━━━ ꧁ད ✶ ཌ꧂ ━━━

CHAPTER 14

━━━ ꧁ད ✶ ཌ꧂ ━━━

"Why are you behaving this way?" I had never seen him so reluctant, and I worried that this might be his true nature.

"I'll be honest with you. There's a limit to everything I can do, and he's beyond it. I refuse to witness the day of his death and carry that burden."

I pressed my lips together. I hadn't considered his perspective. He witnessed his companions turning into shadows and carried that weight for many years. It couldn't have been easy, hence his desperation to keep away someone who, in the end, would only cause him worry. At some point, he even told me that he regretted involving me because of greater forces.

"And you're sure Thomas will be okay this way?"

"It's better if he leaves before they decide to return," he clarified.

I doubted that Thomas would disappear so easily. Ashton had no idea how persistent he could be. He didn't stop trying to force the lock, and he was pounding the door harder each time.

I made the decision not to listen to Ashton's suggestions, and the truth was this: even though he had saved me, I couldn't trust him. He didn't seem sure about many things, not even how the medallion worked. He said we were in this together, but he left me behind to go back to the station when my family was involved. Moreover, he seemed to know the man who came out of the container and didn't want to give me any explanation.

I had enough reasons to be suspicious of Ashton and start to doubt him. He was hiding too many things.

I approached the door.

"Please don't open it," he pleaded, this time with a softer tone.

Was there a possibility that I was being a bad friend by involving Thomas? He wasn't useless; he might even contribute with brilliant ideas, and he was fascinated with everything related to the circus, not me. I didn't want to make him face the consequences or put him in danger, but he could be of help. Besides, could I be sure that the puppets wouldn't decide to go after him and use him as bait?

"It's not that simple. Thomas has been my best friend since we were kids. Isn't that reason enough to have him by my side?"

"I don't think he..." Doubt was evident in his voice and his unfinished sentence.

"What were you going to say? Come on, what was your point?"

"The people you trust the most are the ones who hurt you the most in the end."

"I understand that I can't trust just anyone. And don't worry about having to protect him; it's my responsibility, and he's my best friend, not yours. I won't allow myself to lose him too." Uttering those words hurt, as they led me to consider the possibility that my family might not be there anymore. But what compelled me to unlock the door was the lack of knowledge about how to get them out of that fair.

I barely knew what little Ashton had revealed to me, only what he wanted me to know. I couldn't give my trust to a stranger who, no matter how attractive he looked in his physical form, could appear and disappear at will.

"For a moment, I thought you'd leave me out here." Thomas breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely.

"It's okay; I know I was stupid. I shouldn't have given you that thing."

"I agree with everything you just said, especially the part where you belittle yourself."

I heard his nervous laugh behind me as I secured the door again, even though it didn't serve much purpose with a big hole in the window.

"So, everything about the medallion turned out to be true?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"Not entirely."

"You have to tell me everything," Thomas said, and I wished Ashton would do the same with me.

I needed it.

After securing every entrance at home and changing into my pajamas, Thomas took care of barricading my bedroom door with the small dresser. I knew Ashton could lend us a hand, but something assured me he wasn't in the mood to do so. I wasn't going to ask him, either.

After lighting a couple of candles and placing them away from Ashton, as well as anything else flammable, I dragged a chair over, climbed on it, and opened the top door of the closet to reach the sleeping bag. Thomas would sleep on the floor.

"Nice!" He whistled in admiration, and as I realized his face was close to my rear, I dropped the sleeping bag on his head as I got off the chair.

"What's nice, fish brain?"

"I meant the jacket," he pointed to Ashton's frock coat, "or did you think I was admiring the board you've got for a butt?"

I kicked his leg, but he dodged it with a jump.

"Ah-ha!" He exclaimed victoriously. "I managed to avoid you this time."

I raised an eyebrow and stepped on his foot with force.

"Try jumping now, idiot," I muttered, and seeing him limping, or the sum of everything that happened, I burst into laughter.

Then, due to the immediate shiver that climbed up my legs and ran through me, I turned to face the darker side of my room.

Ashton stood in the corner. I knew he was watching us. I could feel his gaze hidden under the deep shadow of his hat. He managed to make me uncomfortable. There was a kind of soothing energy emanating from him. And between his fingers, the cane slowly spun, making me think that someone would be thrown out the second-floor window at any moment.

He still looked angry, or so I imagined. The darkness used to hide his expression quite well.

It was probably his annoyance at my decision, or maybe he didn't like Thomas. I couldn't tell. I barely knew anything about him. He was a complete enigma.

Feeling rusty, I approached the bed. I grabbed a pillow and threw it at Thomas. He rejected it with his neck, so he turned to glare at me.

