ANDREA POV
"You're late." The man says as he leans against the other side of the wall. It's dark and I can't make out his face, but I think I have a pretty good guess as to who it was.
"I got caught up."
"Ahh, with your.. girlfriend."
"Just tell me why you're here."
"They think you're becoming distracted."
"How so?"
"Beats me. I just know that they're always watching. They want you to focus on your goal. And you already know the consequences if you don't."
"I know. Is that it?"
"Don't let emotions get in your way." He walks away into the night.
I make my way into my apartment. Looking around the place, it made me miss Devyn's room. At the Ackerman house, I sensed tension so I decided to leave yesterday. Before I left, I heard Mr.Ackerman yelling at Sloane, because she stormed out of the house. Letting out a sigh, I flopped onto the couch, when I heard my doorbell ring. Who would come here this late at night? I cautiously open the door.
"Ash?" I have no idea what else to say.
"Hey, can I come in?" He fidgets and looks around the hallway like someone was following.
"Yeah, come in." After he enters I take a look outside to see if anyone was there and then I lock the door.
"What are you-"
"Can I have some water?" His voice is shaky.
"Of course." I make him sit on the couch while I fetch some water. After giving him the water, I grab a chair and sit across from him.
"What is it? Are you okay?" I ask with concern.
"Sorry, I know it's so late. This was the closest place I could think of. I know shouldn't have crashed on you like this."
"No, it's fine. I'm glad you're here. You're safe."
"None of us are safe." He says in a lower voice.
"What? What do you mean?"
"Nothing. I'm just shaken up, that's all."
"It's okay. You can come here anytime."
"Thanks. Have you talked to Devyn at all?"
"Um, yeah. I guess I should tell you that me and her are kind of.. together?"
"It's called dating." He says with a laugh.
"Yeah, I guess we're dating."
"I figured."
"Look, I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt you. It was never my intention. I wish I was smarter with my decisions. You're amazing, I hope you know that."
"Yeah, it did hurt, but I think I'm over it now. And I know I'm great."
"That's good."
"How is Devyn?"
"She's good. It's been crazy for her lately, you know, because of royal family stuff."
"I see."
"Why don't you go see her?"
"I don't know. Whatever. Maybe. Anyways, have heard about the Runes? It's crazy, I never thought I would live to see Runes attacking again. The last time this happened was when the Great War took place. And also going to war with the Rahls-"
"Have they confirmed it?"
"I don't know. But a lot of my military buddies have been called in and we even have a curfew now."
"You're right. This is crazy. There's so much going on."
"Only if the myth about the summoner rings were true, things would be easier."
"What myth?"
"Well you know, the stories you hear as a child. The Red Saint created the Runes and the summoners created a ring after to fight them off. The Runes are literally impossible to kill. They've got shield like scales, and they are truly magical creatures. The ring was so powerful that they split it into four rings so that one person or kingdom wouldn't have all the power."
"Yeah I've heard of that.I've also heard the ring chooses the person that wears it. It can also turn into any weapon that the ring bearer decides."
"Would be pretty cool if it was real."
"Yeah." I say with a yawn.
"I know I shouldn't ask, but can I crash here for the night? I promise I'll leave in the morning." He suggests.
"Sure, but you have to tell me what happened." As I say that, he looks down at his feet, I can tell that he's keeping something.
"I have this... weird suspicion... that."
"That?" Tears start to form around his eyes so I reach out to hold his hand.
"I think my dad might be the mole."
"The mole?"
"Yeah, Mr.Ackerman and him are close, so I'm always updated on what's going on, so I heard about the mole situation."
My heart starts to beat faster.
"Why would you think that?" A car siren goes off outside and we both flinch.
"Maybe we should talk about this later." He says.
"Yeah. Do you want the bed? I never really sleep on it anyways, and sounds like you need it."
"Oh, no. I couldn't."
"I insist."
He doesn't argue because he's so tired. I lead him into the small room and he falls onto the bed. Making my way back to the couch, I think about what Ash had just revealed to me.
Not being able to sleep for most of the night, I woke up early. Sneaking into the bathroom, I make sure not to make any noise so that Ash doesn't wake up. Suddenly I hear footsteps in the living room, so I close the faucet in the bathroom, to listen carefully. Could it be the person following Ash yesterday?
Then I hear a voice.
"Goodmorning.. Aaaaaaaaaah."
"Aaaaaahaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh." Ash screams in response to the person screaming. I run into the room to find Devyn.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"What am I? What are.. are you- what is he doing here?" Her words are caught in her throat, and I realize how this situation looks.
"Look, I can explain."
"Oh yeah, you've got a lot of that to do." She places the flowers she brought onto the side table and storms out. I run after her.
"Devyn! Wait!"
"What?"
"It's not what you think, he needed help."
"Help in bed? What the fuck Andrea, this is the last thing I need right now."
"You don't trust me?"
"I do trust you. I want to trust you. Okay?"
"Then trust me when I say that I slept on the couch, and he slept in the bed."
"Fine."
"Okay?"
"I've got to go." She walks out of the door without saying another word.
"Well, good morning to her too." Ash says as he steps out of the room and into the living room.
"Feels like karma." I say with a laugh.
"Oh I kinda loved the look on her face when she moved the blanket to see my face. Priceless. But I agree, it's karma for what you did with me." He smiles.
"Shut up. She'll come around. She understands."
"Oh yeah, totally. If she doesn't self sabotage, go on a reckless drive, maybe channel her anger issues somewhere-"
"Shush, that's the side of her the world knows. She's actually really soft."
"I know.That's what drew me to her and how we became friends."
"Should I be worried?"
"No, because I'll go talk to her, okay? It's long overdue anyways."
"Wait, about last night.."
"Don't tell anyone just yet." He waves goodbye and heads out as well. I felt so worried that I forgot about the brutal headache I was having.I hold onto the counter top in the kitchen to keep balance. Suddenly everything goes black and I feel myself fall onto the floor with a loud THUD.