Chapter 21
Alec stared at the phone in his hand wondering what the right thing to do was. He wanted to dial Eden and check to see if she was okay, but Gemma had told him to give Jackson some time to cool off.
As he sat flipping through his options, Grace entered the room. His green eyes met her blue ones as she glared at him. The deep frown on her lips irritated Alec to his core. He had enough drama on his plate right now to deal with her.
Alec pretended not to notice and turned away. He pushed his phone into his pocket and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Grace stopped him.
"I have some work to do at the office,"
"She's not here anymore," Grace snorted. "I don't see why you have to keep lying."
Alec's heart ceased up as he turned to face Grace, "What?"
"Do you think I'm stupid Alec?"
"No, of course not," Alec narrowed his eyes.
"Wall have ears. Especially in a big house like this," Grace took a step forward. "You thought I wouldn't find out?"
Alec knew better to speak without fully knowing how much Grace knew. He kept his mouth shut as she moved closer to him.
"Honestly, Alec," Grace laughed. "You're the head Queen's guard, I expected better from you. You didn't even try to hide her."
Alec watched as Grace pressed her hand against his heart and the other over her little bump.
"What do you like about her?" She asked. Her voice gave nothing away about how she felt. Alec's eyes followed her every little movement to calculate just how badly this would go.
"She's young," Grace shrugged. "Is that what entices you? You like them on the younger side?"
"Stop it," Alec pushed her hand away from his chest. He stepped around her and headed for the door when her voice stopped him again.
"I went to the doctor today," she said.
"Is everything okay?" Alec asked over his shoulder.
Grace took a deep breath as she fixed the watch on her wrist, "I wanted to know how long I had until abortion wasn't an option anymore."
Alec felt the ground disappear from beneath his feet. He reached out and turned Grace around to face him as he tried to speak over how fast his heart was beating.
"What?" He asked breathlessly.
"I'm having this child because I know how much it means to you," Grace pulled her arm away from him. "But don't for a second think you can do whatever the hell you want. I won't hesitate twice to abort this baby if you are going to be playing games behind my back."
"Grace..." Alec's blood chilled. He couldn't explain the panic that came over him as he tried to look for some way to grab onto reality.
"Baby," Grace''s eyes softened as she grabbed Alec's face. "I'm not asking for much. I just want all of us to be a family. You need to stop running behind these little girls and take this baby seriously."
"I do take this child very seriously," Alec said. "But you don't understand. Eden is my-"
"Don't you ever say her name in front of me!" Grace suddenly yelled. She pushed Alec's face away and huffed in anger. "I swear to god, Alec. I will kill this baby! Don't you even think about her!"
"Grace!" Alec couldn't believe the shade of red she was turning. He tried to reach for her, but she pushed his arm away. Tears started to pour down her face as her mascara ran smeared.
"I hate her!" Grace spit out. "Pick now. Either this baby or her, Alec."
"Grace, please you are being crazy," Alec pushed her hair out of her face. "Please calm down."
"Pick now!" Grace screamed.
"Grace, stop you're stressing yourself."
Suddenly, Grace's face twisted as she pulled away from Alec, "Go to her!"
Alec shook his head, "No, Grace."
"Go to her!" Grace screamed again. "You never wanted this child! Just like you never wanted your first child. This one will end up dead just like Ivan."
"Stop!" Alec yelled back as he pulled her into his arms. "Please, stop."
"Alec," Grace began to cry as she let him hold her. "Why don't you care about this child?"
"I do!" Alec said frantically. "I do care about this child. More than anything in the world."
Grace placed her head on his shoulder and nestled closer. Alec didn't know what to say as her sobs quiet down. He held her feeling numb to his core.
"Alec," Grace picked up her head after a while.
"Yes?"
"Will you do something for me?"
"Name it," Alec said.
"Never speak of her, again."
_______________________________
After the night with Grace, the last thing Alec wanted to do was teach. He leaned against the desk and started at the floor deep in thought as the students filled into the room. The lecture hall began to fill up with voices as the girls in the front row whispered to each other about the professor.
