Nothing Less than Extraordinary

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To our surprise and for our security, we were separated from our parents and landed ourselves right back at Sumer's mansion. Still avoiding a scandal and association, Sumer's father didn't show and us seven were back to loitering in the living room/den the entire night with agents guarding all possible entrance and exit points. The only one who visited us other than some Agency intern bringing us food was Cariba late that evening when she had been released from the hospital.

By the next morning, we had been partially released from our frozen rut for some reason. Though shaken up, Cariba was back to being her stubborn self when she defied doctor's orders and went wading in the swimming pool because she knew she would heal faster that way. Indica and Skye sat alongside the pool area gossiping about literally whatever they could while tanning. Instead of lamenting over Chance's condition, Sumer distracted herself with her schoolwork—a concept we had all forgotten about. After distrusting our current security, the twins decided to walk the perimeter themselves. Wib was busy shooting a lynched boogie board and retrieving the arrows one at a time. I was on the balcony of the master's bedroom that Zaine and I once shared. I understood how he could sit up here and gaze over the Bilberry land and the independent unit members from this spot with authority and comfort.

I wished he was comfortable now. He had done so much training and developing to lead into justified anger and controlled retaliation that I didn't know how he would actually handle. I wondered how he was doing right now with his father and Jane trying to get Cheshire and Warren released. I felt like an idiot not mentioning it to Connally, but if he was the mind reader he revealed himself to be, he would've already known. And if he was this great judge of character and candor, he would do his best to get them both released for their actual innocence in the matter.

Suddenly, someone entered the room and knocked twice on the wooden frame. I looked over to see Sumer with a landline phone in her hand. "You have a call," she informed before handing it to me and politely leaving the room.

As if I had channeled a mixture of Connally and Maxwell's powers to Zaine across the state, when I held the phone up to my ear to greet the conversation, I was nothing less than relieved to hear his voice asking: "Babe?"

"I never thought I'd hear you say that," I smiled. Zaine was a romantic, but I thought he'd be too rigid for the term of endearment.

"Well get used to it sweetheart," he let out a breathy laugh. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I lied. There was a pause and I knew if he wasn't exhausted from the presumed arguing with members of the FBI detaining Cheshire and Warren, he would've normally called me on it. "How are you, though? How's—"

"Is that Zaine?" Cariba suddenly asked, barging into the room. I didn't even need to nod before her bikini-clad figure plopped herself on the bed beside me and put her ear to share the phone. "Zaine. How's Warren?"

"Cariba?" Zaine asked. "I'm glad you're better but once Warren hears that you're concerned about him, I'm sure he'll die of absolute shock."

"Shut up," she rolled her eyes. "Seriously though—how is he?"

"Well somehow, someway Judge Connally pulled through and put in a few words about them and they're getting released..."

"But?" I asked because of the tone in his voice.

"It's Sunday so nothing is getting processed today and even if it could be done, I doubt they'd want to rush it because of all the trouble Cheshire keeps trying to get into," he answered and it caused Cariba to look at me with some hidden meaning. I pressed my lips together in more disappointment than anger over Cheshire's persistent behavior, but then I was hearing a voice in my head telling me to concern myself over Cheshire who was clearly torn up and lashing out. "We just have to wait."

"At least they're in the clear," Cariba sighed and returned the phone to me even though she studied my face.

"So what are you and Jane supposed to do now? Are you coming back to Sumer's? Because they've had us locked down here since yesterday," I began.

"We're staying at the hotel with the parents since we're still in the city," he informed and I became disappointed once more for different reasons now.

"It's still early though. You two can come back and—"

"I think I want to spend time with my dad a little longer since I think the parents are leaving tomorrow..." he notified, causing me to frown and Cariba to shift. She got up from the bed and mouthed 'let me know' before slipping out of the room. I guess she figured this conversation was about to shift. How could I be so selfish to want him here when he had the actual presence of his father who he hadn't seen for nine years? I had no right to want that. "And plus, I was having a conversation with your parents back in Texas and I'd like to finally finish it," he said lightheartedly. It made me smile lightly that he was trying to flirt and establish a connection with my parents in the midst of all this drama. Maybe he was the selfish one trying to get ahead in the relationship by being the favorite for his parents and mine. "Aspen?"

"Yeah, babe?" I tried to tease.

"I miss you," was all he said and I felt my heart begin to swell. "I know we haven't known each other that long and this time last week you thought I was dead, but I want you to know that I've missed you," he elaborated. Aside from his attempt at humor over the situation of separation, I had been with him the same about of time I had been without him and still felt as though he was some piece of my heart I had gone years without and yearned for it back. And even though we had fallen asleep on the stairs distracting ourselves or currently talked on the phone, I missed the small moments we had shared like playful banter and making him relax and letting him hold me in this giant bed. They were simple things that we both missed because they were loads better than being separated and in danger in this capacity. "God I must sound so cheesy right now, I'm sorry."

"No you don't," I lied within a laugh because I found it adorable.

"I do," he insisted with a sigh and I could see his nervous smile flash in my memory. Of course the perfect soldier wanted to be seen as the perfect boyfriend and thought my silence was a form of demerit. I didn't need him to be perfect though...and for some reason I felt like that ideology of his would get us both in trouble down the line because if I was lying about how I was and he skipped over it, we could only last so long. "Okay, I'm just gonna wrap this up and hopefully see you soon, okay? I love you."

"I love you too," I returned like Cheshire hadn't towards Alice. It made me bite my lip and pity their relationship more and more because it was hitting me more and more that Cheshire's quiet comment about there being something between us could've been the reason why they were so rocky right now (other than the whole three year hiatus) and I didn't want to be the cause of that when I had my own happy relationship to worry about.

I still couldn't shake the idea that something was about to happen with Cheshire, but I put it off because Jane was quickly taking the phone and begging me to put Wib back on the line.