Chapter Five

In the morning, I awoke to slight chatter and noise coming through the bedroom door. I quickly through pants and a baggy shirt on, and rushed to the door. My shoulders slumped when I turned the knob, and remembered it was locked. I pressed my ear to the door to try and hear what was going on. I could faintly hear commotion that sounded like it was coming from the direction of the front entrance. It sounded like a woman, and Lucien talking loudly.

I didn't recognize the woman, so my hopes were crushed that it was maybe my parents, come to my rescue at last. The woman sounded like she also had a slight accent, but she was too far away for me to place what kind. I backed away from the door a little when the sound of their voices got closer, and I could now hear their footsteps. I waited until I saw their shadows pass by under my door, before I pressed my ear against it again.

"Lucien, I just want to see my sons. I sent you many messages that I was coming, I have the free time between my schedules, and I wanted to see my sons. Is that such a crime?" The woman cried. I could tell now, that she was British as well, and by the way she spoke of 'sons', it was obvious she was Ashton and Charles mother.

What in the world is she doing here? Does she know what goes on around here, and what her sons are a part of?

"I'm sorry, Marion, I didn't get any of your messages. Now is not a great time for you to visit, why don't you come back at the end of the month, I can prepare a lot better for your visit," Lucien tried to argue. I could tell he was trying his best to sound calm and polite, but there was a slight tremor in his voice. I faintly heard Marion huff, before there was a knock on a door. I couldn't tell if it was right next to mine, or if it was across the hall.

I waited anxiously in the deafening silence, until I heard, and felt, the door down the hall rip open, and Ashton start grumbling.

"There you are, my dear," Marion cheered. "Your Uncle here tells me that none of you have received my messages that I was coming to visit this week."

So, that was how they were related. That also explained the eerie resemblance in their eyes.

"Mother? No, I never got any message that you were coming. What are you doing here?" Ashton asked, suddenly sounding much more proper than his grumbling nonsense before. His mother clicked her tongue.

"What have you all been doing here? It's almost noon, and you're barely alive. Is this what you have been doing here this entire time? I sent you to America to try and make a living, get a career or go to school, do something with your life."

That answered another question; she had no idea what her sons and brother have been up to here. Her staying here, and me being here, just made things a whole lot more complicated. I understood why Lucien feared her presence here so much. What did this mean for me? Are they even going to tell her I'm here?

"Regardless, I am here, and I would like to spend some time with you and Charles. So, get up, and look decent. We're all going to have lunch together, I have the chefs preparing something as we speak, it should be ready soon." Marion said and clapped her hands, her footsteps soon re-treating back down the hall. Lucien continued to trail after her, and protest her being here.

I backed away from the door and fell onto the bed. I gazed up the ceiling, waiting for whatever comes next. I could no longer hear Lucien or Marion, and it seemed Ash had gone back to his room as well. Everything was silent again. I was almost sure I was forgotten about.

Seeing there was nothing else to do, I got up and prepared for a bath. Just as I grabbed a fresh pair of clothes and towels, I was stopped by a knock at the door. I caught a glance at myself in the vanity mirror, and cried out quietly when I witnessed what I looked like. There were heavy bags under my eyes, and my brown hair was a tussled mess. I looked scary.

I walked to the door hesitantly, hoping for some reason, it wasn't Ashton on the other side. I was mildly relieved when I saw it was Lucien, but the hair on the back of my neck still rose at the sight of him. He tried to smile gently at me, but it still came off creepy.

"Good-morning, Ava. I hope we didn't wake you with the disturbance, it seems we have an unexpected guest visiting us this week," he paused and cleared his throat, his smile faltering slightly. "Ashton and Charles mother is here, I'm not sure how long she is planning to stay here?"

"What does this mean for me?"

He furrowed his brows and seemed to mull over his thoughts for a few minutes, before he turned to me and smiled. "I'm sure there is something we can do about your presence here for the time being. I will, of course, still be keeping an ear out for a phone call from your father, the week is almost over."

The realization dawned on me. It was the middle of the week, which meant I only had 3 or 4 more days until my time was up. It really all depended on when Lucien thought the week ended, not everyone thinks it ends on the Sunday, most think the week ends the Saturday, and begins the Sunday. I was rambling in my head now.

"Anyhow, I do have an idea that I wanted to run by you, though as much as I think you might not take it well, I know for a fact Ashton won't like it at all." That made me fear what he had to say next. If he already knew his own nephew wasn't going to like what he had in mind, something told me I was going to feel the same way.

