The Dark World - Chapter 5

"Well?" Alex pushed when I just stared at him without saying anything.

I didn’t want to tell him that I had just been holding him down to threaten Ash, only to have him turn the tables around, and then me getting angry enough at myself to get back on top and then realize that I liked that he was on top of me and that I liked being on top of Ash and that the shock of it all had me confused and dazed a bit. Now, why on earth would I want to tell him that?

"Er… It was nothing? We just had a minor mishap is all," I said, technically not lying.

"Right," Alex said, not completely buying it.

"Yup…"

I took the moment he turned his back for granted. I exited the little kitchen, which left me in the hallway I had came down just before I ate. So, I knew how to get back to my room. And boy did I ever want to just get back to my room.

Only, when I shut the door quickly behind me and thought I was alone, I was surprised to find Ash sitting on the bottom set of stairs that led to my room. Great; just great.

I walked to where he was sitting. He didn’t say anything. Actually, he didn’t even look up from where he was sitting with his head lying on the arm he had propped up on his leg. I almost felt bad for him. Gag.

I sighed, realizing that I was going to have to say something to get his attention so that I could get by. As much as I hated to…

"I’m sorry," I admitted to him, sheepishly.

It was the only thing I could think of to say? Yeah, right. Even I didn’t believe that. But I was more responsible than he was. And someone had to be the adult in our little bicker, right?

"Just stay away from me," he replied coldly.

I had heard acid dripping from his tone before, and even heard him threaten someone before, obviously, but he had never sounded as cold as he did now. My God, all I did was apologize! Ugh.

I was starting to figure out that even if it’s a winning game with Ash, it’s always still a losing game. And that is utterly confusing all on it’s own.

"Why have you been so mean to me? Just tell me why?!" I almost yelled.

I exasperated a bit by throwing my hands in the air. But you know what? I don’t care! Ash had been mean to me from the moment he first met me. Why should I care anymore? Sheesh.

Apparently something in my voice got his attention. He looked up at me through his blondish colored hair and blue eyes that were framed with gorgeously long, dark lashes.

"Because you don’t belong here. You don’t belong anywhere near here."

Okay, ouch. I had heard a lot of hateful things in my life. I’ve even said a few hurtful things in my life. But what he just said? Again, ouch. I didn’t flinch, though. I didn’t even let him see my hurt.

Or so I thought, anyway. His next words proved me wrong.

"If it hurts your feelings, I’m sorry. But it’s the truth. You don’t belong in this place, it’s wrong for you. We’re all wrong for you to hang around. You’re more than this; all of this. You need to get out of here," he whispered so low that I almost didn’t catch the last bit.

"And who are you to tell me what I need to do? You’re not my father; no where near it. I wouldn’t be here if my sister hadn’t got taken away from me. But she did! I have to help her. I don’t know if you have any siblings or not, Ash, but my sister means the world to me. And if you do have siblings, you would know," I told him, my words breaking a little.

I didn’t want to cry in front of him, but it seemed very inevitable considering he wouldn’t let me up the stairs. I was almost to my breaking point again. And soon, I would just push past him without saying sorry, and go to my room to cry.

Oh, crying. The one thing I thought I’d never do a lot of when I was younger. But now? It seemed as though I cry every day now, as part of my daily routine.

"I know more about it than you think. Only, I can’t save my siblings from something dark. It has already taken them," Ash muttered.

He probably didn’t want me to catch it, but I did. The unmistakable sound of hurt. Of someone who had lost someone special to them. Someone who had lost their whole world and could never recover from that part.

"I’m sorry, Ash," I said, as earnestly as I could.

I did mean it, actually. When Anna was taken from me, I thought I was going to lose my mind. Somehow, though, I knew deep down that she was still alive. I didn’t know what it was that kept me thinking this, but I just knew that she was alive; alive, and waiting for me to come get her.

"Yeah. We all are."

"I -"

"Save it. I don’t want your apologies," he spat out.

Ouch, again. It was nothing but hurt with Ash. Jeez!

"Fine. Just let me through so I can go to my room, and I promise I’ll leave you alone. Forever, if I can."

He didn’t say anything after that. He just scooted over to the far end of the steps. I sucked in a deep breath before heading up the stairs. But after the third step, I felt someone grab my hand.

I turned to see who it was, thinking it might be Alex or someone. Instead, it was just Ash still. He had a hold of my hand, but he didn’t say anything. He just stared at me.

