Chapter 047: Shadows of Confusion

AVa's POV 

As we raced down the lonely road, the stillness in the automobile seemed more weight than it had ever done. The gloom outside appeared to push against the windows, and I could not help but believe it was crushing on us, too—wrapping up every hidden secret, every bit of truth Eli had omitted.

Eli kept his eyes on the road, his jaw closed to indicate he was grappling with what he had not uttered. Years had passed between us, and throughout all that time I had never felt so far from him. Alternatively he might have just improved at concealing.

"Who else knows?" My voice startled the quiet and sounded more strong than I had meant. But following what I had discovered and all the falsehoods... I had to know.

He looked at me momentarily then back toward the road. "It was just me and a handful of people. Ava, you were kept out of it to guard you.

"To guard me?" I gave out a sour laugh. "Keeping secrets just leaves me in the dark; it does not protect me, Eli."

He moaned, tightening his hold on the wheel. "I reasoned that you would be safe if I kept you away from it. But you grew closer the more I attempted to drive you away.

Turning my face toward the window, I tried to hide the irritation rising inside me. "That is not what this feels like, Eli. You seem to not trust me. I stopped, organizing my ideas before they came out. And maybe right now I'm not sure whether I should trust you.

My words hung weighty in the air, and Eli's shoulders stiffened. I half-expected him to argue back, to shoot. Rather, he responded just, "I understand."

"But you need to know, Ava, that there are things here—truths—worse than what you’ve seen," he said after a long pause. I also attempted to shield you for this reason. For both of our sakes.

I glanced at him; the tiny dashboard light lit his expression. His normally confident appearance was tempered by the reality he was attempting to impart without saying too much; his face was darkened with concern. It took all I had to hold from reaching out to him, to reduce the distance between us. I restrained, though, swallowing the impulse. First I wanted answers. I wanted to discover whether his silence had any logical basis worth believing.

Quietly, hoping he might at last open, "then tell me what you haven't."

Deeply breathed, as though releasing a weight he had borne alone for far too long. "Ava; another person is engaged. One strong person. They are the reason I had to hide this. Should they find out you know... Though his voice stopped, the implied menace was obvious.

"So it's not just you," I murmured, my voice almost above a whisper. " Others exist as well? People you have been working with?

He nodded. "Yes." Those who have been observing from the shadows, ensuring nobody deviates from the norms. The stuff you found—that is only the top layer. Deeper you will find objects invisible but not invisible.

I inhaled deeply and looked down at the notepad in my lap. Now, as if weighted down by every secret fact it carried, its pages seemed heavier. Then Eli, why bring me in right now? Why do you allow me in at all?

"Because you deserved to know," he said without thinking twice. And maybe since I couldn't keep going on by myself. His speech breached the wall I had erected around my heart, allowing a torrent of feelings I wasn't ready to experience.

We were at a junction in whatever had become of us as much as on this lonely road. Everything I knew about Eli had shifted, disassembling the person I thought he was. One thing I could not ignore, though, was my wish to trust in him despite all these lies and secrets.

"Okay," I answered, surprised even by the consistency of my voice. "We then must face this together." But Eli, none more lies here. You tell me now whether there is anyone else I should know about, anything at all?

He nodded, staring at me as though he were seeing me fresh. "No more lies." With my word, you have.

I wanted to believe him just from the tone of his voice and the sincerity in his look. And the silence among us changed as we drove further. Not the terrible quiet of betrayal but something more like understanding. Maybe even a brand-new beginning.

But we were blinded momentarily as we rounded a bend by spotlights ahead. Not moving from the middle of the little road, I shaded my eyes and squinted as the automobile drew near. My heart hammered, fresh danger seizing me.

Eli: Do you know them? Whispering, I hoped he would say no.

He didn't respond, though. As the automobile neared, his hold on the wheel strengthened, halting exactly in our path and so preventing any possibility of escape. Panic stitched my spine.

His words almost audible, he advised, "Stay here," then went out before I could object.

I watched him approach the other car through the windscreen, his profile stiff and controlled. My fingers hung over the door handle, every instinct guiding me to dash to grab him back. I lingered, though, observing as yet another person towering and with an air of might emerged from the other car.

Though I could not make out their remarks, Eli's shoulders tightened and his head shook as the stranger motioned broadly. Whatever their identity, they were not merely another source. Eli valued this guy, maybe even frightened.

I turned to see Eli step back, his face pallid under the streetlights, and saw a startling motion. The person gave him something—a little, understated envelope. Eli fixed it, his look incomprehensible, then tucked it under his jacket and nodded.

The conversation was short-lived. The visitor came back to their car and gave one more look in my way. Heart thumping in my chest, I ducked reflexively and pushed myself back into the seat.

A second later the automobile turned around and vanished into the darkness as rapidly as it had arrived. Eli slid back into the driver's seat, his face darkened and his gaze turned away from me.

Who was that? Before I could stop it, the question left my mouth.

Though he didn't start the engine, he mumbled, " Someone I hoped we wouldn't have to see," clutching the steering wheel once more.

Eli, what did they offer you? Now my voice was quieter, a mixture of horror and inquiry.

Reaching into his jacket, he drew out the envelope and fixed her attention as though it contained a hundred secrets. At last he murmured, presenting it to me, "Something I'd hoped was lost." I paused, fingers shaking as I pulled it from him.

Inside, on one single sheet of paper, as I opened it, my breath stopped at the recognisable handwriting across the page.

"Ava, there's no hiding from reality. My voice little above a whisper, I read aloud. "not anymore."

Eli's face was white as he watched me read; his eyes glowed with an emotion I could not identify—perhaps remorse or terror.

"Who wrote this??" With a shaky voice, I asked.

"It comes from the one person I vowed to shield you from," he added softly. And in that instant I realized that whomever this person was, Eli was helpless against.

A shudder shot down my spine as his words set in. Now there was no turning back—no means to undo the reality I had glimpsed. And someone was observing, waiting, poised for attack somewhere in the night.

The only query still outstanding was... when.