Finding Meridian Ch. 12

Thank you JJ34 for editing the beginning!

As a recap from Chapter 11, Trinity and Drake got closer sexually. As Trinity went to change in the other room afterwards she was attacked by Jamison. The attack brought back a flashback of Trinity's past and her former marriage. Words were said and Trinity left to deal with baggage from her past. Alex, Meridian and Connor went to find her. Please remember to vote!

Enjoy,

Meridian

Mourning Aura

Trinity drove up to the warehouse. She took a deep breath to center herself. Something in her soul shifted. A loss of expectations she formerly had for a love, marriage, and children. It all blurred from a dream into reality. Slowly from the beginning of her marriage her blurred unrealistic expectations were devoured by the brutal blinding light of reality. She climbed out of the Hummer and walked up to the front door of the warehouse. She slowly entered glancing around viewing the destruction.

She remembered when she had first married Jeremy; he had carried her over the threshold to show her the refurbished warehouse. It was his idea of their perfect home and office. He had renovated several areas so that he had an office for his salvage and treasure hunting and she had space for her dream of a jewelry store where she designed the jewelry. Unconsciously, she smiled at the dreams that began her marriage. But the dreams had slowly dissolved. The fights had begun with the stress that slowly took over until Jeremy started doing drugs to cope with it.

How much she missed the man she loved in the beginning slipped through. She had forced herself to never cry while she was married to him once he started doing drugs. The more she cried and fought the more he enjoyed hurting her. The only part of it she remembers was the initial night he had done so many drugs he was virtually out of his mind. It was a stupid fight. He was pissed that dinner was running late and he had thrown the dinner on the floor. Unaware of the person her husband had changed into, she got in his face to fight with him. He had hit her until everything went black. It was at noon the next day that she woke up in the hospital and Jeremy was asking who had beaten her. She still remembered whispering, "You." He threw everything from her bedside table across the room and left.

She had tried to hide what was happening from her sister Alex. She really did suck at lying. Her excuse of falling down the stairs was a miserable lie. Jeremy had become more and more possessive after that and she rarely left the warehouse.

Their beautiful dream warehouse had turned into her dingy dirty prison. She took stock of things in her mind. She saw the holes in the walls from when Jeremy would get mad and punch the wall instead of her. Handcuffs were chained to the bed with blood on them, her blood. After Jeremy's death, her sister Alex had warned her that if she focused too much the block her psychic sister had built in her brain would tumble down and all the worst memories would come back.

There were very little emotions attached to the events right now but even on the outside looking in it was heartbreaking. Alex had warned her if she focused on it too much that would change like a virtual closet door that was full, it would open and all of the bad things would fly out. Alex had built the door to help her cope, after watching her sister struggle for six months with counselors making little progress she had to do something. Alex was relieved when she tried constructing a psychic block on the horrible memories and it had worked.

The stains were still on the bedroom floor were her husband had died. Not really her husband, some other man after the drugs. The brilliant man who was into salvage and ocean treasure hunting went from brilliant to a rambling madman on drugs. It was hard to believe the man who did the drugs was so cruel and uncaring but still her husband Jeremy.

She kept telling herself she could be strong enough. She had to be strong enough. The words from Drake and Logan kept ringing through her head. Marcus's words had hurt, "Trinity was and will always be regarded as a slave and a whore. She is inferior and unqualified to be anyone's mate." She was really starting to adore her sister Meridian's mate Marcus and this made her feel like an outcast but the worst was yet to come. She actually had some hope of something going forward between her and Drake. Then without even talking to her he judged her and said words that froze her heart, "I can't have a whore for a mate much less a mistress."

She had promised to never let herself cry ever again. Alex had blocked most of the memories but a few still slipped through. Alex was unable to block them all out but had been able to block most of the worst ones. Entering the warehouse was not like entering a place she had never been but more like walking into a partially faded nightmare to find out it was real.

She was going to deal with this now. She would never be weak again. She never needed anyone ever again. Love was just a lie someone made up. Love was a very cruel illusion.

