TWISTED FATES BOOK 1: The First Twist
Chapter 16

Sammie

It felt like I was soaring for a while. Then almost as quickly as it happened, the flying sensation stopped. I tried to open my eyes to see where I was, but my body wouldn’t let me for some reason.

What happened to me?

I remember being with Jareth and then colliding with someone. After that, everything else converged into a blur of noise and colors. Nothing tangible appeared for me to shed some light on what the fuck was going on at the moment.

“Sammie ...”

I heard a voice calling me far off in the distance. It sounded like Jay. Unexpectedly, I was no longer in a vast ocean of nothingness but was now standing in an endless corridor. I was surrounded by several white closed doors on either side.

“Sammie ...”

Jay’s voice was closer now. I spun around and was suddenly face to face with my beautiful BFF, Jay.

How could this be?

I reached my hand over to him cautiously to touch him and decipher whether or not my mind was playing some fucked-up game with me. To my amazement, he didn’t disappear like some made-up apparition concocted by my ridiculous imagination. I let out a short gasp.

Jay seemed amused at my confusion and let out a melodic laugh.

“It’s really me bitch.” He chirped. “I’m here to help you, my little gem. It seems you got yourself in a seriously fucked up sitch, babe.”

I was still not quite sure of what exactly was taking place at the moment, but I was sure of one thing; despite his being dead for over three years, the person in front of me was Jay.

“Jay? ” I scrunched my brows and gazed at his cherubic smile. “How are you even here? What the hell’s going on?”

“I know this may seem like seriously insane,” he began, “but I don’t have a lot of time, hon. So that being said, I really need you to listen to me. Okay?”

I slowly nodded my head, allowing Jay to continue.

“I know this is pretty fucked up, Sammie, but I’ll try and spill the tea as clearly as possible. Someone tried to kill you, and right now, you are teetering between the realm of the living and the realm of death.”

Yeah, let’s just keep spiraling down this rabbit hole, shall we ...

Jay clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I know you think this doesn’t make any sense, Sammie, but trust me, you have to pay attention to what I’m telling you. If not, then she will still be able to get to you.”

“Who? Jay, who is after me?”

I could see that Jay wanted to answer my question, but something was holding him back. Something was preventing his words from escaping his lips.

I sensed Jay’s frustration, as he appeared to be searching for a way to divulge the identity of whoever was responsible for my attack. With a sigh, he finally spoke again.

“I’m so sorry, Sammie. I can only tell you that the person that is responsible for doing this is extremely powerful. So much so that they are somehow preventing me from being able to reveal their identity. I can tell you that you know this person, so you have to be very careful. Somehow they know you are still alive, and now they don’t just want you dead, Sammie. They want you entirely devastated.”

“Then what am I doing here with you, Jay?” I snapped back at him as I waved my arms in frustration. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Believe it or not, there are forces that are trying to protect you, Sammie,” Jay explained. “But your assailant got the upper hand, which is why you’re here with me now.”

Thanks, Captain Obvious ...

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, Sammie – I totally know what you’re thinking.” Jay chided then cleared his throat so that he could continue. “Now, back to what I was saying, Miss Smartass. You have peeps out there trying to help protect you, but clearly, it didn’t work out. Just know that choices are being made for you at the moment. They may not seem to your liking, but they will be for the best hon in the long run. ”

“What are these choices being made for me, Jay? Why won’t I – ”

“Sammie!” Jay abruptly interjected. “I’m running out of time, hon. Please just listen. Your fate was not the one you were born with. You won’t remember, but the person that did this to you manipulated you and caused you to alter your own destiny. Who you are now is not who you were originally meant to be. That vile creature took what was yours and cursed you in the process. But because you didn’t immediately die, like you were supposed to, you are now a threat to them and everything they stole from you. They didn’t anticipate the ones that protected you from death. So Please, Sammie ... you have to be careful and pay attention to those around you. Not everyone you know is what they seem.”

I let out a breath that I had not realized I had been holding. I noticed that Jay and I were now suddenly standing at the end of the corridor in front of a bright red closed door. He released my hand and solemnly looked at me before he spoke.

“Sammie,” he paused, “I’m afraid this is where our journey ends, sweetie. This door will lead you to where you belong. As much as I fucking wish I could, I can’t follow you through it.”

Tears began to swell in both our eyes. I was so overcome with a ton of emotions, but none worse than the pain of leaving my BFF again. I reached over and wrapped my arms around Jay and hugged him tightly, allowing his familiar scent of citrus and musk to fill my senses one last time.

Slowly Jay pulled away and smiled at me. His Amber eyes glossed over from unshed tears as he slowly nodded towards the door in front of me, indicating that it was time for me to leave this realm and move forward.

As I slowly turned the brass-colored doorknob, I took a deep breath and cautiously crossed the pitch-dark threshold into the unknown.

**********************************************************

For a brief moment, I wasn’t quite sure where I was. I could hear the faintest sound of voices far off in the distance. They sounded like Jareth, Shay, and Astrid. From what I could discern, they seemed to be sad, but I didn’t know why. After what seemed like a few moments later, I felt a fleeting sharp pinch on my neck, reminiscent of a bee sting. The sensation was quickly replaced by a feeling of euphoria flowing throughout my entire body.

