Asleep *FINISHED!/COMPLETE*

*CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

After about 10 more minutes of driving, we arrived at what I assumed was his house.

“Who are you?” I asked out of awe and curiosity as I gaped at the mansion that extended before me.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He winked and gave me that same broad smile, like this was a game we were playing and he had just scored another point.

To say the house was massive would be an understatement. The houses that lined the street on the way in were fancy, and I expected him to live nicely given the car he drove, but this mansion made the others seem like humble cottages. A tall, stone wall lined the entire property, with an iron gate set in the center of the driveway, allowing for only one way in and one way out. This detail might have made me nervous if I hadn’t been so distracted by the grandeur laid out before me. I peered out the window, mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the entire premises, right down to the perfectly cut, bright green grass.

As we pulled in, I could see two additional stories peaking over the brim of the black roof that faced us. We drove across the smooth concrete and Jase parked in front of a three car garage that sat to the left of the house. When his door shut, it jolted me out of my gawking, and I scrambled to undo my seatbelt and grab my bag. Before I could gather myself, my door opened. I looked up at him, confused for a moment by the action, then rolled my eyes, making my annoyance clear.

“I know how to open a car door, thanks,” I said, probably too harshly, but his smile never faltered. There was a part of me that appreciated the gesture, but I’d never let him know that.

“I assumed you did, but this is the south sweetheart, and some of us still know what it means to be a gentleman.” Something about the way he called me sweetheart made my stomach flutter. Normally I would have gagged if someone called me anything like that, but when Jase said it, I fought a smile. He held up his hand to help me out of the car, but I ignored it and stepped around him. Keep that distance, Ellie. I reminded myself I would only be there for a few hours to get a hot shower and use their computer. Then I would leave to find Callen.

As we approached the steps to the front entrance, I did my best not to gape at the large, beautiful porch. Its length matched the expanse of the front of the house, and it was lined with large, white pillars that donned intricate engravings of vines and swords. Each sword had been etched in great detail, with the cross shape that made the handle even more distinct, made to stand out against the background. Stone benches were placed strategically between each pillar, and I wondered briefly if he had the type of family that ever used them. Did his family spend warm summer nights on those benches, enjoying each other’s company, or were they simply there for decoration, sadly and slowly wearing away with the passing of time and weather?

We approached two massive doors in the center of the porch, which was how I knew I was so far out of my league. As if the mansion wasn’t already overwhelming enough, normal people only have one front door. Any more than that, and you were in a different class entirely. They towered over me, their dark, natural wood stood in contrast with the white washed stone that covered the exterior of the house. The frame encompassing the door had the word “Cross” engraved into the center right above where the doors met. Also carved smoothly into the large frame were the words “Patronus, Custos, Vigil, Firmitas, Dignitas, Fidelitas”. I eyed the words curiously, wondering what they meant, doing my best to memorize them before Jase led me into the house and I had to tear my eyes away.

I recognized them as being Latin from a book I had once read on the dead language. When you’re locked up, you find that you have a lot of time on your hands. I chose to spend that time reading every book I could ever get my hands on. It was my only chance to gain any knowledge of the faraway places in the world that I would probably never see. I quietly hoped the information I had learned over the years would serve me well now that I had made it to the outside world.

Jase pushed one of the doors open and I followed him inside, my stomach suddenly twisting with nerves. Maybe this was a bad idea. I considered turning around and walking right back out the large doors, but then I smelled something wonderful draft through the house and capture my senses. The cause of the wonderful aroma reminded me of how long it had been since I had eaten, and the nervous feeling in my stomach was quickly replaced with an overwhelming hunger. I had missed several meals in my life, and you eventually get used to the hunger pains, but the smell of food was always what made it unbearable. Ok, Ellie. Food, shower, information. Then you’re gone. I silently reminded myself again not to get too comfortable.

We walked through a large entry way into an even larger living room space with the back wall that faced us made entirely out of glass, providing a pristine view of a courtyard. The courtyard contained more stone benches along with some trees, a walkway to one side, and a large, rectangular pool on the other. The house expanded on both sides, wrapping around the courtyard, with its two upper stories stacked on top of the back half of the house. The area we were in was only one story, and the ceilings were vaulted, donning three beautiful chandeliers along the dark oak beam that ran through the center. I had never seen a house so beautiful in my life, not even in the few movies I had seen.

The left side of the room had a wall made of black and white brick that was stacked to the ceiling. A fireplace was built into the center of the wall, and a large, winged back chair sat in front of it. The chair was white with black trim, and it was turned partially toward the glass wall. I barely noticed a man’s arm leaning on one of the armrests.

“Father,” Jase addressed him. “I have someone I would like for you to meet.”

The man folded up his paper, set it aside, and stood up to face us. He was handsome, just like his son, with dark brown hair that almost appeared black, even with the sunlight shining in through the opening in the courtyard. His eyes were darker than Jase’s though, and the severe look he gave him when he saw me made me stand up straighter to keep myself from trembling.

“Jase, you know our rules on bringing unexpected guests to the house.” He shook his head and stepped towards us, his arms crossed behind his back. He smiled slightly toward me, then turned to look at Jase again, giving him a hard glare that made me want to turn and run for the door.

