The Five Dimensions Part 1: Shadow World

Chapter 32: Ash

It took Hailey only minutes to finish the rest of the donut and the water. Ash kept close watch, but the girl was more careful and finished eating without hurting herself again.

"So," she began, looking at the bed. It was in no state to be used at that moment. Hailey also looked disgusted at the thought of sleeping in her own dried-up blood, Ash didn't blame her. Nonetheless she was tired, her eyelids already dropping, despite the night almost being over and the energy the sugary donut should have given her. "Where am I sleeping?"

"I am not sharing my bed with you. No offense but it is a single bed," Nix replied quickly, stepping back just to make it clear she wasn't going to help. Ash noticed that Hailey avoided his gaze and he suspected it had something to do with what had happened before dinner.

"I can sleep on the couch..." she began to say but Ash shook his head disapprovingly.

"No way, not with those injuries. Besides, Ben is occupying the couch. I've got a double bed, we can easily share it," he said without leaving room for any discussion. Nix nodded and left.

Ash had shared beds with every member of the Team once, they didn't have any choice during certain missions – they were lucky to have beds at all – but this was different. Even though Nix hadn't said anything about it and wouldn't say anything later, she didn't approve of it. Ash knew what her reasons were, and he knew they were solid but leaving Hailey out of his sight didn't seem like an option to him either. Even if they had any clean sheets left.

Ash told Hailey to sit on one of the chairs in the room so he could put on bandages. He did this as carefully as possible, so that there was only the slightest chance he could hurt her. Luckily, he had bandaged enough people to be able to do it quickly too. When he was finished, he stood up again and pulled her up with him, gently.

Ash told Hailey to follow him. He walked to his own bedroom door which was one of the first in the hallway and opened it for her. She went inside and studied the room, while he studied her face.

It was similar to hers, but it was bigger and there was a desk that she didn't have. It was covered with papers, files, pictures and notes. All related to Hailey.

Ash saw her looking away. He walked to the desk immediately and shoved everything on a pile and then into a drawer, so that Hailey wouldn't have to look at it if she didn't want to. He could understand that it was weird for her to find out what he already knew about her. Except that knowing her on paper and in person were two completely different things. He could know the names of all the teachers she'd ever had, but he wouldn't know her. And she was so fascinating. No one ever managed to surprise him as much as she did. There was so much to find out about her, and that possibility kept pulling Ash in even if he knew he should keep his distance.

"Pick your side. I'll be right back," Ash said, and he went to his bathroom. He kept Hailey in sight until the door closed.

Ash was afraid that Hailey might try and run again but there was something in her eyes that told him she didn't want to. There was something else in her eyes, though. It was as if she was scared. He didn't understand where the fear was coming from. Did she fear herself? Was she just scared of being left alone? Or was it him?

Either way, he didn't want to leave her waiting for too long, so he changed quickly. He was wearing his pajamas before, but they were now covered in blood. He threw them away, not bothering to clean them because they were human clothing and weren't coming back home tomorrow anyways. Ash put on sweatpants and a simple shirt instead. It was similar to what Hailey was wearing.

He didn't hear her make any sounds. He wasn't sure she had moved at all, but he sharpened his hearing and clearly heard her rumbling around in the sheets. She was finding a comfortable spot in the bed. After a moment she relaxed again.

Ash was always good at turning his heightened senses on and off. He saw Alex, his little brother, struggle with it many times. When he tried to listen more closely, he could only hear his own breathing and when he meant to concentrate on his own work, he was bothered with other people's conversations coming from three rooms away.

Of course, Ash himself had more of an urgency to learn seeing small things from afar. He always pushed himself more than necessary but that was what made him so good. He wasn't truly talented at all as people kept telling him, he was just a hard worker.

When he just finished his senior years ― another word for ending years ― and started his internship at Team Beta to fill his practical years, the members were critical. They believed Ash's good grades were luck and suspected that he got the internship only because Leo was his older brother.

This was in fact completely untrue. The Soul Order assigned Ash to Team Beta and Leo was uncooperative if anything. Only when they went on their first mission together and when Ash was able to show his actual skills did the other members accept his abilities. Soon after that they made him officially part of the Team even though that wasn't normal procedure. And now, at nineteen, he was the second highest ranked Team member in the second highest ranked Team of the Soul Order, a year before anyone was normally permanently assigned to any Team.

Ash went back inside his room and found that Hailey snuggled up on the left side of the bed. That was where he usually slept but he didn't mind giving up his spot for one night. He saw her look at him but neither of them said anything. He went to lie next to her quietly. She was lying on her side and her back was to Ash. He could sense her tension.

Gently he put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a little push so that she came to lie on her back. Her eyes were shut firmly; it gave Ash the sense she wanted to hide something.

"You're shivering. Are you cold?" he asked softly. But Hailey didn't answer. He wasn't sure what to do now. She was shutting him out and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. "Hailey, please. You can talk to me, whatever it is."

"I'm just," she began, her voice trembling and her eyes still shut. She thought about her next words, but finally decided to say, "very cold."

Even though Ash knew there was more, he didn't ask. He pulled her close and she rolled herself up against him. He hoped his body heat would warm her up a bit.

"Do you want to tell me what the nightmare was about?" he asked. Immediately she shook her head.

"I want to forget it," she said in a small voice, shivering again. Ash muttered that he understood but he wasn't sure she heard him because she continued talking. "Isn't it some sort of scandal?" she asked, her purpose clearly being to change the subject.

"What?" he asked. Before she answered she put her ear on his chest and her breathing began to ease, mimicking the rhythm of his steady heartbeat. He noticed that he had to calm his own breathing slightly too. Again, she was making him nervous.

"You, seeing me half-naked," Hailey explained, no shame in her voice, just curiosity. Ash felt relieved. She wasn't awkward about it after all. He chuckled, making both of their bodies shake.

"Not really if you're wounded. I've seen almost the whole Team naked once and I've only been here for a couple of years," he answered. The tiniest smile appeared on Hailey's face; it almost went unnoticed by him.

"So, me sharing a bed with you now isn't scandalous either?" Her eyes were already closing but she fought to keep them open.

"Oh, yes, it is, very much. But Nix isn't one to tell and the others will think I slept on the floor." He grinned but he knew Hailey hadn't seen it, her eyelids were too heavy for her to keep open.

"Why aren't you sleeping on the floor?" she managed to ask but her voice was very soft now. He was taken aback by the question at first but then the answer came to him as if it had always been obvious.

"I don't want to leave you," he said. He had meant to finish the sentence with the word alone but apparently his mouth was determined to reveal more of the truth than he knew he should. He doubted she heard him though because her eyes closed completely now. But then her mouth twitched as if to form a smile. She fell asleep with that half-formed smile. Ash looked at it, feeling her chest moving rhythmically up and down against his. Soon his own eyes became heavy, and he dropped into an especially pleasant sleep.