The Awakening

Chapter Six

When we reach a giant mansion, we finally come to a stop. Frost gets out of the car, and he hurries to my side to open mine for me before I can even undo my seatbelt. I'm guessing this is all part of the show, so I follow his lead. When he sticks his arm out for me to take it, I don't hesitate, instead, I take it graciously, and follow him to the large iron gate. When we get to the gate, we are stopped by a man who holds out his hand expectantly. From inside his jacket, Frost pulls out a slip of paper and hands it to the guard. After reading it, the guard looks me up, and down, pausing for a second.
"Hey!" Frost snaps at him. "Her eyes are on her face, not her chest! Come on darling," he gruffs, pulling me through the iron gate. The guard looks bewithered but allows us to go through.
"Nice one, darling," I whisper, in a mocking tone. Frost just smirks at me, and soon Emma, and Mason have caught up. They are linked the same way Frost, and I are. We walk in through the front door and look around. The room is packed, and the music is classical and loud. I am amazed by the size of the grand, marble ballroom. Then I remember I am here on a mission, not to make goo-goo eyes at all the fancy things. There are so many people, it will be hard to find anyone let alone someone well known, but Frost squeezes my arm and pints to the bar in the distance. I make out the figure, whom I am guessing is Andrew Cadwell. Frost releases my arm and walks off into the crowd, but seconds later I hear his voice again.
"Don't get lost," he tells me through the earpiece that has been attached to the inside of my ear. I don't answer him, instead, I roll my eyes, and make my way through the crowd towards the bar. I choose a seat two away from Andrew and order a water. I push my hair over my shoulder like my trainer taught me to do, and cross my legs like a lady. I sip my water through a little straw and wait. I don't have to do much except sit here, and look nothing like me before Andrew takes a seat next to me.
"What's a pretty little lady like you sitting here all by herself?" He asks me in a sweet tone. He gives me a playful smile and raises one of his eyebrows.
"I think this pretty little lady can take care of herself," I respond, giving him a sassy smile back.
"Well how about we have a dance, and you can tell me about taking care of yourself," he says extending his hand to me. Not too hard to get his attention. He looked cool, calm, collected and confident which means he had no problem making the first move. I hesitate before giving him a genuine smile and taking it. He leads me to the dance floor and snaps his finger at the band. They immediately start playing a slower song, and Andrew places his one hand on my hip and takes my hand with his other. We slowly move back, and forth until I speak.
"So, I know who you are Andrew, now tell about yourself," I say confidently, playing my fingers on his shoulder and tilting my head to the side in a playful manner.
"You first," he replies, his eyes staying on mine. It's weird. For someone who's this well know I thought he would be all over me.
"What can I say, my parents died when I was eleven, and I've been on my own ever since," I lie, looking him in the eyes. I don't allow myself to feel guilty, he might see it, and figure me out in seconds.
"Yeah, well I think my father died a long time ago," he shrugs, spinning me in a circle. I twirl around, letting my long dress flow around me. When I face him, he smiles, and I allow myself to smile back.
"Oh, I'm sure your father loves you," I reply, stepping in closer, and putting a small frown of my face. He just shrugs and tightens his grip on my waist.
"He does, but he has never been the same since he got this idea in his head that he needs to make the world bow down to him," he responds.
"Well, why don't we forget about our parents for the night, and have some fun?" I whisper, leaning in close before pulling back with a smile.
"Sounds lovely," he says, turning me around, crossing my arms, and placing his head on my shoulder. I try not to scoff, he is way too close for comfort, and I just met him. I guess I shouldn't say much because I am doing the same things, so I try to turn my emotions off, and focus on the mission.
"So what's your name pretty lady? He asks as we sway to the music.
"Ella, and you?" I answer, even though I already know exactly who he is.
"Andrew Cadwell, a pleasure to meet you, but like you said, you already knew that," he says, seeming happy that I asked anyways.
When the song ends, he spins me back around, letting go of my waist, but not my hand. "I want to show you something," he says, leading me away from the party, and up a set of stairs. Well, that was easy and we walk through a long hallway, until we reach a doorway near the end, on the right. He leads me into a room, which is huge. Across the room is a balcony where you can see all the way to the ocean. A king-sized bed sits on the right side of the room, and a desk and closet rest on the other. When we get to the balcony, I look up and take in the night sky. The sun has set, and twinkling lights fill the night sky. I take in a breath of fresh air.
