The Five Dimensions Part 1: Shadow World

Chapter 27

There was a strange glimpse in his eyes. Hailey couldn't quite understand it. At first sight it seemed like a sign of his seriousness, but she got another feeling about it. The word execute certainly scared her but no comprehension of the severity of what she had done reached her because she couldn't understand that something so harmless as them being close together ― yes, on a bed, but nothing had happened, not really ― would lead to death.

Hailey loosened her wrists from his grip and took a small step back. He didn't stop her. "Then, why did you let it go on in the first place?"

"Because I ― I don't know, you make me lose all my focus." He stumbled over his own words. "You know what I mean." It seemed like Ash wanted to say something else. Hailey's mind filled with all the possibilities of what he was thinking. But just him expressing out loud what she was feeling herself, made her light-headed.

"I know, I just..." She took a deep breath before she continued, her voice cold. "They're waiting for us, we should go."

"Can you promise me not to tell?" he pleaded, before she could take the chance to leave the room. She sighed and turned to look at him.

"Ash, please, you have to give me time to―"

"You can't tell them, you can't!" he yelled, not realizing how hard his voice hit Hailey. She flinched, her whole body tensing. Her fingernails dug into her palms. She couldn't bear it, couldn't stand it, every muscle in her body cowered away from it.

"Don't yell at me!" she yelled back. Hailey loathed people yelling at her. Loathed them, to the deepest of her heart. She couldn't stand them, never had, and would always hate them. Some years ago, Nolan had made the mistake to yell at her, really yell at her. Much worse than their last fight after his family dinner. She hadn't talked to him for almost a month.

"Hailey, I'm―"

"Don't, just don't. Please." Her voice was small again, almost cracking under the weight of all the different emotions that were rushing through her. She walked out of the room, ignoring the footsteps behind her.

Hailey felt terrible. It was like she had been crushed to little bits and pieces. Crushed when she had been most vulnerable. As if being attacked from behind, or in your sleep, or... just any other time you were unfairly attacked! She was incredibly frustrated, on so many levels.

She walked into the living room, not saying a word. The walk from the room gave her just enough to fix her expression into something neutral. Zech, Brooke, Leo, Marlene and Phoenix were all there. Sitting on the couches, already opening the boxes of food ― counting on the smell, it was Chinese. There were three free places left, two next to Phoenix and one next to Zech, Hailey took the latter place. Not wanting to take the risk of having to sit next to Ash. She sat, and so did Ash, one place away from Phoenix. He was clearly not in a good mood either. Except, he wasn't hiding it as well as her.

The others were in the middle of a conversation, but they looked up at Hailey and Ash entering the room and sitting without either of them saying a word. It was silent for another minute as they turned their gaze between the two of them.

"Did Ash cut out your vocal cords? I have seen him do it before, but it was much messier, very bloody," Phoenix said. Her eyes were scanning Hailey judgingly, betraying only the slightest hint of curiosity. Hailey forcefully pushed the image of Phoenix's words out of her mind, it wasn't something she wanted there. That seemed to be Phoenix's exact goal, however. She was pleased to see Hailey's disgusted look of surprise.

"Are you okay, Hailey?" This time it was Zech, sounding much more friendly. She looked sideways at him for a moment. There was no animosity in his eyes. She took a breath and answered.

"I'm fine," she said, hoping to sound as reassuring as possible.

"Everyone knows when someone says they are fine, that they are actually miserable. So, what is wrong?" Brooke said. Her voice was again harder than what suited her sweet appearance. Hailey was getting a bit irritated now. Couldn't they mind their own business? She thought they must think it was part of their job to know what her mindset was. She didn't like having everyone's eyes on her.

"It's nothing. It's really not important right now," she answered, trying to sound final. She took a box of food at random and started to eat slowly. It was chicken noodles, luckily that was something she liked. Swiftly, she gave Ash a glance, but she turned away quickly. Apparently, it wasn't fast enough

"Something happened between you two!" Phoenix exclaimed. She was much more excited than she had any right to be. Shock filled Hailey's face, but it disappeared the moment Phoenix talked again. "You are having a fight, right?"

Neither of them replied.

"Right?" Phoenix repeated. "I adore fights! Tell me all about it."

"Phoenix, that is enough," Leo said in a very stern voice, full of authority. It was a very powerful sound, almost like a lion's roar. Hailey thought it might've been part of his special abilities as Leader. A painful silence hung around the room.

"Where's Ruben anyway?" Hailey said, trying to get the conversation going.

"Out, probably sleeping with the most willing mortal he can find in some bar or other." Ash rolled his eyes. Apparently, it was laughable, because all of them started laughing. Hailey tried to laugh with them, not letting her eyes or thoughts pass along Ash. The others seemed to have no trouble starting their conversation again, as if the oddly forced silence hadn't happened at all. They were talking about all the stupid things they'd done in the human world. It was so weird to hear them refer to her world as a foreign place.

"At least he didn't get himself hit by a car the first time he was in the Fifth," Zech laughed. Phoenix rounded on him.

"That was once, and it was forever ago," Phoenix exclaimed helplessly. Brooke giggled behind her hand and Marlene rolled her eyes at the red head. "The textbooks do not successfully indicate the speed of cars."

"But you were the one who hit the car back and gave the driver a heart attack," Ash added, and he hung back in his chair with a grin, showing off as if he had won the argument.

"Okay, that was a little bit my fault," Phoenix admitted. All the same, she squinted her eyes at Ash.

"Did the driver come out alive?" Hailey asked, a bit worried. Phoenix gave her a sharp look and was about to say something when Leo laughed and interrupted.

"He was quite all right. Just a little spooked." Leo smiled at Hailey, as if he was happy she was talking to them. It did still feel a little strange to joke around with people she had only just met and that had technically kidnapped her.

"A mad Nix is spooky." Ash laughed again. It was a pleasant sound. Zech and Brooke started laughing as well. There was no tension between them anymore, not even between Hailey and them. It felt easy to laugh with them, to join in their conversation as if they were old friends.

Maybe Hailey would warm up to them after all.