Ace Of Spades (Complete Raw First Draft, Unedited)

Twenty- Two: Things In The Night

"Thanks for coming tonight," Ace said as he closed the front door behind us, and turned the lock, the sound of the mechanism sliding into place reassuring me of our safety.

"It was fun," I told him, feeling myself winding down as the energetic night caught up with me, and I covered a yawn.  Bed was calling me, and all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers and fall asleep until late the next morning.

"You tired?"  Ace asked, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a half smile, and I nodded.

"A little," I admitted.

"Yeah, me too," he agreed, laughing quietly.  "I think I'm not long out of bed."

"Can I get changed?"  I asked, out of habit.  Normally, I wouldn't dare make a move without permission, and, once again, I had to remind myself I had escaped that life, I no longer had to worry about that, not around Ace.  

"Yeah, of course," he said.  "You can do whatever you want to."

I nodded and made my way down the hallway, going to the spare room.  I chaned out of my clothes and into the long shirt I wore to bed, and climbed under the blankets, nestling into the pillows.  After a few moments, I heard a light knock on the door.

"Yes?" I called, sitting back up, and Ace opened the door, making his way across the room. 

He sat a glass on water on the small table beside the lamp, and grinned.

"That will look like heaven tomorrow morning," he promised, brushing the backs of his fingers over the side of my face.  "I think we might struggle a bit."

"I think so," I agreed, smiling gratefully.  "Thankyou."

"Good night, Jenna."

***

I fell asleep immediately, but I didn't stay like that for long.  I dreamed of the party we had just been at, and my three friends, when, suddenly, I jolted awake.

I lay rigid, listening, not sure what exactly had woken me, or if I'd dreamed it, but I heard nothing, and, slowly, I began to relax and drift off again.

This time, there was the unmistakable sound of something dropping to the ground, and I jolted up in bed, searching frantically in the darkness, but my room was empty.  I turned to the window, almost too frightened to pull back the blinds and look outside, but when I finally found the courage, I saw nothing out there in the pale moonlight.

I threw back the blankets and padded across the floor to Ace's room, but, I hesitated outside his door, feeling silly.  I'm sure it was nothing, probably a stray cat or something, but I couldn't shake the eery feeling that something evil was lurking.

I tapped lightly on the door, and carefully pushed it open.

"Ace," I called softly, my voice trembling.

He was awake instantly, sitting up, kicking off the blankets and came toward me.

"What's the matter?"  He asked me, concerned, and I wrapped my arms around myself, glancing across at the window in his room.

"I heard something outside," I told him, my voice sounding fearful, even to my own ears.  "I couldn't see anything out the window, though."

"Wait in here," he told me.  "I'll go and check it out."

He left the room and I went and perched on the side of his bed to wait, straining to hear anything.  I could hear him as he left the house, shutting the door behind him, but then there was silence.