I don't like where this is going

"Yes, she can come by ... But perhaps before my mother gets here, you know how she can be," he said, though his voice was a bit broken and he took longer to say the sentence. His mother wasn't bad, it was more like she could sniff out anything and everything from miles away. She was like a shark smelling blood, and if she had seen how Romeo had paraded around with her yesterday, she would surely have one of her marvelous ideas. He grabbed the bottle of water, taking a big gulp from it, almost emptying it. He sighed, leaning his head back against the pillow, his face grimacing as his shoulder felt awfully restricted.
Part of him was happy that his uncle stayed here with him, but the other part worried. He didn't want it to take away from his busy schedule. Eventually even Lucius had to leave, but that was when his mother took over. Josette even came by, being rather sweet about it all. His mother noticed, perplexed at first, but after talking to her brother it had all made sense. It just made her more proud that her son hadn't just been out there fighting, but actually defending someone. There was more honor in that. Word spread quickly, even within business circles, how the young Trevino-Altera had saved his girlfriend from muggers and thugs and had defended her. How Romeo hadn't been released from the hospital yet and was still fighting the silver poison within him.
A few days passed, and Romeo was looking out the window - or at least what he could see from his bed - seeing how the leaves were slowly falling from the tall trees. It was peaceful, but his mind wasn't. In all of this, he wondered when he could get to see the vampyre. No, not the young female, but the male. Eden Parish. How he longed for him, but he knew that he was still healing as well. He was sure he had heard the rumors about a girlfriend. He was scared that he might've believed them.

Romeo wasn't really in the mood to have his cousin come by, and yet here he were. He at least appreciated that Alexis was quiet. She left as Kurtis came, and he turned to look at his cousin as he sat down. The question made him scoff, "eager to pick up our fight?" he asked, rolling his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for this. He looked better, but the silver had taken a hold of some bones and it was proving harder to heal. "You don't have to stay and pretend you care ... You can just leave," he said quite neutrally, but just then a knock was at the door.
Coming in was the young vampyre, holding a large bouquet of flowers, "surprise!" Josette smiled, until she realized that someone else was there. She looked a little surprised, "oh, am I coming at a bad time?" she asked, but Romeo shook his head, "Josette, this is my cousin Kurtis - he's the son of my uncle," he explained calmly. The young vampyre placed down the bouquet on the bedside table before she went to politely shake Kurtis' hand if he wanted, "it's very nice to meet you, Kurtis, if you don't mind me calling you that," she smiled kindly. "I'll go grab you two something to drink," she said, giving the two some time to talk before she returned.

Romeo didn't like this side of Kurtis. Even if he commended his cousin for using his ever dying braincells, he was annoyed still. "It's better to have a type than to stick your dick in whatever you want," he just remarked. Low blow. But he didn't want to waste his time being clever around a guy who wasn't all that smart. "How's Zaira doing?" he asked, even if it would make Kurtis angry, he was rather genuine. He didn't like the human, but fuck she didn't deserve to get caught in all this mess just because Kurtis had to mingle. Romeo would never admit to be to blame for all of this. "Don't give me that sour look - When are you planning to elope?" he was calm, a little empty behind the eyes.

"All I have is words, Kurtis," he shrugged. Sure he was a boy wonder but what real accomplishments had he done so far? He was still just a kid, same as Kurtis, but Romeo saw himself as an adult. And that was why he was hardest on himself. Taking a deep breath he looked in to the room, his cousin was actually planning on staying, huh? "I honestly do not get you sometimes ... To think that we are from the same genepool is almost repulsive to me," he said as if he had just been talking about the weather. "At least we don't have to worry about you creating more stupid off-spring, huh?"

Romeo was dragged out of bed, and yet he couldn't do anything but smile. If Kurtis wanted to brawl here, then he was truly at his wits end. "Of course you have thought of something," he said, not discrediting his cousin's creativity, it was more so his inteligence. It was clear from how Romeo was struggling to stand that he was in pain, and yet his face didn't show it. His knee was pretty fucked up, wrapped up and by standing on it, it started bleeding through the gauze. "Are you trying to make me a cripple? Will that make you feel better?" he asked calmly.

"No one is perfect ... And he's not my boyfriend - or not officially anyways," she said, being perfectly honest. Perhaps the lycan in front of her had a strained relationship with Romeo, but she wasn't going to judge him simply on this incident. At the mention of Romeo having done something to Kurtis' girlfriend she frowned. She stood for a while, letting him leave before she checked on Romeo. He had been given pain medication once more, and she kissed his forehead gently as he drifted off to sleep. She on the other hand went to go find Kurtis.
And she did so in the designated smoking area. She could see how upset he was, but she insisted on joining him anyways. Or rather, she didn't smoke, but she didn't mind standing out here either way. The scent of hospital wasn't that pleasant. "What did he do to your girlfriend?" she asked, being blunt was better than trying to step around on eggshells. He had brought it up, so she expected an explanation. "Kurtis, don't you think I have the right to know who I'm seeing?" she asked if he wouldn't answer at first.