His hand, I noticed, was very warm. It was smooth and silky feeling under my own. I looked down at where his hand was holding mine, and then back to his face. He smiled, but it was a sad one.

"I’ll help you, you know. If you need it. I couldn’t save my sister, but I can help you save yours," he said, every word as serious as the look on his face.

I don’t know what it was, but something about the gesture and his words sent my pulse racing. My heart my have even did a little flip. But I knew it was just because he had finally said something nice to me. Not because I had any kind of feelings for him.

I smiled at him. Probably for the first time since we’ve met. And it felt nice to smile at him instead of saying something mean and staring daggers at him.

"Thanks. I’ll need all the help I can get," I said, the smile disappearing and placed with a worry frown.

Ash got up from the step he was sitting on, without letting my hand go. He stepped up to where I was standing. And without a single word, he brushed his thumb across my chin, and tried to smooth the frown off my face.

The gesture was funny. It was especially funny coming from someone like Ash. And even though I still had my doubts about Ash being nice, he was nice now. I would watch out for his attitudes and everything. But right now, I could let him be nice to me. I needed it anyway.

"You’re beautiful, you know. But when you frown, you don’t look so attractive," he stated as matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes at him. Like I cared about how attractive I looked? But, I know he meant it as a compliment. So, I smiled.

"Thanks, I suppose," I replied, lifting a brow at him.

"You’re welcome," he said, failing to keep the laughter out of his voice.

After that, the entire world seemed to come to a stand still. Everything felt like it was happening in super slow motion. Ash looked down at me, his blue eyes sparkling with laughter. He smiled at me in a way I didn’t know he was even capable of. It made my heart lurch.

Okay, I was attracted to Ash. Sure. Right. Fine. I’d admit that much. But as far as being able to fall for someone like Ash? Well, I didn’t know him well, but with the way his attitude has been, I doubted it. A lot.

However, maybe I shouldn’t put him down. Right now, in this very moment, with him looking at me like he was and smiling a genuinely soft smile, I could imagine that he would be a great boyfriend. Or more. And if he was always like this, I could definitely fall for him.

But he’s been a jerk to me all this time. And only now, when talking about siblings, did his actual being shine through all the arrogance and coldness he had about him. I sighed.

"I need to go to my room now," I mumbled to him.

"Yeah. I need to go… do… something?" he said, making it into a question.

I smiled at him again before taking my hand from his and starting up the steps. Admittedly, he could be a great boyfriend to someone who was lucky enough to get to know the Ash I just met. Every muscle was relaxed; his entire face was peaceful looking and sweet. It has a certain adorableness to it.

So, yeah, I could definitely fall for Ash. Could fall for him, not will fall for him. Because, right now, there was only one person on my mind: Anna. I needed to get to her. Save her. Bring her back to this world and never let her leave my sight again.

I mentally smacked myself. Why was I thinking about Ash while my sister was still somewhere out there, alive, waiting for me? Gah! Maybe having Ash to help me would be a bad idea.

But if I didn’t have him there to help, how would I get anywhere? I could fight demons, sure. Save for a whole bunch that came at me all at once. Then, I would definitely need some help. Ash would come in handy.

I entered the room that was currently mine. After I was inside, I shut and locked the door. Arguing with myself over whether or not to let Ash come with me was just stupid.

Still, I couldn’t help going over the pros and cons of each. The cons came first seeing as how there would probably be more of them than pros.

First off, he would piss me off a lot if he came with me. He could possibly slow my progress down. Not to mention that I was attracted to him and that could get in the way. What if I fell in love with him or something? Nothing needs to be more important to me than my sister. At least, not until I actually find her and know that she’s safe.

Okay, so there aren’t many cons. The pros would be… He could save me if I got ambushed? But, I don’t wish to think that I only need him there to save me. I can handle things on my own. He would come in awfully handy if I were to get ambushed, though… Not to mention that he probably knows all about the Dark World, which means he’ll be able to get me to my sister faster.

I sighed. I’ve sighed a lot here lately. What is up with that, I thought.

So, maybe I needed Ash for this. I wouldn’t let him know that I needed him, but I would definitely need him.

Finally agreeing to tell him that I would like to have him accompany me on my journey, I headed from my room. I might have just woke up a little while ago, but I was so exhausted. The medicine Elsie had given me was still running through my veins.

Still, I left the room to find Ash. I was going to - as much as it kills me - ask him to train me a little before our leave. Besides, I still had an entire week to wait out before we could go. He could teach me a lot in that little amount of time.

Or so I hoped.