*Unedited, First Draft*
I open the box and the first thing I am met with is an envelope. My name is written neatly and elegantly in calligraphy. I move my shaking hand and lift up the envelope slowly and delicately as if one faulty move could make it suddenly combust. I study the envelope and turn it over. I delicately open it and remove the letter within.
Dear Jade
If you are reading this letter, the good thing is that it is your eighteenth birthday but the bad news is that something has happened to us. We left this box in the hands of someone we trust and hopefully she might help you out in the future.
In the box, you will find information we have gathered over the years. This information may help you with the trouble you may be in for being the heir to The Agency and the fact that you are our daughter. There are many people out there that would want your head for the things we have done.
Don't trust anyone, you never know who you can trust. And Don't under any circumstances trust Aunt Shay. She cannot be trusted.
Darling we are so sorry that we have left you. We want to let you know that we love you and we would have done everything to keep you and your brother safe even if it meant giving up our own lives. You two were our everything.
We are so sorry that you were born into a world of secrets, agents and violence; we are so sorry that you will never grow up to be a normal teenager. We are so sorry that we will never get to see you grow up into the wonderful women we know that you will grow up to be.
All we ask of you is to keep your brother safe as well as stay out of danger yourself. If you are anything like us, you are most probably going attract a lot trouble.
Happy birthday honey. I love you with all my heart and please be careful. I just know that you are going to be a wonderful women and boss to The Agency. I wish I could be there for you first crush, your first boyfriend and your first heartbreak. I would have helped you wreck his car and your father would have most probably gotten his gun out and scared the hell out of him. There is so much I wish I could have seen, but that is not what fate had in mind for us. I wish I could have seen you graduate, get married and have children of your own. I love you so much honey and no matter what, I will always love you. – XX Mom.
Happy birthday my little rose. I wish I could spend this special day with you but life doesn't always turn out as planned. No matter what happens never forget that I love you and that no one can hurt you, you will always be protected my little rose, always, no one will touch you without getting hurt. I love you so much. – Dad.
Love
Mom & Dad
I feel my cheeks dampen with tears, my body is shacking and my vision is blurry with tears. I miss them so much. I wish they could be here with me. I wish they could have seen me grow up. No, I wish they could have seen 'US' grow up. What ever happened to you Sam? I wish you could be here with me. I wish I could see you. I wish we could be a family again. I wish I knew if Jayden was speaking the truth that day. Are you really alive, somewhere out there? There is so much I wish could happen but wishes don't always come true.
Why on earth can't I trust Aunt Shay? She was the only one there for me after the incident. And if she can't be trusted why was she assigned to look after me and why was she put in charge of The Agency? If they didn't trust her why was she around for so much of my childhood. If they didn't trust her couldn't they have put precautions in place so that she wouldn't be in charge. This is all too confusing.
I gently place the letter back into the envelope, not wanting to ruin it. The next thing that gets my attention is a little velvet box with a red bow on it. I pick it up. 'Happy 18th Birthday Jade – XX Mom & Dad' is attached to the box. I remove the bow and open the box. Inside the box is a necklace but not just any necklace, a jade necklace. The single gem is encircled in a ring of silver, a thin, delicate chain connected to it.
I take the necklace out of the box and examine the small gem in the centre. The necklace itself is plain and simple yet delicate and beautiful and the gem stunning with a green gleam. I unclasp the clasp on the chain and put the necklace on. I am never taking this necklace off. Not now, not ever. Always. I look down to the tattoo on my wrist where that very word is tattooed. Always.
I look at the rest of the box's contents. There are multiple files with information that I will go through later, a photo album and one framed picture. My heart falls to my stomach and a sob escapes my lips at the sight of the framed picture. The tears flow down like a waterfall and fall onto the glass. I hug the frame to my chest. I sit there for a while just hugging the frame to my chest. I compose myself, the tears stop, I remove the frame from my chest to examine it. If I had any more tears left they would have fallen again but my tear ducts are dry after everything that I have gone through today. Wow, I really am a cry-baby, if anyone besides my friends saw me like this I would kick their *ss right on the spot.