"Yeah, totally not going to pass this course," One of the girls whispered. "Maybe he'll help with some private tutoring sessions."
The other girls next to her giggled as Alec pretended not to hear their whispers.
"I heard when he was at St.Rieka he dated half the girls," someone else whispered.
Alec rolled his eyes as he walked around the desk and picked up the course syllabus. He flipped through the first few pages when suddenly the scent of pomegranate and peaches stopped his heart.
Slowly, almost painfully, Alec lifted his gaze.
Eden rushed through the door behind a few of the students wearing the Armory's uniform. Alec wanted to bang his head against the wall and groan as his eyes took her in.
The green plaid shirt and the plain white button down had never looked so good to Alec. His eyes moved up her knee high socks and over her little plaid tie before they found her eyes.
Eden gave him a nervous smile as she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. Alec quickly looked away before he did something he would regret.
Eden's smile dropped to a frown as she watched Alec turn away from her. She stood frozen at the door before a student behind her pushed past her to get into the room.
Eden adjusted the strap on her backpack and took a deep breath. She scanned the rows before she stopped Asher lounging on one of the seats in the second row. He waited until he caught her eyes to call her over with his finger.
Not wanting to be left without a seat and wandering around in the room full of forty something students, Eden rushed into the empty seat next to Asher.
"You could be in a porno with your uniform," Asher teased as he eyed Eden. He was dressed in the male uniform which was navy slacks and a button down with a tie.
"Why on earth does a college have uniforms?" Eden whispered as she watched Alec in the front of the room.
"The Armory is filled with students of all race and magical backgrounds," Asher crossed his arms over his chest. "The uniform keeps us from thinking we're different from each other."
"That's a dumb idea," Eden muttered as she realized Alec was purposefully trying to ignore her.
"Maybe," Asher shrugged. "But you look hot in it. Better than your cheerleading outfit."
"Ugh," Eden rolled her eyes.
"Latte?" Asher set a fresh cup down in front of her.
"I don't drink dairy," Eden pulled out her notebook.
"Since when?"
"Since last night," Eden said, dismissing him.
Asher laughed as he leaned forward and took the cup back. Eden watched him from the corner of her eyes as he waited for the girl coming down the row.
"Hey, Abby," he flashed her his beautiful smile. Eden didn't need to look to know Abby had stopped breathing. Once upon a time, she used to fall for that smile too.
"Hey, Asher," the girl said nervously.
"Happy first day of classes," Asher handed her the latte.
"For me?" Abby asked, surprised to her core.
"Yeah," Asher smiled. "Though I have a beautiful girl's day a little better."
"Oh my god," The girl squealed. "How did you know I like latte?"
"We're on the same wavelength," Asher winked at her just as Eden kicked him under the desk.
"What?" Asher attuned to her as he rubbed his leg.
"Leave the poor girl alone," Eden said. "You're giving her breathing problems."
"Jealous?"
"Go die in a ditch somewhere,"
Asher threw his head back and laughed. He leaned forward and looked into Eden's brown eyes.
"Why did we ever break up, Eden Heywood?" He asked.
Before Eden could push him away, Alec started to speak from the front of the class. She turned her eyes away just in time to see Alec's gaze flicker away from her and Asher.
"Welcome to the Intro course to the Queen's guards. My name is Alec Radacovick. I am the head Queen's guard and your professor this semester."
Some of the girls from the back of the lecture hall cheered. Eden turned her head back and frowned as she caught sight of some of the older girls batting their eye lashes at Alec.
"Some of you may already know," Alec ignored the cheers as he continued. "This course is split into two parts. We meet in class two times a week, and the rest of the days, you are to acquire 115 hours of field work shadowing a Queen's guard. You will pick your guard out of a hat next class. Today, we will go over the syllabus."
Eden cleared her desk as Alec picked up a large pile of packets and began to pass them down the rows. With every passing second, her heart beat quicker as he moved closer and closer to where she sat. When he stopped in front of her row, the boy ahead of her dropped the content of his bag.
