19. The Calm Before The Storm

"Don't assume the worst. Let me go check it out. I'm sure it's just some tourist who lost his way or something," Leah whispered. My palms began to sweat. "We have no idea if it really is an Agent. And if it is, they have no evidence that you are even here."

I groaned before objecting. "They will know my car. And they know you're my best friend, Lee."

"For all they know, you dropped your car off here and left without an explanation," she insisted.

My mouth turned dry. "What if they already found Greyson?"

"Stop panicking. We don't know anything yet." She placed a reassuring hand between my shoulder blades. "Let me go check it out. I'm sure that whoever is here, I can convince them to leave. I mean, this is private property after all, and no one is allowed to trespass. Let me go scare them off."

My nostrils flared. "If you're going over there, please be extremely vigilant."

"I'll do my best."

"And don't tell them any personal information about yourself, no matter who they claim to be," I called after her.

"Gotcha."

As I lowered to a crouched position, I watched my best friend marched towards her mother's cabin with a cautious attitude, the hem of her pink coat fluttering behind her. The sound of the fabric was muffled by the erratic pounding of my heart inside my ears. My pulse was so loud, it felt as if everyone within a mile could hear it.

The moment she reached the front porch, Leah flattened herself against the railing of the deck, and as if the grassy floor had turned to lava, she edged her way like a spy all the way to the other side of the house. When she disappeared from view, my nails found their way between my teeth.

Alone, at the edge of the forest, I prayed. I didn't quite know to whom, but I was willing to take any help I could get. A man who looked at the sky the way Greyson did, didn't deserve to go back to a life full of fluorescent lights and stone walls.

Please let this car belong to some rich tourist or something...

With both knees plunging into the mud, I waited a long time for something, anything, to happen. The wind picked up, and a few flakes of snow had begun to fall. I watched as snow pitter-patted around me, melting away into small little puddles the moment it hit the ground.

Suddenly, a person emerged from the back yard.

My gasp clogged my throat when a tall, golden haired, and athletically built male stepped around the corner with Leah hot on his tail.

Francis! I gasped. What the hell was he doing here?

He swaggered down the gravel pavement looking like a broad-shouldered cowboy, with a plaid shirt and form fitted jeans that defined the muscles on his strong legs. Rocks crunched under his boots as he leisurely walked to his car, with an air of confidence that only he could manage to pull off without looking like a total douchecanoe. Like many people in my life, Francis's confident came from the fact that he didn't care what others thought of him. He knew that people found him attractive, of course, but he never used that asset as an excuse to be a dick to anyone. He was a genuine sweetheart. A little brat at times, but all in all he was a good person.

Under any other circumstances I would be ecstatic to see him. Though, in that moment, his presence made my stomach turn.

With Leah egging him to leave, he slid inside his vehicle and closed the door, ignoring Leah as she berated him for coming here uninvited. I was surprised to learn that this luxury car was his, considering he lived on a farm. Perhaps it was just for show.

The car purred to life, and with a charming smiled, Francis waved his little sister goodbye with a curt military salute. He swerved his way back to the main road, and as if her anger didn't bother him at the least, he smiled brightly his entire way.

By the time Francis finally left my sight, my hair had become damp with slush. No longer able to see the black shine of the vehicle, I pushed myself from the tree and dusted my pants off as best I could.

"What the heck was that?" I demanded as I stalked towards the house, cheeks flushed and steps rushed. "You said he wouldn't come here."

"I can explain," Leah tried, walking towards me and looking exasperated. "He was just..."

Navigating around her, I breezed past, and gave her the cold shoulder.

This seemed to vex her. "Okay, that was uncalled for," she said as if I was being unreasonable. I was not being unreasonable. "I can see that your mad. But Ashlyn, you need to listen to me for a second. There is a very simple explanation."

"This house has so many windows, Lee. It wouldn't be hard to catch even the smallest glimpse of Greyson," I said, alarm shooting through me as I darted inside the house. "And the door was left opened! He could have walked in, at any point."

Leah followed me inside with a groan. "Dude, it's okay! I really don't think Francis saw anything."

On a mission, I climbed the first few steps in front of the entryway and called for him. "Greyson!"

"I'm sure he's fine," she said, exasperated by my attitude. "Calm down."

"You're sure about a lot of things, aren't you?" I mocked, shooting her a look and narrowing my eyes. "Like you were 'sure' that your brother wasn't going to come here."

"What's going on?" Greyson asked from the top of the stairs. "Is everything okay?"

My eyes settled on two tourmaline glass eyes. Thank god, he's safe and sound.

There he was, standing by the top of the stairs, ruffling his hair with a towel, his shirt and pants clinging lightly to his damp skin. His eyes - obscured by his heavy brows - were holding onto my deer-in-the-headlights stare.

"Is that man gone yet?" Greyson asked. "I went into the shower to hide. You humans are so insistent on avoided that room when someone else is using it. So, I found it very useful."

He didn't even seem bothered. Was I the only one freaking out about this whole situation?

"Smart," Leah said with a girlish grin. She tapped me on the shoulder. "See? I told you Greyson was fine."

