Marathon 3/3

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Chap. Seventeen " The heart of the hunter"

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The world was shit, men had been in charge of turning the world into a disgusting macho society, he did not blame them, not entirely at least, he blamed the teachings that were passed from generation to generation to the lack of their own criteria and he hated himself for what he once was, what he had believed.

Morgan Atlantis, he was not clean wheat, He was a friend of Thomas for a reason, they had shared ideals, dreams, actions. Morgan was once a reflection of Thomas.

Women? Something that he discarded with disinterest, the girls seemed attractive to him until the charm was removed and he discarded. Why would he have a woman by his side if she was not interesting? 3 women before Alice had been victims of Morgan's immature attitude and would have continued that way if that starless night hadn't passed.

Morgan had come home from a part-time job given him at a hardware store, on the way he had been so distraught that he had practically run home to make sure his cute little eyes were there safe. He only found one note.

Morgan, I went to buy milk with Mrs. Saria, I'll be back soon

Nothing out of the ordinary, but his heart was pounding too much, so painfully, Maureen's bright blue eyes were chasing him, his face ached as if he'd been hit and his ribs burned. He began to pant, he wanted to ease his discomfort by closing his eyes, but he only heard screams.

Please! Please no! No! THOMAS!

It was then that Morgan ran, his heart guided him to a dark alley 6 blocks from his home and before entering that alley the screams and pleas of Maureen hit him. Not caring who the person Maureen had on him was, he hit him with a glass bottle on the head and kicked him repeatedly, until he saw his face.

His soul brother, his best friend, complained on the floor, he wanted to kill him, the pain clouded his judgment. He had entrusted his most precious treasure to Thomas, he had opened the doors of his house, he remembered little of that day.

He only knows that he took his sister and called a taxi to the nearest police station, he knew who Thomas's mother was and he knew that if they did not act quickly justice would be useless, although in the end justice was just as useless.

The months after the complaint were torture, her sister was always the happiest in her home, the one who gave her home the warm and feminine touch, the one who was always there for them, after that night Maureen just went be quiet.

She stopped playing, she stopped dancing, she stopped smiling, the nightmares tortured her, her eyes of such a beautiful and magical celestial faded, now there was darkness in them. Thomas Rivel had broken something fundamental in Maureen. Morgan felt so much rage, so much helplessness, his most beautiful flower was withering without him being able to do anything to prevent it.

He felt guilt, he had let a monster into his home, he had trusted him, he did not see the obvious signs, like when he found him in his sister's room, he told her that he loved the guitar she had there, his Girlfriends always looked like Maureen, Thomas was always even more jealous than him when they wanted to conquer his sister, the slight flirtation that Morgan and Maureen mistook for play, the way he looked at her.

Morgan thought it was like a brother looking at a sister. Ha! How stupid he had been. He felt so stupid, so useless, his duty was to protect her, make sure that no idiot broke his heart and without realizing that the monster always had him by his side. The trials were beginning and Morgan thought that his Maureen would collapse, he had done it once on the floor of his room while he contemplated the sharp blade of a knife, that day Morgan made sure to hide any object that she could use as a weapon, that day he had slept on the doorstep of her room making sure she was there.

By making sure Maureen didn't commit suicide, Morgan actually thought the trials would break her further.

He was so wrong, the Maureen he saw at the trials was a much stronger version, a storm. The world judged her and pointed her finger at her while she kept her eyes up, they tried to bend her, 5 lawyers attacked her if she stopped and she stood firm and attacked with the same force and chaos of a hurricane.

They accused her of being a liar, a whore, a fox, they tried her when she had not committed any crime, they tried to crush her, they tried to control a storm and the hard way they had discovered that storms could never be controlled, in all that process Maureen had been stood firm, drawing strength from where there was none, facing her worst fears, facing the world, alone, hurt and undoubtedly broken.

That show of strength, of his little and soft younger sister was something that marveled him, many would have given up, given up seeing themselves attacked with such fury, where many would have flanked, Maureen remained standing immovable. Where was the young woman who considered suicide as a way out? Where was the young woman who was silent at home? Where was the scared girl?

She was still there, hurt, shattered, but Maureen overcame her, she had decided that she would lick her wounds later, now was her time to fight for justice.

Morgan could not help but admire that determination, that strength that did not come from her arms or fists, it came directly from an innocent heart that yearned for justice and punishment for the wounds made in her heart, a warrior that was devastated by the storm and that in half of her had risen bravely.

On those days, during the trials, Maureen left behind her sweetest and most innocent side and showed what a chaotic storm she was.

Days after the judge ruled in Maureen's favor and sentenced Thomas Rivel to prison for the crime of sexual abuse of the minor Maureen Atlantis under article 260 of the federal criminal code that stipulates a 15-year sentence with 300,000 penalty dollars that will be delivered to the minor's guardian.

