Playing With Fire

Chapter Twenty-Two

            Suddenly, she giggles, throwing her head back and then instantly covering her mouth. I stare at her in disbelief, raking through my brain to find any reason as to how this situation could be comical. Of all the emotional outcomes I had proposed, humor was not one of them.

            "Apparently," Ashley starts, her voice low in a dramatic whisper. She grins from ear to ear, clearly finding this to be the most amusing thing in the world. "Travis Emmons went to prison on three corresponding theft charges for—"

            "How is that funny?" I demand, staring at her as if she's grown three heads. Although I have to admit, I was expecting some murder charges so robbery came as a relief to me.

            "Wait for it," She holds a hand up and snickers, "he stole a kit kat."

            If my mouth could drop any lower, it could possibly fall right off my face. That is just so absurd, I can't wrap my brain around it. It can't be true.

            I raise an eyebrow, hoping she'll cut to the chase, "Okay, seriously."

            Ashley raises an eyebrow, still recovering from her previous laughing fit, and starts to lightly walk over to me.

            "Take a look," She states, her voice confident while mine fades.

            I grab the paper from her hands as she stands by the door instead. My eyes hastily scan over it, trying to uncover something hidden. Yet, all I see is what Ashley had said earlier.

            "Wow," she muses while I broil in doubt, "I guess the bad boy isn't as bad afterall."

            Something tells me this isn't right. This churning, burning sensation, which tugs at my gut, tells me that there's more to it. Perhaps these inputs are false. Though I'm relieved to see this, I feel dread bubble as I realize none of the puzzle pieces fit together.

            While I ponder, scrutinizing my thoughts and the words, Ashley continues to ramble in a soft yet present tone.

            "He must have been bluffing all this time—are you listening?"

            I look up and flash her a smile, "Yeah."

            She rolls her eyes and grins, "Well I guess this means you can finally date him."

            At that, I halt and widen my eyes, "What the hell?"

            "Oh c'mon," She insists, throwing her hands up in the air, "The sexual tension between you two is crazy."

            I gape and feel my face turn warm, "No, you're clearly mistaken."

            "I know what I see," She scoffs, shrugging her shoulders.

            I narrow my eyes and open my mouth to say something; however, the sound of a door slamming in a distance grabs our attention.

            We both freeze, waiting for some footsteps to follow just to clarify. Sure enough, heavy thumping stomps approach the office, each step growing louder than the one before.

            Frantically, I glance around the room, trying to figure out where we could hide. However, a window in the far corner which outlooks the lacrosse field catches my attention.

            Wasting no time, I put a hand to my lips and motion for Ashley to follow along. I point to the window and turn away just before she gives me a bewildered look.