The Right Side

Chapter 23

Averys POV

Ash's head snaps to the door as she walks away from me. I follow after her. We leave our room and Liam is there opening the door. It is a guard.

"He is awake." The guard nods. We all grab our jackets and coats and run out to the hospital wing. When we get there the curtain is drawn closed and my father is standing there talking to a nurse. Ash hogs up to him.

"Well?" Ash asks looking at the curtain. My father nods and the nurse goes over to the curtain. I stand next to Ash and she slowly takes my hand. I can feel electric waves hitting my hand telling me all the emotions she is feeling.

Nervous, scared, excited, anger, fear.yet her face looks the same. I hear my father clear his throat and feel a glare at our hands but I don't turn around.

The curtains open and the boy is looking around. Ash rushes to his side and looks at him. "Jacob?"

"Ash... Ash? Ash!" The boy exclaims. Ash sits down on the chair next to him.

"What in the name of-" Ash starts to raise her voice but sees fear in the boys eyes. "What were you doing up here?" She asks calmly.

"I- I thought I could get answers... I- wanted to know how my father really died." Jacob says with tears in his eyes. Ash nods.

"I told you-" she starts but is cut off.

"No you told me a lie. Tell me the truth... I know he wasn't in a motorcycle accident." Jacob says.

"I- can we not do this here..." Ash mutters looking at the rest of us.

"No..." the boy coughed a little. "I came all this way for answers.

"Fine! He died because I couldn't save him. It was either my neck or his neck and so he died okay? We were being chased down by a pack of Demon hunters and his wing was shot. I- I couldn't carry him! I wasn't strong enough!" Ash looks down at her lap. "I left him. But when I came back... I made a vow to protect you. To protect your mom, Emily. I- I gave up everything in life and lived at the gym so that if that problem ever happened again... I could protect you.... Daniel was my bestfriend... I'm so sorry Jacob... but if we both died that day no one would be there to protect you..." Ash finishes on the verge of tears.

"What a good job you did..." The young boy says as he turns to the nurse. "I'm done with them." The nurse nods and closes the curtain. Ash stands there staring at the curtain.

"Well... that wasn't what I expected... well you guys are clear to leave so... tomorrow should be a good day." My father says and starts walking away. Ash just stands looking at the curtain. All the demons look at me and I nod. They leave.

I stand next to Ash. "I-"

"Don't... I don't want to talk..." she says looking at the curtain.

"Well then we don't have to talk at all" I say slowly taking her head and pulling her with me. She sadly walks with me and we walk outside. It is snowy but we walk around the castle and hold hands. I take her into the forest behind the castle to a frozen water fall. On one of the trees there is a swinging bench and I walk over and sit us both down.

I watch her as she takes in the white and the beautiful waterfall that isn't moving. She turns and looks down at me. I pull her hand into my lap and play with her rings. I look down at the wolf ring and trace it over softly.

"It was his. Daniels. He knew how much I love wolves and gave it to me." She says and I look up at her. I see her eyes look like they have a fresh layer on glass protecting them. "I left him... and they took him. He- he fell in love at such an early age and told me one day I would find the love for me. I told him he was insane. The next day he came to me with the news that Emily was pregnant. He was so scared but... he already knew he loved that little baby. I knew that I loved him too. After Jacob was born Daniel stopped going on as many missions with me. Just so that he wouldn't get hurt and wouldn't be able to protect his family... I was so weak then. Terribly skinny and had no muscle. When I begged him to do one last mission with me.... he didn't make it." Ash says while quickly drying up an escape tear.

"That night I got my tattoo on my back. It was painful... but in the morning when I saw it I knew I had to protect that family. A couple years later Emily died of cancer. I couldn't protect her. Then not more than a week later Jacob goes missing and I felt so lost. I had to protect him. It was my only job and... now he hates me." She finishes as she watches the waterfall.

I bring my hand up and guide her head over to look at mine. My hand rests on her jaw line.

"Ash... you have protected him. He is going home. You have done your job. Daniel would be so proud of you." I say and at those words tears come streaming down her face. She wipes her tears away and looks back at the water. I rest my head on her shoulder and hold her hand close to me.

"I'm leaving tomorrow..." she says softly.

"I know..." I reply.

"I'm sorry I'll miss your Christmas..." she says lightly. It just clicked in my brain that she will be leaving on Christmas Eve.

"It's okay... you are going to your side." I answer.

"That's the thing.., I don't know which side I belong on..."

"Me neither." I say and she rests her head on mine.

"Thank you for protecting me." I say so quietly you can barely hear me. She squeezes my hand.

"You didn't make it easy princess." She says with a light chuckle as she kisses my head.

I can't believe she is leaving.