Heart of Ice

Chapter Thirty-One

Song: Pompeii- Bastille

Nobody moves. I stare at the spot he had once been, silent tears streaming down my face.

"What happened in here?" Uncle Parker asks as he walks into the room. Mom finally breaks out of her shock, at least on the outside, and motions everyone out of the room.

"Everyone leave. Someone find Hunter and figure out what the hell is going on," She hollers, a venomous look in her eyes. "And get that girl out of here."

Once everyone leaves, mom and dad kneel down beside me, worry replacing the determined parent look on their faces. Mom rests her hand gently on my shoulder. "Honey..."

I swallow the lump in my throat. "He's gone."

Sobs slip from my lips as all my strength leaves me, and mom and dad hold me in their arms, mom's fingers caressing my hair. I cry and cry as all the memories from the past few months flash through my mind. I can't believe that two days ago, he was the boy I loved, and then, as quick as a flash, nothing but the boy who hates me, my enemy, all over again. Except this time, it isn't by choice. I'm not the one doing the hating. Hell, at least I had a solid reason for the resentment. I grip mom and dad's arms tightly, my entire body shaking with sobs. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"We know, sweetheart. Everyone believes that without a doubt," Mom coos. "We'll help you prove it. This isn't our first go around with a lie from the enemy. Your dad was as stupid as Hunter."

"Hey!"

"What? It's the truth and you know it."

Dad grumbles something under his breath, but then he squeezes me tighter. "I'm sorry, Alaska. I think I may have had a part in this."

I peer up at him through blurry eyes. "What do you mean?"

He frowns. "That night in the kitchen after I found you and Hunter and we were talking... I just didn't want you to get hurt. I know Hunter is good, but you two have been enemies for so many years. He was there the whole time we were talking."

My heart stops as I recall that talk with my dad, what I had confessed to him, and what this now means. "He... he heard?"

Dad closes his eyes. "Yes, he heard. And I talked to him after to scare him a little bit to make sure he had good intentions and wasn't feeling emotional toward Demetrius being his real father. I never dreamed this would happen after."

That explains Hunter's standoffish stance the days following that, but it definitely doesn't align with what Hunter thinks he saw with Owen and Demetrius. Still, if he listened to the whole conversation, then he knows exactly what I feel for him. Maybe that's the most devastating part of it all-- he knows the secret I've kept tucked away for years, and it still wasn't enough for him to trust that I would never betray him for the enemy.

"I'm not mad at you dad, even though that really sucks," I shake my head. "Nobody could have influenced this except for one person, and he made good on his promise that he would make this happen."

Dad's jaw clenches. "He's not going to get away with this, Alaska. I promise."

"He already has!" I cry, burying my face in my hands. "He came into my mind last night and basically showed me what was going to happen today, but I didn't realize what he was saying. I thought..." A hiccuped sob slips past my lips. "I don't know what I thought. I just never thought it would be this."

"No," Dad roars, standing up abruptly as his hands clench into fists. "He's put you through enough, and I'll be damned if I let him use one of our own to torment you. This isn't the end. You and Hunter have fought too hard and too long for it to end like this. You just keep training and keep being you. I will find a way to end this once and for all."