Linked (19 page)

“Good.
If you miss me too much, you know how to get a hold of me,”
she laughed
harshly and her voice disappeared.

“I
wish I could have been there to see you take her out,” Ash said vehemently. She
is a cold, sordid…”

“I
know,” I said, squeezing his arm a little tighter.

He
recounted their conversation, and I was happy to hear him tell me verbatim
everything I’d already overheard. Reassured that he and I were definitely on
the same team, I breathed easier.

An
hour or so later I found myself sitting around the kitchen table with Ash,
Ally, and Ben. While Ally and Ben enjoyed leftover Thai food, Ash and I filled
them in on his encounter with the Ray-pacs. I lost count of how many times Ben
dropped his fork in surprise or Ally exclaimed, “No way.”

After
we’d brought them up to speed on what we wanted them to know, Ash stood up and
walked over to the window. “I have to admit,” he said slowly, “I don’t trust
myself. Staying at my place with all my roommates just doesn’t seem like a wise
idea. What if I wake up and I’m in desperate need of Essence and can’t stop
myself…”

I slid
out of my chair and put my hand on his back when I reached him. “You wouldn’t
let that happen. I know you wouldn’t,” I said soothingly.

Spinning
around, he said sharply, “You don’t know that for sure. I don’t know what kind
of urges I’ll be facing or if I’ll be able to maintain my resolve. I certainly don’t
want to endanger any of my buddies. Ideally, they won’t even find out I’m back
in town. The only thing I do know – is that I feel one hundred percent better
since you’ve been sharing your Essence with me. But I need to isolate myself
from other people, so I’m going to stay in a hotel.”

“What?”
Ally cried out. “That’s crazy, not to mention expensive.”

“I
have a better idea,” Ben interjected, looking back and forth between Ally and
me. “What if Ash just stays in our third bedroom for awhile. He could sleep on
the futon, no one would know he was here, and he’d be close to Lexi if he needs
the energy boost. At least until we all figure out if Lexi’s Essence is enough
to help him or if we need to make another plan.”

Too
shocked to say anything, I just stared at him like he’d grown horns. I supposed
it made the most sense, but wouldn’t it be awkward?

Ally
was nodding slowly and chewing on her fingernail. I could tell she was thinking
it over, but then a look of doubt crossed her face. “Ash, are you sure that Melanie
doesn’t know where you are at all times? I mean with all this telepathic stuff
and everything.”

“I’m
sure,” he said adamantly. “That’s why I was going to leave town and never look
back; they’d never be able to find me. But listen, I don’t want to impose on
all of you. I’m just gonna stay at a hotel, and then I can hook up with Lexi
when I need to.”

For a
moment longer, I gauged both Ben’s and Ally’s expressions carefully. After I
was sure they were serious about Ben’s offer, I turned to Ash, looked him in
the eye and said with certainty, “I think it’s the best idea. I really do.
You’d be safer if you stayed close to me, and the last place the Ray-pacs would
expect to find me is with you. So, the third bedroom is yours.”

“I
don’t know,” he said with a troubled expression.

“I
agree with Lexi,” Ben said and stood up. “It would be safer if you stayed with
us. Besides, it would be nice to have another guy in the house. I get beat up
on way too often. I’m not allowed to win any arguments and my point of view is
rarely considered.”

Ally
bounced out of her chair and pummeled Ben lightly in the chest. “Oh you poor
baby!”Turning to Ash, she said, “They’re right. You need to be here.”

Once
that issue was settled, we all gathered in the living room. “One thing I hadn’t
thought of,” I said suddenly. “My parents are coming up this weekend for a
visit before classes will soon be starting at Western. We absolutely cannot
mention that Ash is living here. They’d go ballistic.”

“They
aren’t staying here are they?” Ben asked as he stuffed two red throw pillows
behind his back.

“No,
they’ve made arrangements to stay just down the street in Fairhaven at the
Chrysalis. Thank goodness. But they’ll be in and out of our house, so we’ll
just want to be careful and make sure it’s not obvious Ash is camping out in
the extra bedroom.”

“And,”
Ally said, poking Ben’s arm, “we’ll want to make sure we don’t accidentally say
anything either.”

