Settling Ashes: A New Adult/College Romance (The Ashes Series Book 2) (13 page)

“Okay, Mom. We’ll have a very
short
dinner. And then I have to get back to Paige. “

“Delightful, darling. I can’t wait to see you.” Her voice almost sounded…chipper. Which was so unlike my mom that I looked down at the phone in surprise.

We hung up, and I frowned at Paige. “You didn’t have to do that, you know. You don’t have to play referee between my mom and me. Our issues go way back; they have nothing to do with you.”

“I know,” she nodded. “But this one was about me, and I’m not going to let that stand. She’s your mom and you love her.”

A wistful expression appeared on her face, and I suddenly understood why she felt so strongly about not creating conflict within my family. I was an idiot.

“I’m so sorry, Paige,” I said, chastising myself. “I know you miss them. I wasn’t thinking.”

She smiled sadly. “It’s okay. I do miss them. My parents would have loved you, and my brother would have loved to hate you.”

I laughed. “I wish I could have known them. A family who molded such a perfect daughter must have been amazing.”

I hugged her to me. “What are you going to do today?”

“Ugh. I have homework to catch up on. And then I’m just going to try to relax tonight. Take a bath, drink some wine. Watch a Lifetime movie.”

“Well, make some popcorn for me. I’ll be back by the time the movie starts.”

She looked up at me, her lips forming an “O.”

“You’ll watch the movie with me?”

“You want to switch to an action flick?”

She slugged me in my good arm, and I snorted with laughter. “No? Okay then, I guess I can stomach one Lifetime movie with you. The alternative is not being with you at all, and that’s not an option.”

She arranged herself on the bed until she was straddling my lap, facing me. She eased her head forward our foreheads touched, and took a deep breath.

“Don’t let what Beau said last night scare you,” she said softly. “I’m not going anywhere. I love you, and this is where I want to be.”

I nodded, my throat closing up. “I want you here. But I also want you to be safe. It terrified me, thinking that his place might be safer for you than mine.”

It went straight to the core of my innermost fears: the idea that Paige wasn’t safe with me. That I couldn’t protect her from anything and everything.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?” She kissed my nose.

“Okay.”

Our foreheads were still touching, and we sat there a minute, breathing the same air, our eyes shut tight.  Then our lips were tentatively touching. I couldn’t help my good hand from caressing slowly up and down her bare back, pulling her even closer to me as I deepened our kiss. She pressed forward, leaning me back into the pillows on her bed as she kissed me.

I reached up to brush her hair out of our faces as I tasted her, still appreciating the sweetness every time I touched her.

“We’re going to be okay,” I whispered against her mouth, breathing heavily.

“Yeah, Clay,” she answered. “We are.”

~**~

Leaving Paige that day was difficult, more difficult than any time I’d ever left her before. I didn’t necessarily believe Gill’s conspiracy theory, but it still felt wrong, being away from her so soon after I’d gotten her back.

My damn parents.

“I can stay,” I hedged, standing at the front door with her before I left. “I don’t have to go to dinner with my parents tonight.”

“Of course you do,” she said. “Don’t be ridiculous. Why wouldn’t you?”

I placed my hand on the side of her face. “Because I don’t want to leave you. Especially not alone.”

“I’m not alone,” she insisted. “Gill’s here. And I thought we weren’t going to buy into this whole ‘Paige is in danger’ thing without proof.”

I hesitated. Gillian was there; she’d come home a little while ago.

“We weren’t,” I answered slowly. “But now that I have to go…I just don’t feel good about it, Paige.”

“Then hurry back,” she said, laughing.

She reached up to kiss my lips, and then she pushed my chest backward. “Go. I will text you every five minutes if you want.”

“I want.”

“I was kidding, Clay! I’ll be fine. Promise. I can’t wait to see your new wheels!”

I wasn’t thinking about a new car, but I smiled weakly at her. “Text me. For real. I love you.”

“I love you. Bye.”

She closed the door behind me, and I fought hard against the urge to rush back inside as I walked down the sidewalk to Drew’s waiting car.

Thirteen

Paige

“You’re going where?” I asked Gillian, confused. I stood in her doorway, watching her apply lip-gloss in her dresser mirror.

“The library,” Gillian answered.

“But we were going to have dinner!” I wailed. “And I miss you.”

“Aw, I miss you, too, chick,” Gillian answered, looking up to meet my eyes in the mirror. “I won’t be gone that long, though.”

She stopped applying makeup and turned to face me. “Wait a minute. I should stay. You shouldn’t be here by yourself.”

I brushed her off. “You sound like Clay, and that’s absurd. I’ll be fine. But I don’t understand why you’re wearing
that
to go to the library. I know you’re a crazy fashion person and all, but that’s extreme even for you.”

She shimmied, her glittery top catching the light from the overhead lamp.

“You know me,” she shrugged. “I feel it’s important to look your best.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Gillian. We’ve been friends for too many years for me not to see through that. What aren’t you telling me?”

She averted her eyes, looking back in the mirror to fuss over her face some more.

“Nothing,” she answered.