The picture staring back at me is one filled with so much joy. I can still recall the events of that day. My parents wanted to take a nice family photo so they asked Aunt Shay to take the photo in the backyard. They weren't the ones for stiff photos with a white background and that sort of thing. The thing is, is that this particular photo was taken on my parents anniversary so there was cake. Sam and I may or may not have thrown cake at each other and soiled our clean clothes that our mother had handpicked for us. My dad being the jokester he was smiled at my mom and smashed a piece of cake in her face and ruining the beautiful white dress she was wearing in the process. She retaliated and we ended up having a full-blown cake war.
In the picture, mom and dad are standing behind Sam and I. Dad has an arm slung across mom's shoulder while his hand of his free arm rests on my shoulder and mom wraps her arms around Sam. We were covered with frosting from head to toe and everything in between but we had giant smiles plastered on our faces and definitely not fake smile. I don't know when was the last time I looked so happy. The last time there wasn't something dark and menacing gnawing me from the inside.
Looking at the photo brings a smile to my face. I loved that day even though Sam and I were later scolded by mom for wasting perfectly good cake. No we didn't get scolded for ruining our clothes or ruining the picture, no we get scolded for wasting cake. I think I now know where I get my love for food from.
The next thing I pull out is a DVD. I look at the rest of the contents but it's just papers so I put the papers, photo album, which I am yet to open, and the letter back into the box and I lock it. I put the DVD into the DVD player but I decide to change out of my still soaking clothes before playing it. I pick up the locked box and carry it upstairs. I enter my room and hide the box behind one of the multiple hidden panels in my wall. I then grab a set of pyjamas from my closet and head to the bathroom.
I lay my clothes down and head to the shower. I turn the shower on, wanting the water to be warm before I get in. I walk over to the mirror and am stunned. Well sh*t, I definitely look like I got hit by a truck. My face puffy and streaked with dry tears and my eyes are blood shot. I get undressed and get into the shower.
What did they mean when they said I can't trust Aunt Shay. All she was, was nice to me. She looked after me, fed me, clothed me, gave me a roof to live under until I decided to move out, she sent me to school and helped trained me into the agent I am today. Why wouldn't I trust her? Okay in the beginning, I was very distant and I didn't want to get close to her in case something happened to her to. This lasted for a while and those two years of torture didn't help either. I only recently got close to her and look what happened. She was murdered. I swear the universe hates me.
Maybe that's what my dream was about that time. Where Aunt Shay was being super creepy and when she touched me it felt like my blood turned to ice. What does this all mean? Agh, this is just hurting my head.
I switch the shower off and get out. I get dressed into an oversized shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts and head out into my room. I walk into my room and smile.
"What are you doing here?" I ask with a smile. Ash is sitting on my bed his elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hands. He perks up when he hears my voice. The look he gives me is filled with worry but his expression morphs into one of relief when he sees my smile and I mimics the notion.
"I wanted to come see if you were okay." He says while getting up and walking over to me. I am about to answer but he engulfs me in a hug. I hug him back. He places his face in the nook of my neck and nuzzles my neck with his nose while I breathe in his scent. A scent I am so familiar with yet it seems so new. I have missed this so much.
"You don't understand how worried I was today." He says, his breath tickling my neck.
"I thought we went through this back at the house." I chuckle a little. Ash pulls away but keeps me at arm's length, keeping his hands on my shoulders.
"That is just how much I worry about you." He says his eyes darkening from their natural bright green.
"Well I am no damsel in distress." I say while removing his grip from my shoulders. His arms fall to his sides. He looks at me like a sad little puppy.
I walk up to him and wrap my arm around his neck. "You know I love you." I say trying to cheer him up.
"Yes I know. And I love you and I will always love you until and after the darkness claims us." He says with a smile.
"Oh hush up. I should have never told you that." I say rolling my eyes at him.
"But it's so sweet."
"Well I'm not a sweet person."
"Aha sure keep telling yourself that." He smiles at me. He leans his forehead against mine. "But if you really want to show me how much you love me you could always..." I cut him off by giving him a quick kiss. I move to pull away but Ash holds me in place. His warm, soft lips moving against mine. He asks for entrance but I deny when I remember the DVD. I pull away but Ash still hasn't removed his grip from me. He is holding me so close that I can feel every one of his muscles under his shirt. I remove my arms from around his neck and move them in between us. I rub my hands up his chest but push him away. He obliges and removes his arms from around me.
"What's wrong?" He asks concerned.
"It's nothing." I say. Not wanting to mention the box and its contents.