A
pained expression ripped across his face. “Are you implying that I might slip
up?” As he plastered his thumb against his chest, Ally nodded wide eyed, and he
placed one hand against her cheek. “Sweetie, I promise to be extra careful.”

Her
expression softening, she kissed the tip of his nose. “Thanks baby. I’m sorry
if I’m overly paranoid.”She glanced at Ash. “What about your roommates?” she
asked.

Ash
looked at her and frowned. “I still don’t think I should let them know I’m back
in town yet. I’ll give Noa a call and let him know I won’t be attending fall
quarter at Western. If I send him a check covering all the rent for the next
few months that’ll cut me some slack, especially when the other band members
find out I won’t be around to practice. When do classes start?”

“September
23
^rd
,” Ben grumbled.

“That’s
next Wednesday,” I said, a little surprised at how fast time had flown by.

“That
soon? I can’t believe we’re going to have homework again. What a drag,” Ben
added.

“Another
thing,” I said, drumming my hand against the couch and glancing at Ben and
Ally. “We need to keep Ash a secret from Jessica and the other Guardians. Not
that anyone else besides Jessica ever comes over, but if she does,” I turned to
Ash who was sitting next to me, “once she’s touched you, she’ll immediately
know you’re a Ray-pac because of your Essence.” I gave him a grim look.

Leaning
his head back and gaping at the ceiling, he moaned, “More complications.”

“Won’t
she already know something’s up, because she’ll be able to detect that he’s
linked?” Ben asked confused.

“No
silly,” Ally jumped in. “Amethysts can’t sense the link, only those who
are
linked can sense a link in someone else.”

“Oh,”
Ben said, momentarily stupefied. “Well, give me time here to learn all the
rules. I’m newer to all this, then the rest of you.” Ally had the decency to
look guilty.

“Let’s
just hope you don’t run into Max, Madison, or Jason, because I don’t know how
they would react if they spotted you. They’d know you were linked –”

“Unless
of course it was a full moon and Ash’s link with Melanie was broken. Then they
wouldn’t know anything unless they touched him and felt his Essence,” Ben
interrupted. He spoke as if he was pleased with his current contribution.

“True,”
Ash said.

“As
you were saying,” Ally jabbed Ben with her knee and looked at me.

“So, if
you should ever come into contact with them,” I continued and looked at Ash,
“you need to make a bee-line for the nearest exit, otherwise, I’m afraid things
would get out of control quickly.” And, I thought to myself, our plans to
protect all of them and take out the Ray-pacs would go down the drain.”

“Let’s
hope that doesn’t happen,” Ash said warily. “I’d hate to see you stuck in the
middle between two sides, even though we’d all really be on the same side.”

“Talk
about convoluted,” Ben said, glancing at Ally with his big brown eyes. Twisting
her auburn hair around her finger, she agreed with a nod. “Hey,” he shouted and
pointed at Ash. “Aren’t you supposed to have some cool ability now?” Ash
laughed and nodded.

“Well,
what is it?” This time Ally could barely contain her excitement.

When
Ash looked at me slyly, I smiled and shrugged.

“Invisibility,”
he said simply and disappeared. Even though I knew it was coming it still
shocked me to see him simply disappear like that. Ally and Ben looked around
wide-eyed with their mouths hanging open.

Hardly
able to contain his excitement, Ben rubbed his hands together and grinned from
ear to ear. “Oh, this totally rocks.”

“Where
are you?” Ally asked eagerly, scooting to the edge of the couch.

“Are
you still in the room?” Ben called out.

In
answer to that, a pillow flew off the couch and hit Ben in the head. We all
laughed. A couple seconds later I knew he was behind me, because I could feel
him blowing on my ear.

“Stop
that,” I cried out good naturedly. He chose that moment to reappear. I turned
sideways only to find him inches away. With arched eyebrows and a deviant
expression he blew me a kiss and laughed. “Sit down already,” I said with a
shake of my head.

“That
was incredible,” Ally said, her blue eyes shining.

“I so
wish I could do that,” Ben panted.

A
short time later we all agreed it was time for bed. After Ben and Ally retired
to their room, I decided to lay down some general guidelines. Especially since
Ash and I would be sharing the same bathroom.

“Just
make sure you knock first,” I said nervously.

