Free Grandfather by Anthony Wade Page B

his fingers, then made a fist again
    “ Belladonna and Edgar have
told me things, but I just want to see for myself,” I told him,
still preparing to be punched.
    “So you think we’re
liars?” Ashton said. He moved closer until his face was just inches
away from mine. “Is that what you’re saying?” he asked, his stare
so firm it could’ve burned a mark on my forehead. First meeting
with Ashton was not going so well. I was wishing I refused to meet
him.
    “No,” I said. “I . . . you
don’t understand.”
    “Oh, I think I
understand,” he growled. “If you don’t believe us, then you think
we’re liars. Why else would you want to find out for
yourself?”
    He kind of had a point. I
didn’t believe them. And if I didn’t believe them, well . . . that did mean I
thought they were lying . . . technically. But my point was that
maybe they couldn’t help it. Belladonna and Edgar believed strongly
in Grandfather, so I knew they weren’t just lying. Maybe they were
just being misled. Oh, I don’t know.
    “ Come on, Ashton,” Marley
begged. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of my face. “Just
stop. He’ll find out soon.”
    “Oh, he’ll find out soon,”
Ashton said. “Let’s just hope it’s not too late.” I couldn’t take
much more of Ashton. I didn’t understand why everybody wanted to
shove Grandfather at me. Edgar and Robert were that way. I was
surrounded by them. My not believing was as if it was the end of
the world for these guys. Yeah, I was angry, and I just let it all
out.
    “I’m attacked by Edgar in
an alley. The guy looks absolutely creepy. He tells me I’m in
danger and need to go with him . .
. all in one day. I know nothing about
Grandfather. I’m sorry, but it’s kind of hard to just
believe.”
    Ashton shook his head. He
just wasn’t buying it. “But the clues are right there. The tracking
law. And the night the President was killed . . . weren’t you
warned?”
    “Yeah,” I said.
    “Then what’s the
problem?”
    “You don’t understand,” I
yelled. “I’m not saying it’s not true. I’m saying that I
want—”
    “What are you saying?”
Ashton asked. He poked my chest with his finger. I really wanted to
punch this guy. I had felt the urge many times at the orphanage,
but not once did I actually go through with it. I came closer to
punching Ashton than anybody else. It was a good thing Marley was
there. She got in between us and pushed Ashton away even
further.
    “He’s just saying that he
wants to learn on his own,” Marley said.
    “So you’re on his side,
Marley?’ he asked.
    “I’m on nobody’s side,”
she said. “Now stop this right now.”
    Ashton turned around and
walked back to the ledge. I had nothing more to say to him. All I
wanted to do was leave and get back to my room where I didn’t have
to deal with people. I told Marley. She agreed to take me
back.
    “I’ll see you later, once
you’ve calmed down,” Marley told Ashton, her cool tone
returning.
    “Don’t even think about
bringing the nonbeliever,” he told her.
    I stomped my way down the
ladder, followed by Marley. My face was hot with anger. A few more
minutes with Ashton would’ve surely led to a fight.
    “I shouldn’t have come,” I
told Marley as I darted through the tunnels.
    “I’m so sorry,” she said,
having a difficult time keeping up. “I should have warned
you.”
    “What’s his problem
anyways?” I asked, finally allowing her to catch up. After all, I
had no idea how to get back.
    “He feels more strongly
about Grandfather than anyone.”
    “Yeah, I noticed that,” I
snapped.
    Marley looked at me with
gloomy eyes. “Something happened to him before I met him. He won’t
tell me what, but I know it’s the reason why he’s so angry with the
group.”
    Well, I didn’t know what
Ashton went through, but it didn’t give him a reason to treat me
that way. He needed to take things down a notch.
    Marley left me alone in my
room until dinner. I was