"Is it because you're worried we will take it too far?" He asks. Concern etched all over his face.
"Well a little bit." I answer. It's true I don't want to take things too far. So many things has happened today, I don't want anything else major to happen today. "But it's mainly because I have a lot on my mind."
"I understand if you want me to g..."
"No." I blurt out unintentionally. He looks at me and I continue. "Would you stay with me for the night?" I don't know why but when Ash is near me I can actually sleep. Maybe it's the feeling of safety I have when I am around him. Its fine, I can always watch the DVD tomorrow. What's another day.
"Are you struggling to sleep again?" He asks.
"Maybe." I say averting my eyes to the ground. The next thing I know, I am being swept into the air. Ash carries me bridal style. He lays me down in my bed and lifts the covers over me.
"Isn't this a bit much." I ask.
"Never for you." He says placing a quick kiss on my forehead. He walks over to the window and that's when I spot that he brought a backpack with him. I sit up in bed and cross my arms.
"You were planning on staying anyway, weren't you?" I ask with a smirk.
"Maybe?" He says innocently. He grabs something out of his backpack. He walks over to me keeping the thing out of sight.
"I was meant to give this to you early but with everything that was going on, I forgot." He removes the object from behind his back.
He hands me a wrapped box and puts it on the bed in front of me. I look up at him and notice that he still has a hand behind his back.
"What's behind your back?" I ask while trying to get a look. He brings his hand out from behind his back and my face lights up with delight. I grab the box of cupcakes from his hands.
"I love you." I say while looking at the cupcakes.
"Are you talking to me or the cupcakes?" I look up from the cupcakes and look at him, back to the cupcakes and back at him again.
"Can it be both?" I ask slowly, causing him to laugh. He jumps unto the bed next to me and tries to grab a cupcake from the box.
I swat his hand away and move the box away from him. "Mine!"
"But, but..." He looks at me with his puppy dog eyes and his lip quivering.
"Ha-ha", I say sarcastically, "nice try but that isn't going to work." I say smiling at him.
"You sure about that." He asks while leaning in. He has a smirk plastered on his face as he leans in. He moves to kiss me but I move away.
"No, I know what you are planning. You are going to kiss me and while I'm distracted by you, you were going to steal a cupcake. Nope, not happening." What does he think this is some cliché romance movie where the girl is always distracted by boys? Haha nope definitely not. I'm definitely not like your typical girl who is boy crazy due to her hormones. I can control myself thank you very much.
"What if I wasn't doing that and I just wanted to kiss my bae." He says wrapping his arms around me.
"Do not call me that." I say through my teeth.
"What, bae?" He asks, looking at me quizzically.
"Yes." I say glaring at him for calling me that. I do not appreciate being called a piece of sh*t.
"Bae, bae, bae, bae, bae!" He says continuously,
"I swear you act like your ten." I say while rolling my eyes at him.
"On a scale from one to ten? Yes, yes I do." He says with a smirk.
I punch him in the shoulder with my free hand. "You are such an idiot."
He nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck. "But I'm your idiot." He breaths onto my neck, a shiver running down my spine but it is not caused by Ash's warm breath fanning my neck. No, it was something else.
Ash senses that something is wrong and sits up straight. He removes his arms from around me and I jump off my bed, placing the box of cupcakes on my bedside table and grab a dagger that I keep strapped to the underside of my bed. I don't know why but I have an urge to walk over to the window. I look out the window. If I wasn't trained I might not have noticed it. There was a shadow lurking around the neighbouring houses roofs. I can't see the person clearly but I can make out a figure and it, he, she... whatever it is, is looking exactly at my house, it is looking straight at me. I think it spots me because as soon as I spot it, it is gone. Only an empty roof clothed in darkness is to be seen.
Ash comes up from behind me and wraps his arms around me again. "What is it?" He asks. I can smell something sweet on his breath. I immediately turn around in his arms and right there on his face was icing.
"You ate a cupcake!" I shouted at him while hitting him in the chest. He releases me and moves away.
"I didn't eat a cupcake. I had two." He corrects me with a mischievous grin.
"Oh you are a dead man." I glare at him.
"You wouldn't do anything to me. You love me too much to do that." He says while moving closer to me.
"Or so you think." I grin but it doesn't affect him.
"You still haven't opened my gift." He says frowning.
