Song: Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis
~~~~~
Jordan's p.o.v.

"Daddy, why does Uncle Tom have bwuses?"

The entire room immediately went from warm and friendly to tense and panicked in three seconds flat. I saw Tom look up from his spell book, his wide eyes meeting mine. Sonja was trying her hardest not to snicker and Tucker gave us all suspicious looks.

"Yeah, why do you have so many bruises Tom?" Tucker narrowed his eyes at us from his seat at the kitchen table.

"Er...well Sparkley bum can explain it better than I can so..." He cleared his throat and looked back to the pages of his book. That jerk! He threw me under the bus! I guess I deserve it though. I was the one who made the bruises.

"Um. We got in a fight. And you know, the insane part of my mind sort of took over and beat him up. So yeah..." I tried to look as guilty as I could, which wasn't that hard since I was guilty already.

Sonja let out a small choked laugh from her side of the couch and Tom and I sent her death glares from ours. She shut up quickly and tried to cover the smile on her face with her hands.

Tucker just rolled his eyes at our behavior and scoffed. "Yeah I don't believe that for a second, but I'm not gonna ask because I don't want to hear about what you guys do behind locked doors. Especially when I'm eating." He picked up his plate and headed up stairs to his room. As soon as he left, Sonja let out a tornado of giggles.

"Shut up." Tom snapped at her.

She calmed down a little but she was still laughing at our guilty faces.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh at your super obvious lying. Ianita, your daddy and your uncle like to cuddle and hug a lot, and sometimes that makes bruises. Your uncle's okay though, he likes it." She tried to keep a straight face through the explanation.

Ianita just nodded and went back to her coloring. Thank the gods I didn't have to explain that. My face feels like it's going to explode.

"Let's just talk about something else...um, has Mianite said anything else on the whole void thing and how we can help?"
The happy expression vanished from Sonja's face. What did I say? I don't think I said anything offensive. Then again, I don't know what I'm doing half of the time because of my mixed up mind.

"He's been talking to Tucker...a lot." She pulled up her knees to her chin and stared at the floor sadly. "I worry about him. I'm still not really sure about this Mianite...and the fact that he isn't telling me what they talk about is a bad sign that something's going on. Tucker is really loyal. I'm afraid he might do something extremely stupid because of that."

He'll betray you all for his god.

Oh god, don't you start. I'm sick of you popping up every five minutes.

You know it's true. He'll do anything to please his god.

The scene of Tucker and Mianite talking just before I met the god flashed into my head. They'd been talking about a deal or something. They stopped when we came in. What deal had they been talking about? I hope Tucker didn't do anything stupid like Sonja said. I don't want to lose him.

"Whatcha thinkin about Sparklez?" Tom elbowed me in the rib. Oops. I need to stop spacing out. It's getting weird.

"Sonja, did Mianite ever discuss a type of deal with you?"

She furrowed her eyebrows for a second, before her eyes widened and anger flooded her eyes.

"What about a deal? What did you hear?"

"Before I met Mianite, he and Tucker were talking in the living room about a deal. They shut up when we came in though. Do you know what they were talking about?"

She got even angrier. Maybe I shouldn't have asked about it. She obviously knows what it is.

"I told him to wait! That idiot is gonna get himself killed!" She snarled. She stormed up the stairs, and I swore I could see fire burning in her eyes as she stomped up two steps at a time. Tucker is in deep trouble.

"I think I know what the deal is Sparklez..." Tom muttered angrily.

"What? What is it?" And why does everyone else know about it and I don't?

"Dianite wanted me to sign a contract once. It said a bunch of shit about being at his side whenever he wanted me to help him with something. They always sugar coat it. Being at their side basically means being their slave or doing all the dirty work that they're too lazy or proud to do. And because your goddess is the only one who actually cares about her followers in both dimensions, she probably never wanted you to sign anything like that. If Tucker actually signed that..." He just shook his head at the thought.
He was right. Ianite never talked about deals or contracts. If she wanted me to do something, she just asked nicely.

I began to hear yelling upstairs, and it wasn't just Sonja's. They were arguing. I felt extremely bad now. I shouldn't have asked about the deal.

It progressively got louder and louder, and I could hear them both stomping down the stairs. This isn't good.

Tom picked up Ianita from the floor and sat her in his lap. We waited for the fight that was, without a doubt, about to take place in the living room.

"I SAID A WEEK! ONE WEEK! IS THAT NOT LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU, TUCKER?!" I heard Sonja shout first.

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER?! HE CHOSE ME AS CHAMPION AND I CANT FAIL HIM! YOURE JUST JEALOUS!" He shouted back. I heard a small whimper from Ianita as they argued. She shouldn't be around this.

They finally reached the living room. Tucker was fully dressed in his Mage armor and he was shoving past Sonja every time she stepped in front of him to try and stop his walking. And Sonja was crying. He must have signed it.

Oh no.

"JEALOUS THAT YOU JUST THREW YOUR LIFE AWAY?! YOU LIED TO ME AND DID WHAT I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOUVE DONE?!" She screamed at him.

"I DID MY JOB! AND IF YOURE GONNA STAND HERE AND BITCH ABOUT IT ALL DAY, THEN GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! GO MAKE YOUR DAMN COOKIES AND CRY, I DONT CARE! JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE! ALL OF YOU!" He pointed his sword at us and I saw Ianita sink into Toms arms in fright.