“I
will,” he promised. Giving me his cocky grin, he said, “Don’t worry about
walking in on me. In fact, I’ll leave the bathroom door unlocked. That way if
I’m taking a shower but suddenly feel the need for your Essence, you’ll be able
to rush in and assist me.”

“Very
funny,” I said fiercely as heat climbed up my neck. I didn’t want to think
about Ash naked in my shower. Ben was right – this was getting way too
convoluted.

“And
no sneaking around using your invisibility, either!”

“I
wouldn’t think of it,” he said. But then he winked. “Well, I might think of it,
but I promise I won’t do it unless you know about it first.”

Before
closing my bedroom door, I called out, “Ash?”

“Yeah?”

“Seriously
though, if you ever do need me or you’re feeling overwhelmed – like maybe those
Ray-pac instincts are kickin’ your butt, just find me. Remember, my Essence is
only a door away, okay?”

“Thanks
Lexi, I will. Good-night.”

In a
way it felt natural to have him back in my life, but it felt strange too. I’d
grown so close to Jason that I almost felt guilty spending time with Ash. I
knew either relationship past a friendship was impossible. I also knew that Ash
needed me and I was helping him, but my heart lurched just the same. A big part
of me wished Jason was the one who needed my help.

What
were the odds that of the two guys in my life, one was a Guardian who wanted
nothing to do with me and one was a Ray-pac who wanted everything to do with
me?

“Alexandria?
Are you listening to me?” my mother called from the front seat of the Acura.

“What?
Huh? Oh sorry mom, I was…”

“Daydreaming.”
My dad finished my sentence with a chuckle and smiled at me in the rearview
mirror.

Ally
and Ben, who were sitting next to me in the back seat, started laughing, and I
gave them a dirty look. In an elegant, blue dress cut short across the thigh,
Ally looked fabulous. The sleeveless dress accentuated her toned arms, and with
her chic jewelry and Chanel boots she looked ready for Project Runway. Sitting
next to her, Ben looked quite dapper in a pair of dark slacks and a light blue,
Oxford shirt. We’d all dressed up, because my parents had insisted on taking us
out for a fancy dinner.

“Care
to share with us what you were dreaming about this time?” my mom inquired in
her soft voice. Twisting in her seat, she smiled, her large brown eyes
twinkling. She looked lovely in a long, flowing rose colored dress. Her thick,
brown hair rested in soft layers around her face.

“Just
thinking about the characters in
Vanity Fair
,” I lied. It’s not like I
could tell them the truth – that I was really wondering about Ash and how his
Essence would hold out now that we’d be separated all weekend. He’d insisted on
staying at the Best Western for a couple days, because he didn’t want to take
any chances of running into my parents at the house and raising concerns.

“I
presume you’re talking about Thackeray’s novel, not the magazine?” my dad
asked, winking at me in the mirror.

“Of
course dad,” I said, making a face back at him. His green eyes sparkled, and I
marveled at how young he looked for his age. With no gray hair yet, he was also
in great physical shape, mostly due to the fact that he and my mom both worked
out at the gym together a few times every week.

“Tell
me again, where are we going for dinner?” Ben asked and gazed out the window.

Having
reapplied fresh lipstick, my mom snapped her visor back into position and said,
“Hearthfire Grill. A friend of ours recommended it as a nice place for a quiet
and relaxing dinner.”

“Oh
that’s down at Squalicum Harbor, right?” Ally asked, elbowing me.

“That’s
the one,” my dad replied.

“Yes,
when I asked the lady at the front desk for directions she also told me we’d be
next to the boat harbor and we’d have a nice view of the bay,” my mom added.

“Hmm,
sounds great,” Ally said aloud and then whispered, or rather hissed in my ear,
“Do you remember where the yacht is? Maybe you could spot it from the
restaurant?”

“Hush,”
I whispered and turned my attention to the colorful historical houses we were
passing by.

“Oh
goodness, I completely forgot to tell you all,” my mom said, clapping her hands
together once. “This afternoon after we checked in at the Chrysalis your dad
and I decided to stroll through old Fairhaven – which was very reminiscent of a
quaint little, French town we once visited. Anyways, we stopped and had a bite
to eat at that little fish & chip place you recommended. You know the one
in the old English style, double decker bus?” She turned and smiled brightly at
me.