My jaw dropped. “Gillian! Do you have a date?”

“A date? At the library? No!”

“I didn’t mean at the library…oh, never mind. I’m guessing you’ll tell me what’s going on when you’re ready. But I know you’re up to something.”

“Whatever,” she said, placing the makeup on the dresser and coming toward me. She hugged me fiercely.

“I love you,” she said. “Please call me if you need anything. I really will be back soon. Two hours, tops.”

“Okay,” I said as I walked her to the door. “See you soon.”

She hugged me once more before grabbing her coat off the hook by the door and walking out into the frosty night.

I stood with my back to the door, surveying the room. What was I going to do with myself all night? I had about two hours until Gillian got back, according to her, and probably another hour after that until I saw Clay. I spied my phone lying on the table and decided to text him.

Paige: You okay?

I turned on the TV while I waited for the buzz to alert me of his return message. I got it almost immediately.

Clay: yep. what r u and gill doing?

I hesitated, wondering if I should tell him. Maybe if I didn’t make a big deal about it, he wouldn’t either.

Paige: She went on a quick library run. She’ll be back soon. I’m gonna eat and get in the tub.

I could picture Clay processing that information. He wasn’t going to be happy about it, but hopefully he’d stay put. He needed this time with his parents. I decided to distract him.

Paige: What kind of car u get?

He finally responded.

Clay: Gillian left?? Stay put. Doors locked? I’m on my way.

Oh, no! I quickly texted him back.

Paige: Stop right there! I’m just fine. Doors are locked. I’m safe. Come AFTER dinner.

I waited, chewing on my nail in anticipation of his response. The last thing I wanted was for him to rush away from dinner with his parents to rescue me from a nonexistent threat. I turned the thumb lock on the front door and walked over to the couch with the phone.

Clay: PAIGE! I’m not good with this. I’ll finish up here and be on my way. Text me every fifteen, or I’m ending dinner early and coming.

I rolled my eyes and agreed to text him every fifteen minutes, and then tossed the phone on the table. I rummaged around in the freezer, looking for a quick something to pop in the toaster oven as dinner.

Fifteen minutes later found me on the couch with a plate full of mozzarella cheese sticks and the remote control. I flipped through the channel guide until I found the movie I was going to watch. I glanced at the clock and saw that I had about forty-five minutes until it began. Just enough time to take a relaxing bubble bath.

I headed for the bathroom across from my bedroom at the end of the hall. Entering and flipping on the light, I sat on the edge of the tub and turned on the hot water. As I sat, I looked into the mirror at myself and reminisced about how self-conscious I was about my scars just a few months ago. Since I met Clay, I barely even noticed them. If he could think I was beautiful with them, then I could accept that. I was a different person than I was before we’d met. I liked the new Paige.

I smiled, thinking about it, and went to discard my clothes in my bedroom. I put on a silky black bathrobe that Gillian had made me buy after I’d begun dating Clay. She’d claimed I couldn’t waltz around in my white fuzzy bathrobe and be sexy at the same time.

I was glad she’d made me buy it now, looking at myself in the mirror. I pulled my short dark hair up as high as it could go into a spiky little ponytail and headed back to the bathroom. The tub was almost full, so I added some bubbles and watched as they frothed around in the water, turning the surface a pale pink.  I screwed off the faucet and strolled to the kitchen to grab some wine from the box in the fridge. Pouring it into a glass, I leaned against the fridge and sipped, sighing.

A flash of being here in this spot last night with Clay pressed against me lit across my mind and I shivered deliciously, thinking that I couldn’t wait until he was back here in my arms again. That reminded me to grab my phone and text him, so he wouldn’t come running over here because I’d forgotten the every-fifteen-minute rule.

Paige: I’m hopping into the tub. Missing u.

His response was almost immediate, bringing a smile to my lips again.

Clay: Hot damn. Hate to miss that. Can’t wait to c u.

I placed the phone on the counter, and then thought better of it. I grabbed it back up without knowing why I thought I needed it, and brought it along with me to the bathroom.

I thought about lighting a candle in the room and turning off the light, and the thought sent a roll of nausea through my stomach.

No. No candles.

So I left the light on and disrobed, climbing into the steamy water and sliding down until misty-pink bubbles were grazing my chin. I made sure to leave my casted arm on the side of the tub and I closed my eyes. I felt absolutely relaxed. And then my phone buzzed on the side of the tub next to me.

Annoyed, I reached for it and checked the incoming text.

Beau: just checking in. u ok?

I sighed in aggravation. Was everyone going to treat me like a fragile flower until this whole mess was sorted out?

I paused at the soft noise I heard coming from the direction of the living room. Had Gill come home already?

I listened harder and was rewarded with a big, fat, silence from the other side of the apartment.

Guess she didn’t,
I decided.

I frowned, and decided to just go ahead and call Beau so he’d be totally reassured.

“Beau?”

“Hey, Paige,” he said, relief flooding his voice. “I can’t stop worrying about you.”

“Oh, everyone is being so silly,” I dismissed. “I’m absolutely fine.”

