Falling into the White (The Ancients Series) (7 page)

“What do you mean?” I winced, “my parents were worried, huh? I thought I had told them I was going to be staying at Ashley’s for a few days anyway...”

I had been thinking out loud, but Mikael cut me off. “No, Jess. It wasn’t your parents.”

“Oh?” Suddenly it clicked in. “Oh!” Now I was blushing for an entirely different reason. For a few minutes I hadn’t even thought about Evan. I felt, well hell, I was feeling downright guilty now. “He’s probably going to give me hell.” I mumbled.

“I know you like my brother, but you don’t have to take his attitude.”

“Believe me when I say, I don’t.”

“Okay, well, I’m going to leave that conversation right there. I’m not really comfortable with…” he sighed, a very big sigh. “You know, talking about my brother, since he’s…” Mikael groaned, then walked over to the sink and slung the rest of his coffee into it. “Let me know when you’re ready. I’ll get you back to Ashley’s so you can get changed and grab your stuff.”

“I’m good to go. I just need to grab my jacket.” He walked out ahead of me, into the living room. When I got there, he had my jacket held out for me to put on. He was apparently bound and determined to show me he was not the asshole I met all those months ago. “Thanks.” He walked me out to the bike, and handed me the helmet again. I paused before I put it on. “Mikael?”

“Yeah?” He stopped and looked at me then.

“I, um… well, thank you. Yesterday was a lot of fun. So, thanks for everything.”

His eyes lit up, mouth turned into full, dimple bearing, eye crinkling smile that melted me somewhere deep down inside. “You’re welcome. I had a good time too, right up until you started drooling all over my shirt. I’m not sure that’s going to come out. It was a little purple, maybe from the sparkling grape juice we had earlier. Next time, we’ll go with white grape.”

I smacked his shoulder playfully. “I take it all back. You’re an ass!”

He threw his denim clad leg over the bike, and patted the seat, “hop on, Princess. Let’s get you home before you turn into a pumpkin or something.”

“I think it’s already too late for that. Sun’s up.” I squeezed up tight to Mikael, and got as close to his ear as our helmets would allow. “Go really fast for me, I want to fly this morning!”

He pulled my arms tighter around his waist, and then took off. The ride back was amazing, he definitely didn’t disappoint me.

When we pulled up at Ashley’s I took my helmet off and looked for a place to strap it onto the bike or something so that Mikael could take it with him. “Keep it with you, that way you’ll have it next time.” He said to me. “I have to run and go deal with contractors this morning. You be safe, and call if you need anything.”

“Thanks…” I wasn’t sure what else to say, and luckily Ashley stuck her head out the door at just that moment.

“Jess, hurry up, I want to stop off at Java Joe’s on the way.”

Mikael revved the bike, and winked at me. I just waved and walked over to Ashley’s door. She yanked me inside and shut it. “So, you need to get dressed, like now! And then you are going to spill everything.”

I walked towards the bag I had left by Ashley’s couch the day before, and grabbed it to head to the bathroom, where I promptly ran into a fresh-out-of-the-shower Asriel, who thankfully, at least still had a towel wrapped around his lower half. His sandy brown hair looked darker when it was wet, but it still hung from his head in long waves that fell just below his chin. I focused on the hair, so I wouldn’t end up drooling over the abs of my best friend’s man. “Asi, I didn’t realize you were still here.”

“I didn’t realize you ever knew I was here, since you didn’t come back last night.” He snickered as he said it.

“Oh, I came back last night all right, to the audio version of a sock on the door. When it was clear I would be interrupting, Mikael took me back to his place.”

“Shit!” Ashley yelped. “You could hear that from outside?” Ashley’s cheeks were apple red now. Asi wasn’t the least bit embarrassed.

“Did he now?” Asriel queried quietly, his dark eyes flashed a bit of menace my way before he checked himself. I understood, kind of.

I turned from him to Ash. “Ashley, I’m sure your neighbors are frustrated, sexually or otherwise, this morning. You might want to seriously think about moving somewhere with a bit of space between you and your neighbors.” I turned back to Asi then. “And you… just stop. I get enough shit from Evan himself, I don’t need to get a dose of guilt by proxy from you too! Besides, you guys were the only ones getting lucky last night. I fell asleep during The Avengers, and woke up drooling on Mikael’s couch. Now, slide out of the way, so I can get dressed in something other than yesterday’s clothes.”

