Shatter Me

Replacement

I look inside and I can feel my eyes burn as I see the bar. My breath heaved as my lungs weighed heavily and my stomach twisted with a sickening desire. I turn to rush outside when I'm grabbed and forced to face Jareth. 

"Hemera! Calm down! Look at me!" His eyes try to keep mine as I search for the bathroom. I need to get out. I need to leave. 

"Look at me! Tanner-" A growl slips out at the mention of my son's name coming from his lips. How dare he speak his name to me.

"Tanner and Melissa baked some delicious cupcakes." I stared at Jareth's mouth in disbelief of what I am hearing. Tanner, my sweet boy, sat in an unknown home without me baking with a woman he hardly knows waiting for me to return. My anger swelled before popping like a bubble leaving soft fragments of sadness in me. Tanner is waiting for me. He would be saddened if he saw me in such a state. I need to keep myself together for him, so that I can ensure he has a good life. 

"I'm sorry, Jareth. I'm so sorry." I looked to Jareth's watchful eyes giving him a moment to release me as I felt myself calm. 

"You have nothing to apologize for. Come, let's get that treated." Jareth takes me up to the counter and requested some medicine and bandages which were promptly given. 

"I don't want to go back to the room. I don't want Kaleb seeing this." I grimace as I look at the five straight lines on my arm that looked like some kind of code. 

"Yes, ma'am." I follow Jareth into the elevator and watch him pick floor level six. I look to him disappointed that he didn't care for what I asked and still decided to take me to Kaleb. I looked down at my feet reminding myself Jareth is Kaleb's caretaker. He doesn't need to do as I ask. 

Stepping off the elevator, staring at the door I think of the many ways Kaleb could react. Angry, disappointed, and worried all crossed my mind but I wasn't sure which. I didn't want to find out either. 

"Mrs. Valora." Startled I look to see Jareth holding open a door to the room next to mine. He listened to my wishes. Quietly I follow Jareth inside relieved and sit on the couch. 

"Did you stay here with us?" My eyes glued to the open suitcase on the table, as Jareth messes with what the front desk gave him, that didn't have neatly packed clothes but a disarray of laundry within. Jareth closes the suitcase and sits next to me. 

"Yes. We are more than caretaker, Mrs. Valora, we are your protectors." I glance to Jareth wondering what he could protect me against. Then I realize he wasn't here to protect me. He was here to protect Kaleb from me. 

"You are here to be Kaleb's protector, not mine." The stinging  on my arm is eased with teh leaf green gel Jareth applied. Stopping for a moment Jareth looks at me with what I presume to be anger. Did I offend him?

"Mrs. Valora, I'm sorry." Jareth looks away and focuses on bandaging my arm. Not sure what he had to be sorry for I asked, "For?"

"Mr. Noelle. I saw him get up to come after you, but I didn't take action until it was too late." The ordeal with Mr. Noelle must have not only upset me but him. It didn't occur to me that it was hard for him to stand by and watch. 

"You shouldn't be. You did a big thing for me. If you didn't stop me and talk to me about Tanner I would have gone into a rage. I'm indebted to you, Jareth. Thank you." He finishes up thee bandage with tape and looks at me again. I expect him to say something important or say anything at all but instead he walks away. 

"Well, would you like some breakfast?" At the word I'm up and ready to go back down to eat. I started to feel like I was running on fumes. 

As I get up my arm stings and I'm reminded of the bandages. I cringe at the thought of all the looks I will receive when around the high class wizards. 

"Jareth" My voice comes out softer than intended as uncertainty questions my thoughts. I look back to his closed suitcases and back to him before letting uncertainty win. 

"Nevermind." Straightening my back I walk out the room and head for the elevator. My imagination runs wild with the imagery of eyes. My skin crawls with fright and I begin to fiddle with my wedding band. A soft touch on my shoulders had me jerked forward in surprise. I look back to see Jareth holding the jacket that was on the floor. 

"It's going to be chilly in the restaurant." My cheeks plumped as my smile neared laughter. He understood. With a breath of a thank you I slip on the jacket. 

"What is going on?" Kaleb's voice wipes away my momentary joy. I look to the properly dressed man in the doorway. Composing myself I prepare to face the consequences. 

"Jareth and I were about to go enjoy some brunch. Would you like to join us?" It would be better to tell him what happened with people around. He wouldn't dare lose his composure in front of an audience. 

"Don't take me for a fool. My father called me." I step towards Kaleb putting Jareth behind me. 

"You broke his nose?!" I could only stop half of my smile from forming as pride filled me. 

"He failed to understand personal boundaries." I answered watching Kaleb start to turn red in anger. 

"I don't care if he got a little too close to you! You could have started a war! A war!" Kaleb takes tiny steps to me and my body starts to stiffen. Kaleb won't hurt me but as he got closer I felt more on edge. 

"Mr. Valora, allow me to explain." Jareth starts up. I hold up my hand to silence and still him.  I won't allow him to get in between us. 

"Jareth, I won't hurt him." I glance back to Jareth and smile to reassure him.

"Kaleb, I'm sorry. I only thought-"

"There's the problem!" I stared at Kaleb who shouted. His hands moved as to emphasize his explosive thought.

"You were thinking!" Kaleb takes a bold step to me and I quickly hide my hands behind me and started the silent count of each finger. He doesn't know what exactly happened. I needed to hold onto patience. With one more bold step he is inside my personal space and pushes his boundaries further by leaning his face close to mine. 

"Don't forget that you are nothing but a replacement." His words fell so low and soft that if he didn't lean in I wouldn't have heard him properly. He did it to make sure I would listen. to make sure what he said stuck. It worked. My heart rippled in pain as the word replacement sown itself in. The pain bolted to my brain shutting down my rational left side leaving my emotional side screaming at me to cry, yell, and hit him. 

Instead my left side's emergency system rang out deflecting the pain to my neurons and electrocuting my nervous system. I stared at Kaleb in the eyes and with a just as soft voice. 

"I may be a replacement, my love, but at least I do not harm the ones I promised to protect." Kaleb's face twists in what I assume is confusion. Then turning my mind on autopilot I leave Kaleb and Jareth in the hallway to go eat.