“Yeah? You hanging out with…with Clay tonight?”

I noticed the struggle it took for him to say Clay’s name, and I grimaced.

“Later. He’s out to dinner with his parents. I think they needed to talk about his case.”

“And he didn’t bring you?” I could hear the frown in his voice from over the phone.

“Nope. I don’t need to be privy to a meeting with him and his parents, Beau.”

“Okay. So you’re chilling with Gillian tonight then?”

Here we go again,
I thought. I might as well get it over with.

“Nope. I’m hanging out with myself tonight. Some much-needed ‘me’ time.” I looked at the bubbles floating around me as I spoke, getting the words out in a rush.

There was a pause, and then I heard Beau take a breath across the line. “I’m just down the road. Mind if I stop by and visit for a minute?”

“Beau! You are not just down the road. And you don’t have to do that.”

“Actually, I am. I had to deliver a video game to a friend who lives on campus.  So I’m literally in the neighborhood. And I’m always looking for an excuse to see you, so…” He trailed off hopefully.

“Good Lord! You people are driving me crazy, you know. I don’t need a---“

I cried out as my phone was snatched from my hand.

My heart stopped pumping blood to the rest of my body. A figure was looming over me,
in my bathroom.
I stared up at him and a scream ripped from my throat.

He quickly clapped a gloved hand over my mouth, and I felt the sting as he deftly poked a needle into my neck.  He removed his hand just as everything began to go fuzzy, and I stared up at his masked face just as I began to slip.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

I wasn’t conscious long enough to hear his answer, if he gave one. And my new state of oblivion left me unaware when I slowly slid underneath the bubbles.

Clay

I groaned in a strange mixture of frustration and delight when my dad hopped out of the brand new silver Land Rover.

“Seriously, Dad?” I asked. “This is mine?”

He tossed me the keys, grinning. “All yours, son. You’re graduating in a few months. Consider it part early graduation present, part early celebration gift for beating this bogus charge against you.”

I smiled in spite of myself and hugged my father. “Thanks, Dad. This is beyond awesome. I can’t wait to show it to Paige.”

His face clouded over. “I’m sorry you couldn’t bring her. Your mother insisted. And the last thing I felt like doing today was getting into it with her.”

“Where is Mom?” I asked, looking around the sidewalk outside of the restaurant.

“She should be here any minute. She was driving our car, you know, so she was going to meet me over here. Shall we go in and nab a table?”

We walked into the casual restaurant, and were seated quickly at a booth near the back. My dad thought that privacy was best.

We ordered drinks and thanked the young waitress when she brought them quickly.

“So,” my dad began. “I think Paige is amazing.”

I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face. “Yeah? Thanks, Dad. That means a lot. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“It seems like you two have been through a lot in a short amount of time,” he remarked. “That tends to intensify things a bit.”

“Things were intense from the beginning with us, Dad. I don’t know what it is about her. Well, actually, yeah I do. She’s perfect for me. She keeps me grounded and sane. She’s the sweetest and most caring person I’ve ever met. She’s absolutely gorgeous, and doesn’t even know it. And she works for everything she has. She’s just…there aren’t enough words.”

He was smiling and nodding through my tirade, and steepled his hands together when I finished.

“So…she’s it for you. You’re done looking?”

“I never realized I
was
looking until I met her, Dad. And yeah, she’s it.”

My mother arrived then, in an elegant black dress that stopped just below her knees. Her black heels tapped the floor impatiently as she made her way back to our booth.  She bent to peck my cheek, and then sat down across from me and next to my dad. I noticed him slide over a bit so that they wouldn’t be touching. I shook my head sadly at them. I couldn’t remember the last time they’d looked at each other with love, much less touched each other with that emotion. It was a wonder I had any clue how to love Paige with these two as my role models.

“So what’s going on?” I asked them. “Why did we need to meet tonight?”

“Well, we met with Dechlan earlier today. We knew we were meeting with him, and wanted to set up dinner so we could relay the info to you. The police took Paige’s DNA from her hospital records.”

“What?” I nearly shouted. A few people glanced over at our table with concern, and I lowered my voice instantly, straining to control myself.

“How did that happen?” I hissed. “Did they compare it to the hair at Hannah’s house? Was it Paige’s?”

“Yeah, they did,” answered my father. “And no, it wasn’t.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding, and my mother pursed her lips in annoyance.

“You’ve only known this girl for what, three months?”

“What’s your problem with her, Mom?” I asked, looking directly at my mother.

She stared at me, her icy blue eyes like lasers boring into mine. “I don’t have a problem. You do, Clay. Too many girls. It’s been that way for years. And I’ve kept silent, watching it. You’re too much like your father for your own good.”

She shot my dad a poisonous glance, and he rolled his eyes.

“Well, the too many girls things is over, Mom, so you should be happy. Now, there’s only one girl. Paige.”

My mom scoffed. “She’s a basket case. Sole survivor of a fire in her own home, that she herself presumably set? She’s not good enough for you, Clay. You must know that. As horrible as that girl Hannah was for you, Paige is even worse. You should cut ties with her while you still can.”