~~Daniil's POV~~
Ashley feared me.
I was a full-course meal. No one should be able to look at me with disdain in their eyes, let alone call me "ugly." But she did! Why? After giving it a second thought, I deduced the glowers she shot me was a mask… to hide her true emotions. Why? More importantly, what were those true emotions? Well if I was going to take off that veil to see what hid beneath those derisive eyes usually devoid of emotions, there was only one way to do that – get closer.
I made her feel stalked, looking for the perfect opportunity to catch her off guard. This whole ploy rested on how well I could pull that off to get her to come clean even for a second. And … voila! I succeeded in my quest. It was confirmed. Ashley Sinclair was afraid of Daniil Smirnov. Interesting!
I know I shouldn't have felt glad but for some reason, I felt elated…highly esteemed…over the moon. Being feared was way better than being disregarded, I thought. More than anything, I couldn't stop myself now from wanting to exploit that fear. A sinister smirk went across my lips, accompanying that thought.
"What evil are you plotting this time, boss?" A familiar voice snapped my train of thought, forcing me out of my head.
I swayed my eyes to the rearview mirror to see Jason giving me the 'look.' We were on our way home after school.
"Ashley."
"Ashley," he re-echoed, nodding repeatedly while I peered in silence like I was patiently waiting for a more plausible reaction. "Ashley??????!!!!!!" he exclaimed, gobsmacked. 'That's more like it.'
"The same Ashley???" he kept staring vertically at me through the rearview mirror.
"Yes."
"Ashley Sinclair?!"
"Yes."
"Don't tell me she's the one you've been trying to appeal to."
"We only know one Ashley Sinclair."
"Boss!" he cried out, looking at me like I finally lost it.
Silence…
"What happens when she finds out who you truly are?" he asked in a more collected tone.
"What? That I'm a monster?"
"You know that's not what I'm talking about." He waved off.
"Then what? You intend to snitch?"
"Of course not, boss!" he refuted vehemently.
"Then I don't see the issue here." I said calmly.
"Any other girl but Ashley. You should know better. Or don't you get it? This ship is bound to sink!" he stated bluntly. He stared at me with furrowed brows then I looked away, feeling rather complacent.
I heard him heave a sigh, having it with me. "I'm sure your school has a couple of hotties you could mess around with. Why are you falling hopelessly in love with this one?"
Love.
I shot my eyes wide open.
Love?
Did he just say 'love'?
I flinched then darted to him with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows. "Love?"
"Love."
"What makes you think I love her?"
He paused, speechless by my absurd question perhaps. I for one never thought this far. "Why else would you be going crazy over her if there are no strings attached?"
"I think you're getting it all wrong." Or maybe I was? "I only want Ashley to recognize me. To acknowledge me. And to quit treating me like shit."
"In a nutshell, you're losing your mind to soothe your ego." He summarized, instigating a rethink.
Was I in love with Ashley? I never really gave it any thought, obsessed with getting rid of the sneer that dripped her expression whenever she set eyes on me. Maybe I was in effect obsessed with my ego. But losing my mind? Was I going nuts for real? Because of a girl? I veered my questioning eyes to Jason who fell silent like he intentionally made me rack my brain.
I shrugged off the feeling, settling for the former. I couldn't possibly be falling in love with someone who barely talked to me. That would not only be demeaning but insulting to my person. I was only going to mess with her and that's all. I needed to fix the look in her eyes, I told myself.
"You're not being serious, right?" he voiced again like he intercepted my thoughts. "You're messing with the wrong bitch to satisfy your ego?" For the first time in a really long while, he sounded disappointed. He was doing it again. Jason seldom went against me but whenever he did, he forced me to subject myself to scrutiny. I didn't like that; it felt like a weakness he could exploit. 'I should be the one exploiting people's weaknesses and not the other way round.'
"Drive."
With eyes closed, I leaned my head back signifying I was done with the conversation and would use a tranquil ride.
~~Ashley's POV~~
"Makayla! Makayla!!" I hailed severally, shaking the near-lifeless body with every ounce of strength my quaky hands could muster. She was spitting blood, and I could hardly see the black part of her eyes; Makayla's consciousness was slowly but surely ebbing away. "Makayla… Makayla, please don't do this to me." My fidgety eyes and hands followed the trickles of blood that popped through her multiple stab wounds, desperately trying everything possible to stop them all at once but it was just…impossible!
In my state of panic, running out of options but still burning with the desire to get her on her feet, I raised both hands to hold her face instead. "Open your eyes, Makayla. Open your eyes." I pleaded like she was indeed hearing but chose to ignore me. My view became clouded with water then all of a sudden, everything went black. "Makayla?!" I called still trying to process what just happened.
She was gone.