"What's 'nice,' brainless?"

"I was referring to the jacket," he said, pointing at Ashton's frock coat. "Not only did I just find a possible boyfriend's clothes, but they seem to have good taste too. Although to be honest, I would have enjoyed it more if they were adult magazines," he dropped the pillow on the sleeping bag and lay down on it, looking at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head.

I could have hit him again, but I was still surprised that he could see the garment. It might be the same reason why it hadn't disappeared either.

"Aren't you going to ask anything?" I inquired.

"Uh?"

"About whom it belongs to."

"The jacket? Ashton, perhaps?" he mocked.

A snort came from Ashton's corner, sending chills down my spine.

"Zara, that was a joke."

"I know."

"Then why haven't you laughed or hit me yet?" Thomas propped himself up on his elbows and looked at me. But I tried not to make eye contact.

"Because I'm not joking with you."

"So it's true." His breath seemed to hitch as he glanced around the room, but despite his efforts, he didn't see Ashton.

"Can you see him?" He persisted, and his anxiety became more evident.

"I'll tell you something..." I leaned forward, gesturing for him to come closer, then whispered, "I think he doesn't like you."

After seeing him swallow hard, I crawled onto the mattress and hid under the covers.

"Zara," Thomas called me in a whisper. "Zara!" He then hit the bed. "How am I supposed to sleep with the crazy idea that he's watching me?"

"By closing your eyes. That's how you fall asleep, in case you didn't know that." I took off the necklace and placed the medallion beside one of the pillows.

"Are you insane?" A brief silence. "Can I have some space next to you?"

"If you touch the bed, I swear I'll be the one throwing you out the window this time," I warned.

Thomas jumped back, his face contorting.

"Just sleep; nothing will happen," I added, hoping to believe my own words.

The next morning, upon waking up, I found Thomas looking exhausted. He sat in a corner, next to a candle that remained lit despite the rays of light filtering through the windows.

I smiled, and he looked at me.

"What's up, long face?" I greeted him with a yawn.

"I don't know if it's normal for you to wake up in the middle of the night and see the closet door suddenly open by itself." He shuddered. "The medallion was glowing too, and something crawled out of it. For a second, I thought you were causing it, but then I heard you mumbling nonsense... You do that while you sleep, you know?"

I wrinkled my nose, remembering that the medallion lit up every time Ashton lifted his cane as if that was what allowed him to move things.

I found the metallic object in the last place I left it last night: on the pillow.

Although he didn't know it, Thomas helped me discover the secret of Ashton's otherworldly power. It was all thanks to the medallion.

On another note, why did Ashton open the closet door? And what could have crawled out of it?

"This is freaky," I heard Thomas say as I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye while he rubbed his face. "Is it still here?"

I sat up in bed so quickly that he jumped. If he were a cat, he would have stuck to the ceiling.

"Is it still here?" he insisted, alarmed.

"No, no. He's gone. Ashton is allergic to light," I blurted out without thinking as I got up.

On my way to the bathroom, I stopped to see the circus gift sticking out from under the bed. I picked it up from the floor, and as I examined it, I noticed that something was missing.

I immediately went to the closet and checked that the frock coat was still in place. Then I turned to Thomas.

"Did you take the card?"

"Zara," he said irritably. "I haven't even moved from this corner." He pointed at the candle.

Perhaps I exaggerated a bit with the joke last night. Anyway, I figured Ashton took the card, but then I remembered that he could only touch the medallion.

"What's that?" Thomas looked at the gift in my hands.

"I don't know," I admitted. "It came from the circus."

"And you haven't opened it yet?" He approached like a charging bull, and so I stopped him in his tracks by pushing him just before he could crash into me. "Why haven't you opened it?"

"For the same reason that kept you up all night."

"Ah." He took a step back as he nodded, but then he returned, just as excited as before. "I can open it for you if you want."

I pressed my lips together and tangled my fingers in the exaggerated bow. The truth is, I didn't have what it took to check its contents either.

In the end, I handed it to him, giving him a warning look before letting him take it to the bed.

"And what if it's some kind of contained explosion?" I asked, and he looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"Please tell me you're not serious."

I shrugged. I could expect anything from Ashton's circus.

"Rather, I'm worried it might be a skull," he said as his eyes lit up as if he had just fulfilled a lifelong dream. "The wrapping has the shape of a balloon and..."

"All right, stop. Your assumptions are only making things worse."

He smiled, and a second later, he refocused on the gift. He gently pulled the bow, and the wrapping opened like the petals of a flower, maintaining its typical oval shape, which frustrated me because, from my position, I couldn't see its contents.

On the other hand, Thomas, who had it right in front of him, leaned forward and emphasized with amazement, "It. Can't. Be True."

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