I continued glancing at James as we drove home. He kept his gaze on the road, not acknowledging me once. I was speechless. I knew James had to be more than shocked. His father disappeared fifteen years and never gave his seven-year-old son an explanation. As we got closer to the house, I was compelled to say something, so he didn't walk into the house like a zombie. Words began to spill out of my mouth as I told him that I'd seen Malik outside the hospital. James nodded his head, no verbal response. Slowly, the shock wore off his face as he focused on my words.
James pulled his car into the converted garage. He got out off the car, barely turning the engine off. I watched him, expecting him to walk to the house. Instead, James stopped at the hood of his car. We walked side-by-side into the house, neither of us said a single word. Walking past the living room, Brandon snored on the couch. The football game in the backyard seemed to have ended and dispersed. I wrapped my hand around James' bicep lightly. He paused, looking down at me. I couldn't read the emotions in his eyes, something that didn't happen often. I nodded my head towards my father's office. James looked at the open door. I watched as thoughts flickered through his head, but he sighed, nodding.
My father's office door was open, but I still knocked on the frame. Charlie sat at his desk, chatting over a drink with Aaron. The two looked over and gave my father gave me a smile of acknowledgement. He sighed but seemed to be bemused. I almost hated to dampen his good mood.
"Come tell me why I sent Will to the hospital in such a rush," Charlie said.
I sat down beside Aaron on the chairs at my father's desk. Aaron offered me a glass of what I could smell as whiskey. I shook my head, declining the alcohol. My stomach felt tight, and I couldn't identify it. I'm sure my father wouldn't be pleased if I vomited his aged whiskey across the carpet.
"Can you pull up whatever photograph we have on file of Taylor Malik," I said, words barely coming out of my mouth. Charlie brought the photo onto his desktop after some clicking around. Turning the screen, the man I had seen today was looking back at me.
"He doesn't have the facial hair anymore but that's him," I muttered. Aaron and Charlie looked at me with scrunched eyebrows, "he was gone by the time I got across the driveway. I can't give you anymore details."
My father leaned back, eyes resting on the screen. Obviously, I didn't have to explain any further. Aaron sighed, shooting back the rest of the alcohol. He knew the light mood he'd been sharing with his friend was over.
"Setting a post outside of your mother's room was a good idea. I'll be keeping it as a permanent solution until I speak with Malik. From what I'm aware, he hasn't left Vancouver Island for five years. I'll look through his information and see how up to date it is," Charlie took a drink from his glass, "James, I'd like you to travel with Ashlyn until we figure this out. I'm going to insist everyone travels in partners."
I glanced back at James, leaning on the door frame. He raised his eyebrows at me, the amusement not reaching his eyes.
"Dad, I don't want to torture the poor guy. He already deals with me enough," I said.
"James has your safety first on his mind. You don't even have that."
I rolled my eyes and I heard James chuckle at my father's protective instincts. I flipped him off.
"I'm pretty sure it's my annoyance is first on his mind," I muttered. Aaron chuckled under his breath beside me, looking into his glass.
We fell into silence. I waited for James to tell Charlie about his father being at the hospital. I took another glance at James, who's head bent towards the ground. Through his shaggy hair, his lips were pursed together. I cleared my throat, making James look up. His jaw shifted to the side when I raised my eyebrows at him before he looked back down at the ground.
I sighed loudly and looked my father in the eyes, "James' father was at the hospital."
Aaron froze as he began pouring himself a refill, "Daniel showed up?" he looked between James and I, "why didn't you mention that earlier?"
"I thought James should and would be saying it, but it looks like he isn't."
Charlie and Aaron look at each other. I couldn't read whatever passed between them. Charlie nodded his head once and looked past me.
"James, would you mind speaking with us for a minute?"
James opened his mouth and shut it again. There was a bit of panic in his eyes. He didn't want to say no to my father, but it was finally obvious that he hadn't processed what he saw at the hospital.
"Dad, do you mind if we go upstairs for a little bit? I need a few minutes to ask James about some stuff."
I tried not to sound as if my father had the option to say no. However, the tone naturally came out.
Charlie leaned back in his desk chair and looked me in the eyes. "Fine."
As soon as the word was out of my father's mouth, James left the office doorway. We listened to his footsteps make their way up to his bedroom. My heart began to hurt for my friend and the confusion he was obviously feeling.
"That bad, huh?" Aaron asked, shooting back his drink.
I weakly shrugged, "more strange than bad. Daniel stood in front of the car and watched at us. I don't think James really knew what to do. I didn't know what to do."
"I see why you wanted to give him a moment before I spoke with him. Let him work through his emotions," Charlie said. I silently nodded, leaving the office.
I hesitated outside of James' bedroom. I knew he could hear me standing there but he didn't let me in, nor did I enter on my own. I awkwardly rose my hand to knock. I'd never needed to knock on James' door before. I could walk in, no matter the time of day. I dropped my hand.
"James? It's Ashlyn," I said in a low voice.
I didn't understand why I felt the need to indicate it was me. I'm sure no one else would be knocking on his door right now. His feet shift against the ground and the ground creaked as he walked the door. My eyes met his gaze. His eyes held a mix of anger and pain. A redness hinted under his eyes, and my heart clenched at the fact he'd let a few tears slide. James tended to keep his negative emotions bottled up.