Trinity faced her demons as she walked into the basement. Her loss of memories made her feel somewhat empty and lost. She was overcome with a cruel coldness that oddly calmed her soul. She had to decide what to do. She searched in the corner for the hidden bombs she knew Jeremy kept there. She planted them around the foundation. No one should ever come here again. No one should ever have to live what she lived through. She placed his ashes and urn in the center of her cell in the basement. It was where a part of her died and he should be left in the same spot.

She sent a text to Alex & Meridian: Destruction clears way for growth. I love you.

Trinity left the building and sat in the hummer away from the warehouse with the remote detonator. "Goodbye. I loved the real you Jeremy." One tear slid down her cheek as she hit the button and the building exploded. She drove around for hours. She had no idea where she was going.

~~~~~~

Meridian saw the blast from a distance. She felt pain in her heart. As Meridian, Alex and Connor drove up they saw the police and fire department but there were no updates. Alex climbed out of the SUV and just stood there looking at the rubble burn. Connor got out and stood behind her. Meridian stayed in the SUV.

Alex started to cry, "Please tell me she wasn't in the building!" Connor grabbed her and held her.

~~~~~~

Meridian's hold on Marcus, Logan and Drake had passed. Drake was in his room. He felt a horrid feeling in his stomach. He felt the change when he entered the room after talking with Marcus. He felt her loss of happiness; her lack of smiles just coldness remained. He felt so damn empty and guilty. He had hurt her. He should have been standing up for her and protecting her but he abandoned her. All over fucking status and what others would think. Well fuck that!

The pictures of her abuse were stuck in his head. One thing that really blew about being a vampire is that memories of things like that did not fade like in normal humans. He was stuck with each description of her abuse and each photo in his mind.

Marcus knocked and walked in. Both of them looked like a wreck. "Have you heard from them?"

"No, I'm just a feeling of mourning from Meridian." Drake turned on the TV to see the news report of the remote warehouse exploding. Drake buried his face in his hands.

~~~~~~

"I really don't think there is anything we can do here. Let me drive us back. Even if she was inside it will take days to figure out." Connor commented as he picked up Alex and placed her in the SUV.

Meridian became very cold just like she had when bad things happened. They went back to Alex's mansion.

Connor carried Alex up to her room and Meridian followed. Marcus, Drake and Logan tried to follow them when Alex's assistant Tarrin blocked the way. Tarrin stood directly in front of Marcus.

"No, now is not the time. I should write a book 'How to not fuck things up as a vampire'. You guys need to back off. Alex will burn this house to the ground if she gets any more upset. Meridian is likely to behead you with some object from the room so back off!"

Marcus looked at her and scowled, "You will not forget our rank and who we are!"

Tarrin's voice became stern and extremely serious. "Oh ancient ones, I know who you are! You're the ones who hurt Trinity and if we're lucky she's not dead. You will also not forget those two women in there have not killed you yet but could. One in particular risked her life to help you without you asking. You underestimate what happens to us lowly humans when in pain. They don't even know if Trinity is alive. You were not here when she was dragged out of that filthy basement barely alive. So DO NOT consider this disrespectful, I am trying to save your lives. In the end we still have a job to be done!"

Marcus knew he had to reign in his anger. "Please just have Meridian come out and talk to me."

"It's your funeral." Tarrin walked in and asked Meridian to talk to Marcus. Meridian just stared at him when she walked out.

"I'm sorry about what happened. I'm sorry about our laws but they have been in place forever."

Marcus saw the hurt and pain in her eyes. "Times are different now. Maybe it's time to change them. Do you have any idea how it feels to be judged for things you had absolutely no control over? If you judge my sister in such a way you should judge me as such! Neither of us chose to be hurt, brutalized or raped but we were. According to your laws that makes it our fault. I don't know if I can be a part of that." Meridian quickly went from hurt and in pain to extremely cold as she walked out of the room.

~~~~~~

Meridian had gotten Alex to sleep with some medication. Meridian instructed housekeeping to move her items into a guest room next to Alex. Marcus walked into the bedroom noticing it looked different. Meridian had moved her stuff out. He stormed down the hall until he sensed her.

"What the hell is this?" Marcus stared at Meridian.

"I need some space. You sleep alone." The look of hurt and anger in her eyes cut him like a knife.

"It is ancient law. I am so sorry that our law is written that way, I am working to change it. I do adore her. I..." Marcus was cut off by Meridian.