Alec paused as the boy ducked down to pick everything up with an apology. Eden couldn't take her eyes away from Alec's face as he slowly lifted his gaze. She watched as he placed a packet in front of the boy and handed her the remaining packets.
In the process, Eden's fingers brushed over Alec's hands. She gasped silently as she watched the pupils of his eyes dilate to her touch. She became mesmerized as she found herself wanting to rise up and pull his mouth down to her.
Alec didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what Eden was thinking. She gazed at him through her lashes as she bit down on her bottom lip.
Did she have to do that while she was dressed in that outfit? He dug his nails into his palm as he lowered his eyes and caught sight of how the skirt Eden wore pulled up her tights as she sat in the seat.
"Pass me a packet, babe," Asher said to Eden as he nudged her.
Eden snapped out of her haze and turned to the boy next to her. She narrowed her eyes at the use of that nickname.
"Welcome back, Mr. Argo," Alec said in a clipped tone. "I expect you to pass this semester."
"Yes, sir," Asher said as he took a packet from Eden.
Alec gave Eden one last look before he moved away to the other row. Eden sank into her seat as she watched him answer some girl's question from the front row. When he began to go over the syllabus she lost herself in his voice and wished she was back in his arms more than anything in the word. She tapped the pen she held against her lip as Alec absent mindlessly ran a hand through his hair. He paced the floor in front of the hall as he flipped through the packet discussing the various assignments and projects. Eden began to imagine what it would be like to walk over to him and kiss him in front of everyone. Those girls in the back of the hall surely wouldn't be celebrating that with cheers.
"Ms. Heywood," Alec suddenly said.
Eden dropped her pencil as she snapped out of her daydream. She felt Asher nudge her as she looked around. Almost everyone in the room was staring at her.
"Yes?" Eden asked.
"The paragraph on fieldwork," Alec raised a brow.
"I'm sorry?" Eden tried to understand what he was talking about.
"Here," Asher pushed his packet in front of her and circled a paragraph. "Read this."
Eden dropped her eyes to the words as they began to dance. She couldn't think right as she felt everyone's attention on her.
"Um....The.....the homework assignments are-" Eden began to read the sentence.
"Not that," Asher whispered. He pointed to the paragraph he circled, "This one."
Before Eden could correct her mistake, she heard Alec sigh.
"Ms. Epstine," He called to a girl in the middle of the classroom. "Please read the section on Fieldwork."
Eden wished she could shrink to the size of a mouse as the girl began to read. She lowered herself into her seat as Asher chuckled beside her. He turned her packet to the correct page before he went back to doodling on Abby's notebook. Eden lifted her eye to find Alec watching her. She felt a deep frown drag down her face as he gave her a blank stare.
For the rest of class, Eden made sure she listened to every word Alec said. She raised her hand many times to answer the questions he asked but Alec always picked somebody else. Sometimes, he even picked the same people twice just to avoid Eden.
"Thank you, I will see you all on Friday," Alec dismissed the class as he checked his watch. "If you have any questions, stay back and I can answer them for you."
Eden gathered her things slowly as the students walked out of the room. She felt Asher watch her as he waited for her to finish.
"I have to ask Alec something," Eden said as she pushed her notebook into her bag.
"Alec?" Asher raised a brow. "First name bases?"
"Mr. Radacovick," Eden shook her head.
"You might be stuck here for a while," Asher laughed as he looked at the group of girls by Alec's desk.
"I can wait," Eden said. "I don't have class after this."
"Okay, find me when you finish," Asher picked up the one notebook he came to class with and walked out.
Eden hovered by her seat as she waited for the group of girls to disappear. She really didn't have a question for him, she just wanted to speak to him. There was so much they needed to talk about.
"Mr. Heywood," Alec called her over. "Do you have a question about the class?"
Eden shifted uncomfortably as all the girls turned to look at her. She didn't know why, but girls always scared her. They could be the sweetest of things or pure evil. And girls in groups were scarier than ghosts in masses.
"It's okay, I'll wait for everyone to go first," Eden smiled.