I decided that’s exactly what I should do. This was a huge mistake. “I’m sorry to have intruded. I’ll be going now. It was nice to… meet you?” I said it as a question more so than a statement and turned to leave. Jase grabbed my hand, pulling me back to face him. He was making an annoying habit out of stopping me from leaving uncomfortable situations.

“Wait.” His eyes met mine and he gave a small, apologetic smile. He turned toward me fully, and there was that same desperation in his eyes that he had shown earlier when I had gotten out of his car. “Please, give me one minute.”

I nodded, but said nothing, deciding to give him the minute he had asked for, but not a second more. He turned back to face his father, and I started to count backwards from 60 inside my head. I needed a distraction, but I continued to watch his interaction with his father closely. Maybe I had gotten the whole thing backwards. He wasn’t the serial killer son of a cop, he was the son of a serial killer. Great. Good job, Ellie. Don’t even make them chase you, just walk right into their massive house where they obviously have plenty of places to hide your body and no one will ever hear you scream.

I started to inch my way towards the door when I saw Jase and his father exchange a look. I stopped, noticing a change in the atmosphere. I couldn’t hear any words that had passed between them, but suddenly there was a look of surprise that crossed his father’s face. He turned his gaze towards me, raising a questioning eyebrow. The previous feelings of annoyance his father had been projecting quickly dissipated and he looked at me with concern and something else. Surprise? Doubt maybe? His eyes softened, and I could see kindness in them, just as I had seen in Jase’s.

“Forgive me,” he said as he turned and strode toward me, closing the small distance between us with Jase close behind. His voice sounded sincere as he tensely rubbed the back of his neck.

“For what?” I said awkwardly, confused by his sudden change in demeanor.

He smiled wanly at me. “For being so unwelcoming. It’s been a long day and the stress of work must be getting to me.” His smile faltered for a moment and he looked down with a grimace before meeting my eyes again. “I wasn’t expecting guests, but you are welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like.” He held his hand in a very formal way as he introduced himself. “I’m Thomas Cross, Jase’s dad.”

I shook his hand, and nodded politely, but was hesitant to give him my name in return. I was hoping he wouldn’t notice but then he said, “And you are?” He glanced slightly at his son, as if he might be more forthcoming with an answer.

“Ellie,” I finally said, and hastily added “Sir,” to avoid seeming disrespectful. He was initially cold and intimidating, but now he was making an effort to be polite and was offering me a place to stay, no questions asked, so the last thing I wanted to do was make a bad first impression and make him change his mind.

“Pleased to meet you, Ellie. I have some work I need to attend to, but Annetta has just whipped up something for lunch if you’re hungry. I expect Jase to show you around, and you be sure to let me or any of the staff know should you need anything.” He seemed sincere in his offerings, and his generosity dumbfounded me. What was with this family and their willingness to help a complete stranger?

He nodded and gave me a small smile before turning to Jase.

“Can I speak with you for a minute son?” His words were calm, but I could feel the emotions behind them. Something was weighing on him. I could feel the weight like it was a physical thing, similar to being at the bottom of a swimming pool and feeling the pressure of the water press down on your skull. The intensity of it threatened to knock the breath out of me. I put a hand to my chest unconsciously in an attempt to ease the ache I felt as David and Jase stepped to the other side of the room to have what was apparently to be a private conversation.

“Dad, what’s going on?” I could barely make out Jase’s words from across the room, but my hearing had always been great and you picked up a thing or two about gathering information from hushed conversations when so many things in your life had been kept secret from you.

“There was an explosion in Dallas last night. A homeless shelter.”

“What? When? Where is Kai? Is he ok? Did anyone get hurt?” Jase’s voice grew louder with each word that spilled out of him, his worry rolling off of him in thick waves.

“Shh, shh, son. It’s ok. We don’t want to worry your new… friend.” He said the last word as if he wasn’t sure what to call me. He passed a glance my way and I tried to make myself look very interested in the texture of the walls and ceiling. “Kai’s ok. He went to get Mave.” He turned his attention back to his son.

“Mave? Why was Mave there? Is she ok?” Jase had lowered his voice again somewhat, but I could still make out the words.

“Mave is fine. Mostly. The Boss said Kai needed to go get her. She was recruiting at the homeless shelter and left only minutes before the explosion. We are still trying to piece together what happened, but we’re pretty sure we know who did this. We’re just not sure why yet.”

Jase rocked back on his heels, sucking in a breath and stuffing his hands in his pockets as if trying to process the new information. “Wow,” he said as he then rubbed a hand through his thick brown hair. “This is nuts… I’m so glad Mave and Kai are ok though. What do we do now?”

“I’m waiting on the Boss to get back with me on an assignment. He is not happy about this, but you know how he plans things out meticulously. He’ll send us where he wants us whenever he’s ready.”

“Ya I know how he tends to take his time, but this seems pretty pressing… Well let me know what I can do. And let me know when Kai and Mave get here.”