As I shut the bathroom door, I heard Ashley giving Asriel shit for the look he gave me. He came to the bathroom door, and quietly said, “Sorry, Jess.” A few minutes later the front door opened and shut. I assumed it was Asi leaving, and I finished getting ready. Unfortunately, Ashley didn’t give me enough time for a shower, so I tossed another pair of jeans on, and my black, death before decaf t-shirt. I finger combed through some of the wind knots in my hair. Running a brush through it was going to hurt too bad, so I just tossed it up in a high pony tail on my head, and made my way back out to living room. I heard Ashley talking from the kitchen, and figured she must be on the phone with someone, since I heard Asi leave earlier. Then I heard Asi’s voice, and I realized I had been wrong about him going anywhere.

“Okay, I’m ready,” I called out while I grabbed up the bag that had all my school books in it. “Are we still getting coffee or…” I picked my jacket up off the couch, where I had thrown it earlier, and my phone slipped from the pocket and hit the floor. “Damn it!” I yelped. Then another pair of hands was there reaching down to grab my phone before I got to it. When I looked up, Evan was there holding my phone in his hands. The worst part was, he didn’t try to give it back. Instead, he started going through it.

“I tried calling last night, to check on you.” He still hadn’t looked up from my phone. “Apparently, you weren’t answering, because…” He was reading my texts. The texts that Mikael had sent and received from Ashley. “Well, someone answered Ashley.” Tears were welling up behind my eyes. My hands were shaking, and the sick feeling in my stomach was being replaced by a red-hot, about to blow my top, kind of serious anger. I stared at him for a solid minute, well aware that both Ash and Asi were standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room now. I couldn’t find words, because everything was bubbling up beneath the surface, barely contained. A primal scream of frustration escaped my mouth, turning into a growl at the end, as I stalked forward and snatched my phone up out of Evan’s hand.

“You have no right to go through my phone. If you wanted to know why I didn’t answer my phone, you should have asked me. If you wanted to know where I was, who with, or what I did…” I was shaking as I yelled the words at him. “Then you should have asked me! I didn’t answer your damn call, because I was asleep, you asshole!”

“Oh, yeah, I saw that. And was it because of sheer exhaustion?” I saw Ashley tuck her head in her hands, knowing that he read her texts, and what he took from it.

“Well, this is why we set ground rules, isn’t it? You’re not allowed to ask that. And I’m certainly not inclined to answer now, because you just overstepped by a mile with me. Now, piss off. I have school.” I shoved past him, heading to collect the rest of my stuff.

Evan grabbed my arm before I was out of reach, “Jess.” He let out a breath he’d been holding, and the tumultuous blue oceans of his eyes were begging me to stay, to forgive him, and a myriad of other things that I just didn’t care about in that moment.

“Get. Off. Of. Me.” I snatched my arm away, and he let it go, as I grabbed my bag and took off out of the apartment. Unfortunately, I was stuck waiting there for Ashley anyway, because in my anger, I had forgotten to grab the keys to my Jeep. It took a few minutes, and then she came out dangling the keys from her fingers.

“I’m so sorry, Jess. I shouldn’t have texted that to Mikael last night.”

“Do not apologize!” I said to her as Asi and Evan walked out of Ashley’s apartment. “He’s the one who violated my privacy. It’s on him, not you.”

“Shit!” I heard Evan say, as I hopped in the Jeep with Ashley. I ignored him, and we took off for school. I was so angry still that I probably broke a few traffic laws, and I definitely forgot to stop at Java Joe’s. When we pulled in the parking lot at the school, Ashley finally spoke.

“Well, I guess we can do the coffee thing later. I’m high on the adrenaline from your fight right now anyway.”

“I’m sorry, Ash. I was on autopilot.” I got ready to throw the Jeep in reverse and head back for coffee, but Ashley put her hand on my arm.

“Jess, stop. It’s cool. We’ll call the lack of coffee my penance for helping screw up your morning.”

“Ashley, seriously, this was not your fault at all.”

“I know, but I still feel bad. I’m sure it made things worse for Evan than it would have been.” She shrugged, “He already got snippy while you were getting ready, because he could smell Mikael all over your jacket.”