"Can I come in?" I asked slowly, unsure if he wanted company. I expected my friend would either want to ignore the situation or tell me he didn't need me right now. James didn't verbally answer, just let go of the door handle and walked away. I took that as a yes, closing the door behind me. James slumped down against his desk chair. He was like a child who'd been told they'd never get a puppy from Santa. I sat on my knees in front of James. Placing my hands on his thighs, I tried to get a clear look at his face. However, James held his chin up, looking over me.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I whispered. The room didn't feel like it would have survived a volume any louder. James shook his head, keeping his eyes away from me. I lifted my hands from his thighs and placed them on his face. I tugged his head, and his eyes came down to meet mine. We just stared at each other. I could see the fight in his eyes, anger wanting to burst. I knew he would do his best not to cry though.
I stood, yanking him up with me. Confusion flickered across his face. Silently, I led him over to his bed and indicated for him to lie down. I got on the bed behind him, wrapping my arm around his waist. I felt his body relax in front of mine. If he cried, I wouldn't know.
***
"Look at those lovebirds! How sickening."
"What dorks, cuddling in the middle of the day."
"I know, they could be having sex."
I raised my head, looking at the door. Brandon, Drew, and youngest Pack member, Luke Newton had the door open enough for their three heads to stick through. They all had stupid grins on their faces when they noticed I was awake.
"Really?" I grumbled. They all had smirks on their faces, but Drew's was almost a toothy grin. I had a feeling it was his idea to spy.
I dropped my head back onto James's chest. I barely registered that we'd moved positions during our sleep. I let out a growl in my throat when they didn't stop whispering to each other. I began to sit up, but James tossed his arm around me. I felt his torso jerk from movement and an "oof" came from the nosey boys at the door. I glanced up, seeing a pillow resting on the ground at the door. The three werewolves had disgruntled looks on their faces.
"Screw off," James muttered, his voice unimpressed.
"Whatever. Just don't have sex too loudly. There are innocent ears in the house," Drew commented, closing the door. The three still made comments as they walked away.
I sighed, "time to get up I guess."
James added his other arm around my body, crushing me to his chest. "I don't want to deal with those idiots yet."
I let out a soft laugh, closing my eyes and listened to James' heartbeat. I couldn't disagree. Staying in bed seemed like a good idea. I couldn't fall back asleep though. The interruption of the whispering trio had pulled all sleepiness from my body. I was here for James though, to get out of the bed and leave him to relax.
"What about a movie?" I asked, resting my chin on his chest. James looked down his nose at me, his eyes still recovering from earlier but there was a sparkle in his iris. He nodded his head, clearing his throat.
"Okay. I'll go get a snack and you pick the movie," I instructed, pushing against his chest as leverage to get up. James didn't say anything as I left the room.
In the kitchen, Cora Newton supervised Tyler and Chrissy making food, including what smelt like a cake. Cora was the oldest female werewolf in the Pack, on top of being Luke's mother. Smiling at them, I opened the cupboard and rustled around for junk food. My hand wrapped around an unopened bag of chips.
"How's James doing? I haven't heard anything in awhile," Tyler asked, chopping peppers.
I stood up and turned to him, "how did you find out?"
"Charlie. He asked me to go and get James like half an hour ago, but you were passed out. I figured he needed it after what happened."
I nodded, dropping my head. I was grateful that Tyler had made the decision.
"What's wrong with James?" Cora asked, worry sketched into her face. Cora's hand rested on her hip and the grandmotherly charm she exuded appeared.
I sighed, glancing towards the stairs. I considered not saying anything. James shouldn't hear us talking about this. It felt like gossiping and he wouldn't appreciate it. Looking at Cora though, I knew she would find out eventually.
"His father showed up at the hospital when he picked me up earlier," I whispered, "I don't know how to explain it."
Chrissy dropped down onto one of the stools, completely forgetting her task. My best friend stared at me with her mouth open.
Cora was just as shocked, "Daniel?" she paused, absorbing the brief news, "I remember that day. Your father could barely explain what happened. He was so confused. Daniel decided to just leave and give up on everything. He wouldn't tell anyone why."
My ears twitched to the sound of footsteps walking towards us. I cringed before realizing it was two pairs of footsteps. I turned, my father and Aaron came in.
"Where's James?" Charlie asked, seeing me alone.
"In his room. We're about to watch a movie," I answered, with finality in my voice. Now that everyone was talking about Daniel's surprise arrival, a protective urge went up my spine. Charlie nodded, a spark of understanding in his eyes.
"Why didn't you mention they had seen Daniel?" Cora snapped in a soft tone.
Charlie sighed, "I was still trying to process the surprise myself. I didn't know what to say."
"About what?"
My eyes instinctively shut at the voice coming into the kitchen. Guilt washed through me for being caught in the group talking about him. I turned as James entered the kitchen. James looked only at me as he approached. He stopped beside me, placing his arm around my shoulders. I felt his fingertips run along my bicep and the guilt began to diminish. Charlie walked over and glanced between James and I before putting his hand on James' shoulder.
"I need to talk to you about a job."
I felt James release a breath against my side.
"Alright," he answered. James placed a kiss on the side of my head and Charlie led him out of the kitchen.
Hearing Charlie's office door shut, my body lost strength and I slumped onto the stool beside Chrissy. My mind felt like it was on alert for any sign that James wasn't holding himself together anymore. It was a situation I'd never imagined being in. I didn't feel prepared to handle however James would react. A hand ran up and down my back.
"Do you want to go for a run?" Chrissy suggested.
"Yeah sure," I mumbled.
The house went into an uproar. Pounding footsteps sounded from every direction. Drew was the first one through the kitchen door, being thrown forward by other werewolves running into his back. Multiple wide eyes looked at Chrissy and me.
"Did someone say run?"