"Why does it have to be her?" Devyn asked.
"I love her."
Devyn's neck convulsed as he swallowed, his face contorting slightly. His throat must be dry.
If it were old times, Ash would have stepped forward to make him feel better. But it wasn't old times, and times changed. Rhys Grier had made that clear.
"What will it take for you to let her be?" Devyn asked.
"Wow, you sound way too desperate for a guy playing the role of her brother." Ash grinned giving him a full body scan. "Do I have to go through you to stay with her?"
"Traceigh..."
"Ash, Devyn. I am Ash." Ash walked up to Devyn, stopping an inch away from Devyn's face and said, "I was thinking about you when I picked that name. Isn't it an adorable choice for the dead from your past that caught up with your future?"
Devyn audibly sucked in his breath and pressed his eyelids together. When Ash saw his reaction, he smiled and took a step away.
"I'm here for you, no doubt, but I'm in love with Addison Kaniesky." Ash smoothed away a stray strand of hair with the help of a mirror. "My love for her has nothing to do with you, so you should stay out of it. Nothing is going to keep me away from her."
"Your love has no boundaries..." Devyn started.
"Basis of love itself." Ash said.
"You have no control of yourself when you think you're in love,"
"Being free in love is another fundamental property of..."
"Shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up Traceigh!"
Ash froze for a moment as Devyn's piercing voice resonated through the air. He had almost forgotten how chilling his anger could be.
"Shut the fuck up, okay?" Devyn shoved at his shoulder.
Ash didn't bother resisting. He knew Devyn's fight hormones were running high by then and a little resistance would set him off like a grenade with a faulty primer.
"You're impulsive and mad and have no reigns on yourself, you know?" Devyn said. "You're a selfish bastard that cares only about your own interests even when you claim to love the next person. You always make everything about you. Everything. Every other person's feelings are zilch to you, Traceigh."
Devyn glared into Ash's eyes, standing nose to nose with his body pressed against his as though daring him to move a muscle. Ash was able to see the raw feelings in his eyes, the confusion and pain.
The presence of pain nearly made Ash laugh. Rhys Grier was a heartless being; he couldn't be in pain. The confusion was probably a front too.
"You are an animal that is incapable of love and also incapable of being loved. And because of that disability, you tend to always force people to love you. That girl, the girl you're preying on, doesn't deserve what you have in store for her. She doesn't."
Ash felt a gash run through his chest. A painful gash that had painful goosebumps awaken on his skin. He took a step away.
Then another.
And another.
It was only when he took the fourth step away that he felt his chest relax and air rush into his lungs again.
It definitely wasn't a hateful speech.
Devyn was trying to keep him away from someone he loved because he was as competitive as always and therefore, he must have come up with the speech beforehand. He had always been bad at memorizing words hence Ash could only imagine the effort Devyn must have placed in trying to commit to such a long trail of words.
The last thought made Ash smile. He tried taking a drink from his glass but it was empty so he walked to refill it. upon reaching the drinks cabinet though, Ash abandoned the glass deciding to take and drink directly from the bottle instead.
After gulping down several mouthfuls, Ash turned. "Your speech sent chills up my spine. Remind me to reward you when we reach level grounds."
Devyn remained silent.
"Also, animal or selfish, I'm going to be the best selfish animal to my girlfriend." He raised his bottle for a toast in Devyns direction. "Wish me luck, will you?"
With that he sauntered out of the lavishing room.
***********************************
"Bye, and Thanks." I waved at the three boys seated in Dave's car.
"Wow, bad one, aren't you?" Leo said. "Not inviting any of us in for a cup of coffee?"
"I know none of you drink coffee." I laughed. They were the best boys anyone could ask for, and I loved them wholeheartedly. Not innocently though, I had spent nine tenths of the whole night hoping anyone of them could put his hands on my body and make me forget about Javier.
But they didn't. They had other ways to make me forget, which worked.
They didn't drive off until at least ten seconds after I had closed the door. I smiled to myself as I walked up the stairs to my room.
I still missed Javier, the idiot, but I missed Ash more. Ever since he had unceremoniously disappeared earlier I...
"Whoaaaargh!" I heard myself cry out. In that moment, I believed the skeleton could be scared out of my body.
"Did I scare you?"
I could barely hear him as my ears were filled with the loud pounding of my heart.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to. Don't look so scared please, okay?"
"How did you get in here?" I asked, still trying to catch my breath. I hadn't locked my room but the front door had been locked.
"I needed to see you." Ash walked towards me. As he got closer, I could identify the desolate look in his eyes. "Don't turn me away please."
"What... what happened to you?" I asked as he neared me. "What's wrong?" He tightly wrapped his powerful arms around me, his strength threatening to crush me into dust. But the pain was nothing compared to the heartache I was feeling for the poor emotional state he was in. "Are you alright?"
"Can I please just hold you this way for some time?" he asked, placing his head on mine and thus blocking all entrance of air to my confined face but that was fine. His scent was life enough for me.
I nodded. Tried nodding anyway. The pain he was in was too thick I could almost taste it. And that hurt me too.