Part 18: And That's Why I'm Here

Ash watched them from behind a group of young adults just outside the kitchen. He knew the guy they were calling 'Dave' wasn't one of her brother's men, but he most definitely was under orders.

Devyn was naturally not going to take chances with his sister, especially after their first encounter which Ash had induced himself.

Ash took a sip from the glass in his hand as the 'encounter' flashed at the back of his mind.

He had gone for a late-night run, something he was not a fan of, when a cyclist raced by leaving a stinging pain at the back of his head. Even if he had been expecting that, the amount of pain and low moment of blacking out wasn't accounted for.

Devyn had always been a control freak.

Seeing the little sister unaccompanied on the streets was a Rhys Grier indicator that only the closely related knew and Ash recognized it soon after acknowledging his feelings for her. Rhys Grier always gave his prisoners a sense of great freedom when in fact, they were in a nanotwined cubic boron nitride cage where even their dreams were under his control.

Just like the little sister.

A sting on his face from a blunt object rose him from his slumber and he was confronted by two clones, a tattooed critter and a nerd. Taken to an unknown place by unknown people as he had expected. He was actually surprised he wasn't abducted the first day he had spoken to her.

The light was then dimmed such that Ash could only make out the figure of the fifth person entering the room. His presence charged the air with the same feeling as Ash remembered; the feeling of dread and fear.

"Good evening, sir." The voice was a low drawl with a drag on the last word. It was unmistakable though.

"Hi, Rhys."

There was silence as, Ash assumed, his voice registered in Devyn's mind. The first four guys were ushered out of the room.

"Tra..."

"You can call me Ash."

The light was reinstated and there he was, in his greatest majesty, standing before him. To ice the cake, there was an expression on his face: terrified disbelief. Ash had always prided himself in being able to read his invisible facial expressions, a feat he hadn't lost yet.

Not get his eyes off his prize to take in the dingy cell, Ash smiled. "I'm beginning to feel the sting of the cord cutting into my flesh. The welcoming I expected. I'm glad there are some things you're not entirely letting me down with, Devyn."

Devyn glared at the ceiling. "What do you want?"

Ash hadn't expected anything less. "Don't worry. This time I don't want you. I want the little sister."

Devyn's eyes flashed on him and Ash gave him a cool smile. "She's way prettier than you are."

"I'm the one that hurt you. You don't..."

"Have to drag her into this? No, Devyn," Ash closed his eyes and slowly shook his head, something Devyn had always looked forward to whenever he had erred. "It's not some fictious world where lovers come for each other's siblings. Or perhaps, are you dirty enough to house ultra-motives towards your own sister?"

Devyn said nothing but his eyes said it all. He was always an expressive person, once one knew the angle from which to look.

"Are you going to be my rival in love?" Ash continued. "You do know the ending to all my rival's stories, don't you Devyn?"

"I'm not in love with her."

"You still know how to make smart decisions in a nick of time, I see."

"Just say what the fuck you want, okay? I know the move I made was a lame blunder and I can give you double the money..."

"It's not about the money sweetheart." Ash growled. He hated it that everyone's first assumption following a betrayal was always money.

Devyn sighed, recollecting his composure. "I know it isn't about the money. But you didn't own me, so the money is the only thing I'm going to pay for."

"Of course, I didn't own you, you've already proven that. And that's why I'm here." Ash raised his head to meet his eye. "To put you back under control with a leash I hadn't expected."

"Don't use her." His expression darkened. "You are not going to drag her into your shit, she was never a part of this to begin with."

"Easy, you're scaring me." He made a face. "She is a part now." Ash grinned. "Because I'm in love with her."

Devyn's face turned pale under the bright light, and Ash was certain if he could remove the leather jacket Devyn was wearing, he would find his under shirt to be soaking wet with sweat.

Apparently, nothing changed much about his old friend, and he still wore a jacket for protection against enemies knowing when he was scared. And that was always.

Ash smiled at himself as the memory faded away and walked to get himself a drink. Protecting his loved ones was his most prized feat, and as a result, his loved ones were his greatest trigger.

Anything done to his loved ones set him off, and anything done by his loved ones set him on.

***********************************

"Where are you taking me?"

"Home."

"No," I shook his arm off my shoulder. I had just arrived and hadn't had the slightest bit of fun apart from a few drinks from minuscule glasses that burned my throat and...

I burst out laughing.

... that was what the drinks did. They made everything around me funny. Even the fuzzy images of half naked girls grinding their asses on sexy boys was funnier than the funniest thing I've ever seen before.

Dave replaced his arm around my shoulders. "Come on."

I pushed away from him. "No, you're no fun Dave. You're..." I started laughing again. "You're not... not funny. If my brother was... my brother was here, he'd... let me drink a hundred..."

Something occurred to me and I glanced at Dave. Not what I thought. "Ash! Ash where are you?!" Several people that were able to hear me above the loud music turned and either smiled or looked away. It was the funniest thing to happen that night and if it wasn't for Dave holding me, I'd have been on the floor rolling with laughter.

Their images were fuzzy but none of them belonged to Ash. "Ash! Let go of me." I told Dave and went into the crowd. "Ash?" I laughed when I didn't find him at the nearest group and moved on. "Ash..."

"Do you want me that bad?"

I turned and there he was. His face was vivid and not blurry like everyone else's. "Ash, haven't you heard me call you just now? Are you ignoring me? You disappeared right after becoming my boyfriend, you idiot. Who does that? Who makes someone his and run off like..."

Ash wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer, the pressure of his body the best feeling I've ever felt. The fact was funnier than I could believe. I was laughing again.