"Tucker calm the hell down!" Tom said angrily.

It just made him worse. "SHUT THE HELL UP! IM SICK OF YOU BOTH DUMPING YOUR DAMN FOSTER KID ON US WHILE YOU GO SCREW EACHOTHER! TAKE YOUR SCREWED UP FAMILY AND GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" He snarled in Toms face.

"Screwed up family?" I asked him, hurt evident in my voice.

You are screwed up. Two gays and a kid that isn't even a human.

If Tom hadn't been pissed before, he certainly was now. He handed me Ianita, his eyes never leaving Tucker's as he did so. I don't want them to fight. They're best friends. They shouldn't be torn apart because of a stupid god.

Tom stood up from his seat and towered over Tucker with a glare that could kill.

"Apologize. Now. Or I'll beat your ass into next week." He cracked his knuckles, and I could see the slight fear in Tucker's eyes through his helmet. He didn't let it show for long.

"Why should I apologize to you?" He spat, shoving Tom in the chest.

I saw Toms jaw clench, but he remained rooted to his spot. Thank god he was restraining himself. "Not to me. To your damn girlfriend. You made her cry, called her a bitch, and told her you don't care about her. And all because of what? A stupid god? You're giving up everything you love for a god you don't even know."

He obviously felt guilty. The way he kept glancing at Sonja silently crying on the couch every few seconds was a dead give away. But he still wouldn't back down from his argument. "You don't know me, Tom. You don't know what I go through. Don't tell me how to live my life, it's mine and I'll do what I want with it." He crossed his arms stubbornly in front of his chest.

"Tucker." Tom sighed.

"What?" He snarled.

"You're acting like your dad."

That hit a nerve. Scratch that, he ran over the nerve with a truck. Tucker's shoulders sagged and his prideful stance became a pitiful one. Apparently Tucker's dad is not a good man.

"Don't hurt Sonja like your dad hurt your mum. Don't lose everything because of some pride. Were your friends, not your enemies. We just want what's best for you. That deal thing was a terrible idea and you know it."

"Tom, you don't understand. You don't get it. He's my god and I'm gonna be loyal to him. I'm not gonna choose between you guys and him. I signed the deal and that's that."

"I know you want to believe this is the Mianite from our dimension, but it's not. We don't know about him. And if two gods don't trust him, then there's a chance he's not what you think he is. You may have just signed your soul away to a god that's corrupted."

I think Tucker was finally beginning to realize what he did. He took off his helmet and threw it to the floor, pulling at his hair and groaning in frustration. "What the hell do I do now?"

"You can start by apologizing to every one you just insulted. You scared the hell out of my daughter and you're lucky I'm not beating your ass right now because of it."

Tucker hesitantly turned to me and Ianita, and I felt her flinch in my arms and hug me tighter. She's scared of him now. I didn't want that. I wanted her to love everyone that I loved.

"I'm really sorry. You guys aren't screwed up. You're a perfect family. I'm just being a jerk..." Tucker sighed.

"Now apologize to your girlfriend. I don't have a clue why she would still want you after what you said, so you better get on your hands and knees and beg for her forgiveness." He pointed to Sonja, who was still cornered on the couch with her knees covering her face.

Tucker scoffed. "I am not getting on my hands and-"

"Do it NOW." Tom raised his voice and shoved Tucker towards the floor. I saw Tucker flinch slightly and brush it off with a sigh. He got down on all fours and crawled over to Sonja's spot. I had to cover my mouth so I wouldn't laugh at him.

"Sonj...please forgive me." He begged her in a solemn tone.
She didn't look up from her knees. She didn't move or make a sound.

"What can I do to make it better? I'll do anything. I love you baby." He gently kissed her ankle. She still didn't make a single move.

"Sonja please. I don't wanna lose you. I'm so sorry. I love you so much. Please talk to me." He was practically hugging her feet now.
She finally moved, but she wasn't crying anymore. Her eyes were full of anger and her cheeks were flushed red.

"When you rip up that stupid piece of paper, then I'll forgive you. Until then, I'm not gonna be your girlfriend. See other girls, go get drunk off your ass, I don't care. It's me or your god Tucker. If you choose Mianite, then don't even bother ever speaking to me again." She got up from the couch, jerking her feet away from Tucker's embrace. She stormed out the door and slammed it shut behind her.

I don't think I'd ever seen Tucker more broken before. She literally just dumped him. I mean, he sort of deserved it, but it was a little harsh. He just stared at the spot where she'd been previously with tears in his eyes. The Tucker Williams is crying? Oh my god.

"Hey dude, it's okay. We can get rid of that contract and you'll get her back. It's no problem." Tom patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"It was a blood pact..." Tucker whispered, a few tears rolling down his cheeks.

"What? What does that mean?" Tom raised an eyebrow.

"I can't...there's nothing I can do. I can't break the pact. It's magic and...it'll happen whether I want it to or not. She'll never take me back..." He put his face in his hands and let out a pitiful sob.

This escalated so quickly.

"No, stop crying. She's just hurt and she's being a bit unreasonable. We can try to talk her into letting you off the hook. It's gonna be okay dude. She's not gone yet. We'll talk to her. Don't worry." Tom looked to me when he said that.

Looks like I'm gonna be playing relationship councilor. Great.
~~~~~~
Ughhhhhhhhh I'm so tired. I feel like someone beat me with a sack of potatoes. HALP.

Leave a comment or a favorite of you enjoyed the chapter! I appreciate the feedback :3

Thank you!

- Lee