Taken Away

Confusing Discoveries

A/N:
Date 5-27-17

Hey everyone! I thought the quote for this chapter is perfect for the overall book, in a vague way...

Word Count: 2446

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Chapter 21: Confusing Discoveries

I sat down and put my head in my hands. I was about to have more visitors. And I'm pretty sure none of them would be as nice as Dalton. I heard a rattle of chains and looked towards the window connecting my room to Ash's. I suddenly realized I hadn't even looked at him for at least 20 minutes. Our eyes met and I felt guilty for getting so close to Dalton.

No, I take that back. Dalton got close to me, not the other way around. But why did it matter? Ash and I are just friends and I don't know if I can even trust Dalton. "Are you okay Alicia?" Ash asked me out loud. I focused back on Ash and saw real concern on his face. "Yeah I-" I was interrupted mid sentence when the door opened, and in walked Cubs.

"Wow, you don't look very ruffled Alicia! Why ever not?" I scowled and stared straight into his evil eyes. Cubs didn't flinch, but neither did I. Even when I smelled the gunpowder in his coat. His gun from earlier must be in there. Cubs finally just shrugged and said, "It's Ash's turn for a visitor." Cubs smiled his famous creepy, evil eye twinkling smile. "Have fun watching."

Cubs walked out. I looked over at Ash but he wasn't looking at me. He was probably doing what I did earlier. Wallowing in self pity and wondering how bad this visit would be. I probably wasn't wallowing, but you get the idea. Ash had good reason to feel bad for himself, because I could almost guarantee his visit wouldn't be as easy as mine was. Not even close. If my undead heart still beat, it would beat faster in that moment. It would beat from fear. I felt fear for Ash's safety.

I knew then, without a doubt, that Ash was my friend. I couldn't sit back and watch a friend get hurt. I haven't had that many friends in my life, so I didn't know what friends do. But I could guess they stick up for each other. And if that meant physically fight for them, or even die for them, then that's what I would do. The fear in my cold body turned for one instant to fear for me, if I died.

But if I died fighting for something, I think that'd be the best way to go. I hope Ash agrees with that statement, because I wouldn't be happy if he abandoned me. I've given him my trust, even though he doesn't know it yet. I looked over at Ash again and heard Cubs opening Ash's door. Our eyes met and I smiled slightly. It was a hopeful smile that spoke of holding on, even when it was hard. I sent a thought out to Ash. "We'll have to be strong until Dalton gets here."

Ash quickly turned away from me, but not before I saw the frown on his face. His nose was crinkled in frustration, like when Zane and his goons attacked us in the woods. What made him mad? What did I say? I thought for a second until I remembered. I had thought out to him, "We'll have to be strong until Dalton gets here." Did he not like Dalton? I realized by saying that I basically said I trusted Dalton. Should I not be trusting him?

But there was something in Ash's eyes that told me he was feeling more than just uncertainty. For the life of me I couldn't figure it out. There was only one thing I could do. And it wasn't ask Ash nicely to evaluate his feelings. I knew it was an invasion of privacy, but I was too curious to go without knowing. I was going to read Ash's mind. I had to do so very carefully though. If Ash's mind was really strong, he might sense me in his thoughts.

I watched Ash as he looked up at Cubs entering the room. That was my opening. I delved into Ash's mind and felt some resistance. I didn't know a lot about mind reading. It's not like they gave me a "How To Read Minds" manual. I was winging it. But I'm almost certain Ash felt what I was doing. He didn't look over at me so I closed my eyes and went further into his mind. If Ash wasn't used to the feeling, he wouldn't know what was going in. That was my only advantage.