There's No Price On Love

Chapter 13: Don’t Talk To Strangers

Emma Taylor*

Okay by now it’s been a whole day and Jace hadn’t returned yet. I knew that I shouldn’t worry about him considering he’s more than capable of taking care of his ass but still, I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. I tapped my fingers impatiently on the tabletop as my cell phone vibrated violently. It slid off of the table.

So letting my cell phone commit tabletop suicide wasn’t the best way to brush my worries away but it definitely made me feel a little bit better about life in general. The phone continued to vibrate until I picked it up off of the floor and glanced at the text messages lined up on the little screen.

Myranda, Myranda... Myranda again... Myranda yet again...

Of course she was trying to dig for details on my recent split from Samuel but it wasn’t like I was about to dish my life story to some bitch who told my boyfriend about my accidental unfaithfulness. My mother had always said to never trust anyone (mind you she said that there was no such thing as accidental unfaithfulness considering cheating is cheating) and finally I had learnt clearly what she meant.

My phone vibrated yet again in my hand. I scowled and flipped it open again, getting my fingers ready for the freak attack of a lifetime.

‘R u going 2 ansr me or wat?’ It read in text slang. If there’s one thing I hate more than rude, homeless hobos; it would definitely be slangs. I pondered for a moment on whether or not to reply, not sure if a freak attack was really worth my time.

I didn’t need to end up so angry that I started to cry since I already went through that stage yesterday. Crying like a baby never really was my style but remaining cold and heartless like my mother really wasn’t either. Unfortunately, both sides show their ugly faces once in awhile and right about now I could feel my heart turning to stone.

Best friends never rat each other out. I’ve never told Derek about Myranda’s straying relationships nor have I told Myranda about Derek’s fake tutoring for Diploma exams either. Hm, guess not telling is about as bad as telling.

‘U can’t ignore me 4ever Em.’

I scowled and typed back:

‘Just watch me.’

The doorbell rang and echoed throughout the house, knocking me out of my smugness. A part of me hoped it was Jace to come let me know that he didn’t do anything stupid. I don’t think I could afford another bail without my parents noticing sums of money disappearing on a regular basis without their notification, even if there is a lot to keep track of.

I placed my idiot phone on the table and strolled to the door, peering into the eyehole. Rather than actually see anything, the door burst open and knocked me onto my butt with a thunk. My hand reached up to my forehead and I shook my head slightly to clear it while Jace glared down at me with a satisfied grin.

“Oh that was just perfectly planned.” He exclaimed victoriously and jumped in the air. I narrowed my eyes and hauled myself onto my feet, placing my hands sternly on my hips.

“And here I was, hoping that somebody actually got annoyed with you enough to put you out of your misery or at least, set you straight. I’m guessing that your sister is actually able to tolerate your rather unpleasant behaviour?” Jace blinked a few times and then poked the side of my head.

“Wow Emma, did you hit your head hard enough to actually gain some knowledge in that empty block? You know, using big words doesn’t always make you seem smart. ‘Specially if you look like a bimbo.” He retorted simply and tossed his backpack onto my couch.

I picked the ratty thing off of the sofa and hung it on the hangers in the closet, grumbling about hygiene the whole time. Jace raised an eyebrow at me and jammed his hands into his pockets.

He looked surprisingly normal in the t-shirt and jeans I sniped from Chad’s closet for him, even though the jeans were a little looser on him than they were on my brother. His bangs wisped just over his eyes, framing the beautiful green gems and making him look more like a lost boy than ever.

“You’re staring.”

I scowled and made my way to the kitchen.

“You have something on your face.” Jace self-consciously lifted a hand to feel across the high cheekbones and perfectly sculpted jaw. “Oh wait! That is your face.”

“Ha ha, has anyone ever told you you’re hilarious?” He responded sarcastically and followed me into the kitchen.

I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned, shaking my head.

“Nope.”

Jace’s eyebrows rose and he smirked.

“I can see why. I swear Emma, that stick is lodged so far up your ass that even if you tried to pull it out, you wouldn’t be able to find it.” My face scrunched in disgust and I picked up a spoon to throw it at him. He dodged it easily and plucked it up from off of the floor.

“I’m not that much of a fun suck!” I exclaimed as Jace chucked the spoon into the silver sink.

“You said ‘NOT THAT MUCH’ meaning you still agree with me.” He pointed out while extending a finger in my direction in gesture. I didn’t reply but instead picked up a peach from the fruit basket and bit into it viciously.

