Diary of a Runaway (BOOK #3)

No Good Deed

        Ava

          I bit back the bile the rose in my throat at the sight of her. Liv made a move beside me only to be held back by Hanson. It had been weeks since I'd last seen my mother, but now I conquered the hate in my heart.

            "Now, now," she said, looking to Liv. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'm not here to harm any of you though I'm happy to see you're on your feet. No, as long as you all stay out of the way, there will be no trouble."

            Derek strode forward confidently, especially considering that the last time he'd done so, he'd ended himself up on the ground in excruciating pain. "And you think we're just going to stand back and listen to your demands, Celia?"

            She glared over at him. "I wouldn't expect anything less of you, Derek. You always had a knack for going off track. Now that I know why, I can honestly say I'm no longer surprised. Speaking of those who have disobeyed me, I don't spot my other daughter. Tell me, where has Val ended herself up this time?"

            I hugged my arms around myself, but Derek was the one to answer.

            "Oh, you haven't heard?" He turned back to group dramatically. "I guess we can mark the Hunters off the list of potential suspects."

            My mother's cruel smile faltered. "Suspects? What do you mean?"

            Derek crossed his arms stubbornly. This Derek rarely came out nowadays. I guess I saw it in William as well. Derek loved to mess with Celia's head--torture her, really. I didn't blame him though. She wasn't that pleasant of company.

            "Derek," she hissed, storming forward now, her expression that of absolute fury. "Where is my daughter?"

            He didn't move even as she stepped closer. "Oh, so you're going to claim her now? Right. What about the other daughter? Do you have any idea what Ava has gone through lately? Do you even care?"

            Her eyebrows knitted together, proving herself to be the true monster I had nightmares of. "My daughter has betrayed me and everything she could be. I've tried saving her, and again and again, she denies it."

            The fire rose through me. It burned in my chest and through my veins. Right now, I wanted her dead even. After everything she did to me and Val--I knew she loved me, too much as I had said before. But right now, I saw the woman who also hated me.

            "You weren't saving me, mother!" I practically screeched at her, stepping forward into the space between our group of vampires and her group of Hunters. "You were trying to get rid of what made me me!"

            "I was trying to rid you of what I have been raised to despise!" She waved around wildly. "These people you call your friends--the one's you've grown to care for and even love--they may not be the usual vampires. Hell, they may even be good. But there are others out there--those who will stop at nothing to get what they want. You may hate me. You may hate me and everything I believe in. But in the end, I'm only looking out for you. Whether you hear me or not."

            I wanted to run up and hit her as hard as I could. But I couldn't. No matter how much I didn't care about her anymore, I couldn't harm her myself. I was emotional and rash in my decisions. No matter how I badly I wanted to hurt her, I knew that in the end I wouldn't be able to do so. I would have to leave that to others.