Chapter 11
Juliette had always been a little scared of Elinor, she was the older sister. Of course there was always a little bit of fear there. But she was never worried that Elinor would actually hurt her, until now. Watching her sister go between checking on Leighton and glaring daggers at her, she wasn’t completely sure she would make it out of there alive. Sure, Cal was there and by association the rest of the hunters but the thing about Eliot was that she was slightly unhinged. One little silver tipped arrow wouldn’t be able to stop her if she decided to go on a rampage.
Cal hadn’t left her side since Elinor and their families had come back. They were all seated in the living room of Oliver’s cabin, he was wrapped in silver chains while Carmen still had not returned from her room; Talia and Margot were seated on one couch, Sebastian sat on the arm closest to Margot, Jack stood in the corner next to Talia, Juliette and Cal were on the other couch and Elinor was sitting on the floor next to Leighton. The Burns boys were silently standing by the doorway, no one was sure if they were making sure nothing else came in or no one went out.
Margot exhaled and patted her legs, a fake smile across her face. “So. Who wants to go first?”
No one spoke, everyone looking between Juliette and Elinor. Juliette had her head down, playing with her fingers. Elinor was glaring at Juliette. Cal shifted and cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Uh. I guess I’ll start.”
“Oh shut up Cal. We all know who should be speaking. Don’t try to take the pressure off of her.” Elinor spat. She was looking at Cal but Juliette felt the words cut through her like a knife.
“Elinor.”
“Watch it girl.”
The older blonde rolled her eyes and scoffed. She slumped slightly to allow Leighton to comfortably put her head on her shoulder and rest. Vampire transformation was a tiring process. And though her delivery might have been off, she was right. It was Juliette who needed to speak. The youngest Fairmont shifted under the heavy gazes of those around her and took a deep breathe. She sat up straight and held her head high. Maybe if she faked the confidence, it would actually come. It helped that Cal was now holding her hand and was squeezing it reassuringly. Juliette opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off again.
“Jules. It’s okay. You know you didn’t do anything wrong right?”
“Oliver I swear to god.” Elinor growled. She would have gotten up to hit him again if Leighton wasn’t holding her.
“What? I don’t know if you’ve realized but we’re VAMPIRES. Juliette did exactly what she was supposed to do. She saw a weak, helpless prey and attacked. I’m proud of her really. She’s turning out like her big bro.”
Cal chucked at that. “She’s nothing like you. She bit Leighton so that she wouldn’t be sired to you. And if Elinor got her head out of her ass for more than two seconds she’d realize that. Is this an ideal situation? Of course not. But Elinor your girlfriend could be DEAD or in eternal debt to your masochist brother. Be thankful Juliette did what she did.”
The room was silent after that apart from Oliver’s “she has a point.” Everyone held their breathe while they waited for Elinor to react. She had locked eyes with Juliette and had half a mind to glammor her again when Leighton very softly said “stop. it’s okay.” Elinor was baffled.
“Babe, I love you. But this is so far from okay. She bit you! I was supposed to do it! You hadn’t even decided if you wanted to be a vampire yet. She took away your choice.” Elinor growled the last part and continued to glare at Juliette who physically recoiled from it.
Leighton nodded and smiled softly. “I know. I wouldn’t have picked this way either. But we’re here now so we just have to make the most of it right?” After that she leaned up and whispered something in Elinor’s ear. Go hug your sister. Cal’s right. She saved me. Elinor sneered but obliged and wrapped Juliette in a hug that was just a little too tight. “You’re no where near forgiven.”
Talia stood and Jack was immediately at her side. “Well, now that all is right in the world again, can we take our hostage? I’d like to return some of the favors he gave me.” She pointed to some of the scratches on her face that were from their earlier fight. Margot and Sebastian shared a look. They knew that they shouldn’t let their son go with the hunters but what other choice did they have? They couldn’t bring him home. Elinor might actually kill him. At least the Burns’ didn’t know how to do it and Oliver was tough enough to withstand their torture until they let him go again. Margot nodded sadly and then immediately walked out the cabin, Sebastian following closely behind her. The Burns boys “accidentally” picked up Oliver with more force than required and dragged him out the door, the vampire chatting away as they did so. Talia started to leave and then looked between her daughter and Elinor. “If my daughter reports that you’ve even given her a split end, it’s you and me, you hear me?”
Elinor rolled her eyes. “I’d be honored Talia.”
The women were locked in a staring competition until Jack gently redirected his wife towards the door and they left. Now it was only the two couples left.
“Elinor. I really am so so”
Elinor put her hand up. “Sweet little. I am barely keeping it together right now. Leave before I do something that I’ll regret.”
Juliette wanted to protest. She wanted to scream and beg for her sister’s forgiveness. But she knew better, her older sister needed time and space. How much? Well. That could range but they had forever, literally, to figure it out. The vampire allowed her girlfriend to carry her out and back towards the Fairmont estate. And then there were two, except there wasn’t. Carmen had been in the back the entire time and picked now to make her appearance known. Elinor heard the floorboards creak and immediately put herself between Leighton and the intruder, fangs bared and enough anger to throw whoever it was across the country. Carmen came out with her hands up, the sign for peace. “I come baring gifts. I don’t intend any harm.” Elinor didnt let her guard down but allowed the curly haired woman to approach. In her hadn’t, there was a small vile.
“What the hell is that? If this is a trick witch I’ll-“
Carman shook her head. “No tricks. It’s a vampire reversal serum. I started working on it when I realized how bad Oliver was getting. I was going to use it on him but I heard what you said about taking her choice. I wanted to give it back. As an “im sorry on my boyfriend’s behalf.””
Elinor made no move to take it so Leighton smiled graciously and took the vile before putting it in her pocket. “Thank you Carmen. I appreciate it.”
The darker woman nodded and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
“Well. What do you say we head back to the house huh? I TOTALLY have to call Whitney and let her know what happened.” Leighton squealed as she pulled Elinor through the woods behind her. As they ran Elinor eventually let her walls come down and she broke down into tears of joy. Everyone was right. Leighton was alive, and they could be together forever. What more could she want? She definitely was not close to forgive her sister yet, but she could at least acknowledge that she did a good thing.
As the two vampires ran giggling through the woods, they both realized that this was exactly the type of future that they wanted with each other.