“Point made.” He continued and scratched the back of his head. I mimicked him immaturely and took another bite of the fruit, only to have it taken out of my hand by Jace. As I reached for it, he dragged his tongue across the fuzzy flesh and then held it out for me to take.

“You’re such a jerk!” I barked at him and slapped his arm as hard as I could. He laughed and nipped my shoulder, taking me by surprise.

“You like it, don’t even lie.” He murmured lowly and batted his long eye lashes. I scoffed.

“I don’t like you, not even a lie.” I retorted just as there was yet another knock on the door. Jace glanced at the door, an eyebrow raised.

“You gonna get that?” He asked and began strolling to the door. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back, nearly knocking him off his feet.

“No, I got it.” I stared into the eyehole, seeing William’s face peering back. I groaned in annoyance. “Jace, it’s William. I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t be too pleased to see you. Would you go hide somewhere?”

Jace nodded and began heading up the stairs.

“And not in my room please.” I added.

“Whatever.” He mumbled and jogged to the nearest room, closing the door. I waited a few seconds and wrung my hands before opening the door, facing my least favourite person on the earth, since forever. His hair wasn’t slicked back, making him look less high class than normal but the polo top and slacks were still there like any other day.

I received a devious smile before he slid past me and into my house. I paused for a moment and stared out into the scenery in front of me before closing the door.

William sat himself down on the couch and grinned at me, folding his arms over his chest.

“So, you told him I presumed?” The high-superior tone in his voice made me want to slap him. I darted my eyes away from his prying gaze and scowled.

“Not exactly.” I muttered while my cheeks heated up. William raised an eyebrow slowly, his mouth curving downward in distaste.

“Not exactly.” He repeated and got to his feet. In a matter of seconds, he was inches away from my face and I could feel his breath tickling across my reddened cheeks. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and nodded. “We made a deal Emma, you tell him what happens between us or else the money would become something of an issue. You wouldn’t want me to find a way to get your precious hobo placed back into jail, would you?”

My head shot up.

“He’s not my precious little hobo okay? It was just an object of my appreciation since he saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life. I didn’t tell Sam only because he called me to let me know that he cheated on me. Myranda told him everything that we did together so we broke up, happy now? Myranda saved me the trouble.” I snapped, only to have him laugh lightly.

“The deal said that you were supposed to tell him, not Myranda.”

“Myranda was involved with it and Sam is now single. That’s what you were aiming for wasn’t it?”

William paused for a moment and then placed his hands casually into the pockets of his slacks.

“For the most part but what use is destroying your relationship if you aren’t willing to commit to me? It would make the whole ordeal rather pointless which means that I have to become a little bit crafty in my ways.” The way he said those words nearly made my blood run cold. There was one thing that I had never wanted in my life and that was for William Theoret to interfere with any matters of my life. His schemes were dangerous considering that he was involved in some rather unpleasant things. I hadn’t ever seen him do anything crazy or like I have heard but I wasn’t willing to find out either.

Getting involved with William was like walking into a lion’s den with a cow carcass on your back as a shield.

“I’d rather you just return to your life and leave me to mine.” I mumbled and backed away from him.

“Do you know how Jace ended up on the streets, Emma?” William asked suddenly, his eyes lowered and dark looking. Okay, now I was starting to get just a tiny bit freaked out by this.

“I think you should leave.” I snapped and strolled to the door. William’s hand shot out and caught me by the wrist. He squeezed slightly, his face just inches from mine.

“Do you know how Jace ended up on the streets?” He asked again, pinning me against the door. My heart was pounding loudly in my ears and I wished that I could somehow gain the strength to punch him or something. Instead, it was like I was frozen in place and if I moved even a centimetre, I would be devoured.

“N-no... He never mentioned it...” I stammered.

A loud bang came from upstairs.

William’s head craned around and his gaze fixated on the upper level of the house. A small smile formed on his face and he moved away from me. I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to control my breathing and slow my heart a bit. That was too uncomfortable for words.

“He’s here isn’t he?” His question seemed like more of a statement than a question.

“It’s Brett.” I lied, knowing that Brett had left just an hour ago to a friend’s place. Whatever Jace was doing upstairs, I hoped that he would stop. The last thing I needed was William starting more trouble for me. I already didn’t know what to do about the whole situation.

“Liar.” He stated and I bit my lip. “Brett left an hour ago; I saw your family’s limo pass to make its way to the Crest’s place.”

William made his way toward the stairs.

“Brett isn’t home. Chad isn’t here either and so aren’t your parents. All the butlers and maids are on holiday meaning there’s only you and someone else. It couldn’t be Sam and it’s definitely not Myranda.”

