Inexplicable

Chapter Six

I follow Megan into the kitchen and silently obey her directions on where to place the food on the table. When everything is to her liking, we all find a seat. Michael sits across from me and looks at me with hungry eyes. His gaze makes me shift uncomfortably in my chair, and I notice his eyes still following me as I fill my plate. Everyone talks about work and tells jokes that aren't funny, but everyone laughs anyway. I give the occasional smile to seem like I am interested in their conversation, even though I couldn't care less.

When everyone's done eating, I serve dessert, handing out slices of carrot cake. I hand Michael his, and he still looks at me with greedy eyes, touching my hand unnecessarily when I pass his plate to him. I quickly move back to my seat, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. The table gets quiet as everyone eats the cake, and I count down the minutes until I can escape to my room.

"So, Sapphire, what were you doing before you came to this lovely family?" Alex asks, trying to start a conversation. This isn't the first time I have had to answer this question for Jonathan's friends.

I take a deep breath and recite my answer. "I was with a family before, but things didn't work out. I was lucky that Megan and John took me in." Usually, this is enough information to keep most people quiet.

Usually.

"What happened?" Bradley asks with a mouthful of cake. Michael sips at his third glass of whiskey, not taking his eyes off of me. "I've heard horror stories from kids in the system. Were they awful to you?"

"No. They, um, passed away." I say slowly, not really sure what else to say.

"Oh dear!" Alex exclaims, seeming genuinely sympathetic. "Orphaned twice? What happened to them?"

I look to Megan and Jonathan for help, but a girl can only expect so much. "They were murdered," I state.

Just the conversation killer I needed.

No pun intended.

The thought of my late parents pulls at my chest. They are still my parents, blood or not, and their loss affects me just as much as the day they died. I sit quietly through the rest of the dinner as Jonathan leads the conversation back to their work. I help clean up afterward, then quickly excuse myself, wanting to be alone. I rounded the corner to the hallway that leads to my room, so lost in thought that I didn't hear the footsteps approaching from behind me.

I lay my hand on the doorknob but find myself being turned forcefully around against the door with Michael's body pressed against mine. He leans in to try to kiss me, his breath heavy with alcohol, but I turn my face before he can. "Come on now. Don't put up a fight. You know you want this." He whispers and moves a hand to my chest, cupping my breast. My stomach churns, but I take the opportunity to wiggle free from his grip and land a solid punch on his nose. Where the hell did I learn to throw a punch like that?

The blood pours down from his nose, and Michael cries out. "You bitch!" He spat at me, then landed his hand across my cheek with so much force that I fell to the ground, seeing black dots in my vision.

Jonathan and Megan enter the hallway, followed by the other two men. "What is going on?" Jonathan's voice booms.

"He tried to kiss me!" I yell and hold my throbbing cheek where he hit me. The hit left me dizzy, so I leaned on the door for support as I stood up.

"I tried to ask where the bathroom was and fell! She punched me for no reason!" Michael retorts, pinching his nose in an effort to stop the bleeding. Of course, they are going to believe him. All I ever did was cause trouble in their eyes.

Jonathan's anger is evident on his face. I ruined the night and was undoubtedly going to pay for it. "Apologize Sapphire." My jaw drops. He couldn't be serious. "Now." His voice still stays calm. I knew nothing I said would make a difference. Nothing would make him believe my side of the story. But I sure as hell wasn't about to apologize to this perv. "Sapphire..." Jonathan warned, but to my surprise, Megan interrupted him.

"How about we call it a night! I'm sure we're all a bit tired and stressed about our upcoming launch. I'll show you boys to the door." She chirps and leads the three men away. Micheal tosses me one last glare before following her. Jonathan and I hadn't moved yet, but after a moment of him not saying anything, I quickly opened my door and slammed it shut behind me.

I rushed down the stairs, desperate to get the dress off, as it was soaked in his blood. I jump in the shower and let the tears come as I process what happened. By the time I got in bed, I had forgotten all about my plans with the boy from my dream.

Now that I have cleaned off all the dirt, I walk around the village, taking in all the details as I make my way to the castle. It is filled with vendors, merchants, running children, and gamblers.

"You're late." A voice says behind me, again snapping me back to reality, but it wasn't as much of a shock this time.

"And you're not real," I state and continue walking, his footsteps falling in sync behind mine.

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm not sure of anything anymore," I mumble, taking a deep breath as I close my eyes. I felt tired all the way to my bones and just wanted a dreamless sleep.

"I can answer those questions you have." He taunts. I stop and face him, too tired to play his game right now. His mouth falls open, but he quickly closes it, and I see his jaw flex a few times before finally asking, "What happened?" Was my face even bruised in my dream? I put a hand on my hurt cheek and flinch as it still hurts.

"Dumb, drunk business friend looking to get some action," I state. It was none of his business anyway. The anger is apparent on his face, but I choose to ignore it; I'm not sure what it means. "What do you want from me? Was killing my parents not enough?" I fold my arms and wait for an answer.

"I can explain about your parents, but you have to meet me." He says his blue eyes are even more intense in the setting sun.

"Prove to me you're real," I state. "Then I will meet you."

"Haven't I already?" He says with a grin.

"So that was you at school? You're Jax?"

"Maybe. Come tonight, and you will find out." Then, the dream fades.

I jolted awake from the dream, sitting straight up in bed. I wipe the crust from my eyes and glance at the clock. Exactly ten o'clock. My stomach knots as I think about leaving to meet him. I shake my head, trying to get the idea out of my mind. It's way too dangerous. As much as I want answers, I don't want them to cost me my life. Plus, I'm still not convinced that the Jax in my dream is actually Jax from school. They seem completely different apart from the few physical similarities.

I fight off the urge to go by focusing on the ceiling and clearing my head. This doesn't work, so I pull the covers over my head and try to tell my subconscious not to dream. As I drift off again, my subconscious listens to me, and I enjoy a dreamless sleep.