She disappeared from my sight out of the blue.
"Makayla! Makayla!! Makayla!!!" I cried out in agony, ignoring the stabbing pain I felt in my chest. I raised my violently trembling hands to see a bloody palm. Like that wasn't a given, a fresh surge of panic kicked in, driving me insane!
"Ashley…" I heard an eerie whisper that halted my shivers for the time being. "Ashley Sinclair." The voice came a second time when I froze.
I stood up only to be met with the dark empty nothing surrounding me. I got really scared at this point. "Hello?" the echoes of my voice were all that replied to me while scanning the scene until…
Deep ocean blue eyes.
My eyes met the same pair of deep blue eyes glowing from within pitch darkness. 'Run!' my inner voice urged but before I could fully understand what was going on, my legs on their own were being drawn to him.
The sudden urge to unmask this monster dispelled whatever terror I felt, tripling my pace. It didn't seem like he was moving but no matter how much distance I covered, it only grew wider, getting me exhausted. I thought to run but suddenly, I felt a barrier around my legs, restricting its movement.
'What's going on?'
I felt a warm and dense current going against my legs when I struggled to get them moving. Looking down, I discovered I was walking in a pool of blood! 'What the actual heck?!'
Oddly enough I didn't lose my cool this time, more obsessed with catching the blue-eyed guy before me. I raised my head to him. He was still glaring at me but without moving an inch, was slowly disappearing into the darkness.
"Hey! Don't go away you bastard!!" I moved my legs forcefully and began running towards him. "Come back here! Come back here you murderer!" my voice cracked, whimpers ensued. "Come back here you son of a gun!" I exhausted all the cuss words I knew, greatly annoyed until my voice ceased and I felt the dense current go up to my waist.
I looked down and saw I was sinking. Waving my hands in the air, I tried to cry for help but my voice deserted me in the wrongest moment. I didn't give up trying to get away from this bloody pool until my whole being was fully immersed.
~~"Makayla!" I violently shot my eyes open and sprung up. Earnestly hoping it was just another nightmare, I swung my head in random directions and confirmed I was still within the four walls of my bedroom. I thought to heave a sigh of relief but the violent gasps that escaped my lips made it farfetched. My heart throbbed wildly against my chest; the veins around my neck clamored violently to pop through my skin. Once again I tried to cry for help all to no avail.
Just when I thought all hope was lost, my door swung open and a blurred figure ran in. "Young mistress, are you okay?" Next, I herd the hollow voice. It felt like my head could explode any moment from now. I could barely see, hear, or understand what was going on. I also couldn't make any sound so I just gestured. "My… my mom…" I mouthed hoping to be understood.
The figure dashed out.
I curled my legs up beneath the duvet, and clenching as hard as I could, I pulled it closer until I felt something bony touch my chin. I looked down; they were my knuckles. I rubbed them against my forehead to wipe the sweat off my face. That's right, my hands.
My hands.
I held them out only to se blood on my palms.
Blood.
Strength from nowhere took control of my legs, swung them down the bed, and dashed them into the bathroom.
Bending over the sink, I tried to rinse the blood off under running water, actively rubbing my palms against each other but paused eventually when it dawned on me that it was only my imagination messing with my head as the water remained clear after several seconds. I held up my hands and got lost in its violent trembles and the sound of flowing water. I looked at my messed up self in the mirror and saw I was already tearing up without even knowing.
••••
Just as Elle was dashing in, Ashley staggered out of the bathroom and then she lurched towards her mom – the moment their eyes met – but got caught in her arms before she could fall, and was raised. While Elle caressed the back of her head, Ashley wrapped her hand tightly around her neck.
Then abruptly, Ashley withdrew herself and placed both hands on her mom's shoulders instead. "I… I… I saw him. He … he called my name. His eyes. His eyes were blue. I… saw him, mom. He…he was standing right there," she rambled on and on with her eyes already misted.
Peering through the well of emotions that shrouded Ashley's eyes didn't leave Elle out of the excruciating torture that filled the atmosphere. It was painful enough that Ashley had to live in agony; seeing her in this near-lunatic state broke her heart into a thousand pieces. But she couldn't add to her burden; she had to fight the urge to let the hot stream of tears lingering behind her eyeballs flow through.
"It's okay honey. He's gone now. And I'm here. To keep you safe. Relax." All Elle could offer were mollifying whispers accompanied by a sad smile, cupping her cheeks warmly.
"Please don't turn off the lights," Ashley pleaded shaking her head repeatedly while letting her tears flow effortlessly.
"I won't." Elle shook her head slowly, resisting the urge to panic.
Unable to hold it in anymore she pulled Ashley sharply into a snuggle while pressing her quaky lips hard in a thin line to suppress a teary outburst.