“They’re here already. She looked awful, Jase, you should have seen her. Totally covered in soot and scraped up. It could have been a very different ending for her had she waited even just a minute longer. She went and cleaned up as soon as they got here and now they’re both sleeping after the night they had. I’ll tell Kai to come find you when he wakes up. He’ll want to meet her.”

By this point I had successfully outlined and counted 22 places on the textured walls where you could make out different shapes and imagine pictures, like you might do with the clouds, when I caught the tail end of that last sentence. I couldn’t help the whiplash I got from snapping my head sideways. Were they talking about me? And if so, who was Kai and why the heck would he want to meet me?

I started getting a little antsy again, and was contemplating my choices concerning Jase for the 187th time when the ache of hunger returned to my stomach with a vengeance. A grumble started deep within me and resounded loudly through the open great room. My eyes went wide in embarrassment and my hands instinctively went to cover my stomach, trying to stifle the sound of betrayal.

Jase said a quick goodbye to his dad and chuckled lightly as he made his way back over to me. “Hungry are we?” He said with that bright smile fixed in place again. You’d never know he just got some crazy news about some homeless shelter apparently getting bombed. What on earth did they mean when they said they had an idea who could have done something so horrible? Who are these people? The question continued to burn in my mind, but for some unexplainable reason I felt more curiosity than worry as to the answer.

“Maybe a little. But I’m fine. I don’t have to eat. I could go all day, I’m used to it.” The words were out before my brain even realized it.

A scowl now took over his sharp features and he grabbed my hand. “Come on. Let’s get you something to eat.” Great. Now he’s got another piece of information and another reason to pity me. I had to stop being so honest so easily with this kid.

The desire for a decent meal won out though and I followed him almost too eagerly, thinking with my stomach instead of my head. We made our way down the right wing of the house and into a large kitchen, complete with all stainless steel appliances, and a large, black marble-topped island in the center. A busty woman leaned over the stove, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt with an apron tied around her waist.

“Hey Annetta,” Jase said, grabbing a hot roll off the pan that had been set to the side to cool.

“Jase Cross!” She glared at him and raised her spatula threateningly. “You know better than to grab food off my counter tops. Now wash your hands and sit down and I’ll make you a proper plate, you rotten child.” She chastised him, but there was a hint of playfulness in her voice. It was clear she knew Jase well and had a level of comfort with him that went beyond simply being “the help”.

When she turned to see to it that he was washing his hands, she noticed me for the first time. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and I could tell I had startled her. She hadn’t been expecting Jase to be with anyone, and for some reason that thought made me happy. Maybe it meant he didn’t bring strangers home regularly. I had begun to think that maybe he was like one of those do-gooders that constantly picked up stray animals, but with barefoot homeless girls instead.

“Forgive me deary, I didn’t see you standing there.” She wiped her hands instinctively on her apron and smiled at me. “Please, sit down. I’ll make you a plate along with Jase’s. Anything you don’t like dear? Any allergies I need to know about?” She gestured to one of the bar stools placed at the island.

“No ma’am,” I replied. “I’ll eat anything I can get my hands on.” I realized immediately how desperate that sounded, and I didn’t like the flash of pity I felt from Jase as my cheeks heated with embarrassment. I quickly tried to recover. “I just mean I’m not picky. I will eat whatever you’ve prepared. It smells amazing by the way.”

I lifted my chin, trying to peer over the top of the pot to see what she was cooking. The food was so close, and I tried to think of how long it had been since I’d last eaten. Stone was fond of withholding meals from me when she didn’t like my attitude, which was often. It had been at least 24 hours, and I had to restrain myself from stealing a roll as Jase had.

Another minute later, Annetta turned around and set two plates in front of us. It was a chicken spaghetti dish, with some sort of creamy sauce in the mixture. I tried not to grab my fork too quickly and I took a bite. It tasted even better than it had smelled, and I couldn’t help myself as I greedily dug in, unable to contain the hunger any longer. I ate the entire plate in what felt like seconds, and when I looked up, I saw Jase and Annetta staring at me, wide eyed. Thankfully, neither of them said anything, and Annetta got me another plate without me asking. I thanked her politely and ate much more slowly this time.

“When we’re finished, I’ll show you the guest wing,” Jase said.

They had an entire wing of the house just for guests? Why was I not surprised? “Ok, thank you,” I replied, then realized the most important reason for my being there. “And you can show me where the computer is? I really need to use it. Please.” I tried not to sound too desperate, but it was hard to keep it from my voice.

“Sure. Not a problem,” Jase said. “Don’t you want to see the rest of the house too, though? I’ll give you the grand tour.” He smiled at me, almost cockily, and I wondered how many girls he had given the ‘grand tour’ to before me.

“No thank you,” I replied too hastily. He eyed me skeptically, and I realized maybe that wasn’t a normal response. Here I was, an obviously starved wreck in this gigantic, gorgeous house, and all I could think about was a computer with internet access. I didn’t want him to think I was being rude and decide to kick me out, so I decided to go along with it, hoping it wouldn’t take too long.

“I mean… sure. That would be great,” I conceded, and once again he acted as if he had won another point in our imaginary game and I instantly regretted agreeing. I silently reminded myself that this was not a game, and even if they offered for me to stay longer, I was leaving tonight.