Hell Upside Down

Chapter 21

Chapter 21 - Nightly adventures 

Point of view Alena West

I was the last one to be marked with a symbol. It was late at night; the party had died out a bit, and only a few people stayed around. Thomas, Willow, and Noah all had their symbols which were all unique and complimented them.

I sat in Ray's chair. He was a senior at Hellia, but I barely saw him leave his room. He was covered in symbols.

- "What do you want, beautiful?" He asked while preparing his instruments.

Blaze was lying at my feet. He was tired from the noise, the partying, and staying by my side. He always wanted to protect me and didn't sleep well. I pointed towards my feet. "I want his face, with fire around his face."

Ray reached down towards Blaze. He petted him before picking up his face and observing his features for a moment.

- "I can do that. I am feeling like adding a gold crown above his head. What do you think?" He asks while drawing a design on his iPad.

I nodded; I trusted Ray's artistic abilities. He showed me the design, printed it out, and put the stencil on my arm.

- "I am going to start. Don't be afraid to ask for a break." He says while pointing his machine towards my arm.

The pain was barrable, but it got worst as time passed. I didn't want to seem weak and wanted it to get over with. Blaze felt my discomfort and placed his nose between my legs. He seemed thankful for my gesture. His eyes met mine. I loved the way they shined and reminded me of fire.

At some point, I saw Ashton come down the stairs. His hair was all over the place again, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He seemed tired and bothered by a few things. Ash was better than I at hiding away his feelings from me. Even if our bond was strong, he was smart enough to hide things from me. I wish I could do that, but my emotions were all over the place.

He sat on the chair next to mine and held my hand without a word. Even if Ray was focused on my symbol, I could tell that he was confused about why Ash could be sitting and holding my hand next to me.

Our relationship didn't make any sense to the outside world. One moment we seem to care; the other, we would avoid each other. Ray was respectful enough not to ask any questions.

Ash got closer to me and whispered into my ear: "I was getting annoyed by the feeling in my arm, so I came to comfort you."

My cheeks blushed as I could smell his cologne and realized that our bond was getting stronger, and some physical feelings were crossing over.

Ash moved away from me and got a cigarette from his pocket. He placed it on the tip of his lips and lit it up. He seemed to ease up as the first nicotine hit reached his lungs. I wanted to be disgusted by it, as Uncle Jay would kill me if I ever touched anything like it, but the smell gave me a sense of calm.

He continued smoking while my symbol was taking shape. Blaze woke up and moved his head to Ash's leg. Ash laughed and gave him scratches.

- "I am surprised he did that. I never really get close to anyone." I tell Ash.

- "What can I say? You can call me daddy." He said jokingly to Blaze.

I wanted to slap him but couldn't move as it could lead to the ruin of my symbol. Blaze let out a small howl before taking his head off Ash's leg.

I giggled, too as I remembered when Ash took care of Blaze when he was just a little pup.

- "You're so stupid." I laughed with him.

I liked Ashton's ability to make me laugh no matter the situation. I had often dated people that took things too seriously. Ash made my inner child laugh, smile, and be happy.

Ray wiped off the foam of my arm. "All done!" He said while showing me the complete design. "You can look at it in the mirror over there." He said while pointing at the mirror at the end of the room.

I stood up and walked to the mirror. I looked at the symbol that was engraved in my arm forever. I loved it. It was delicate but showed a lot of power. This was the sign that I belonged here, that I had survived a test in my life and came out stronger.

Ray picked up pretty quickly. He was engraving symbols since the late afternoon, and it was a bit over midnight. He went back to his room while Ash walked towards me. He placed himself before me. Ash was a lot taller than I was. I loved the feeling of being protected and safe when I am near him. He wrapped his hands around my waist while I grabbed my phone to take a picture of us before putting it back into my pocket. He placed his fingers around my symbol. He admired my body while placing kisses on my cheek and neck.

I had always wanted to trace his symbols that painted a large portion of his body. Now that I was close enough, I could admire them through the mirror. He had a serpent that wrapped around his neck. That was probably one of my favorites.

- "Aren't we cute together?" He asked with one of the most adorable voices I had heard.

He continued looking at both of us. It was true; we did go well together. He complimented me. My grey eyes matched his green eyes.

He swung me around and placed my hands around his neck. The music was not as loud as it was earlier; it was calmer. Ash started dancing with me.

- "I can't lose you, Alena." He started, worry on his face. I began to understand his demeanor, his lack of sleep. My stomach started to ache, knowing that he was hurting because of me. "I tried but I can't stay away from you."

I couldn't believe my eyes as Ash was being so open with me. I place my lips on his. I missed his kisses; I was starting to crave them just like oxygen. "You don't have to stay away from me," I replied. I wanted him to feel safe with me. Ash turned his face away for me not to read his expression. He put a distance between us before taking my hand.

- "I want to show you something." He said while taking my hand and guiding me towards the stairs.