Josette nodded, preparing herself for the worst. It was incredible to hear, and frankly she was never one to doubt victims. But having met both Lucius and Romeo she couldn't fathom them doing anything like that. Only saying that out loud might not be a productive way. "Wow," she muttered under her breath, folding her arms in front of her chest with a worried frown on her face. "I will have to say I respect your honesty," she said, looking down as she felt almost betrayed. She was still so green to these rich families, and most of her life she had lived rather secluded and hidden away from the world. This would clearly take some time for her to digest, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about all of this.
"How is she? Your girlfriend?" she asked genuinely, "I mean if what you say happened had happened to me, I wouldn't dare be alone for one second." But that was her. Perhaps his girlfriend was some tough woman who could just fight for herself every given chance. Josette felt weak like that. Sure she had all the attributes from a vampyre, but she also wasn't someone who fought. Or at least that wasn't what she thought of herself. "Pardon, you probably don't want to discuss that with someone like me," she quickly said as she realized that he was probably not going to share anything with her. She looked away, and in that moment she saw a recognizable figure leave the hospital; Eden Parish. Her mind started to wonder what he was doing there, but she was quickly drawn back to have her attention on Kurtis.

Involved with something with the Parish estate? She hummed, and it could seem like she didn't care, but in reality she was involved with them as well. His welcome to the family didn't seem warm, it sounded more dangerous than that, but she wondered what had made the two cousins so different. They seemed to have pretty much the same upbringing, or at least on paper. She would join him in the room soon enough. The two didn't talk much unless it was Kurtis going out for a smoke or using the toilet.

Days later Josette had dressed up nicely in the outfit Romeo had helped her pick out. She even had Kareema help with replicating the hair. Looking at herself in the mirror she felt a little nervous. The was a make or break day. Either she belonged to the Parish family, or she had to start over from scratch.
Kareema dropped her off at the mansion gates, not wanting to risk getting spotted it seemed, "I just want him to like me," she said, a soft nervous chuckle leaving her lips. She bid Kareema goodbye, stepping out of the car. It didn't take long for her to reach the mansion door, knocking gently as a servant came to pick her up. They were silent, showing her up to Eden's study she had been at last time.
As the door opened, there he was. She put on a nice smile, carrying her folder of papers from last time just in case he needed to review them too. "Mr. Parish," she greeted him politely, holding out her hand to him. On her thumb sat Romeo's golden ring, the two garnets shining back from the light above. "Shall we begin?"

She sat down and was handed the envelope with the results. Taking it she held it rather delicately. "If you don't mind, there's something I would like to pass on first," she said rather seriously. She needed a clear head to talk about this, even if she was anxious to open and read it. If he permitted it she placed down the envelope on the table in front of her. She hesitated before she looked back at the vampyre. "I just need to know if I am who I think I am ... I want to know what might be expected of me; what rules to follow so to speak," she said. By that she meant if she would have to move in, or abide by some ancient rules. "You see ... I've met this boy, but he is a lycan and I've heard how strict some families can be with their bloodlines," she said, looking down at the ring, touching it gently as if she was caressing it. Clearly thinking of Romeo.

She felt more at ease as he said he was taking an approach to change the old rules. She nodded, and as he gestured for her to open the envelope she took it, opening it calmly and pulling out the contents. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath before she finally looked at the page. And there it was in green lettering. The proof that she was indeed offspring of Loralei Parish. She didn't really know how to react, perhaps it was relief and perhaps a bit of sadness as well? She had gained her family and yet she hadn't met the people she had set off to meet. "It appears you are my uncle, Mr. Parish," she said in a serious voice, handing over the report to him. She didn't need to see the finer details of percentage and such. But if Eden looked closer, he would see that Josette bore the pureblood gene that the Parish prided themselves on.
Leaning back she felt so overwhelmed, and if she had had a heart it would've been beating out of control. Could a vampyre even get symptoms of an anxiety attack without a beating heart? She wasn't sure, but she finally seemed to look to Eden. He was a stranger to her, and she was a stranger to him. Yet blood bound them in family and she knew that Kareema had talked a lot about family values within the Parish lineage. "I'm sorry, it seems like I can hardly speak," she admitted, scoffing softly as she looked down at her folded hands in her lap.

Josette didn't see his face of dread, too focused on looking at her hands. But as he was the one to apologize she looked up. A sad look in her eyes, because it was clear she wasn't there to cause him harm. He got up, and she did as well, looking at him rather worried. "I don't want to intrude ... I don't have to stay if you don't want me here," she spoke so honestly. It was amazing that something as unholy and morbid as the damned Parish siblings had created this sweet, young and innocent girl. "Before you go ... I promised to give you this ... From Romeo," she said, digging in to her bag, handing him a small envelope. "I haven't read it of course - And he apologizes for the lack of communication, he's at the hospital," she said. She frowned for a bit before she thought of something, "why don't you come visit him with me one of these days?" But that was about the time they had as he left. She stood in the study, just looking at the door that had been left slightly open.

The letter wrote:

Dearest Eden.
I am so sorry that I can't be there with you, but don't think you are not in my thoughts. I have sent this message through a strange turn of events I find myself in. Josette has grown to be somewhat of a confidant in your absence, so I hope you receive this message well.
I want to see you soon, but I know we both have to heal. I even had a dream that you came to visit me, kissing me on the forehead before leaving. Silly, isn't it? With a bit of luck I might be able to start walking normal soon enough. Training has been going well so far, but the pain medication they give me are high dosages. I wonder how much pain I would be in without them. And yet I feel the pain in my heart knowing you are in your mansion alone.
I wanted to write more, but I cannot risk writing anything too damning to myself and you, but what I ask of you is to be strong. Be the beacon of security and warmth and I promise you I will return to you soon enough.
Yours always, Romeo.