Would You Like Some Fries with that Crazy?

Chapter Four: Sibling Rivarlries

When I woke up, I was alone. And still in Jason’s room. I heard raised voices in the hallway, and crept over to the door to listen.

“What were you two even doing?!” I heard Maddy yell from the other side of the door.

Jason snorted, “Certainly not what you think we were doing.”

“Well then what were you doing?” Maddy shot back.

“Just sleeping. God! Why do you need to know every inch of my personal life, Madeline?” Ooh. Jason had crossed the line. Calling Maddy by her full name really got her going, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about a vampire vs. vampire battle.

I opened the door and walked gingerly out to join the conversation, eliminating any possible chance of a supernatural fight.

“My brother?!” Maddy asked me hysterically.

I stared down at my feet and mumbled, “Sorry. We didn’t want to tell you ‘cause we knew you would act this way.”

I glanced over at Jason, who had his arms crossed so you couldn’t see the scars on his wrists from years of cutting. He was still staring haughtily at Maddy. I nudged his arm, trying to calm him down; instead he just got even more infuriated. His face flushed with color, and I could see his fangs slide out.

Jason’s response only triggered Maddy to act the same way. I backed up against the wall, wanting to get out of the firing range.

In the end, Jason was the first to move. He leapt at Maddy full force, knocking her against the wall beside me. I quickly whirled aside to give them room. Maddy grabbed the front of Jason’s shirt and dragged him over to the opposite wall, slamming him up against it.

And so it went. Me jumping out of the way of Maddy and Jason’s flailing limbs. I watched, completely unprepared when Maddy locked her hands around Jason’s throat.

Maddy still had her hands around Jason’s throat. He was convulsing, trying desperately to get air. It wasn’t even that Maddy was strangling a person that bothered me. It was that she was strangling her brother, with such a fierce expression. Like she knew it was Jason, yet she didn’t care if he died.

“MADDY STOP!” I yelled in a strong, yet desperate voice. I felt the red lightning start crackling at my fingertips, a sure sign that it was going to get real bad, real fast.

When Maddy failed to heed my command, I pulled my fist back then let it fly. It hit her right in the nose. My punch momentarily stunned her, giving me what I needed. Time to get Jason away from his sister.

I grabbed him under his arms and yanked him away from Maddy. I set him up safely in the corner of the hall, and then checked his pulse. Still living. I gave a sigh of relief.

Jason woke up moments later, completely confused and clearly in pain.

“Don’t move your head,” I said. Letting my fingers run over the soft, tender bruises on his neck.

He grimaced in pain as I pressed too hard on a certain spot. “Ow,” he said.

“Sorry. Try not to talk unless it’s necessary. Ok?”

“Ok.”

I was only dimly aware Maddy was on her feet and moving.

Straight for me.