"What do you think?" He asks me, as I look at the view, amazed.
"I think it's beautiful," I whisper, taking it all in. There's something about him. Something that I didn't feel downstairs in all the emotions running through my head but here I feel him a little more. He's close to me and I can feel my heart beat faster.
"Yeah it is," he says, looking at me. Does he mean me because if he did that was way too cheesy. It almost makes me laugh out loud, but I smile at him instead.
"What?" I finally asked after several minutes of him staring at me.
"It's just you," he says, not pulling his eyes away.
"What about me?" I question, a little offended.
"There's something about you I can't make out," he says, looking me up and down. I raise my eyebrows, expecting him to say more, but he doesn't, so I insist instead.
"Well, ask away," I say, turning around to lean on the balcony railing, facing his room instead of the ocean view. He considers my offer before leading me back into what I am assuming is his room, and flopping onto the bed. He pats a place next to him, and I lay next to him, staring at the ceiling above.
"It's just, I haven't met anyone like you before," he says, moving to his side so he can look at me.
"Well, I don't have a twin sister if that's what your thinking," I reply, which makes him laugh.
"No, I mean, yeah you've got a great body, but you're so..." he searches his thoughts for the right word. "You're so mysterious," he finally finishes.
"Well, I don't like people being able to read me," I say, my smile turning into a frown, and I start to avoid his gaze.
"Yeah, that's understandable," his smile also fading away, and he returns to his back. Now it's my turn to sit up and look at him.
"But..." I start, and I see his eyes widen in anticipation. "I feel like I may be able to trust you," I say, which is a complete lie. I cannot trust anyone but my friends. I have to keep him interested though, or we will never complete our mission.
"All right, tell me more about yourself then," he smirks, letting me run my hand over his chest.
"Well, I was good in school, kept my grades up, and got a job as soon as I could in order to keep myself alive. I lived in an old barn house and promised myself that one day I would get out of here, and find out how my parents died. I ended up working for a friend of your dads and made the deal that he would help me find out what happened to my parents, and I would work for him. I haven't done much, just little jobs here, and there, but it pays well," I say, looking him in the eye, and tightening his shirt into a ball. To him it means nothing, but to me, it is how I remain able to continue to lie to his face.
"I can relate to that," he tells me, and I look at him, confused. "Well, most of it. I work my ass off for my father, but I hate the way I live, most likely the way you hated the way you lived. My mother died when I was young too, and my father died along with her. He used to be kind, and compassionate, but then one day he thought that ruling the world may take the pain away. I think he is crazy, and I made a promise to myself that I would never end up like him, and that I would never tell anybody- well anybody but you," he says, pulling me down into him. How can be trust me, he should trust me. I rest my head on his chest, and he wraps his arms around me. I feel like it should be awkward, but it has been a long day, and I am exhausted, so I allow myself to take the embrace. I prop my head up, so I can see his face, and his smile turns into a sly grin, and he flips on top of me.
"What's your biggest secret?" He asks, pinning me underneath him. His smiles, his eyebrows raised, and his eyes scanning my face. Other than I was kidnapped, and am now being forced to stall you until we kill your father, nothing really, I think, forcing myself to keep my eye fixed on him instead of rolling them at myself. I stand there, thinking, feeling the warm air of his breath on the side of my face. I have to think quickly, he looks intrigued, so I could try with something that would make him laugh, but what can I tell him? If I lie, it will take too long, but if I tell the truth it could blow my whole cover. He stares at me expectantly, before I smirk, and lean into his ear.
"I'm a virgin," I whisper, and he takes pulls away a little, and laughs.
"A pretty little girl like you?" He asks, calming himself, and looking at me.
"What? You asked for my secret," I chuckle, and he smiles at me. He brings his body back, lowering onto mine, forcing me back against his bedsheets. He leans in, and pauses, looking from my eyes to my body.
"Well we can fix that," he whispers back before kissing me passionately on the lips and lifting me onto his lap. He grips me tightly and wraps his hands around my hips. Oh no, I think, starting to panic a little. This wasn't supposed to happen! It was supposed to be a playful joke, even if it was true! How do I get out of this? I kind of set myself up if I think about it. He was supposed to laugh, and then change the subject after feeling awkward. I read him as respectable, but curious, but I guess curiosity won over respect. He is just starting to run his hands along my thighs when I hear it. A loud noise echoes through the building, causing him to pull away, and look towards the closed door. Someone's dead, and I know who it is.