Wicked Exertion

Chapter 1

"It's not going to be that bad, Hyacinth. Remember that this is basically your fault." My stepfather, Ashton, said from his spot on the driver's seat beside me. I looked at the slight smirk on his face, and rolled my eyes.

"I told you I wouldn't do it again. Besides, it only happened twice. It's not like I'm an addict." I shot back.

"I only want to keep you safe," Ashton looked at me with a playful face, but sad eyes. "You know I promised her that."

I only nodded in response, considering what he just said made me sad, too. My mother passing away of a brain tumor has scarred the both of us pretty badly.

After what felt like days of driving (in actuality, it might've taken only five to six hours), we managed to reach Kingsrey, where there was a thousand times less forms of entertainment than my usual environment had to offer.

My "usual environment" was in fact, the one and only New York City. You can get anything in the busy streets of the city, whereas expect nothing in the deserted streets of a very small town. I absolutely was crushed when Ashton told me that a place like Kingsrey is where I'd be spending most of my summer. Then again, it is probably my fault, although Ashton may have overreacted a little.

As we were pulling over to a motel that was averagely smaller that the ones I've seen in New York, I asked Ashton, "Haven't you ever done drugs before? Not even once?"

I've been wanting to ask him that for quite a while-since he freaked out about me trying drugs with my best friend-but I've always been a bit scared about his reaction. Ashton had a bit of a temper, and it became deliberately worse after my mother's death.

To many, my stepfather and I seemed pretty close, but we barely spoke when my mom was alive. I was angry that she decided to leave my father because she simply didn't love him anymore. She thought I didn't know, but it was pretty obvious that she had loved Ash, a random young guy she met at a cafe, even when my parents had still been together.

I genuinely know that Ash will never hurt me, no matter how angry he gets. But throughout the three and a half years that Ash has dated my mom, and the four years that he's lived with me, I don't know him that well. Hell, I don't even know his favorite colour.

Ash didn't reply. Instead, he just looked at me right after he parked the car in the almost-empty parking lot. Although, maybe the space was even a bit too small to be considered a parking lot. And even when Ash stared at me with his chocolate brown eyes, he only said, "Help me get the bags out of the trunk, will you?"

I nodded, and stepped out of the car. I followed him to help him get the bags, and slightly worried about the flash of anger I'd seen in Ash's face.

.

A rather scrawny motel clerk stood at his position behind a mahogany-coloured counter. "Reservation under Heartsbane?" Ash asked him.

"Yeah," the clerk had a surprisingly deep voice, making me unconsciously raise an eyebrow. He turned around him to grab a silver key, handing it to Ash, then continued, "You're in room three. All the rooms are just down the hall. We only have five rooms, anyway."

"Okay, thanks." Ash said, and began walking down the dimly lit hallway. He turned to me for a brief second, motioning me to follow after him.

"Enjoy your stay, Mr. and Mrs. Heartsbane." The clerk called after us. I was definitely determined to correct the assumption that he made, but decided against it. I didn't want to make Ash more annoyed with me for being late, even if it was only for a few seconds.

It wasn't the first time that someone thought Ash and I were together, whenever we went out in public. He may be thirty-two years old, but looks like he's in his late teens. I don't exactly know what my mom was thinking when her thirty-nine year old self started dating someone eleven years younger than her.

"We're sharing a room?" I asked Ash when I entered the decent sized motel room. The smell wasn't so decent, though. It literally smelled like someone died in here, which is sort of scary, because Ash and I are here to investigate a murder. Or, what is thought to be a murder.

See, the police ruled out a seventeen-year old boy's death a suicide, but his uncle believes someone killed him. Therefore, Ash the detective is here to determine what's wrong.

"We're on different beds," Ash pointed out.

"I know... but I just thought you might've gotten us different rooms."

"It may not seem like it, Hyacinth. But Kingsrey is a dangerous place. I want to keep an eye on you. Which reminds me... You can't go anywhere by yourself, understand? You'll be coming with Cecilia and me all the time."

His expression told me he was being very serious, even though I didn't really believe this boring town could be dangerous. But with murder being possible and all, I did reconsider it. "Okay," I replied.

I then remembered about Ash's assigned assistant detective on this case: Cecilia Groves. I've never met her, and Ash only has once. "When will Cecilia be arriving?" I questioned.

"Maybe later today, or tomorrow." Ash told me. "It's already two o'clock in the afternoon, Hyacinth. No wonder I'm starving. Let's go get some lunch."

"Yeah, sure." I answered, suddenly brought back to the focus of my grumbling stomach.

.

Hello :)

Thank you to anyone reading this. This first chapter is sort of boring, I know, but it's only an introduction. You'll know much more later on, and the drama and mystery will happen very soon.

Please click on the little star at the bottom or corner of the page to vote. And please comment what you think! Share the story, add it to your reading list, and follow me (I follow back).

Once again, thanks a lot for reading!