a large leather couch and a huge flat screen TV over on one side of the massive space. Racks upon racks of CDs, DVDs and even bookcases of books covered one long wall in front of me. To my left was a long black curtain that spanned along the ceiling parallel to how I was standing right then. It was dark and thick, obscuring whatever was behind it.

The walls were colored a dark, almost dead grey color. Some parts were chipped here and there, giving it a spooky atmosphere. The ceiling was pure black and arched with joists holding up the roof. There was one window at the very top of the roof that allowed the moonlight to filter through a stained glass depiction of a lion. The moonlight shown through the amber colored glass and painted geometrical shapes on the wooden floor beneath it.

I continued to look around while Jeb got the system started. I walked along the curtain and ran my hand against it. It was velvet… something I thought strange of a guy. It swayed back and forth as I touched it, walking along it to the wall with the books and collections. It was a regular library almost. Books of every kind could be found there; genres ranging from science fiction to biographies and even a large encyclopedia of Serial Killers. I looked at the cover and smiled, shaking my head. Marcie had the exact same book in her room.

I turned towards Jeb when I heard the start of the movie, but the mistake I made was glaning upwards. I screamed and jumped back, ramming into the bookcase and knocking a few things over. There was something with glowing green eyes looking at me from the rafters. Jeb turned to me to see what happened and laughed when he saw what I was looking at.

“Relax,” he said. “That’s Amber, my Bengal. She’s harmless.”

“You said I wouldn’t see her,” I gasped, trying to calm down from my initial shock. He laughed again.

“I said I’d doubted that you’d see her. I didn’t say it was a given fact you wouldn’t. Don’t worry, she’s de-clawed.”

That really didn’t mean much to me. He could have told me that before his cat tried to scare the living soul from my body. I shook my head to clear it and went over to the couch and sat down to watch the movie. Jeb hopped over the back of the couch and lounged on the opposite side, far from me. He watched the movie with amusement, laughing now and then at something funny. He rolled his eyes at other parts and basically didn’t even cringe at the beheadings of the victims.

I did the opposite of everything he did… except scream. I didn’t scream because it wasn’t that scary. It just grossed me out.

I inched closer to Jeb as the movie progressed. I wasn’t aware that he knew, but it was something I felt I needed to do. I wanted to get closer to him, and he didn’t seem to be adverse to it. In fact, he pulled me to him when I was within reach and he turned me around so my back was to him. He pushed back into the couch to give me room to lie down and we watched the end of the movie that way, his arm around my waist and his hand locked with mine with my head reasting on his other upper arm. It was hard, but soft at the same time. I finally managed to control my drooling.

When the movie ended and the credits were going, I sort of wanted to say something to him. I didn’t know how to voice it, but he beat me to the punch line.

“You’re not alone, Quinn,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m here for you. I’ll be your own personal tissue when you cry. I’ll be your pillow when you sleep, and even your punching bag when you’re mad.”

“You hardly know me,” I replied after a moment. “How do you know I’m not one of those drifting girls?” He was silent for a second and then he started to chew on his tongue piercing.

“I just know,” he said. “You’re not like that at all.”

I turned around so I was facing him. We were so close I could feel his body heat wrapping around me, warming me down to my bones. It was a comforting feeling, and I wanted to stay like this forever. His smooth hand reached up and brushed my cheek slowly, dragging down my neck to my shoulder. I hesitantly reached my own hand up to brush my fingers against his soft lips.

He smiled and leaned closer to brush those soft lips against the corer of my mouth, avoiding my own lips. The sensation was mind blowing, though. I closed my eyes slightly in bliss and also smiled. This was much different from my previous boyfriend, one I was eager not to think about. It didn’t matter, anyway, because it was like I was experiencing it for the first time.

“Jadyn touched me after you threatened to feed him to the dog if he messed with your things,” I stated, half fogged with the feeling of his lingering lips on the corner of my mouth and his hand on my bare shoulder.

He smiled against my skin. “If you’re offended by his assumption that I own you, let me know. I’ll gladly decline from my proceedings and…”

“No! I like what you’re doing…” I blushed brightly, the heat covering my face. I wanted to look away from his bright blue eyes in embarrassment, but I couldn’t. He was amused. I gathered my courage to say something I’ve wanted to tell him. “I want to be yours… you think it’s a bad idea? I mean, we only really met yesterday…”

He pressed his lips to mine and I closed my eyes, melting into him. I guess I got my answer. He didn’t seem to care, and that made me not care either. As we kissed, things seemed to fall into place: I was alone ever since my dad was confined to the couch - he was always sick and too tired to be an actual conversation buddy. Marcie and I never really had a ton of things in common - she’d talk and I’d listen.

Now I wasn’t alone. Sure, I barely knew Jeb and I briefly met two of his family members, but the way he kissed me, the way I felt around him, it was like I’ve known him all my life. I could be myself around him; I could discover who I really am besides the perfect student, besides the house nurse.

He gently broke the kiss and I took a breath, keeping my eyes closed. I snuggled closer to him and smiled, happy to have him so close. I heard him start to purr deep in his throat. I thought it was cute. I opened my eyes and looked up into his. What looked back at me was something I never thought I’d see. His pupils were thin, vertical lines surrounded by slightly glowing blue irises. His teeth were slightly sharper than they were before.

Jeb stared down at me with the eyes of a cat and the face of a lion.

HAPPY BELATED SOUR LULLABY!

A/N: EDITED! I was sickened by all the grammer mistakes I made that I went through it again and fine tuned the story. So YAY to me for actually doing it. I was just going to leave it.

I had a review from someone saying they're looking forward to the next chapter. This is all one chapter, just broken up into two parts because it was really long for just a one-chaptered post. It averaged about 12 pages when it was done. And it's a one-shot, so no more chapters for it. However, I am planning on continuing, but as other posts. I'm not adding anything to this at all. I had a pretty good idea for the name of it as well.

Okay! Reviews are much appreciated. Let me know what you think about the story! What parts did you like? What didn't you like? How can I improve? I'm always up for constructive criticism!

-Suki