My face hardened.

Leah's face fell. "Look, Francis was dropping off my mom's manuscript," She blurted out. "That's all."

Stepping down the last steps, I faced her with a grave expression. "This isn't some trivial little incident, Leah! I'm a wanted criminal here. If anyone finds me, or Greyson, it would jeopardize everything we've worked towards, and our safety."

"I know. I'm not dumb. I understand the gravity of the situation."

"Do you?"

Her throat works. By force of will, she managed to compose herself long enough to push on: "Francis was here to drop off my mother's manuscript," she reiterated. "She lent him her newest draft so that he could read it and give her his opinion. He didn't want to drive all the way from Spokane, so he came here to ask me to bring it back to her." She crossed her arms and her throat bobbed. "That's all."

I stared at her, as she worked to hold back her tears. It took me a few minutes to realised I was being unreasonable with her. I was letting my fears get the better of me, and making me jump to conclusions.

I exhaled a large breath. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Leah." I unfolded my arms and ducked my head. Ultimately, it wasn't her fault that Francis had surprised us with a visit. He had done so, of his own volition. And he had a sensible reason to do so. "I've not been feeling much like myself lately, to be honest. I've been very stressed and I don't know how to deal with it. But that's no excuse for shouting at you. I shouldn't be taking out my frustration out on you, Leah. It's not fair to you, and I'm sorry."

She unfolded her arms and inhaled softly. "It's okay, I forgive you."

As an extra precaution, I stepped away from the stairs and went to lock the dead bolts on the front door. The snow was falling fast and had begun to cover the top to the yellowed grass with a soft white layer.

"At least now Francis is gone and we don't have to worry about him anymore," I concluded.

When I turned back, Leah was biting her bottom lip pretty hard as she were withholding vital information.

"Leah? We don't have to worry about him anymore. Right?"

From my periphery, I could see Greyson waiting patiently on top of the stairs for her answer.

She shrunk, lifting her shoulders passed her ears and grimacing as if she could tell I was about to fume. "So...Francis noticed your car."

My eyes bulged and my mouth opened. "What?"

"And he thought it was you in the shower."

My shoulders sagged. "No."

"Yeah..." Leah glanced at Greyson and then winced at me. "He knows you're staying here. And I couldn't convince him otherwise."

I absorbed her words. "Damn it!" My hand racked through my hair. "Damn it, Leah!"

"I know."

I turned my sight to the front door and pondered my next course of action. I ran a hand across my mouth and exhaled sharply through my nose. How was I going to deal with this?

Leah broke the torturous silence: "Um, how's about I go make us a nice cup of chamomile tea?" She tentatively asked. "According to my mother, it's the best remedy for calming the nerves."

Trying to regain my composure, I closed my eyes, and kept my thoughts to myself.

She cleared her throat. "Greyson? Do you want some?"

"I would love some," he said, discomfort apparent in his tone. "Thank you."

"Okay. I'll be back," Leah said, and I hear her linger a moment before retreating to the kitchen.

I felt sick.

"Ashlyn..." Greyson voice trails off into the distance.

My gaze darted to him. "I'm fine."

He angled his head. With his habitual agonised expression, he looked almost angelic up there, even with a damp towel around his neck. His hair - slightly dripping across his shoulders - looked almost blue under the hallway light. Combined with his argent skin and glittering woeful eyes, watching him was like looking up at the moon during the day; He was stunning.

My stomach clenched when he descended the stairway, making his way to me. It took a lot of courage out of me to stay in place and allow him to reach me. Cautiously, he took my head between both his hands while I fought to remain calm.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his breath fanning across my cheeks. "Truthfully?"

I felt stunned.

It was only when I heard Leah shuffling through pans in the distance, that I found my way back to myself. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine."

He looked deep into my eyes, searching for the real answer. "I once hear fine isn't ideal." He quoted something I once said to him, back when we could only hear each other's through walkie talkies. At least then there was a wall to keep him from seeing my cheeks turn a different shade of red.

Shaking my head, I moved his hands away from my burning cheeks. "Don't worry about me, Greyson," I said, and trying to lighten the mood I added: "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

I took a step back, but he remained where he stood. Facing me, and looking at me with an air of pure concern. "I'll always worry about you," he admitted, a little frown pinching his brows. "Like I've said before, I've made it my mission to keep you safe. I owe you that much."

Because he thinks he owes me, I reminded myself. Not because he wants to.

I scoffed and shook my head. "You don't owe me anything, Greyson." I edged my way around him and up the stairs. "Go have your tea. I'm going to have a shower. I'm covered in mud, and I'm itching to change out of these clothes."

At no time did I hear him step away.

A few steps later, I forced myself to keep my vision straight on, and promised myself not to look back. I was afraid I might show too much, and that he would be able to see just how broken I truly was.

This new turn of events had put a damper in our plan. Francis, would insist on coming back to the cabin, now that he knew I was here. I knew him far too well, he would definitely be back. No doubt about it. And I wasn't sure I was going to be able to convince him to stay away from me. After all, he did harbour a massive crush on me when we were younger, and I don't think it ever really went away...

He definitely will be back.