The Runaway

She fiddled with her fingers in her lap as she tried to control her sobs, lifting a hand from time to time to dry her eyes. Crying wasnt going to fix anything. But Ethan’s words didnt make it better; though she didnt blame him for simply thinking rational. She frowned at his addition, feeling a few tears roll down her cheeks that she hadnt caught. How she just wanted him to hold her and speak the words he did now. “You dont understand,” she sobbed, drying her cheek off as she looked at neither of them. Gareth frowned a little but remained quiet. “When we were kept in those cold white boring cells day in and day out, neither of us trusted anybody. Not the doctors, the scientists or whoever we saw. But we trusted each other. We didnt have anyone else, just me and her,” she explained, which surprised Gareth a little because Vanessa never spoke of the past. “I dont understand why she couldnt trust me. And now it’s like I dont know her,” she just said, staring motionless for a short moment before she got up and dried her cheek with her sleeve, grabbed Ethan’s pack of cigarettes on the way before she went out i the kitchen to sit in the window and smoke.
“Did you say that Samuel had her drugged?” Gareth asked once she was gone, picking up his serious demeanor, though the thought seemed to piss him off.

She just leaned against the window frame, looking out as she was smoking. She kept a hand on the frame because the last thing she wanted was to tip over and fall out. She was far too into her own thoughts to even listen to the conversation in the other room.

Gareth’s frown only seemed to grow as Ethan explained, clearly unhappy with what he was hearing. His phone rang but he quickly declined as he was listening to Ethan. “Do you think she could have died?” He asked, as it it was some sort of definitive factor for him to know. The phone rang again and he declined it. He scoffed as he called her family, but nodded. “Look, I appreciate that you went and got her,” he then said after a moment of thinking. They were best friends after all, so he wasnt going to keep being an asshole to him. His phone rang a third and last time and he decided to pick up, “What. The. Fuck. Do you want Samuel?” He asked in a cold tone, sitting down on the couch before he leaned back. “Yes I’ve seen her. And fuck you for letting her get drugged and dragged around town. Do you even fucking care about her?” He asked, his voice bearing a small tint of emotion, which was just because he cared so much about his niece, it was almost unbelievable the things he would do to keep her safe. He went quiet for a bit before it seemed that Samuel said something that seemed to alert him. He eyed Ethan for a moment before he seemed to grind his teeth just a little. “I’ll let him know. Now go fuck yourself,” he said before hanging up, running a hand through the mess that was his hair like he was trying to figure out his thoughts. “You went... and talked to Samuel yesterday?” He asked rather calmly but clearly he was expecting some sort of denial.

Gareth seemed utterly confused when Ethan seemed to know what had happened. He looked at the message before he got his own phone out to show that there was no such message on his phone. “I fucking told you to stay away from him, why would you think I’d suddenly change my mind?” Gareth muttered in irritation, raising his hands in frustration. “E, he’s not some kind of guy who jokes around. He will find a way to kill you,” he said, seemingly worried. He rubbed his face for a moment and leaned back into the couch with a deep sigh. Then he looked down. “Vanessa is nothing but an experiment for him. Something he created to control and manipulate. Once he’s turned her into something like himself, she’ll take over the business,” he explained, looking towards the kitchen. “I’m trying to drag it out as far as I can, but it’s inevitable,” he said, shaking his head.

Had he been so distracted by his own frustration, he would have noticed the small hints that Ethan was giving him. But maybe it was for the best that he didnt. He shook his head as Ethan started to ramble on, and even when the situation was as serious as it was, Gareth couldnt help but snicker because he could relate to that feeling of unusefulness that Ethan seemed to feel. “Dont you think I’ve tried?” He asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked up at the human before he shrugged. “I’m only lucky to be his blood, or I wouldnt have been here right now. But you? E, he’ll kill you and leave you for her to find,” he explained, looking towards the kitchen, before he looked up at him again.
Then it was like the mood completely changed and Gareth looked confused as Ethan said the last thing he had expected him to hear. He was empty for words, frowning as he looked up at his bestfriend speaking words that seemed like something foreign to him. “Vanessa?” He asked like he needed clarification. If he got that, his expression just turned sour as he moved his eyes away from Ethan, staring at the wall for a bit. The plea made him grit his teeth. “Oh shut the fuck up,” he said as he pushed himself up rather threatning. Even if Ethan was his bestfriend, this was over the line. “Are you sure she’s not just trying to get back at me for what I did?” He asked before he seemed to realize something. He grabbed the human by his collar, pulling him closer as he sought his eyes. “You fucking bastard,” he mumbled, shoving him away before he went to the kitchen where Vanessa was, “Vanessa, get out in the car,” he just said in a way that made Vanessa for once feel scared of her uncle. She flicked the cigarette out the window and decided it was better to just do what she was told, eyeing Ethan with unsure eyes. What had he said? She could almost guess it, but she didnt know what to say. As she left, Gareth seemed to just stand in his own thoughts with a blank expression.

