The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 39

Alex’s POV:

I took off my heels as soon as we all climbed into the rent-out car.

My ankles throbbed, but the pain seemed to be buried under the weight of my thoughts. Now that we had the gemstone, our biggest concern was what came next: confronting Ryan.

I hadn’t been able to focus much on what we did after we found the stone because that alone was a huge if. After we returned from Dina’s cave, I didn’t stop to linger on how I blasted the rock of the cliff. I knew the energy initially came from Cody and got transferred to me when he touched my shoulder, but that was purely unintentional. I didn’t know how we were supposed to make it happen again let alone how to use the gemstone’s energy that way.

“Now what?” Elijah asked from the back as Cody started driving.

“We go back to the hotel and sleep like nothing happened. Tomorrow, we fly back to Toronto. Then we wait,” I said. “Out of the ring, the gemstone will probably radiate an extremely strong energy. Ryan will find us in no time.”

“And after he finds us?” Zoe asked apprehensively.

I clicked my tongue before whispering, “I don’t know.”

I expected one of them to yell at me for not having a plan, but they all stayed silent and remained that way until we reached Wavecrest. Cody pulled over and I got out of the car, still feeling weak, holding my dress up with one hand and my heels in the other. A cold breeze blew in my face, pushing my hair back.

Nights in Hawaii weren’t nearly as cold as they were in Canada, but the people around us still shivered and tugged on their uppers, wrapping them more tightly around their shoulders. To me, the chilly breeze felt pleasant, especially compared to the heat of the day. Besides, when you lived in Canada, the only place you considered colder was Russia.

Zoe and I split up from the boys and made our way back to our bedroom apartment. I let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the couch to relax my tired body. I didn’t even have the energy to get up and change before going to bed. Never again, my instincts ordered.

“Okay, what was that?” Zoe asked, still buzzing with energy. It took me not more than a second to figure out what she was talking about. I sighed as she grabbed an apple from the kitchen counter and took a bite before sitting down next to me on the couch.

“Long story,” I said and she gave me a pointed look. I groaned and told her what happened at the club, keeping the details as brief as possible, leaving Elle out.

When I finished, Zoe was gaping at me, her mouth hanging open. I reached out and pushed her chin upward to snap her out of her shock. She shook her head and tried to set her thoughts straight. “Jeremy guards the stone?” I nodded. “Jeremy the douchebag?” I nodded again. She paused before saying, “Jeremy the douchebag is the freaking guardian of the Charger?”

“That’s the one,” I said, trying to get her to drop the subject. A few hours ago, I would’ve had no problem with anyone calling him a douchebag, but after what happened, I wasn’t so sure. I mean, yeah, he’d always been a jerk to me, but at least he had his reasons.

“God, what’s next? Life on Saturn?” Zoe said throwing her arms up exasperatedly.

I shook my head. “You should get some sleep.”

Without waiting for a response, I got up from the couch and made my way to the bedroom. I stripped off my dress and, feeling a ton lighter, stepped into the shower. I scrubbed myself clean from the scent of tequila and washed my hair. Once I was done, I discarded my old undergarments and changed into fresh ones. I didn’t have a night attire so I changed back into my T-shirt and shorts before going to bed.