Fighting history (Threequel to 'Lucky 13')

Chapter 24: The real me

Emily's POV

I ran as fast as I could, as far as I could. I kept running, I didn't seem to get tired. I ran straight to Jennifer's house. On my way over, I had encountered some of my kind but they didn't harm me at all.

I arrived at Jennifer's house and, before I got in, I sat down by her window. I sat down on the ground and regained my energy. And I thought. I thought about what I had just heard. Was Julian my cousin? I knew mom had left behind her family to be with zaezzes but... I don't know... I never really thought about her family.

I shook those thoughts away for now and got up. I knocked onto Jennifer's window and was happy when she opened it for me.

"There you are," She said as she helped me in her room. "I was starting to get worried."

"Why?" I dropped my backpack on the ground by the window. 

"Because of the curfew," She helped me take off my jacket and put it aside. "They could've gotten you."

I gave her a look.

"Oh right," She went to sit down on her bed. "I forgot you're one of them."

"Not yet," I went to sit down next to her. "But I will be."

Jennifer smiled a bit but it dropped fairly fast. She reached for her neck, feeling the bite mark.

"Does it hurt?"

She looked at me, shaking her head. "It's hard to hide though."

"I'm sorry."

She smiled at me then. "In a way, it felt..." She looked down, blushing suddenly. "Sexy."

I raised an eyebrow. "Sexy?" I scooted closer to her. "How's that?"

She kept looking down and blushing more. "It felt sexy to have you bite me and, at the same time, have sex with me," She looked at me then. "It felt sexy."

I smiled at her.

"Are you able to bite me again?"

That question surprised me a lot, especially since I thought she hated my kind. "Uhm... I don't know," I then smirked at her. "You'd want that?"

She shrugged. "It didn't hurt and it felt good, in a way."

"It didn't hurt that I sucked your blood?"

She shook her head. "I didn't feel anything, really." She went to lay down on her bed then, underneath her sheets.

I pulled off my pants and shirt and got underneath the sheets too. "That's good then?"

She nodded as she looked at the ceiling. "I always used to compare it to a needle taking blood, like at the doctor's office."

I nodded. "Good comparison."

"Yeah, I thought so too," She then looked at me. "But it didn't feel like that at all," She looked at the ceiling again. "I didn't feel you take anything, it felt smooth."

I smiled at her. "I'm happy I didn't hurt you."

She looked at me again. "Me too."

"And I'm happy you don't hate me," I scooted closer to her. "Because I actually really really like you."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck. "And I actually really really like you too."

I smiled more, wrapping my arms around her, before planting my lips onto hers.

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The next day, I told Jennifer to go to school without me. She was hesitant at first but did leave to school without me.

When she was out of sight, I went back home. I hurried.

"Hey uncle Ben," I said as I ran past his post. I quickly unlocked the front door and entered the house. "Mom, zaezzes?"

"Emily?"

"Mom," I hugged her. "Is zaezzes home too?"

"Yes," Mom motioned to the dining room. "We're having breakfast," She then looked at me. "What's wrong?"

I sighed. "Come," We both walked back to the dining room. "Hey." I said to everyone, kissing their cheeks and sat down at my spot.

"So, hianag," Zaezzes started. "It's been a while." She teased.

"Yeah..." But I wasn't in the mood for it, and they noticed.

"Emily," Mom looked at me, worried. "What's wrong?"

I gulped. "At school, I have one friend."

"That young boy?" Grandpa asked. Of course, he'd know, he sometimes sees Julian as he picks me up at school.

"Yeah," I paused. "His name is Julian."

They all nodded but clearly didn't understand what the problem was. And I couldn't blame them.

"Last night, I went over to his house for dinner as he wanted me to meet his parents," I said to which they once again nodded. "That went fine and all, until they showed me some pictures they had."

"Pictures?" Aunt Esmee asked. "What was on those pictures?"

I looked at mom. "You were."

Now everyone looked at mom as mom seemed to realize what this meant. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, I think she really didn't know what to say.

"They said you were Julian's aunt."

"You were at Avan's house," Mom said quietly. "You were with my family."

Zaezzes seemed to realize how hard this was for mom and immediately reached for her hand. "We can go to them, haewa, if you want."

Mom looked from zaezzes to me. "What did they say?"

"Julian wants to meet you, and me," I paused, sighing. "His mother said that you were a very nice person and that she'd love to reconnect too."

"He's still together with Mabel," Mom smiled a bit, though I could see it was a sad smile. A smile that showed just how much she had missed her family. "What did Avan say?"

I looked down. "He's angry for what happened between the two of you," I looked at mom. "According to Julian, he has been hurt twice and has a hard time trusting people again."

Mom looked away to which zaezzes looked at me. "Thank you for telling us this, we'll discuss what we'll do with this information," She nodded. "Peter, will you drive her to school?"

Grandpa nodded and got up.

"Wait," I said, making them all look at me. "How am I supposed to act towards Julian? He's family but he's been taught to hate my kind."

Zaezzes came closer to me, holding my hand with her free hand. "If there's one thing I've learned throughout my life, then it is that people don't always listen to what they've been taught. If they see the real you, they will accept you," She looked at mom then. "Because they don't listen to the prejudgments others have taught them."

I smiled as I thought about Jennifer. She was one of those people. A person that dismissed everything she had been taught because she saw the real me. "Ok," I got up then. "Thank you."

"Have a nice day at school, hianag, we love you." Zaezzes said, obviously speaking for both her and mom.

I smiled. "I love you both."