Maureen of course, refused to receive the money, instead she gave that money to 6 foundations that helped victims of abuse, each foundation was given 50 thousand dollars.

After the case was closed, Morgan went to apologize, he quoted each of his girlfriends on different days and different places and asked for forgiveness, he knelt down, lowered his head and apologized for his crime, they forgave him, no One of his exes was spiteful-hearted, Morgan cried, because he repudiated himself for such cruel and macho acts, because maybe he had turned off their eyes, because maybe just as Thomas cracked his sister, he maybe did on them.

He felt defeated, useless for not being able to protect his sister, for letting the Monster into his home, for being carried away by Thomas, for thinking that women were disposable, for considering himself superior.

When in reality, he was nobody before the relentless force of a woman.

He hated himself ... And above all he hated Thomas too much, the one who swore that together they would protect his sister.

Thomas betrayed him, he loved him like a brother, he would have given his life for him, but Thomas decided to betray him.

- Morgan - A soft whisper, the oldest of the Atlantis stopped looking at the window to watch his sister - Stop blaming yourself

There was something extremely different about her, it was not something physical, something had changed in her eyes, they shone more, it was something that could not explain a bright stranger, but still she was beautiful, her eyes something that always stood out among all her attributes, so blue, so green, so marine.

- How do you know that I blame myself?

- I can feel it - Maureen placed one of her hands over her heart - I feel like they are stabbing my heart.

The damn twins connection was shit sometimes - I'm sorry.

- What do you feel exactly?

- Lying to you about Thomas, being a bit of a jerk these last few months - Morgan sighed.

- You can't always protect me, neither Ian, nor you or Jasper can always be there preventing me from hurting - It hurt to know that this was true, that no matter what I did to protect her, one day she would be hurt - They cannot continue to consider me weak, fragile, like cracked glass, they can't lock me in and tell me that's love and protection when it's not.

- You're my twin, Maureen I almost lost you that day, do you remember the knife? - Maureen nodded - You can't ask me to stop protecting you when losing you would be like ripping my heart out.

- They won't lose me! God! I'm not going to kill myself for any idiot who thinks I'm his - Maureen sighed - I thought about it that day, but giving up was a coward and I wasn't going to give Thomas the satisfaction of seeing how he killed me for his cause. You and jasper don't get it.

- What is it that we don't understand ?! - Morgan began to get frustrated - I failed the first time! I failed you! I couldn't protect you from Thomas! And I'm not going to fail again!

- You didn't fail me Morgan

- Yes of course

- You cannot change the decisions of others, you cannot control everything, Thomas made his decisions, Thomas was our friend, we trusted too much and he played us crooked, he hurt us - Maureen sat next to her brother - But life goes on, I don't think Live with fear. Verify that he wants to finish again what he could not in that alley, I do not want to live with fear.

- That easy? - Morgan snorted - forget and continue as if nothing?

- We will not forget, such deep wounds are always remembered - Maureen intertwined her fingers with those of her brother - Let's continue our lives, knowing that we did everything possible to lock up a rapist, but justice is not on the side of the innocent.

- What if he comes?

- I'm sure Jasper will have no problem showing him who is above the food chain - Morgan smiled, Jasper was a damn beast, but a beast that adored Maureen, for the whole world Jasper was the soldier and for Maureen a young cowboy in love - I'm not sure I want Jasper to spill blood on my behalf though.

- Because?

- I love Jasper, he already feels like a monster for what he is and because of his past as a soldier I don't want another name on the list of his victims.

- Has he told you all his past?

- No but it is not difficult to add two plus two with what he told me - Morgan looked at his sister with confusion - Young, vampire, soldier, war, his gift - he began to list the factors - blood ... He doesn't have to tell me nothing for me to know that there are more victims on his conscience than students in Forks.

- And still you love him - Morgan commented - You are a prey in love with the hunter.

- I'm not prey, Morgan. I am the heart of the hunter

Morgan smiled - So am I forgiven?

- You are, but really stop being an overprotective jerk, it suffocates me sometimes - Maureen sighed - that doesn't mean you can't intervene, but only when necessary. Let me live, I will have wounds, those are inevitable, but from pain, strength is born and from strength, hope.

- I will try

Failing again was a constant fear, just as he was afraid of hurting Alice, the fairy who had captivated him. But he would make an effort not to hurt the two women who lived in his heart.

Something had changed in Maureen, Jasper thought as he watched her, she was looking at him accusingly, her eyes even brighter than before regarding him with disapproval. Jasper wanted to smile because it was the cutest image in the world, it was like seeing a little puppy grumbling, but smiling would make him look like an idiot and surely Maureen would have thrown him out of his room.

- Are you going to continue seeing me that way? - Jasper questioned - Maureen?

