Dentelle (15 page)

During dinner, I noticed Dakota sitting with the
San Diego Circle, chumming it up with Carlos. Immediately, my defense readiness
system went from DEFCON 5, normal, to DEFCON 1, nuclear war is imminent. She was
up to something, and with Dakota, the fallout could be catastrophic. The way
she kept glancing at Madison, though, had me wondering, or hoping rather, that
she was planning a retaliation prank. For fun. But when Carlos looked straight
at me and smiled triumphantly, my heart formed into a solid lump of ice. Not
long after, they left the dining hall together. All I could do was wait and
hope I was wrong.

Jessica invited Ash and I to go swimming after
dinner, and we accepted. A little down time in the pool with friends might be
therapeutic. Besides, no amount of worrying was going to change the future.
With the exception of Jason and Madison, who’d accepted an invitation to go
four-wheeling, the rest of our friends were there, including Michael, Sienna, Izzy,
and the Amethyst twins. The no-expense-spared swimming pool stretched from the
indoors to the outdoors, winding its way under bricked archways and cascading
waterfalls. Once outside, the pool expanded significantly. The colorful lights,
water sprays, and surrounding greenery turned it into something of an enchanted
lagoon. It wasn’t long until that male testosterone kicked in, bringing out the
guys’ competitive natures. Max, Ash, Trevon, Michael, Ryan, and Rob took turns
flaunting their diving talents, while the rest of us laughed and applauded.

By the time we turned in for the night, I was in
dire need of a hot shower; the heavy chemicals from the pool had me reeking of
chlorine. With a dramatic boulder rock for seating, along with earth tones and
textured tiles, the shower space was soothing. But once I turned on the water,
an illuminating rain spa shower head lit up the tiles like a light show. I
giggled. Talk about way over the top. As I washed my hair, I pondered over how
the next day would play out. The final award ceremonies were scheduled in the
morning, and all the week’s winners would be recognized. Those who hadn’t
received their actual medals yet, would receive them at that time. The rest of
Friday afternoon would be left open for socializing, exploring, playing,
eating, and packing up, because Saturday morning we were out of here. Thank
goodness!

After slipping into my DKNY tank and boxers, I
climbed in between the soft Egyptian cotton sheets with my Kindle. Maybe I’d
finally get a good start on Cassandra Clare’s fifth novel in the
City of Lost Souls
series. Having been
stubborn, for months, I’d finally converted to an eReader after Ally had
rattled off a long list of the advantages. Mainly, having my entire library at
my fingertips had been the biggest selling point, and the ability to download a
new book immediately was awesome.

Not twenty pages into my book, there was a knock
on the door that adjoined my room with Ash’s. “I’m in bed, Ash. Go away.
Knowing you, you’re up to no good anyways – probably something to do with
cowboy hats,” I teased, laughing.

The knock was lighter this time. “Alex, it’s me.
Will you let me in?” Jason’s voice was quiet, but uncharacteristically sharp.

His was the last voice I’d expected to hear. I
tore out of bed and launched myself at the door. Why would Jason be visiting me
at this time of night? And why would he take the risk? My heart rate jumped
erratically. I swung the door open, and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Are you
okay?”

“I’m fine, really. It’s okay,” he said softly,
stepping closer – mint toothpaste fresh on his breath, which surprised me,
because he was still wearing the same pair of Levi’s and t-shirt from earlier.
He didn’t look like he’d even made it to his cabin yet.

I caught a glimpse of Ash as Jason closed the
door, but he just shrugged – the expression on his face just as bewildered as
mine. “What’s going on? You’re making me nervous?” I asked, but he didn’t
reassure me with a smile. In fact, his lips remained set in a dour line, and he
was fidgeting. None of which were good signs.

“Alex, I…I’ve had a rough night. I…I don’t know
where to begin. But I knew I needed to see you. Talk to you.”

A horrible sick feeling materialized in the pit
of my stomach. “Does this have something to do with Dakota or Carlos?” I asked
and held my breath, fearful one of them had already dropped a bomb and the
fallout had just reached its intended target.

