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Chapter Ten
The next day I'm on autopilot, feeling much like a zombie after my restless night. I'd heard the guys come in sometime around one in the morning, and even though their manner is subdued, they're radiant. Their hair and skin glow almost luminously, and I somehow know that they hold that girl's life force in them. It's her energy they stole and utilized for themselves. And with those scales on her, and them, and on Kael— I know there's something they're hiding, something other. I act as normal as possible when I have to interact with them, all while I make plans to find out what exactly they've done.
After classes are over for the day, Ash drives me to my appointment back in the city. It's a silent drive with him sneaking glances my way every few minutes that I ignore. My therapy appointment doesn’t go quite as I'd thought it would. While I'm doing better, I'm not getting a full release yet. I hadn't expected one, but my recent activities with the storage unit and packing up my apartment, not to mention since I've been at school, have set me back some. The physical therapist is worried about swelling around my breaks, especially my leg, and concerned that my back pain might be an issue with my kidney instead of just sore muscles. I couldn't exactly tell him that I'd been out spying on an evil, magical, cult— I'd get a referral directly to the psych ward. The silver lining is that it gives me more opportunities to get off the school grounds.
When I'm done setting up my next several appointments, I go up to the third floor where they have rehab for long-term in-patients. I sometimes volunteer my time here and know I can't stay long with Ash waiting on me, but I still want to go up and at least say hello.
Debbie at the front counter smiles and waves at me. "Go right on ahead, Cora. We've been wondering when you were coming back."
"Thanks, Debbie!" I return her wave and walk into the room at the end of the hall. Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, I smooth the hair back off the occupant’s forehead; it's grown out quite a bit.
"Don't worry, baby. I'll find out what they did to you, and I'll make them pay," I promise Kael as I place a soft kiss on his sleeping face.
***
I'm fidgety, and trying to hide my frustrated anxiety on the ride back to school. I absolutely hated having to cut my visit short with Kael. Debbie had looked a bit surprised that I didn't stay longer but gave me a sympathetic smile when I briefly summed up my situation. She's a doll and promised to send me regular updates.
Ash, noticing my restlessness, asks about my visit. "Did it go okay? You seem off."
The last part elicits a snort from me. Who wouldn't be off in my shoes? "Actually, it didn't go okay, Ash." He keeps his eyes on the road, but his body tenses at my answer. "I've been doing too much, and it's caused some inflammation. The radiology department will be calling with an appointment for new scans, and hopefully there isn't any serious damage."
His fingers tighten on the steering wheel even as a tic pulses in his cheek from clenching his jaw. After a few deep breaths, he gets his anger under control. I'm not sure what his malfunction is, but after discovering his extracurricular activities, I'm wary.
"What exactly have you been doing to hurt yourself? Since you've been chaperoned, I'm assuming it was before you came to Blackbriar?" His tone leaves little doubt as to what he's getting at.
Annoyed, I decide to press his buttons. "Gonna explain why you almost hulked out there, Ash? You'd think you were a caring or jealous boyfriend, acting like that."
He doesn't find me amusing, and his answering brusqueness brooks no argument. "Answer the question, Cordelia." He flashes me a glower before returning his attention to the road, giving me a glimpse of dark brows pulled down sharply over midnight blue eyes.
"Ooh, pulling out the daddy card." I mimic him, "Answer the question, Cordelia." Ash can't stand to be mimicked, it drove him up the wall when we were kids.
Ash's nostrils flare in irritation. "Stop it. You're being a brat."
"Gonna pull the car over and spank me, Daddy?" I think he chokes a bit with that one, and I have to look out of my side window to hide my grin.
"I'll find out eventually, may as well fess up now. Besides, everyone knows your daddy couldn't hack it and took off." His barb hits home, but I force myself not to let it show, it's been years since I resolved myself to my father being gone.
"Maybe if you take his place, the same thing will happen." Then I deliver the coup de grace. "In case you don't remember— he washed up in the river."
Ash's fair skin pales, leaving the remnants of his angry flush standing out starkly on his profile. The rest of the drive passes in a tense silence, only briefly broken at the gate to the school. Pulling up into the lot, he parks as near as possible to the dorm. When we get out, he turns to leave me, but I stop him in his tracks.
"Chaperone, remember, Ash?" He pauses, and I add, "I'm not the one that will be disobeying if you leave me here." Spinning on his heel, he changes direction, fuming as he passes me. "What happened to 'anything you need'?" I call after him, feeling a bit smug at the turnabout.
All I get in return is the bird, and I have to hurry to catch up. Well, hurry as much as I can with my new restrictions directing me to take it easy.
***
Ash storms out of the elevator stomping to our door where he has to wait for the lock to disengage. He'd been annoyed enough on the ride up to mess up his neatly styled low-fade. Now the dark brunette hair on the top is in a disarray that looks like sexy bedhead.
He flings the door open, nearly hitting Blaise with it. "Oh, good, you're here. Take her before I strangle her ass."
Blaise flicks his gaze between the two of us, wariness taking the place of his previous annoyance at getting whacked with the door. I continue to bait Ash, ignoring our audience.
"But, Daddy, I thought I was getting a spanking for being naughty?" My top lip tucks in, while the bottom one pokes out in an exaggerated pout.
"See? I can't deal with that. She won't stop." When he points at me in aggravation, I give him sad eyes and flutter my lashes.
A fit of coughing pulls my attention to Riggs, who's coming out of his room. He catches his breath and demands an explanation. "What the hell happened at that appointment, Ash? You're not supposed to be banging the bitch on field trips." The fuck did he say? Fuck taking it easy.
