Uprising

Chapter 12

"I... I... I don't know." I answered as my breath seemed to catch in my throat. It made me sound like I was guilty and trying to hide something, but I knew I wasn't. I knew that I knew nothing; I recognised the name and that was all I knew.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Jake roared as he hit the wall at the side of him. "Since Eric got here, he's been hiding something and then just as your about to leave..."

"She doesn't know anything." Eric interjected as he seemed to position himself between Jake and I as if he were ready for what was coming and it wasn't going to end well for Jake.

"Then tell me what the hell this is all about." Jake demanded. I wanted to move but I was too scared by Jake. I knew I could probably keep him in line, but I also knew I'd never forgive myself if I had to do something and I ended up hurting him. I knew he was only getting angry because it seemed like he was being kept out of the loop, but in the same breath, I was being kept out of the loop as well.

"Why do you seem to be siding with her and protecting her? She's not your mate; she's just some girl and yet here you are putting yourself between me and her, making it pretty clear where your loyalties lie."

"It's not about that at all. It's about a promise I made to her and to someone else." Eric snarled. "You'd do the same to keep your promises, wouldn't you?" There was silence between them both as I closed my eyes a little to try and regain some composure, but I knew it was going to be hard to do that until the situation had got better and calmed down.

"What would you do in my position?" Jake asked, seemingly calmer than he had been.

"I would trust you. You are like my brother, Jake. I just ask you to trust me on this one thing." I went to reach for Eric but dropped my hand and then stepped around him.

"I don't know anything, Jake." I looked up at Jake, feeling a little on edge. "So please don't take it out on Eric. I don't know why they've been following me. I don't know why they came to my house." I looked back at Eric apologetically. "He was going to find out sooner or later. You may as well be honest with him." I shrugged. "I don't understand any of what is going on just as much as you don't." I looked down at my feet, feeling a sickness begin to roll up to my chest.

"So, where are you going to go?" Jake asked, making me lift my head to look at him. I could see a small bit of relief wash over his face. I wasn't sure if it was because of me or because Eric had begun to calm down.

"I was going to get some answers, hopefully." I bit my lip, a little worried. "I don't know if anyone will have answers for me on what's going on, but I have to try and find someone who might know something."

Jake seemed to let out a sigh and then looked away as if debating something for a moment and then he looked back at me and then Eric. "What would you do?"

"I don't think I can answer that." Eric muttered. "Professionally, I'd have to say I'd let her go, but because this is personal to me, I don't want her to go without me going with her."

"And what do you think of the situation from a personal perspective?"

"I think because of who she knows, she's been dragged into something that has nothing to do with her." I could hear the defeat in Eric's voice, as if he knew he had to give Jake something to make him trust him again.

"And who do you know, Isabelle? Someone who would warrant the Order of Blood to follow you?" I saw the harsh look in Jake's eyes, as if he were accusing me of something he didn't yet know about or something he suspected about me.

"I...I don't know." I told him quietly as I looked down again. I knew Viktor the vampire king; I knew Xander the vampire prince if I wanted to think of him like that; then there was Cordelia, the ex-high priestess who ran away with me, who was also my aunt; then there was Eric the alpha to be; and many other people I had met through Cordelia.

"Who do you think has brought this on her?" Jake asked, clearly directing the question to Eric this time.

"She knows Xander, she knows me, and she now knows you..." I looked up in time to see Eric shrug a little. "She could be an innocent bystander in this and your acting like she's the villain in this."

"And you know it's only a matter of time before the seal breaks when they find the last blood." Jake seemed to snap. "So I'm sorry if I'm trying to rule out your ex as a possible victim, unless you want to see her dead."

"What are you talking about?" I looked at Jake seriously.

"Business that doesn't involve you, sweetheart." Jake answered simply.

"Isabelle, go home; you'll be safe there." I turned to look at Eric and nodded. This was getting too much and I couldn't think straight and Jake was certainly making me feel on edge again with how snappy he'd become again.

"She's not going anywhere. If there's even a chance that they might want her for the reason we think they might want her, we need to keep her here and keep her safe."

"She'll be a lot safer and calmer at home." Eric argued.

"The house they found her at?"

"No, her family's house." Eric turned and nodded to me, telling me to go. "She'll be more than safe there." As I went to leave, Jake moved and blocked my way.

"Where?" Jake simply answered.

"Just let her go." Eric growled in a low growl as a warning to Jake. I knew this growl too well. I recalled how one day he'd used that growl on Danny one summer when we'd all been hanging out together and Danny had got drunk and said something offensive to me and Eric hadn't liked it in the slightest. Jen had to take Eric away while I went and tried to sober up Danny. That day felt like a lifetime ago compared to now and how things had changed.

"Please." I told Jake simply. "You don't want me angry and you certainly don't want Eric angry with you." I looked up at him from under my eyelashes in the hope that he'd see sense and let me walk away. "If it makes you feel better, I'll give you my number so you can check in on me?" I suggested hoping to find a happy medium for the situation.

"Don't bother." Jake muttered and stepped aside. I let out a soft sigh and shook my head a little, then went past Jake, back to the door and out the door. The first thing I did was check for anyone standing near my car and when I saw no one, I went and got into my car. I looked back to the door of Jake's house to see Eric shutting the door and making a shooing motion to me. I hadn't felt right leaving Jake to suffer Eric on his own, but at the same time, I knew not being there would probably calm the situation much faster than if I was there.

I took out my phone and sent a text to Cordelia. I'm coming home. I need you. I threw my phone into the passenger's side seat and then locked my car door, started the car, and drove away. I knew it was going to be at least an hour's drive, which would make it sun-rise time, but I didn't care. I needed Cordelia. I needed her to tell me everything was going to be ok and to tell me what was going on and that I wasn't going crazy from all of this and that all of this would be fixed and they'd simply made a mistake in following me. She had to tell me that; she just had to.