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Three

THrē/

number

1.)
     Equivalent to the sum of one and two; one more than two; 3.
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"Who's back? Honey, we can't entertain her delusions. When I got upstairs, no one was in the room. Iris-"

"Iris IS NOT WRONG! I KNOW HE WAS THERE!" Iris interrupted, speaking about herself in third person as if she was finishing her father's sentence. She was at her last straw with her father, if he didn't shut up soon she was going to...

"Mom!!!" Iris yelled in fear as she watched her mother pinch the space between her father's neck and shoulder. A pressure point. Suddenly her dad was no longer talking, his eyes closed as he slumped, falling harshly to the ground. "D-Did you kill him?" Iris cried as she watched her father lay deathly still. Of course, she had seen this move done in movies and the victim had always woken up fine, however, her father had slammed against the hardwood floor pretty rashly; causing her to worry.

"No, of course not! I just needed him quiet so that we could talk. Iris honey, there is a lot you don't know. And I know most of what I'm going to explain to you will seem like... fiction, but trust me when I say I wouldn't lie about this." Her mother paused, running her fingers through her own hair, a look of sadness crowding her face. "Iris, we... We aren't your real parents."

"What?!" Iris felt as if the air she'd swallowed worriedly was being sucked from her lungs. Her parents... weren't her parents? Then who were her parents? And why was she not with them? Did they not want her? Where were they? More tears pooled into her eyes as she watched the woman she thought was her mother take a deep breath in preparation of answering her.

"Wait, before you start to question me down, just let me explain." Jenny, her once believed mother, spoke softly as she watched Iris look at her with both confusion and pain marring her face. Jenny had truly hoped she'd never have to tell Iris this.

But with the arrival of the Havok's in town and after so many years....

It meant 'he' was back also. And she couldn't risk him approaching Iris and delivering the news to her personally, not when Jenny had spent so much time and effort making sure Iris never knew about any of it.

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Yo-Your mother was my best friend. She was beautiful. Outgoing. And smart. So very smart. Everything with her, us, was going fine. We were like every other teen girl out there, concerned with problems that when taken into context now, they would surely seem miniature. But then, out of the blue... something changed in your mother. She seemed different, anyone who didn't know her well wouldn't be able to notice it. But I was her best friend. I could spot a blemish on her a mile away so, of course, I knew when something wasn't right. At first I thought it was simply something everyone went through. But then more strange things started happening. She started to draw away from me, her family, everyone she had grown up with. She just distanced herself from them all. And I couldn't figure out why. It drove me crazy because I knew something wasn't right I just couldn't figure out what.-"

"It was in our senior year that this group of strange boys appeared. They just randomly transferred to the school, claiming to be from the city. But one, in particular caught your mothers eye. Elias Rayvus. He was a true mystery to everyone; partially because he and the 2 other boys were the first visitor to stay in town in over ten years. Then of course, their looks drew attention from every which direction."

"-And although all three boys were handsome, it was Elias who people seemed to flock to. He was the most gorgeous thing your mother and I had ever laid eyes on. And though we had never heard him speak a word before, he had this.. this aura or vibe about him that would scare any grown man out of his own house and into another state. He had eyes... eyes as black as night, 'deep and soul searching,' is what your mother described them as. The other boys were irrelevant when near Elias, I don't even think I paid much attention to their names until a ways later." Jenny paused as she stared off into space, remembering.

"Back to the story," Jenny said shaking herself from her past memories. " It was the fact that your mother suddenly started disappearing more and more that raised an alert in my mind. She wouldn't show up to class, she'd stay out all night long, causing me to have to cover for her constantly when your grandparents asked. She wasn't that type of girl so it was a shock when she all of a sudden started to act that way. And whenever anyone questioned her on it she would get this weird look in her eye and grow silent. It was like she wanted to tell me but she physically couldn't. I knew she had been hanging out with Elias so I figured it was her new friendship with him that was causing the rift between us."

"After some major snooping, I found out that your mother was sleeping with Elias. I found out because I decided to followed her one day after school, and long story short, let's just say they did some very intimate things in the back of your grandfather's Chevy." Both Jenny and Iris's faces twisted in disgust.

"Anyways, I decided to wait, of course, until they were done because I was going to approach them. Well, more your mother than him. I was furious, not because of what they were doing; I mean there was plenty of teens discovering their sexual appetites, including me but because I had to once again cover for your mother when your grandparents called my phone to see where we were while she kept me in the dark. I was fine covering but the least she could of done was tell me that they were together. She was my best friend and we had never held a secret from each other. It was then that I quickly realized why, she had been holding it a secret..."

"First it was this green glow that illuminated the car. It was strange and I couldn't see what it was, at least not from the distance I was crouching at. Then they both exited the car and started to argue, I could only hear bits and pieces but none of it made sense to me. Then out of nowhere he struck her." A tear fell from Jenny's eye as she described the memory.

"He hit her so hard that she fell over, she didn't even move, she just laid there. Curling into herself as if she knew there was more to come and when she was on the ground, he went to kick her. But I rushed from my spot towards them. What type of monster would not only hit a girl but would kick her when she was down?" Jenny questioned theoretically.

"-I yelling at him to 'stop it!' But I paused for a second as His eyes settled on me, there was this look in his eyes that made me stop moving... Those dark eyes that your mother had described to me before had truly been dark and soul searching, but not in the way she'd mentioned. They were demented and evil as he glared at me. As if I were the one in the wrong because I had interrupted him. I was frozen and terrified as he took a angered step towards me..." Jenny paused in speaking as the information about the situation surrounded Iris with horror.

"Before he could take another step though, they were there."

"Who? Who was there?!" Iris asked.

"Michael and Devlin."

"Ookay, am I just supposed to know who are they because you said their first names?" Iris asked growing even more confused.

"They were the other two boys I mentioned earlier that arrived in town with Elias. They just... They just popped up in front of me. Like magic. They weren't there and then all of a sudden they were there. I don't know how to explain what I saw. But they were abruptly there, both of them standing what looked to be almost seven feet tall, in these firm formfitting silver outfits. Their skin though colored like ours seemed to be glowing a greenish tent, they were beyond angry, yelling words in a language I'd never heard before. At the time all I could do was stare in amazement as Elias weighed his options then decided against whatever anger he felt and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. As if he never existed there in the first place."

Though some of the things Iris heard reminded her of Eric, she couldn't help but question the sanity of Jenny's story. It truly sounded fictional. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, this story was beginning to sound even more far-fetched than twilight. I'm confused." Iris admitted. 

"Just as farfetched as the fact that you say you're pregnant by someone who you claimed to be in your room and yet, no one was there. Just as far fetched as the fact that he simply disappeared in front of your eyes, right? When you know with everything that's inside you that someone was there.." Jenny paused before rubbing her temples in annoyance before continuing, "That my dear is the way of their people. I knew the moment you described what happened in your room, the moment you mentioned their name... that they were back."

"Their people? Whose people?" Iris had pretty much figured out who Jenny was talking about but she simply wanted her to say 'what' they were. So her mind wouldn't feel alone in discovering what Eric Havok was.

"The day that I saw what happened to your mother, the men that saved me.. They were Havoks. Michael Havok. Devlin Havok. They protected me from your father."

"-They are technically your people, Iris."

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I know some of you may be confused by the last statement but it'll be cleared up in the next chapter. Thank you for waiting, please vote and comment.