As Ethan blocked the way for her, she just looked up at him with worried eyes. “Ethan please,” she begged him softly, because she couldnt bear the thought that he would get hurt for trying to protect her. She lifted her hands to cup his face, feeling her eyes water as he seemed to believe whatever bullshit it was that Gareth had made up, “I want to be with you,” she pleaded, which made Gareth move to them, pulling her away from the human so he could face him. “She’s leaving with me,” he said in a cold tone, looking Ethan up and down. “Hadnt you been like a fucking brother to me, I would knock you the fuck out by now, kicked you to pulp,” he said so coldly, almost like he had once been told something alike; by Samuel’s standard probably a little more articulate. “Do you really want to do this E?” He asked, Vanessa frowning as she clutched her hands to fists, “Gare...” - “Shut up,” Gareth interrupted her, not moving his eyes from Ethan.

He couldnt believe this. Surely Ethan must have had a stroke, it was the only reasonable thing in Gareth’s mind. He had been in love with Vanessa this whole time, while showing off the other women he would be chatting up to pretend he wasnt feeling anything? Was that what Gareth was supposed to believe. “You’re a fucking dead man,” he said, giving Ethan a firm shove to get him out of the way. “There’s no fucking way I’d ever allow this shit to go by. Know your fucking place!” He spat, pushing Ethan once more. “There’s no fucking way,” he repeated, grabbing Ethan to shove him up against the front door, granted that Vanessa hadnt been allowed to open it. “... I’d let you be with my daughter,” he finished his sentence, which made Vanessa frown before she widened her eyes a little. Gareth looked to her with a sour expression, “Now you know,” he said before he looked back at Ethan, “And that’s why you’ll keep the fuck away from her,” he warned him, while he was practically pressing most of his weight against him.

It was actually quite easy to tell that Gareth felt like shit for what he had done, he wasnt even trying to hide it. He just wished that Ethan would have backed out but of course the thick skull of his was only for show. He ran a hand through through his hair to move it out of his face, crossing his arms as he just kept staring at Ethan. He didnt answer her mumble but just sighed deeply, guess it was some sort of response? Her question made him look down, “She’s fine. She’s still out of it from then, but if I take her here, she’ll never leave. And if that happens, Samuel will do some shit that no one will like,” he explained, hoping he could make at least one person in the group understand that he wasnt trying to be the bad guy.
Her blurt made him shrug as he looked at her. “No you wouldnt,” he just said with a shake of his head, looking at Ethan. “He’s too lovestruck to realize that what he’s doing is going to kill him. It’s inevitable if he keeps going this way.... well if he ever wakes up,” he explained, his eyes turning rather sad. It was breaking his heart despite how much he hated it. “Vanessa is not like the other girls. He cant just proclaim his love and expect the girl. Because that girl, is just property, owned by contract and flesh,” he said in frustration, clutching his hand to a fist. Now that the truths were coming out, he felt like it was time to get off his chest. “I gave up my kid so she could live. She’s what I got left of what could have been a family so many years ago. Mixed with whatever my brother was trying to make to a whole being. Half his, half mine, his property, my loss,” he said, looking out into the room with a blank expression.

“She is,” he confirmed, ruffling up his messy hair. He had always thought she looked a little more like him than Samuel, but he wouldnt be surprised if Samuel had meant to do that. Her question made him frown a little. He wasnt sure what she was talking about, because there wasnt really anything to bargain for.
Then the suggestion came and he could tell she indirectly offered herself. He scoffed and shook his head, “Samuel makes deals with people he believes to have the same worth as him. You offering up yourself is like a lamb negotiating with lions. It just wont work,” he explained as he shook his head. He then looked at her, frowning a little. “Besides, your parents signed a contract, and I’m guessing they didnt read the hidden lines. You’re just as much a property as she is,” he remarked, making a deep sigh. Either way, there was no way he would let her do that, because it wouldnt change the matter, only the subject in the center of it all. “She’s the first of his vessels to come out as a clean race. He wont give that up, even if your metal bending is extraordinary and your blood is different,” he mumbled, looking down at the ground.

He just kept his eyes down as she went to Ethan, thinking all he had said through once more. Sure it felt good to get it off his chest, but was it wise to be telling Ayalla all of this? Could he trust that she wouldnt just play the hero and do something dumb? The suggestion of another vessel made him shake his head. “All the former Vanessa’s didnt make it. He’s run out of the DNA he took from my baby and his to create her. Any other vessel he makes now is just because he can. To see what they’re capable of, what they’ll do,” he explained as he looked up at her. It would be nice if there were more with Vanessa’s DNA, but he also thought that with the progress Samuel had on Vanessa, the ones to get the copy would be them. “All we can really do is teach her to be different. Make sure she doesnt become a clone of Samuel,” he said with a frown on his brows. He then looked at Ethan. “In all honesty, I knew she would be safe with him. But he wont live a month if he stays with her. I dont even think he’ll make it through this,” he said, getting up as he walked over to the bed. He leaned down and carefully placed a hand on his face before leaning down to kiss his forehead. “Please dont die on me you bastard. There’s nothing she wouldnt do for you. Even if it would take her own life to find you on the other side,” he mumbled hoping somehow the human would hear him. He then looked at Ayalla. “Keep me updated. If he starts dying on us, I need to figure out some way to keep him alive,” he said, but it was a stretch. There was always vampyrism, but he wasnt sure that was what Ethan wanted his life to become. And the fact that it was also just tricky to try and play god for someone who wasnt meant to be dying.