"Well if you wanted me to open it you shouldn't have given me food or have eaten it." I mumble the last part while crossing my arms. He laughs at me.
"It's not funny! Food is a very serious matter. I should call the cops on you for stealing my food. It's a serious offense." I huff out, still mad at him.
He walks to the bed and picks up the box. He walks over to me and places the box in my hands. "Forget about the cupcake and open your present." He demands. I grumble something under my breath but I remove the bow and unwrap the box. I find a rectangular wooden box. I open the box and stare at its contents. I stare blankly at the dagger I find. I look at it closely, the detailing on the handle, the scratches and dents in it. I look closely at the blade and notice two letters engraved into it. If you didn't look closely you wouldn't even notice the tiny detail. I carefully take the blade out the box, my mouth gaping open and my eyes wide.
"No way! This is impossible!" I stare flabbergasted at the blade. The two letters engraved in the blade J.P. for Jordan Parker.
"How did you find this?" I say, my voice wavering.
This was my dad's dagger. His father gave it to him when he took over from him. When he became the boss of The Agency. He had gone into every mission and fight with this dagger at his side. He may not have used it but he always had it with him. The last time I saw this dagger was when I was a kid. I accidently found it, behind a door, inside a safe that was highly secure. Okay I was a troublemaker since I was a child. He found me playing with it and admiring it. He explained that my grandfather gave it to him before he 'passed away'. My grandmother passed away soon after, everybody said it was from a broken heart but I wasn't so sure. My dad said that maybe one day he would pass the dagger down to me and this caused me to smile a toothless smile. The dagger was said to be lost in a fight.
"You really want the answer to that?" He asked running his hand through his hair.
"Well I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want the answer."
He sighs. "I was looking through Agent Smiths things when I came across a hidden keypad. I asked Emily if she could hack it and obviously, she could. The keypad opened a hidden safe in her office and that is where I found it. I remembered how you used to talk about it and the glint you got in your eyes when you did. I wasn't sure if it was the one but from the description you gave me I was pretty sure it was." He said, ending his ramble. I look at him with a smile.
"I love it." I say with a genuine smile.
"And?" He asked.
"And?" I ask confused. Oh, I get it now. "And I love you."
"Aww I love you too but that wasn't what I was talking about." He says with a chuckle. "I meant if it is the real deal." I examine the dagger once more and come to the conclusion that it was the real thing but why did Aunt Shay have it and why did she lock it away? More and more questions forming and no answers.
I place the dagger back into the box and walk over to my wall. I place my hand against the wall and the wall opens and reveals a secret apartment where I had put the box. I put the box with the dagger on top of the other box and quickly close the panel before Ash sees what is in it. I turn around to face Ash and see that he is eating another cupcake. He has eaten three of the ten cupcakes he bought me.
"Looks like you're enjoying my present more than I am." I walk over to my bed and climb under the blankets. I take the box of cupcakes and look up at Ash who is still standing. He looks a little awkward and I tilt my head to the side and look at him quizzically.
"You mind?" He asks while pointing to his shirt. I shake my head as reply. Ash takes of his shoes and then his shirt revealing the tanned six-pack that lay underneath. DO NOT stare. I know he is my boyfriend but still. He will hold it against you for life if he sees me goggling over his body.
"Like what you see?" He asks with a smirk.
"Nah, I've seen better." I say and take I bite out of a cupcake. My eyes widen and I stare at the mini miracle in my hand. I feel the one side of my bed move down and feel Ash next to me. I devour the cupcake in hand and grab another one out the box. I look at him with my cheeks stuffed like a squirrels and he bursts out laughing. I swallow and move the box towards him. He looks at me in shock but I just move the box closer to him. He takes a cupcake and smiles.
"You must really love me if you are sharing your food willingly with me."
I smile. Why do I love this idiot so much.
Authors Note:
Whoop whoop I'm back with another chapter my dear Agents. Here is a chapter, not one of my best but it's still something and a little something more for you Ash lovers (still not much though but what's a girl to do).
If you find any mistakes let me know and if there is anything that you are confused about you are more than welcome to pm me and hopefully I can clear up your confusion. If you guys are enjoying my book don't forget to press that little star at the bottom of your screen and don't forget to comment. You guys are awesome.
QOTD
Favorite Movie?
XX Karoo_Girl