"What exactly are you thinking?" I asked slowly.

Lucien smiled hesitantly. "Well, I was thinking that, while Marion is here, you can pretend to be Ashton's American girlfriend. We can make up some back story, that you two met at school, so his mother will also believe he is spending his time here well, and not snoop in other affairs," he trailed off a little, warning silently that this plan meant I was remain completely silent about my kidnap, and what Marion's sons are really up to here.

I thought his words over carefully. He was right, I really didn't like that idea at all. How could he expect Ashton and I to pretend to be a couple? We didn't know anything about each other. I had just learned his name a few days ago, and only had a very vague idea of where he was born. That information was obvious and easy to find out. It wasn't enough to convince his mother of anything.

"How to you plan for this idea to work? Ashton and I aren't familiar with each other at all, and we don't exactly have the time to get well acquainted."

Lucien frowned deeply. "I know, I had thought that over, and also thought you two could spend the next hour before lunch, getting to know each other, at least enough to convince her through lunch, then dismiss yourselves for something, and go from there. I haven't had much time to put a plan together, so if you have any other ideas – I can't believe I'm saying this – I'm all ears."

I too was shocked that Lucien Bradford, was at my 'hostage room', asking me for ideas on dealing with a risky situation. I felt slightly proud, but a little ashamed as well that no other ideas came to mind. There was no other way to explain why I was there; Charles was a little too old, at least for a boyfriend, and from what I could tell, there was a chance Lucas pitched for the other team. It would also be rather weird to keep me locked in the guest bedroom, but have people regularly visit the room to bring me food. Lucien and the others could maybe keep it up for a day or two, but who knew how long Marion was staying.

"I have nothing else to say, except I hope Ashton is open to this idea, and if not, I hope he has another one. He gave me a tight smile and nodded stiffly.

"Indeed," he muttered, and looked fleetingly down the hall, before turning back to me and flashing me another quick, tight-lipped smile. "Well, I will leave you to get ready. Meet me in my office when you are done, and I will let you know what the end game is. Please assure, that Marion does not see you, of course. I will leave your door unlocked, my office is down the hall, to your left, door at the very end of the hall."

He turned to leave, but stopped and looked back at me over his shoulder. "Don't misplace my trust, Miss White."

I waited for him to disappear down the hall and allow me to close the door, before I let a shudder run through my body. I quickly dashed into the bathroom, grabbing the clothes and towels I had prepared before, and decided to skip a bath and have a shower, not wanting to waste any time before breakfast was ready. We only had an hour to figure out an explanation for me, who god knows what was going to happen.

I really didn't want to find out.

I ran a brush through my hair quickly, really dreading not having all the luxuries I had before at home, like a blow dryer and hair straightener. I really hated how wavy my hair was when it wasn't maintained, and left to dry naturally. I supposed it was going to be enough to try and impress Ashton's mother. I also had no make-up, not even mascara or a little eyeshadow to add something to my mess of a face. My face was splattered with light colored freckles, covering my nose and cheeks like little blackhead dots. I hated them, and always tried to cover them with foundation or blush.

I scowled at my reflection in the mirror for a few more minutes, before deciding I had wasted enough time wallowing in self-pity. Just as I emerged from the bathroom, dressed in what I hoped was appropriate if I did end up meeting Marion, there was a knock on my door. I was surprised to see Ashton on the other side, and shocked at the fact that he didn't barge into my room, expecting it to be locked, or just to be rude.

"Lucien said to meet him in his office, are you ready?" he asked, looking down the hall, not even glancing at me. I didn't bother nodding and just stepped out the door, closing it harshly behind me. That got his attention, and he finally laid his steely blue eyes on me. Like every other time before, their color hypnotized me the moment I looked into them, freezing my senses momentarily. I mentally shook myself a little, and swiftly walked past him.

I tried my best to remember Lucien's instructions, though they were quite simple, and when I turned down the hall, there was only one door at the end. Ashton frowned at me when we arrived at the door, like he was disappointed that I had already knew my way. I tried not to smile smugly at him, though it was hard to keep the corners of my mouth from turning slightly.

He lifted a hand and knocked. Lucien called us in instantly, the smell of mint hitting my nose as soon as Ashton opened the door. The office was brightly lit, despite its lack of windows. It was nice to know I wasn't suffering alone, though I was beginning to get a little curious as to why there was so many rooms without windows.

