“I try,” I say with a small smirk. “It’s not always easy, let me tell you. That brother of yours is one stubborn vampire.”
“Don’t I know it,” Sarah replies, looking lovingly at her older brother. “Now come on! David’s out playing baseball—he’s a complete sports addict these days—but Mom and Dad are inside! We’re just about to have dinner. You have to join us. Dad grills a mean porterhouse steak.”
“See? I didn’t lie! We are going to dinner,” I point out to Jareth as Sarah drags him toward the castle. Somehow he manages to make his feet work, but he’s still not saying too much. I hope he’s okay. I mean, I meant to surprise him, not put him in a coma.
We step over the drawbridge and through the main gate. While on the outside the castle looks totally medieval, I’m surprised to see on the inside it’s warmly decorated like a Pottery Barn catalog and has all the modern conveniences of the twenty-first century. A woman who appears to be in her early forties, with blond hair and blue eyes, stands at the sink, washing dishes. She grins widely as she sees Jareth, yanking off her rubber gloves and walking over to give him a huge hug.
“My son,” she cries, kissing him soundly on both cheeks. “It’s so good to see you. We were starting to worry that you wouldn’t be stopping by.” She turns to me and gives me a big hug, too. “I hope I’m not being too forward,” she apologizes. “It’s just… I’ve wanted to meet you for so long now, Rayne.”
I beam, liking her already. “I never thought I’d have the chance to meet Jareth’s parents,” I admit.
“How… did you know I was even here?” Jareth interrupts, still sounding dumbfounded by the whole scene. “And how do you know about Rayne?”
“Are you kidding? We keep very close tabs on you, my boy,” announces a deep, booming voice from the next room. A moment later, a handsome man in his early forties—who looks startlingly like an older version of my boyfriend—steps into the room. He slaps his son on the back affectionately. “We know everything you’ve been up to these last few years.”
“But how… ?”
“HADES-TV,” his sister explains, pointing to their sweet sixty-inch flatscreen hanging above the fireplace. “We started subscribing a couple years ago. It’s a closed-circuit television system that allows you to tune in to relatives you might have back on Earth.” She gives Jareth an impish look. “We know what you’re up to anytime—day or night.”
Jareth stares at the TV, then at his eager family. “And you’ve been watching me?”
“Of course!” Sarah cries. “I mean, you’re still my brother, you know. I need to keep an eye out for you—make sure you’re okay.”
“I can’t tell you how happy we were the day you met Rayne,” his mother adds. “After all those years of being alone—finally you had someone to care for you.” She gives me an endearing look. Oh yes, I like this woman a lot!
“Hope you don’t mind, Rayne,” Sarah says. “But I always wanted a sister.”
I smile at her. “Not at all. I think it’s great.”
Jareth sinks down onto the red slip-covered sofa, rubbing his face with his hands. “I can’t believe this,” he says, half to himself. “I’m sorry. I… I need a moment.”
“Take all the time you need. We have eternity.” His mother leans down and kisses him on the top of his head, the gesture sending trills of happiness all through me. Ever since I met Jareth, he’s been such a loner. Never warming up to people, never able to relax and share with anyone except maybe me—and then only once in a while. To see him in a home setting, surrounded by people who love him as much as my family loves me—well, it’s surreal to say the least.
No matter what happens, I’m so glad we did this. It can’t help but make things better.
“I’m going to finish up dinner,” Jareth’s mom tells us, heading back around the breakfast bar. “Honey, will you check on the steaks?”
“Absolutely, dear,” Jareth’s father agrees, walking to the back of the castle and pulling open the sliding glass door. The delicious smell of barbeque wafts through the room.
I plop down on the couch next to Jareth, trying to catch his eye. “This is your chance,” I hiss at him. “You’ve waited so long to talk to your sister. Now here she is. Don’t blow this. It’s an opportunity I’m pretty positive will never come again.”
Jareth is silent for a moment, then nods slowly. “Sarah?” he calls out. “Can I talk to you?”
“Of course!” Sarah bounces onto the seat across from him. “What’s up?”
As Jareth leans forward to take her hands in his own, I slip off the couch to try to give them some space to talk alone. Still, I can’t help but stay close enough to overhear the conversation.
“I just… I just wanted to apologize,” he says, stumbling over his words. “I’m sorry for what I did to you back at our castle, the night Slayer Inc. broke through the walls.”
Sarah squints her eyes at him, looking puzzled. “Wait, what did you do to me?”
Jareth rakes a hand through his hair, a tormented look on his face. “I failed you. I let you die. I hesitated when you needed me most and that slayer struck you through the heart.” He hangs his head. “It’s my fault you’re here. That you never got to live out your life.”