All Tied Up

Joel

Isabella looked at Joel apologetically, but Joel couldn't look at her. He was furious with her and everything at that moment.

"First, who sent you?" Anna bent over in one of the kitchen chairs she'd moved into the room.

Travis moaned from his corner.

"None of your business." she hissed. Anna stomped her foot.

"D****t Isabella, it is our business. Our father is involved." Anna looked to Joel for help.

"Isabella, please. Tell us. I won't hate you if you help us now. This whole situation has got out of control."

Travis moaned more and glared at Isabella as if he was trying to send her messages.

"I can't tell you who sent us, but..." She ignored Travis's protests. "if you let Travis go, I can show you."

Anna rolled her eyes at her stupidity.

"You really think we'd believe you even if you weren't stronger than us."

Isabella grinned. "You're right. I am stronger than you dweebs. So what makes you think I couldn't take you down now?" She cocked an eyebrow at the idea.

"Well, you changed Joel, so we both know that if your boss found out, you'd be in trouble. That's why."

Anna must have heard Joel's guilty thoughts because she looked at him disbelievingly.

"Joel, please. Now is not the time for you to regret your choices." She looked at Isabella. "You weren't to know that this b***h would turn out to be a w***e."

"Hey don't talk about me like that, kid. You don't know who you're messing with." Isabella curled her fists as if to hit something.

"I can call you what I like because let's face it, you knew Joel was too young. Doesn't matter how desperate he was, you should have known better."

"I didn't know he lived with a vampire who let his children run wild." Isabella replied bitterly.

Joel stood up and almost launched himself at Isabella with anger.

"JOEL!"

He felt guilty for losing his temper for a moment.

"It's okay Joel, I'll let you know when you can beat the s**t out of her." Anna glanced at Isabella again with an evil smile. Joel matched her expression.

"We both know that if you wanted to take us on, you would have tried already." Anna cracked her knuckles. Joel hated when she did that.

"Just tell us where our dad is and we won't tell the council. It's as simple as that." Joel bargained. Isabella looked at him incredulously.

Joel could tell in a real world, Isabella would do anything for him.

"Well whenever you tell us, it's gotta be soon before my -" Anna shook her head at Joel.

"Before the others wake up." Joel finished. Isabella nodded in acknowledgement.

Anna stood up. "Hey Isabella, wanna come with me for a moment?" she lifted her off the chair and into the hallway before she had a chance to say no.

Joel peaked around the corner to eaves drop.

"You understand what's at stake here don't you?" Anna whispered.

He saw Isabella snicker, but nod, never the less.

"So you realise you have to tell us where our dad is so we can go and get him before anything bad happens to him." She nodded again.

"So why won't you tell us?"

Isabella scrunched her face up as if she was struggling to think of words.

"If I you, I could get in trouble myself. Believe me when I say, I want to help you. Or more, I want to help Joel." She looked sorry for a moment before adding. "Like I said before, I can show you. Then leave you when we're near and I won't get caught."

"Could the council help?" Anna asked. "I mean, if we told them what had really happened and pretend Joel isn't a vampire, wouldn't that work?"

Isabella considered. "Maybe. But they don't usually leave things simple. If we asked them to help get your dad back, knowing the truce we all made, they'd want to know why he was taken."

Anna looked to her right, facing the stairs.

"Sophie!"

Joel barged in on their conversation then to catch Sophie hopping down the stairs with several weapons attached to a vest and a stake in each hand.

"Sophie what are you doing?" Anna looked to Isabella to not attack.

"Well I know I said I'd stay here and wait for you to do your business. But I figured if come along armed, then I'm just as safe as you are." She smiled while she spun a shiny wooden stake between her fingers. She looked at Isabella curiously.

"You must be... Isabella?" she smiled at her raising an eyebrow.

Joel looked embarrassed that their friend was entering a situation that was far too dangerous for even them, let alone her, a human.

"Sophie, you have to go back up stairs RIGHT NOW!" Anna protested.

Sophie turned, looking dejected, but then turned back around and sat on the step.

"I hate to be a pain. But what are we going to do about your father?" Isabella chipped in.

All three of them stared at her like she was an alien. Joel couldn't believe she actually said "we".

"We go now." said Joel, grabbing Isabella and Anna and dragging them into the living room where Travis was slowly growing unconscious.

"I don't know how much any of your lot care about Travis but we're not letting him go because -" Anna looked at Joel and back to Isabella, "we all know he'll go running to your boss."

"You're not leaving him here?" Isabella looked nervous.

"Yeah, I was thinking that. My brothers and sisters can look after him. I mean, seriously, what harm can he be if he is like this? If I tell them not to take out the stake, then he shouldn't be a problem"

"Fine." Isabella crossed her armed.

"Joel, go and tell the others what we're doing. Tell them no matter what they do they cannot let Travis go and they are not to tell mum."

Joel nodded agreement and trotted off up the stairs. He understood that his mum couldn't find out that they were on a deadly mission.

Once up on the 4th floor, he knocked on Richards bedroom door.

"Hello?" came a deep voice. He cracked open the door.

"Hey bro. I gotta tell you something."

Joel closed the door behind him.

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Author's Note

i know this chapter slips out of p.o.v sometimes and to be honest, i didnt realise it did. this whole story so far is rough so i going to finish it first then fix it.