His frown deepened. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because Dakota sat with the San Diego Circle at
dinner, and…and I don’t trust either of them.” I started chewing on my
fingernail, something
I
never did but
scolded Ally for a hundred times a day. My biggest vice was cracking my
knuckles, but I’d just done that and had a good 20 minutes before I could pop
them again.

“Just hold me, Alex. Wrap your arms around me
and hold me for a few minutes. Please,” he begged. The haunted look in his
aqua-marine eyes frightened me. I sensed pain and anger, but something else
lingered in their depths. Loss? Defeat? Rage?

“Okay.” Tears rushed to my eyes, but I did as he
said and enveloped him in a huge hug. And we stood there together – he with his
hands at his sides, and me with my arms wound tightly around him. His chin
rested against the top of my head, but only for a moment, because the burn was
too much, and he had to break the contact. He was warm, and I could feel his
heart pounding against my face. He started trembling, and that shook me to the
core. Three times in one day seemed like a bad omen. Somehow though, he still
felt solid, and I wondered how that was possible. I gathered my Essence and
passed it to him in slow, gentle waves. I didn’t push him to speak. I knew he’d
open up when he was ready.

“I love you,” I whispered, fear claiming a place
in my throat.

“I love you too, Alex.” His voice was warm and
husky, like melted caramel on a sundae.

I don’t know how long we stood there. I lost all
sense of time. Could have been a few minutes. Could have been an hour. Time was
irrelevant. Holding him was all that mattered.

Except, at some point, we startled apart when,
what sounded like fireworks, erupted from Ash’s room. The booms, bangs, and
crashing noises were thunderous. Surely that wasn’t the sound of furniture
flying around the room? The wall shook, and I almost expected something to come
careening through the wall at any moment. Concerned, I broke further away from
Jason and looked at him wide-eyed. What disturbed me most was that he didn’t
look the least bit fazed.

“Ash, what
the heck is going on in there?”

“Umm…nothing
you need to concern yourself with. Just some personal issues,”
he said as
the sound of breaking glass shattered the air.

“With
who?”
I demanded.

“Mind your
own business, Lexi.”

My mouth dropped at the same time something
slammed against the door between our two rooms. The door rocked so hard, I
thought it might fly off its hinges. Setting my mouth in a hard, impassive
line, I grabbed Jason’s arm. A mix of fear and anger fueled the hot flush
spreading across my body. “Okay. Do you know what’s going on over there?”

“I have a pretty good idea.”

“Then don’t you think it’s about time you told
me?”

Before he could answer, I heard Madison’s voice.
Not her voice, actually – just her screaming and raging at Ash with
uncontrolled fury. Her words were muffled, so I only caught a few expletives
from what sounded like a very one-sided conversation. Nothing made any sense.
The chaos continued as the floors shook and more glass shattered. Several loud
thuds followed by complete silence sent a chill down my spine. Had she hurt
him? Would he be too embarrassed to call me for help? Had she knocked him
unconscious? I paused and listened for several seconds, but still, all was
silent. Deadly silent. Deciding it was time to intervene, I ran towards the
door. It was possible one or both of them needed Essence by this point.

“Alex, wait,” Jason called out, hurrying after
me.

I didn’t listen. Instead, I swung open the door
and stepped into a room that had been completely demolished. But, as I drifted
a few steps further into the room, it wasn’t the overturned bed or the
dismembered fan pieces sticking out of the wall that had me stopping dead in my
tracks. And it wasn’t the glass mirror pieces embedded in the ceiling or the
deer antlers lodged in the gas fireplace grates that had me gasping in shock.
Oh no, those were things I would have expected. In a way they even made sense.
But seeing Ash and Madison locked in a desperate embrace, kissing
frantically…passionately – now that was pulse-pounding, drop-dead shocking.

She had him pinned to the wall with his hands
above his head. While it was obvious she was the instigator, Ash was not
fighting back in the least. In fact, his eyes were closed and he looked more
than eagerly engaged. I was certain I could see the sparks flying between the
two of them; the room felt like it was charged with electricity. Their soft
moans of pleasure had me cringing and quietly stepping backwards. Because of
all the displaced furniture, I didn’t think either of them had noticed me.
Feeling like an intruder, I started to back up a little quicker but bumped into
Jason. Swinging around, I looked up at him but could see by his gaping mouth
that he was just as stunned as I was. Giving him a gentle shove, I motioned
towards the door. We continued tip-toeing across the rug, and I sighed in
relief when I knew for certain we were out of their line of sight.