"You just followed the line. But your words hurt Trinity even more. We are psychic and during extreme stress we connect. I heard what you and Drake said. What is the good of being a ruler if you cannot change things? Now here I am stuck with wondering if one sister is dead and the other is a mess. I'm not going to argue with you on this Marcus. I need space. She is my sister! This rips my heart out! You may stand there outside the door and say the comments but I feel her feelings when her heart is ripped out by the words the two of you said. Please Marcus, just leave me for now."

Marcus didn't know what to say so he left.

Meridian called Connor into her room.

"Hey doll, you holding up?" Connor gave her a hug.

"Trying to, I need a favor." Meridian handed him a piece of paper. "I need you to GPS her cell phone. I need to try and track her."

"Let me call the station right now and see what they can find." Connor gave her a hug and went to his room.

~~~~~~

Marcus joined Logan and Drake in the library to drink. Connor walked in and just glared at them.

They all sat around not talking and drinking. Tarrin walked in, "Damn you could make a Motivational Seminar commit mass suicide with your attitudes. Drake makes the special punch! You guys are a walking advertisement for Prozac!"

Drake spoke first, "I've fallen for a woman I was told I couldn't have and instead of standing up for her I treated her like crap. Oh by the way Marcus, I'm resigning as soon as you find my replacement. I can only hope to apologize until she forgives me. Oh and I've managed to make her feel so bad about herself she probably killed herself earlier. Excuse me for being fucking depressed! I screwed up and chose a job over a mate."

"My mate is so pissed that she has left my room and won't sleep with me. She has also had premonitions that she dies soon so no pressure there. Oh and she blames me for Trinity not that I don't deserve it! Screw it I'm going to fix this." Marcus left for his room.

~~~~~~

Marcus sat in his room thinking. All of the words from Meridian and Tarrin were stuck in his head. She was right. He would find a way around the law if it were her. He would never judge her so harshly. Even if she went into the whole thing willingly she shouldn't be shunned for it.

Finally he made a call to his office in Chicago. He talked to his other assistant to set up the conference call in one hour to discuss removing the current law. It amazed him when she called back in less than 20 minutes to say everyone had already approved the change and it was enacted as soon as he signed off on the form she faxed over. "Oh and sir, don't be surprised if you receive a lot of mating invitations. And Dominic from Italy said 'It's about fucking time! Call me later.' There is no need for the conference call since it was unanimous."

He hurried and signed off and faxed it back. He hoped his correction after his mistake was not too late. All he could think of was crawling in bed with Meridian. He needed to give her more time to cool off and then he'd tell her.

~~~~~~

Trinity couldn't help but start crying after driving a few hours.What to do now?She decided to find a hotel and check in. As the light turned green she drove forward just as she saw the Semi run the light. The Hummer was hit so hard it rolled. As the vehicle flipped several times everything went black.

Someone was talking, "Stay with us. What is her name?" "Trinity," someone else said.

"Trinity, I need you to stay with me." Then the darkness sucked her back into its depths.

She was standing on a beach when she saw her dead husband, Jeremy walk up. Her first instinct was to run. She should run!

"Trinity, please stay. I won't hurt you. I need to speak with you." He sat down on the beach. "Does this make you feel safer?"

"Coming from you? Not exactly, so what's the deal? I'm being punished in death by spending it with you?"

"There are no words to apologize for how I hurt you. I don't deserve your forgiveness. I can't even ask for it because I don't deserve it. I want you to go back. You can't stay here. You deserve love and caring. You always deserved more than I could ever give you. Don't give up now Trin."

"Don't you fucking call me Trin! You lost that right the first time you hit me so hard you broke my ribs. You abusive excuse of a man! I loved you! I gave everything I could to help you! What did I get? I got hit. I got treated like a slave and locked in a damn cell hanging from shackles? You wouldn't treat a damn dog the way you treated me so forgive me if I tell you to go fuck yourself! There is no excuse for what you did. I don't care if daddy or mommy didn't pay enough attention to you. There is no excuse for it!"

"I have no excuses, I fucked it up. I could have had it all and I fucked it up. Before I was killed the assassin told me to get on my knees. She told me 'for my crimes I was being judged guilty'. I was never happier. I deserved to die. I hope someday you can put what I did behind you. I hope you find someone to love you and treat you right. I never deserved you and you never deserved what I did. I do hope one day you can forgive me. Don't hold what I did against other men. Now you need to go back Trinity. You can't stay here and neither can I. You need to live."

"I wish you would have never done the drugs, it all went downhill from there."

"There are many things I wish I would have never done. That is at the top of the list right below what I did to you. Now go live your life. Any guy who doesn't treat you like the Queen you are, tell them to fuck off! I hope one day you can forget about all the bad things I did and only remember when I was the man you wanted."

Trinity laughed, "For once I think I like that advice."

Through the dark fog she heard people speaking. "She's back. Come on people we need to keep her alive."

