The Five Dimensions Part 1: Shadow World

Chapter 17

There were a thousand things filling Hailey's mind as she stared blankly out the car window. It was dark, streetlamps flashed by. Hailey could see herself in the dark glass. She hadn't eaten anything since coming home, but at least she'd managed to find a dress to wear. She tried her best to not think about Nolan, or Taliyah, at all. But she couldn't shake the numb haze that had set over her.

Nevertheless, she tried thinking about her dad. After that one time at the beginning of the week, he hadn't acted strange again but the way he had looked at Hailey ― as if he was going to lose her ― was still engraved in her memory, even if she was still unsure it had truly meant what Hailey thought it did.

She also thought about Ash, and her suspicions. Something that she'd come to realize, but that she hadn't dared to mention at all during the week, was that the dark figure and he seemed to be connected somehow. She was sure about that much, even if she couldn't bring herself to ask him about it. Ash had seen the figure in the forest and Hailey couldn't shake the feeling that Ash had recognized it. With every passing day, this connection started nagging at her more. She was becoming sure that he would have to mention it to him at some point. Especially if they would continue to talk as often as they'd done this week.

There was tension in the car, and Hailey knew it was her fault. Ash had been nice enough when he had come to pick her up. But she was distracted and surly. Usually, Ash didn't mind her bad moods, seeing them as a challenge more than anything. This time, he'd stopped trying to get her to talk after the first few attempts. So, she had to be the one to say something now, otherwise it was going to be a very long night.

"Why were you late?" her voice was sharper than she had meant to be. She cursed at herself. Even when she was trying to be civil, the words came out as hostile. She tried to sound less mean when she added, "Did something happen?"

"Family issues," he answered tonelessly. She looked at him and knew he was telling the truth, but there was definitely more to the story. After a week of talking to him every day, casual as it might be, she was much more attuned to him. She could now as easily tell when he was lying just like with anyone else.

"Tell me what happened." Hailey didn't know anything about his family. All her attempts to get him to open up and give away something about himself, and she hadn't gotten even some small detail.

"Okay." His voice was stern, and a hard look passed on his face. "It's my older brother, my half-brother really. We had a... disagreement."

"You have a half-brother?" She tried to sound casual, afraid that he might not continue if she was too eager.

"And another brother and sister too," he said with a smile. He mentioned them with an ease that wasn't usually part of Ash; most of the time he was careful about his words, thinking them through before handing any information to Hailey.

"Tell me about them." Hailey couldn't help but smile to herself, it was the first time she felt Ash was being open with her. He looked at her quickly, taking his eyes off the road for a split second. She got a full wave from his dizzying sea of blue. She quickly blinked to hide her reaction.

"Well..." he started, doubt in his voice. Ash was probably deciding whether it was smart to go on or not. It had been like this all week. Any time Hailey asked him any questions about himself, he was extra mindful, and he usually changed the subject quickly. He seemed to decide it was fine this time. He smiled and went on, "Leo, my half-brother, is about double my age so I've never lived together with him, he's got a family of his own to worry about. Alex is just a year younger, he's really smart, which is sort of annoying. And Belle, she's four years younger. She is always running around, got too much energy." He smiled wider at the word running as if there was some sort of inside joke Hailey didn't know about.

Ash kept on talking about his siblings until they were almost at the dreaded destination. Hailey would've given anything to continue driving like this, talking openly, instead of having to go to the party. She had only been to the Smith's house once before, but she perfectly remembered where it was. That one time had been... memorable, to say the least.

Ash was telling so many stories about his siblings, that it started to feel like Hailey knew them herself. It seemed to make him very happy to talk about them, so she didn't interrupt. At the end of one story, he stopped and turned to Hailey while they waited for another car to pass in front of them.

"Tell me about your family," he inquired determinedly. He had clearly forgotten all about including Hailey in the conversation. She didn't mind at all; she loved listening to Ash's happy stories. There was not much happiness in Hailey's own family history.

"I don't have any stories to tell, it's always been just my dad and me." She stopped, studying Ash's face. He didn't look shocked or surprised, but he'd turned back to the road and might just be focusing on the road. "My mother died giving birth to me and I know nothing about any family that she had. My dad's family lives in England. I've seen my grandparents a couple times when I was very young, but I can't remember them. I've got some cousins there too, I think."

Ash didn't say anything. He was the first person she had ever met that didn't tell her how sorry he was. She was glad he didn't give her a pitiful look. Most people did, and it also made her feel like she was weak or something. But Ash didn't pity her. Her words had left a tension between them; telling people about your dead mom could do that.

Lost for anything to do Hailey snapped the sun visor open and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't usually spend a lot of time looking at herself, but she forced herself to focus on her features now. She looked at her blonde hair. Usually, it was a little bit wavy but tonight it hung limply next to her face. Her eyes weren't anything special, not like Ash's eyes; they were a plain, light brown. They were just like her dad's. She'd always thought her eyes were slightly too close together. And her mouth was a bit too large to even out with her nose. Despite her efforts, she still didn't like looking at her own face, so she snapped the sun visor shut again.