Chapter 31 Spencer #4
“Alright, I’ll be there in a minute. Thanks, Haze.
” Her old nickname slips out, and her eyes snap up to meet mine, wide and innocent.
I remember growing up how often we had to look out for her.
She was always prone to getting hurt and would do things so in the moment.
The girl who stands in front of me now isn’t like that at all.
She’s quiet and shy and would rather blend into the shadows.
Other than when she's with Jade, that is.
Ugh, I mentally shake myself. Just because Jade’s good for Hazel doesn’t mean shit.
Hazel smiles at me before she nods and heads off down the hall.
I close out of everything and lock it all back down before I head out. I won’t get anywhere without talking to Jade, and as much as I would rather smash my head off the wall, I know that’s what I’ll have to do.
Heading up to my room, I grab a quick shower. I’ve been so deep into figuring this shit out that I’m pretty sure it’s been at least two days since I showered or did anything but root in that room. I know it will help me clear my mind a bit.
It doesn’t take long. I’m in and out in about five minutes, but I can feel the difference. Now I just need to eat and get some sleep, and I might consider myself once again among the living. Slipping on some sweats and a random shirt, I make my way back down to the kitchen.
A door opens down the hall, and when I look up, I find Jade slipping out of her room. I pause, watching her for a second, expecting Hazel to come out after her, but when she shuts the door behind her, I realize she must already be downstairs.
This is my chance.
I lengthen my stride, eating up the distance between us in no time.
“What do you want, Spencer?” she asks without even looking back to see that it’s me. It’s almost freaky how she just knows. I want to know how she does that, too, but for now I let it go. I have more important things to ask her about right now, though I will ask her later, that's for sure.
“How are you feeling?” I ask because I genuinely am curious and because I could tell by her tone that she’s already on the defense. I won’t get anything from her if she thinks I’m just here to argue.
I mean, I might be, depending on how she answers, but we don’t need to start out arguing. We get there just fine without help.
She turns her head toward me so quickly I’d be surprised if she didn't give herself whiplash. She’s stopped walking, standing in the middle of the hall and looking at me.
I wait. If I open my mouth now, I know I’ll fuck it up.
I can feel the sarcasm on the tip of my tongue dying to be set free.
But I swallow it down. I want answers, damn it.
After a second, the suspicion in her eyes diminishes a bit, and while it’s not gone completely, I’ll take it.
“I’m feeling much better,” she says in a flat tone as if she’s waiting for something. I don’t exactly blame her for her hesitation, but it’s not exactly a good feeling.
Jade might drive me fucking crazy, but she’s still the leader of Vengeance, still my fucking boss. I can’t imagine I’ll get to stay or ever move up if she can’t even trust me enough to answer a simple question.
Fuck.
I’m going to have to be nicer to her. The realization hits me like a smack in the face.
“Good, I’m glad.” Again, it’s not a lie. I don’t want her at any less than one hundred percent if we're going to go toe to toe with Randall and potentially whatever’s left of Sin. That would be like asking for a death sentence for her.
She crosses her arms and cocks her head at me. “Why do you care?”
I give a one-armed shrug. “I mean, I don’t have to like you to not want you dead, you know,” I explain honestly.
She barks out a laugh, and a smile pulls at my lips before I can stop it. “I guess you're right.” She agrees before continuing down the hall toward the staircase, leaving me to follow after her.
“Jade.” I call out to her just before she reaches the stairs, and she freezes.
Calling her anything but Demon feels strange, and judging by her reaction, I think she would agree. But considering I’m about to ask her for information, it’s probably best not to insult her.
“How’d you do it?” I blurt out the question instead of beating around the bush. She turns around to face me, and for a moment, I wonder if she has any idea what I’m talking about. Maybe I should've been more specific.
Or maybe she just has no intention of answering me.
Right before I cave and tell her to just forget it, she lets out a huff and shakes her head. “Come on.” She sighs, turning around and heading back down the hall the way we just came from.
I hesitate for a second, my brain taking too long to process the fact that she wants me to follow her.
“You coming or not?” she calls back to me, and I move to follow her once again.
I didn’t really expect her to answer me, and if she did, I thought it would be after I all but pried the information from her.
This isn’t what I expected at all.
Then again, Jade is hardly ever what I expect. She throws me off at every turn, making me question everything I know. It’s one of the things I find best about her while also being one of the things that drives me nuts. I’m pretty sure it’s why we argue so much, too.
But maybe, just maybe, it’s not as bad as I thought.