"No, it's alright," Alec said looking at her. "What's your question."
"I....I can wait," Eden laughed nervously.
Alec narrowed his eyes, "You do have a question, right Ms. Heywood? Or are you still daydreaming? Class ended."
What the fuck?
Eden thought as a few of the girls tried to hide their snickers and giggles. What was wrong with him? Why was he being such an ass?
Eden gripped the strap of her bag as she started at Alec. If he was made at Jackson then it didn't mean he had to take his anger out on her.
Alec and the girls waited as Eden continued to stare.
"Well?" He asked after a minute.
"I wanted to ask if fieldwork hours would be decided by our Queen's guards," Eden took a deep breath as she asked the question she had heard Abby ask Asher earlier.
"No," Alec said. "You can arrange it with your guard based on your schedule."
"Thank you." Eden mumbled as she walked out of the room. She felt Alec's eyes follow her all the way to the door, but she didn't turn to confirm.
Out in the hall, she let go of the breath she was holding and ran into the nearest bathroom. A girl with pretty red hair stared at Eden in the mirror as she walked up to the sink and turned on the hot water.
Eden waited until the steam started to rise from the sink before she placed her hand under the running water. Her fingers were frozen. She could barely move them as she began to shiver.
"Are you okay?" The redhead asked.
Eden nodded, "Yeah."
"You don't look okay," the girl said again. "That water is pretty hot."
Eden switched off the water and grabbed a handful of napkins. The skin on her hand had started to turn red from irritation but she still felt cold. Without a word, Eden ran out of the bathroom and into the empty hall. She started at her hand for a few seconds as her heart pounded in her chest.
Suddenly, she felt her body stiffen as she got a hint of the pine and mint in the air.
Eden turned her head to the left to find Alec walking towards her. His face was painted with worry as he quickened his pace upon seeing the hurt look on her face.
Eden lowered her hand as she felt anger boil in her like the water in the sink. How dare he come here now? She turned away and hurried off in the opposite direction.
"Eden," Alec called to her.
Eden looked over her shoulder and glared at him. She quickened her pace, almost breaking into a run.
"Eden," Alec called again as he too picked up his speed.
Without slowing down, Eden zoomed around the corner and slammed into a tall figure. Their arms quickly caught her before she fell to the ground.
"Slow down, prom queen," Asher laughed.
Eden looked over her shoulder and found Alec slowing his steps as he spotted them.
"Everything okay?" Asher frowned. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Eden didn't understand where the laugh came from. But as she listened to Asher an uncontrollable giggle escaped her lips. Maybe it was the panic in her or the anger, but she suddenly found the whole situation to be hysterical.
Asher held her steady as she toppled over with laughter. He couldn't help but chuckle along with her as tears started to pour down her eyes.
"What's so funny?" He asked.
"I've seen a ghost," Eden said through her laugh.
"I don't get it," Asher said.
"It's really funny if you knew what I was talking about," Eden tried to calm herself as breathing became harder and harder.
"Okay," Asher said. He took Eden's bag and tried to keep her steady on her feet. "Hey, professor."
Alec walked up to them slowly and narrowed his eyes at Eden. She placed her hand over her mouth to stop herself but it just made her laugh even more. Her face had begun to turn red as laughter snorted out of her.
"Don't you have class, Asher?" Alec asked.
"No, I don't until three," Asher said.
Next to him, Eden turned away and bent over with laughter. Asher pulled her up right and held her against his side.
"Don't mind her," he said to Alec. "She's always been cuckoo."
"You two know each other?" Alec raised a brow.
"Yes," Asher smiled. "We went to the same high school."
"I see," Alec nodded.
Eden had stopped laughing. She took long deep breaths as the color on her face returned to normal. She looked at Alec and saw his eyes linger on Asher's hand on her waist.
"You had a question earlier, Eden?" Alec looked at her. "You can come to my office and I -"
"You already answered it, Mr. Radacovick." Eden stopped him. "No more questions."
Grace is cuckoo hehehe
What was your favorite part?