~~~~~~

Connor ran into Meridian's room. "Did you find something?"

"Meridian, I need you to sit down. I ran the GPS on her phone. I had officers make calls and they found her. Meridian, she got hit by a semi that ran a red light. The Hummer rolled and she's been air lifted to Harbor Medical Center. Doctors are working on her now but it's bad. If she was in a regular vehicle she would have died instantly. The best doctors are working on her."

"I'll round everyone up." Meridian hit the alarm button.

Connor gave her a hug, "I know she'll be fine. Don't forget to wear a wig; you can't go in looking like a rock star."

~~~~~~

Meridian ran into Alex's room to wake her up. "Alex, wake up! Trinity's been in an accident. She was airlifted to Harbor View Medical Center. Get dressed we have to go."

Alex jumped up and rushed to dress.

Meridian walked into the hall to see Marcus, Logan, Drake and Tarrin standing there.

Marcus looked at Meridian, "Little one, what's wrong?"

"Trinity was hit in the Hummer by a Semi. She was airlifted to Harbor View Medical Center."

Drake became angry, "And now I'm going to lose her even though I resigned."

Marcus looked at Meridian, "I called a conference call to remove the law. It has been removed. Drake you can be with her."

"If she doesn't DIE!" Drake's face clenched in anger.

Marcus looked at him, "Drake she is going to make it."

"What if she doesn't, what if I never get to apologize for my words? What do I fucking do then?!"

Meridian let off a loud whistle and screamed, "SILENCE!!!" Then she started to talk, "Enough! Go get dressed so we can get to the hospital. This fighting helps nothing. Everyone be back here in 10 minutes. If you're late we leave without you. NOW MOVE IT!!!"

Connor looked at Marcus, "I am so buying her that bullwhip with lessons for a wedding gift!" Marcus gave him a nasty look.

~~~~~~

Five minutes later Meridian came over the intercom in her stern commanding voice, "5 minutes and counting down! Move it people!"

Marcus and Logan were standing in the hallway when Logan laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Her deep evil voice could scare Satan. Have you even bothered to tell her she'll be ruling vampires with you?" Logan chuckled.

"We haven't gotten to that conversation yet." Marcus had honestly forgotten during all the drama.

Finally everyone gathered in the hallway with Meridian in a wig with short hair. Drake started heading to the stairs when Alex grabbed his arm to stop him.

Alex spoke up, "We take the elevator." She pulled up a wood panel and put her hand over it when a panel opened to reveal an elevator. They headed down to get in the limo and drive to the hospital.

~~~~~~

When they arrived at the hospital Alex ran to the front desk. "I'm here about my sister. Trinity Henderson. She was airlifted after a wreck."

"She's in surgery. Let me have a nurse escort you up a private waiting room. It will be a while but just as soon as the doctor is done he will come out and talk to you."

When they reached the private waiting room Alex and Trinity started pacing. Drake had his head in his hands. Time seemed to drag on forever. Finally, three hours later a doctor came through the doors.

Alex ran up, "How is she?"

The doctor motioned for her to sit down. "Hello Alex. I am Dr. Fieldstone; I am one of the doctors who operated on her. She has extensive injuries. If it wasn't for an off duty paramedic she would have died at the scene. She coded twice on us, once in ER and the other in surgery. Her spleen was nicked, a broken rib punctured her lung, we set her broken nose, she has a skull fracture but somehow she managed to not break her limbs. She had other internal bleeding that we repaired. We'll know more if she makes it through the next 48 hours. We just have to wait and see."