Golden Boy

F I V E

A loud thump sounded as my phone made contact with the hardwood floors. Jace stood by the window in his all-black attire. I've been watching the security cameras for the past hour and his entrance was never documented—rendering the installation of the device useless. 

I reached for my phone, glancing at my door, wondering if I should leave to get my dad or not. 

"We need to talk, Elliot," he said removing the hood of his cloak. It was jarring to see his familiar, golden boy face, now geared up in this unusual attire. A black cloak hung from his shoulders, clasped at the front of his throat—like something straight out of Game of Thrones. There was a  knife strapped to his belt, along with the electric baton, their presence reminding me that he was dangerous. 

He took a step forward, and I shrunk back closer to the wall. "Have you finally come to explain yourself?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest—my attempt at acting tough when I was actually very afraid.

He couldn't meet my eyes. "Something like that." He shifted between his feet, finally settling on a wide stance. He seemed very out of place and uncomfortable standing in the middle of my bedroom. 

"If you think you're going to put another one of those mental blocks on me, you can think again." 

"How do you even know about that?" He passed a hand through his hair, messing up his perfect curls. "You shouldn't have been able to remember anything from that night—I made sure of it." 

"Let's just say that you weren't the only person who decided to give me a little visit this past week," I shrugged. 

We made eye contact as the realization settled in. "What color are my eyes?" He asked. 

"Are you seriously that self-obsessed that you think I've sat around and thought about what color your eyes are?"

"Just close your eyes and answer the question." 

"Hazel?" I said, my voice rising at the end, not sure if I'd guessed correctly. 

I looked to see Jace staring at me through a narrowed gaze. He didn't seem too happy, which meant I probably guessed correctly. "I can't believe she did this to me." He shook his head, eyeing me from head to toe. "Why you and why now?" 

"Am I supposed to know what you're on about?" 

"I guess not." He paced back and forth in my room, making me more anxious than before. 

"Any other questions related to your appearance you'd like me to answer?" 

He stopped pacing to face me as if remembering that I was still standing a couple of feet away from him. "How good are you at keeping secrets?"

"Depends," I shrugged, my lips turning up into a smile.

"I'm being serious, Elliot," He paused, watching me with a glint in his eyes, and moved to stand within arm's reach. "Unless you want your parents to spend the rest of their lives wondering to where their youngest daughter disappeared." 

My eyes widen and my throat clamped up. "Are you being serious right now?" I managed to choke out, watching a grin form onto Jace's face. 

"Deadly." 

"...I guess I'd consider myself to be an excellent secret keeper." I forced a strained smile onto my face. 

"Good," he said, "if you can keep your mouth shut for the next couple of days until I figure some things out, that'd be great." 

"You got it, boss." I managed a cheeky smile, trying to ease up the tension. He eyed me down for a bit longer than I would have liked. This close to him, I could see the gold flecks inside of the forest green of his eyes. They mixed to appear as a light brown from afar, but from here, I could see the difference between the two colors.