Just as I was about to close the door, I heard
Madison gasp and cry out. “What the hell am I doing? We don’t even like each
other.”

“Oh, yes. We do.” Ash said firmly.

“No. No. Oh my God! I can’t believe this.” Her
voice was emotional. “I don’t even know why I came here?”

“Yes, you do. You came here because you know you
can trust me. You know you’re safe here,” Ash said calmly. “And even though you
won’t admit it to yourself, you like me.”

This was none of my business; I had no right to
eavesdrop. I took another step.

But then I heard Ash say, “And more than that,
while you can’t imagine moving away from your family, you also can’t imagine
moving away from me.”

I halted and clutched the door handle a little
tighter. What? Why was Madison moving?

Madison’s voice cracked. “I came here because I
want answers. What happened in that Council meeting? Why would they do this to
Jason? To me? Lexi must have really pissed them off. All I know is this isn’t
right or fair.”

My eyebrows shot up and I gripped the door
handle so tight, my knuckles turned white. I longed to crack them, but I was
frozen in place. Jason, who’d already walked over and sat down on my bed noticed
my expression and immediately got back up and came over to me.

“What are you–” Jason started to say, but I
raised my finger to my lips. I wasn’t about to miss the conversation going on
in the other room now.

“It wasn’t Lexi’s fault. Some of the Council
members have it in their minds that she and I…”

“Of course it’s not her fault. It never is.
You’re always sticking up for her, too.” I heard Madison stomp her foot. “I
can’t believe this. You’re in love with her too, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not,” Ash said adamantly. “She is my
family and I love her. But I am not
in
love
with her. Look, I don’t want to talk about Lexi. I want to talk about
you. Us.”

Madison laughed, hurt evident in her voice.
“There is no
us
.”

“There could be.” He paused and took a deep breath.
“Let your emotions go, Madison. It’s okay. Holding it in doesn’t make you
stronger, but letting it go just might. I am here for you, and there is no
place I’d rather be. Trust me.”

I was expecting her to come back with a few
harsh words or maybe start throwing furniture again. But instead, Madison
totally broke down. I’d never seen her cry before, and listening to her weep
wasn’t easy. She was always so strong – rarely showed a softer side.

I knew the world could break any one at any
time, but in a backwards, crazy, implausible sort of way I looked up to Madison
and never thought she could be broken. In that moment, I realized just how
vulnerable she really was, and I wanted to reach out to her, but it wasn’t my
place. Besides that, a dreadful, horrible feeling was eating away at my
insides. My mind had inadvertently been putting two and two together, and now I
had a sinking feeling I knew what this was all about.

“Shhhh. It’s gonna be okay, Madison. I promise,”
Ash consoled her.

“No…it’s…not. It’s…never…gonna…be okay…again,”
she said in between sobs. “I can’t stay in Bellingham. I mean I can, but I
won’t. Jason’s like
my
best friend.
I’m not gonna leave him now. Not when he needs me. Why are they doing this?”

Blood pounded through my veins so loudly, the
vibrations resonated in my ears. I didn’t hear another word between Ash and
Madison because Jason closed the door and looked at me pleadingly. “I wanted to
tell you. I’ve been trying to find the right words, but I couldn’t.” A
tormented expression played his face. Or maybe it was an expression of quiet
resignation to his fate. I surely hoped not, because I would never give up on
him, and he’d promised never to let me go again.

“Is the Senior Council forcing you to move? Is
that what’s going on?” My voice quivered like a tuning fork. I felt the blood
draining from my face.

He nodded his head ever so slightly, and tears
gathered in his eyes – eyes filled with heartache. “Oh, Alex. I’m sorry. I
didn’t know how to tell you. I’m still in total shock – trying to understand
how this happened, what it means for us, and how I can change it. I haven’t
figured out what to do yet. But I know I can’t live without you.”