"So glad you both could make it in quick timing. We only have a short while to talk this over, though Ava and I have already briefly talked this idea over," Lucien explained briskly.

Was he seriously going to propose the idea her, now, with me standing in the room? Lucien gazed at me briefly, and I saw the slight pleading look in his eyes. He was being a coward.

Ashton eyed him and I suspiciously, but remained quiet. Lucien cleared his throat and took a deep breath, before continuing. When he was done explaining basically everything he had explained to me; except in a much more rushed and terrified tone, the room fell into a thick, tense silence. I backed away from Ashton a little, and tried to corner myself from the two of them, waiting for some sort of explosive reaction.

He remained completely still, but his hands were clenched.

"Have you gone insane?" Ashton finally muttered, his tone harsh.

"To be honest, I believe so. If you have any other ideas, the floor is yours, but we have less than a half an hour to think of a way to explain to your mother why there is a strange, American girl staying in the house, and why you haven't been doing anything she has asked of you." He paused and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

Ashton himself let out a deep breath, running a hand down his face slowly.

"Do you want her to find out what you and your brother have really been up too?" Lucien added, causing Ashton to frown and look like he was rethinking his options. Finally, he let out a soft breath and closed his eyes, turning to Lucien with a look of defeat.

"Alright, how much time do we have?" he asked. Lucien said to stay in his office, while he went and added another item to the lunch menu, to keep the chef busy a little longer. Another blanket of tense silence fell over the room, growing by the second, as an electric air seemed to gather between Ashton and I. I bit my lip and turned away from him, occupying my attention with the surroundings of the room. Everything had happened so fast when we first entered, I never took the time to look at everything.

The room was a light peach color, which was a slightly odd color choice for someone like Lucien, let alone his main office, his place of criminal business. I imagined more of a deep red, or even a blue. Other than that, the room was pretty plain; there was a large, dark wood desk against the far wall of the room, with two leather chairs placed in front of them, and a styled office chair opposite. There was a large oil painting of what looked like a group of mafia members. The more I looked at it, the more something told me it was a group of fictional characters, though the people all looked real. What told me that, was how one of the men in the painting, the one sitting at the very head chair of all the men sitting around a large, circular table, looked a lot like Al Pacino, when he played Scarface.

"A painting purchased at an auction in Rome," Ashton explained softly, appearing next to me, his eyes trained on the painting as well. "It is a painting resembling characters from 'The Godfather' and 'The Sopranos', that much is all I really know."

That explained why I recognized a few of the other people, but couldn't place any names to the faces. I had never completed The Godfather movie, but Al Pacino was a recognizable face, especially now a day. Ashton cleared his throat and turned to me.

"We don't have a lot of time, so I have a quick and typical idea," he said. "We play 20 questions, until Lucien comes to get us. Basically, I ask you simple questions, you answer, I answer, and I ask you another one. You ready?" That didn't sound like 20 questions, but there was no time to argue.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"17."

"18." That shocked me a little, I took him for a year or two older. "What is your hometown?"

"California."

"You can just know I'm from England. That much may be obvious, but we don't have to say we've been dating for years or anything," he said, but didn't sound completely sure. He was just as clueless as to what Lucien had planned next as I was. We both were just going with the flow.

"What do you do for fun?" he asked. That was an embarrassing question to answer, and would reveal just how boring and plain I was. I bit my lip, contemplating whether I should lie or not. What did it matter what he thought?

"I like to read," I said softly. Ashton seemed indifferent to my response, but there was small flash of something in his eyes, that was gone in a split second. I wondered if I had imagined it.

"So do I." His voice was just as soft, causing me to look up at him curiously, wondering what his eyes looked like. They always seemed to look so cold and emotionless, but for these last few minutes alone, he has revealed a little bit of his soft side to me. It was kind of nice to see, as much as I shouldn't admit that. We gazed at each other for a few moments, no more questions or words passing between us, our eyes locked. I wasn't sure what I saw in his bright blue marbles, either way I was hypnotized, like every other time I gaze into his eyes.

"Do you feel ready to take this kidnapping to a whole new level?" Ashton asked, breaking the slightly comfortable silence. I couldn't help but crack a smile, letting a small giggle out at his attempt to make a very weird situation, somewhat comedic. He had a point.

This kidnapping situation was about to get weird.