Sister Wars

Chapter 10: And the prince persists

  Aubrey looked out of the kitchen window at Jake filling yet another bucket with water. She frowned, turned off the tap and headed outside.

'What are you doing?' she asked, in a sweet voice she only used when talking to him.

'Washing up the shed, or trying to. You dad said he was turning it into a hangout spot slash extended wardrobe for Ashley.'

  Aubrey nodded, too tongue tied to say anything else. Jake seemed to have that effect on her, she never what to say next. She also had no idea what to say at the fact that his dad was going to waste half of the shed on Ashley's clothes. Ok, so they didn't fit in their wardrobe. But couldn't he find another place for them? She hated her sister's clothes and she highly doubted that her sister would agree to having her precious clothes hung up in a draughty shed.

'Mind giving me a hand?' he asked, as casually as he could.

  He didn't mind Aubrey hanging around, she was fun to be around. Ok, so she didn't have the same effect on him the way Ashley did, she was just a friend, but he knew he could use a couple of friends. Aubrey smiled and picked up the now full bucket.

'So, what was that between you and Ashley this morning?' she asked, trying to keep the jealousy out of her voice. She was also trying to slide the question casually in, all she ever seemed to do around Jake was ask him what was going in between him and Ashley and sometimes she felt like he wasn't comfortable discussing it with her.

'I wish I knew' he sighed, opening one of the windows and filling the air with dust on doing so. 'Your sister is very hard to understand.'

'Tell me about it' Aubrey said, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. 'All these years I've lived with her and I still can't figure her out. Before we came here I thought I knew, but she proved to us all that we don't know. I was beginning to assume that she was naturally quiet and closed up inside herself. But then she used to be different and now, when she's with you, it's like she's her old self once again.'

  Aubrey looked up and smiled at Jake who had been listening to her intently.

'I mean, when she's with you...' she trailed off not knowing how to continue the sentence. From what he had said she knew he had realised a change in Ashley's character.

  Jake nodded, he felt Ashley. She may not tell anyone how she felt but when he was close to her he could feel her emotions penetrate through his skin. Just that morning when he sat next to her he could feel her sadness, loneliness and happiness. He knew she would never have admitted to those feelings but he knew they were there, hidden well, but there.

  He grabbed a cloth and started scrubbing the window pane, trying to appear busy so that Aubrey wouldn't ask him any more questions. His mind hadn't stopped going on through the memories of Ashley. They had all been the same to him, pleasant but brief, he wished they would last longer. And the more she changed the more he wished he could spend more time with her.

  He was going crazy after her and her secrecy. At first glance you'd see the girl she pretended to be, the calm, cool, collected girl with no feelings. But if you bothered to get to know her, you'd see the real her trying to find a way out.

  The girl who didn't hide her feelings, whether happy or sad. The girl who didn't give a damn about what others thought of her. It was like watching a girl get drunk or get high on drugs only the substance was Jake.

  He smiled at the memory of that morning. The look on her face when he threw the bucket of water at her was priceless, a cross between shock and pure happiness. He knew that Ashley was a hard nut to crack, but for once in his life, he was determined not to give up...