- I'm considering the idea of ​​forgiving you or sending you to the wolves - Maureen muttered - Which one do you think is the best?

Jasper smiled, he was already forgiven, Maureen was just acting, he knew it because if it weren't like that she wouldn't even have let him into her room. Even so, he would apologize for hiding something so serious from him.

- What if I pay all your Disney + monthly payments? - Maureen tried to hide her smile, that smile that had him enslaved - How about Netflix?

- How about both?

- Do you want to leave me in ruins - a total lie, he could buy Maureen an entire city and still he would be a billionaire - Have mercy on this poor cowboy in love

Maureen smiled sweetly, she really wanted to play hard, but Jasper didn't make it easy for her.

- I hate not being able to be mad at you or Morgan - Maureen sighed - they really were overprotective assholes.

Jasper nodded - I'm sorry, but never in my life as a human or vampire I felt something so strong, I thought I saw love meaning centuries ago and suddenly you arrive with your little marine eyes, a sweet smile and your warmth, suddenly what ever I thought love became nothing next to what I feel for you.

- Jasper ...

- Do you know how much I love that you sing for me trying to relax? You know how much I adore that you intertwine our fingers to keep me warm? You know how much I adore that you try to steal my coats and wear them? You know how much I love that you snuggle up to my sides like a kitten looking for warmth? Do you know how much I adore you? - Jasper enclosed Maureen's face between his big and cold hands, his little face with marine eyes so bright that the stars were no rivals - You are the most beautiful person in the world, you are the most beautiful thing that has happened to me and losing you would be my hell Personal and protecting yourself is an instinct that sometimes I don't control.

- But you and Morgan confuse protection with confinement - Maureen muttered - You can't be there for everything, Jasper. Do you understand that it suffocates me that they try to control every step I take? I love being taken care of but they get to a point where I can't go shopping without you there.

- The Thomas thing happened when you went shopping

- As I told Morgan and Ian and I repeat it to you, I do not plan to live in fear of going out on the streets because of the possibility of being attacked, that is not life, I will learn to defend myself.

Jasper sighed in resignation. - Okay, I won't be so protective.

- Does that mean you will stop following me every time I go out?

Jasper looked at her sadly. Who had told him that he was following her? - How do you know?

Maureen smiled innocently. - I'm not an idiot, Jasper. I feel your watchful eyes when I go out on the street and let me tell you it's very creepy, just be a normal vampire boyfriend, okay?

Jasper laughed. - Okay, I'll be a normal vampire boyfriend. Can I give you a hug?

Maureen melted with tenderness, a soldier asking permission to hold her. Maureen spread her arms and Jasper took her by the waist and hugged her lifting her off the ground, Maureen squealed with delight.

- You are a very nice soldier Jasper

Jasper hid his head in her neck and breathed in her scent, he had been deprived of it all day and was beginning to miss him.

- I missed you these hours, Maureen

- Awwww ... You are very cute Soldat

- Soldat?

- I saw that nickname in a Sergeant Barnes story and it seemed appropriate for you

- Should I call you my love as a nickname?

- Be original Jasper, look for a cute nickname.

- Be original Jasper, look for a cute nickname.

- How about marine eyes?

- You're copying Morgan ...

- I'm very bad at nicknames Maureen.

- You will come up with a suitable one

Jasper kissed Maureen's cheek before pulling away, though the soldier still wasn't backing away from her. Jasper was admiring Maureen's little eyes, the most beautiful blue-green he had ever seen, so bright, so happy, so innocent, so strong. Maureen was a strange combination of innocence and strength, an innocent soul that even being attacked and hurt continued to see good things in the world full of demons. Maureen was a strong soul, a warrior who did not lift swords, but shook the world, your soul.

Maureen shook her heart and soul

- You are my hope, Maureen.

The hope that he believed lost in the lands of Texas and that he found in the eyes of a brilliant young woman that was a storm chaos.

- And you are my strength, Jasper.

The strength that many times he needed to fight his demons, to combat his fears. Jasper kissed her face repeatedly while Maureen laughed.

- Jasper?

- Tell me?

- Was it true about paying me the Disney and Netflix monthly payments?

Jasper laughed - Yes, it's true.

- You are the best non-boyfriend there is

- No boyfriend?

- You have not asked me to be your girlfriend

- I took it for granted

- Serious mistake Soldat, someone else can steal me from your arms.

- Tell me who, to show him how beautiful life is.

In hell, Jasper thought

Maureen laughed. - You are adorable, Jasper.

Jasper smirked before placing a sweet kiss on Maureen's forehead. He loved her, he adored her, she was his most precious treasure, his brightest star. Maureen was a beautiful chaos and Jasper was willing to lose himself in her chaos without caring about a thing.

Regardless of how much he lost in the future.