AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Emerson, I don’t pretend to know what your parents were like. I was close with them. Both of them,” she looks pointedly between the two of us, “are people with good intentions that don’t have the right way of going about it. They lie and they hurt people with their best intentions at heart. Trust me, I know.” I remember her crying on the bench in the memory. Unlike anyone else in the world, she would know what it would be like to be hurt by Albert Cunningham. I wonder what it would have been like for her, all those nights spent alone at Black Opps trying to start a company with hardly any help. No friends, no family, no one there to support her or help her.
“What do you want us to do?” Jasper asks, his voice steady. He draws his eyes away from Annabelle to look at me cautiously, as if asking my permission. I nod at him, and he gives me a small smile in anticipation.
“Well, right now, I want you two to just sit tight. Talk to your parents.” I scoff and she turns to me with a scowl. “I’m being serious. Don’t do it together, but see if you can get some information out of them. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with the ring, but just build their trust. Jasper, you’ll want your dad to think that you are completely on his side and follow his instructions. That’s the best way to get close to him. Emerson, you need to lay low, don’t give away anything, but don’t cause trouble.”
“What you’re asking might be a bit impossible,” Jasper looks at me, dead serious. “Trouble seems to follow wherever she goes.” He breaks into a smile, and I can’t help but laugh. He’s not lying. I do seem to have a thing for trouble.
“What I don’t understand though, is what is the point of this? What are you trying to accomplish?”
“Oh details, details,” she waves her hand nonchalantly in the air and starts walking towards the door, “Stop thinking about it so much. I’ve got this all figured out. I’ve had seventeen years to plan after all.” She sends me a small wink and I am left with the curiosity of what she is planning and how Jasper and I fit into all this. “Now you two better head back before Albert suspects you’re missing.”
I stand up, eager to get out of here. I need some time to actually think over everything that has just happened. I’m already halfway out the door when I hear Jasper say, “I’ll meet you at the car.” I turn around and notice that he is still sitting exactly where I left him. I shrug, turn back around, and head back in the direction of the garage.
Chapter 28 - Emerson Clarke
Iam leaning against the car when Jasper finally arrives. After seeing him when he entered the room before, I was sure that his face couldn’t appear any more ashen, but I am proven wrong the minute I see his face now. His skin could almost be considered transparent with how pale it’s looking. His eyes are dazed and unfocused, like he’s off in another dimension completely. If he was told the same stuff I was just told, his reaction is completely justifiable. “You alright?” I ask as he walks over to me.
“I’m better now.” He smiles his stupidly perfect smile and I hate myself for the feeling it gives me. I will not let myself be pushed around by feelings alone; that doesn’t get you anywhere. You need logic. Logic gets results. Feelings get your heart broken. And yet, he is now so close that I can feel him, energy sparking like lightning in a storm. Something about his force is so magnetic, it’s like I can tangibly feel the tension surrounding us. I hear Hayden’s words like a shield, ‘he’s going to hurt you.’ He told me. But we’re on the same side. Jasper and I are in this together; he isn’t going to hurt me.
Knowing we’ve been standing too close for too long, I cough awkwardly and move away from him to head in the passenger seat, but before I can open the door and get inside, Jasper pauses and grabs my arm gently. “How about you drive?”
I laugh. Surely, he must be joking. He does realise I’m from Beast Eye, where no one has cars, right? I’ve also been locked in a prison for a considerable amount of my life, and hardly ever BEEN in a car. I’m also pretty sure I’m not old enough to be driving one either. After expressing my concerns, he just laughs again, “there’s no one I’d rather trust driving me.”
“You clearly don’t know me very well then,” I reply, but I move over to the driver’s side and press the button that says, ‘start car’. Sure enough, the car doesn’t start. And I sit there looking like an idiot. Jasper gets into the passenger seat and looks at me looking at him hopelessly.
I press the button again, hoping that maybe it’ll work because there’s another person in the car. My logic is way off, but I wasn’t just going to sit there looking like an idiot. Once again, the car doesn’t start, and I’m sitting there while Jasper clearly tries to contain his laughter at my hopeless face. I glare at him, but that only makes him smile more.
He presses the button himself, and the car roars to life. I don’t know why I’m surprised; it makes sense that cars can only be turned on by someone who has the mark. “Thanks,” I murmur, hoping my cheeks aren’t too red with embarrassment.
“Alright,” he says, his eyes still dancing with humour, “the first rule of driving a car is to know your pedals. The one on the right is the gas, which is to go, and the one on the left is the brake, which is to stop.” I nod to show I understand. “Now driving, once you get the hang of it is simple enough. When you want to go, you’re going to press this button, and move this lever to the ‘d’.”
“‘d’ for disaster?” I ask, “because this is how it’s going to end.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a great instructor,” he laughs and straightens his fake bow tie, pretending to be way more sophisticated than he actually is.
“We’ll see how good you are when I actually drive.”
“Well, why don’t you give it a go?” He suggests.
“Like now?” I gulp. I thought this had been a joke. Up until this moment, I didn’t think that he would actually let me drive the car.
“Hey, I believe in you. Now you just have to believe in yourself, okay?” He holds my hand as I put it over the lever and move it to the ‘d’. I press the button and the car starts rolling forwards. I scream in surprise and slam my foot on the brake. Jasper and I both slam forwards.
“Disaster I tell you.” I gasp through staggered breaths.
“Don’t get excited too quickly. We still have the whole ride home.” I glare at him again, not believing he’s really making me do this, “Now slowly take your foot off the brake and move it to the gas.” I do as he says, and the car starts moving forwards. I’m so focused on getting the pedals right, that I forget I’m meant to be steering as well and Jasper has to quickly lean over and steer the car so that we don’t run into a wall. I brake again and try to compose myself.
“Well, this is going well, isn’t it?” I laugh, trying to sound a lot less stressed out than I really am.
“Hey, it’s going fine. We haven’t crashed-”
“Yet.” I interrupt. He smirks.
“They’ll be no ‘yet’ about it. Not under my watch anyway. Now what I want you to do is steer the wheel that way.” He folds his hands gently over mine, which have clamped to the wheel so tight, I’m sure they might be stuck there forever. He guides my hands, steering the car the way it’s supposed to go. “You got it?” I nod.
“Alright, when you feel comfortable, put on the gas a little bit.”
“But the wall?” I ask stupidly.