That warm cushy feeling, however, faded fast ... real fast, I might add.

Without warning, it felt like the blood propelling within my veins was a smoldering river of fiery lava, slowly searing my entirety from the inside out. I wanted to cry out, but it appeared as if my vocal cords, hell any of my muscular functions, were not working.

Ok, this is bad ... and I mean really bad.

Every essence of my being was struggling to move ... to do Something. But no matter how I tried, it seemed as if I was in this silent prison within myself, suffering through insurmountable pain. The irony is that, for some reason, a sense of déjà vu swept over me. It was as if I had actually experienced this kind of pain before, which I don’t know about you, but pretty sure that this pain is DEFINITELY something I would have remembered—just saying.

“What the Fuck did you just do, Jareth?” I heard Shay yelling. Her voice was a lot clearer than before.

Good sign ... I hope.

But why was she yelling at Jareth?

I needed to replace out what the hell was going on. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I tried to scream out one more time.

**********************************************************

I bolted upright in an unfamiliar bed.

The sound of a scream reverberating throughout my ears.

I was perfectly prepared to tell whoever was making the ungodly noise to shut the hell up.

The surprised looks donned on everyone’s faces in the room brought about the understanding that the ungodly noisemaker was me.

Surveying the extravagantly decorated, very superfluous bedroom, I realized that everyone, myself included, was in Jareth’s home. I was sitting up in the middle of a massively intricately designed mahogany four-poster bed that was festooned with burgundy and gold bedding. I looked over at the four awestruck people staring at me. They looked as if I had literally just died and come back to life or something.

Very weird ...

I was seriously confused about a lot of things at the moment. I looked down and observed that my clothes were completely ruined. My bare stomach was wholly exposed.

What the hell happened to me? I glanced beside me and noticed my shocked boyfriend against the wall.

Why was Jareth on the ground? And why did it seem like there was some significant tension in the air?

I tried to clear my throat and say something, but the dryness the settled itself within my esophagus felt as desiccated as the Mojave Desert. Immediately, Jareth was beside me on the bed, wrapping me in a tight embrace.

Was he shaking?

Astrid and Shay approached me on the other side with a glass of water. I gently pushed Jareth away so that I could reach over and grab the clear, refreshing liquid that was desperately needed to quench my insane thirst.

When she handed me the glass of water, I noticed the death glares that both women were sending in Jareth’s direction.

If looks could kill ... Damn!

I rapidly drank the first glass of water but didn’t feel satiated. I was still very thirsty and oddly hungry. I glanced over at my GFs, who gave a gentle nod, and Astrid refilled the glass with more water for me.

“Here, hon. Hopefully, this will help.” Astrid soothingly said as she carefully placed the glass in my still trembling hands. I nodded in appreciation and again quickly consumed the water.

But to no avail, I was still thirsty.

Almost to the degree of ravenous, really.

Shay and Astrid’s brows creased as they first looked at each other, then ruefully turned to look at me.

“I’m sorry, Sweetpea,” Shay began, “I don’t think it’s water that you are in need of.”

“I think you need something ... else. Aren’t I right, Jareth?” Astrid shot out heatedly.

Everyone’s attention turned to the attractive man whose arms had been cradling me since I had woken up. I slowly turned myself to face him and could see his kissable lips had formed a thin line in a grimace. Instead of looking at me in the eyes, he looked down at my hands as he clasped them between his own.

“Jareth ... what are they talking about? Why does everyone here seem like they’re angry with you?”

A melancholy sigh escaped his lips as he tilted his head back up, and his mesmerizing cobalt irises suddenly bore into my own.

“I’m so sorry, love.” He began massaging my hand, his thumb slowly tracing circles on my wrist. “Please understand that despite what some may believe, this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Shay tsked and shook her head in irritation.

Yep, she was positively pissed.

Jareth gave her a quick menacing glare before returning his attention back to me. He sighed again.

“As I was saying. My actions were not deliberate. If there were a way that I could have avoided making such a drastic decision without your sanction, I would have Samantha. On my honor, I would have. ”

Did I just see Shay roll her eyes?

Jareth then tenderly took my chin into his hand and spoke with such melancholy in his voice. A slight shiver of fear crept up my spine. Something was seriously wrong here.

Samantha...someone you know, or rather believed you knew, placed a deadly curse on you in hopes of concluding your natural life. Their malicious plans came to fruition earlier this evening, when you were attacked by one of their sycophants and on the verge of death.”

I gasped with the information that spewed from Jareth’s lips.

Yep, this was definitely bad.

“I could not let you die, Samantha ... so I did what I had to do to save you.”

“What did you do, Jareth?” I nervously questioned him.

“I did what needed to be done ... I turned you, Samantha.”

I arched my eyebrow and stared at Jareth inquisitively. “Turned me? What exactly do you mean by turned me?”

“I sired you, Samantha. Those witches,” he gestured over to Shay and Astrid, “were unable to stop the poison festering within your body from spreading. In order to save your life, I came to a hasty deduction. There was no other alternative. I turned you into what I am and have been for over three hundred years. I turned you into ... a vampire.”

Seriously ... Seriously?!!

What the fuck, people?!

Did I just wake up in The Vampire Diaries?

Is my boyfriend insinuating that he’s the lost Salvatore brother?

Sigh … just what did I wake up to?