“How in the hell am I supposed to survive months of this? I can’t…” I sighed deeply. “Ashley, he’s driving me away with this bullshit. I can’t keep going like this. The first good day I’ve had since, well hell, since that day at your parents’ house, before Marcus…” I shook off the memory before it could take root and drag me further down the self-pity road I was about to travel. “The first good day I’ve had since, and it was with Mikael, not Evan. He was amazing yesterday. There was the motorcycle ride, which was complete awesomeness, especially this morning when he went really fast for me. The puppies. The waterfall. Lunch. And just watching a movie until I fell asleep. There was nothing complicated, and he didn’t make a big deal out of anything. It was just a good day.”

“Puppies?” Ashley asked, then she smiled at me. “You can tell me all about it later. I’m glad you got to have a good day, finally. Sucks that Evan had to ruin it this morning. I’m sorry about that. It’s hard on him. Asi told me there was a girl before, that Evan liked, and it didn’t work out. He wouldn’t elaborate, but he said this stuff with Antoine making you date both of them is bringing up some really ugly shit for Evan. Hell, even Asi has yelled at him for how he’s treating you. Old wounds or not, there’s no reason to take it out on you.”

“Yeah, well, he’s dooming himself. If he keeps this up, it won’t be Evan I pick.” I was crying now. My tears were made up of the same emotions I couldn’t wrap my own head around. Anger, sadness, disappointment, and regret all mingled together, and they were streaming hot down my face.

“Aww, come here, Jess.” Ashley pulled me into a hug, then she took the edge of her sleeve, and wiped at my face. “We’ll figure everything out, okay? Maybe, I don’t know, maybe I should have a talk with Evan. Or maybe Leanna should. She seems to want you to be with Evan.”

“I’d rather not involve any more of that family in all of this. I don’t know why, but Annabelle gave me the creeps, and I really don’t know what Leanna is up to.” I shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Well, come on, let’s get you to class now. We’ll work on everything else later.”

“Oh, hey, how did your test go yesterday?”

“It went. I’ll find out tomorrow when I go back to that class.” Ashley chewed on her lip. “I’m not sure I studied enough. I’ve had a lot of distractions lately.”

“I know. I heard you being thoroughly distracted last night.” I was laughing at her as we walked near the fountain on the quad. Ashley smacked my arm.

“Shut it!” She was laughing too, though.

“Oh, no way. You don’t get to demand juicy details from Mikael, and have me remain quiet about all the screaming we heard from your apartment.” Her blush let me know she was more concerned about the fact that Mikael heard her too. “Oh yeah, he walked me to the door, and stood there with me. My keys were locked up in your apartment, so I couldn’t take my Jeep home. That’s why I ended up going back to his place.”

“Damn.” She whispered.

“I have to say, as many times as I’ve been in your apartment when you’ve brought guys home, I have never heard you quite so vocal. Asi must be doing a good damn job.”

“Oh, he really is.” Ashley took a breath and got ready to launch into details I probably didn’t want, when I felt that weird tingle down my spine. I grabbed her arm hard, which shut her right up. “What?” She asked, and quickly realized something was wrong, because the playful demeanor fell away from me, replaced by fear. I scanned the area, looking for a sign of something, or someone, out of place. I didn’t see anything that stood out at first, and then a woman stepped around the fountain heading towards us with a purpose in her step.

“Ashley, be ready to run. She’s a witch.”

“That means running will do no good, if I wished you ill.” The woman called out to us, hands raised in a pose that said she meant no harm. “I just want to talk for a moment.”

“I can’t even fathom why you would need to talk to me. I don’t meddle in witch business. I’ve never even met one that I know of.”

She smiled, “well now, you’ve met me. I am Estella Sophia Marquez.” My brain fired off a response to that name, but it took a second for me to place why I recognized it. “I see you know the name.”

“You’re the one who helped Antoine.”

“Guilty.” She sat down on the edge of the fountain and looked up at me. “Now, you understand why a witch is meddling in your affairs, because they are entwined with the De’ Lunes, and because you are the white wolf.”

“How?”

“Witch.” She pointed to herself. “Wolf.” She pointed to me. It is my job to know these things.”

“You were in the woods yesterday, watching us?”

“Indeed. I do hate to spy, but I needed to see something for myself. I’ve heard the warning bells lately. I just needed to make sure you were on the right track.”

“Okay, that really didn’t clear anything up at all.” My fingertips were suddenly massaging my temples, because I felt another headache coming on. This one was not Antoine induced though.