Forever Fighting | ✔️ | [previously Espionage: double-cross]

Chapter 67

The drive back to London? Awkward. Though the fear of losing her best friend and brother had now diminished drastically, the tension between the car's occupants was enough to make Ava cringe. And also attempt cutting it with her hand.

It didn't work.

Nor did her sarcastic comments or jokes, some of which had been stolen from Alex yet none proved useful in dissipating the animosity between the two boys, which in turn made Alex tense. For some reason, James didn't quite like Mark and she already knew that Alex didn't trust him - why? She wasn't quite sure of yet but that wouldn't stop her from finding out.

They had settled in the car without too much conversation. Alex had rushed to the passenger seat, next to Julie who already hand her hands on the wheel. Despite having driven for over six hours, Julie seemed content enough to carry on, especially now that Alex was in the seat next to her. Ava bore a small smile, loving that the girl who had no one had found a family. She just hoped that she still thought her and Ava close even after the admittedly horrible betrayal.

The two front seats taken meant James, Mark and herself were squished into the backseat. Ava had the luck to be sandwiched between the two of them, the vessel of their dislike. She though back to when they had just arrived, the most likely cause of Mark's thinly vailed annoyance.

6 hours it had taken. 6. 6 hours of Mark's insufferable mutterings, the constant 'are we there yet?'. It was like driving with a child. A cute, smart, sadly liking someone else child. As they neared the 'secret spot', Julie had put blindfolds over their heads, even though they were barely able to see anything in the quickly falling darkness. "Don't you think this is a bit OTT?"

Julie replied with an explanatory "No."

Ava lay her head against the window and closed her eyes, sealing her in an even deeper darkness. She felt herself drifting off when the movement of the car slowed and pulled to a stop, the engine turning off.

"Are we here?"

"Yes. You can take off the hoods now." Both her and Mark ripped off the hoods in eager anticipation, scrambling to open doors and see if they made it out of the assassination attempt she knew Potentia would have sent. They had stepped out of the car and Ava had relief fill her at the sound of familiar voices, just quiet whispers over the spray from the waterfall. She opened her mouth to scream their names when she was once again stopped by Julie. A pointed look was all it took to silence Ava as realisation dawned on her. Shouting could alert anyone nearby of their position - totally not worth it. So they were left in the awkward silence while waiting, hearing only snippets of conversations.

"I guess we helped each other then."

Then a whole load of mumbling, a light laugh and:

"I love it, thank you."

"No, thank you." Her brother had the worst annunciation and the rest of his speech was lost in translation. What she did hear after, though, made Mark tense yet her mouth couldn't help the smile that overtook it.

James was happy, finally happy and acting like the brother she had lost the day her parents died and she couldn't thank Alex enough for that.

What she wasn't happy about, however, was Alex ditching her and leaving her at the mercy of two grumpy teenage boys. 

They didn't say anything but now and again they would send each other looks that bordered on murderous. She was close to screaming when Alex finally put some music on. Ava breathed out a sigh of release at the interruption, then groaned when she realised what Alex had put on. The devil herself turned around in her seat and raised an eyebrow.