I dashed up the stairs after him. I caught his arm and tried to pull him in another direction, away from the upper level of the house.

“William, if you don’t leave then I’ll phone the police. I’m not kidding!” I shouted at him and was dragged up the stairs. William stopped for a moment and grabbed my upper arm.

“Tell me that you’ll be with me and I’ll leave. It wouldn’t even matter that you have a fucking waste of skin living in this house with you right now.” He spoke in such a low tone that I almost had to ask him to repeat himself. If it wasn’t for the venom in his words, I would have asked.

“We can work something out, I can pay you back the money, I-“ He began opening doors and slamming them shut. “William!!!”

“Jace! I know you’re here! Come out and talk to me, my old friend!” William shouted throughout the house. His words echoed loudly in my head as I chased after him. I failed miserably in my attempts to get him to stop until finally William entered a room and didn’t come out for awhile.

“Emma!” A hushed hiss called out to me, I turned around to see Jace poking his head around the corner of a hallway. He beckoned me to follow him and I did, I tiptoed as quickly as I could toward him just as closet doors were being rummaged through angrily.

Jace’s hand wrapped around mine as we bolted toward the other set of spiral stairs, plummeting down them as fast as we could without making a sound. The feel of his hand on mine took away a slight amount of my fear and for a second, he wasn’t the guy who pissed me off before.

“Where can we go and hide until he leaves?” Jace asked; his voice gruff and whispering. I chewed on my lip and stared back toward the house.

“William knows almost every knook and cranny in this house. But... But he doesn’t know about the old storm cellar. It’s a bit risky but-“

“Where is it?”

I turned to the east and ran; Jace’s hand still placed firmly in mine. The cold nipped at my bare feet and the grass was like needles but it just made me run faster until we reached a small hill. In the hill there was a door, barely visible.

I reached for the key beneath an old stone and undid the lock, pulling the door open and moving in, Jace following soon after.

My father had always warned us to never go in here when we were younger, only because the cellar was made in the early 1900’s when a family of settlers lived on the land that we now inhabited. How it managed to survive through the construction and other numerous procedures, I will never know. All that I do know is that I’m happy that it was still here and that I never told William about it.

The cellar was so black that I couldn’t see 2 feet in front of me. The dark gave me some comfort, knowing that William couldn’t see us even if he did find the door. I sighed heavily and ran a hand through my tangle of hair, stopping. Jace still didn’t let go of my hand.

“Emma, what’s going on?” He asked with a voice bit slightly with irritation. His hand slipped out of mine.

“William... I made a deal with him.” My voice came out as a hushed whisper.

“What kind of deal?”

“The deal was that if I told my boyfriend that I cheated on him with William that William would give me a portion of money to bail you out with.” Jace let out a harsh curse word and I could imagine his face.

“You made a deal with that asshole for me.” He deadpanned.

“Yes, I needed to pay you back for what you did for me.”

Hands wrapped around my arms angrily.

“Are you fucking retarded!?” Jace hissed, his hands tightening slightly. What was with everyone and trying to squeeze the life out of me?

“Apparently so.” I mumbled. “Look, I did you a favour and now I’m going to have to work things out. I’ll be fine and so will you.”

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with here Emma!”

“Really? Because I thought that I was aware that William was a psychopath. Yes, I know exactly who I’m dealing with here but hey! How are you much different? It seems like William knows you quite well. Care to explain to me why he has such a hate on for you?”

The tension in the air was enough to tear the breath from my lungs. Jace’s silence was deafening, enough to make me want to scream.

“For now, let’s just focus on keeping you out of William’s plots okay? You’re in enough shit as it is.” He replied and I could hear him slide down the dirt wall onto the ground of the cellar.

“Jace, I’ve been completely open with you on everything so far. Why can’t you just give me some answers? I think that if you’re going to be staying at my house for the rest of the week then you might as well give me a little bit of input about yourself. Considering that one of the most important things about you keeps appearing over and over again.”

“What would that be?” He snapped. “Why I’m living on the streets? Why I don’t exactly look as rough as I probably should? Why my father disowned me? That’s stuff that belongs to me; Emma and I don’t need you to be pressing me about those things when I barely know you either.”

“You know more about me than I know about you!” I shouted and Jace pulled me toward him and covered my mouth with his hand.

“Do you want us to get caught?!” He whispered harshly and I shook my head. I sat down on the ground across from him, his hand still placed firmly over my mouth. “Look, for now you just mind your own business. Right now you have bigger things to be worrying about than my life.”

I bit his palm.

The hand jerked away quickly with a swear and I smiled to myself in satisfaction.

“That’s for being a jerk.”