Chapter 68 SPA DAY.
SLOANE'S POINT OF VIEW.
“Where are we going?” I asked him for the third time. Since he’d announced that we would be ditching school, my heart hasn’t been settled. “You know some of us care about our grades.”
“Sunshine, you know I’m the best for a reason, right?” He chuckles, and I roll my eyes. He’s so fucking cocky, but I love it.
“You haven’t responded to me. Where are we going?”
“A spa. You look like you’re troubled, Sloane. Your eyes have bags underneath them, and there are dark circles. I don’t want you falling sick.” He says, driving us through the long road on the mountain. I looked out the window and stared at the ocean beneath us.
The scenery was beautiful, almost calming, because for once, the charred, bleeding hands were no longer on my mind.
“You want to tell me what happened?” He asked, and I turned to stare at him. Biting my lip, I played with the hem of my skirt. I didn’t want to come off as childish to him.
He stared at me with gentle eyes, waiting for my answer.
“I had a nightmare,” I whispered low, hoping he wouldn’t catch it, but Lucien was like a fucking mule. He was so stubborn.
“You wanna tell me what it was about?”
I shook my head instead, not wanting to relive the memory. “No, it was too scary. I want to forget.”
He didn’t say anything at first, but grabbed my hand and rubbed the back of my palm slowly. “If I could, I’d walk into that nightmare and slay anything that made you so scared.”
“Lucien.” I giggled, my ear warming at his protective gesture. I always thought he didn’t like or…or love me as much as I did him, but the way he acted most time…it made me think he actually did, and that this wasn’t one-sided.
“What? I would. As a matter of fact, I’ll start checking for anybody that can get me into that mind of yours, just so I can come in whenever this happens again, and steal you away after slaying all those demons.” I giggled again; this time, it was louder, as I clutched my belly.
“Stop. That’s not even possible.” I whined, smiling as I laid our joined palms against my cheek.
“There’s nothing I won’t find. I’ll make sure of it, even if I have to spend a fortune on it.” I smiled, kissing the back of his palm softly, and sighed. “This is why you need a spa. I want you to be relaxed, free from all this. You deserve it, baby.”
A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of a huge building at the top of the mountain. At the top, it had the Ravenscroft crest on it, as well as the face of a woman I didn’t recognize. I stared at her; her smile was wide, and there was a small boy beside her.
His hair was blonde and all over the place as he stared up at her with an adorable expression. They smiled at each other, looking lost in their own world, like the rest of the world was nothing to them. She held him to her chest protectively, her hands around his small body, as he clutched onto him.
Wair…I know those blue eyes.
Is that…Lucien?
I gasped in shock, and he fell into step beside me.
“Lucien…isn’t that?” I asked, pointing at the huge picture at the front of the building.
“Yes, it’s me.” He answered, staring at the picture with a drawn expression. Suddenly, Lucien’s eyes were sad…and I’ve never seen him like that.
“Who is she?”
“My mother.” He responded, before flipping a button. The click of the car doors sounded behind me, but I barely heard it, because all I could look at was him.
He looked at the picture with thin lips, as if he could remember this day, as if he was currently reliving it each second he stared at the image.
“You mind telling me about her?” I asked hesistantly, hoping this wouldn’t become some big fight between us.
He turned to me with a surprised expression, and just before I could tell him not to bother, he smiled sadly and said, “She was one of the most beautiful women I ever had the privilege of meeting. The second is you.”
My chest flipped at that, and I swallowed.
“Really? How beautiful was she?” I asked, grabbing his hand as we walked into the spa. The smell of jasmine hit me immediately the second we walked through the doors. I gasped at the interior, every place had his mother’s face…or at least a picture of her.
The walls, the electronics….everything had her on it. It felt like the person who did this wanted every customer to leave with a memory of her. However, there was no one else in here, just the two of us, and a couple of staff.
“Too beautiful. I think that’s what led to her undoing.” He whispered as we walked further.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because she met Eldric, and he ruined everything.” He pointed to a staff, but she was already running towards us, with several others behind her.
“But why aren’t there any customers here? Is it a bad day?” I asked, but frowned at my question. Could anything with the Ravenscroft name have such a thing as a bad day?
“This place isn’t a business, baby. It was her last project before she passed away.” He said, but before I could say anything else, the staff had stopped in front of us.
They bowed so low to him, smiles on their faces, as they said in unison. “Welcome, Mr Ravenscroft. How may we be of help to you today?”
“My girl’s tired. I want her to relax. Spare nothing to ensure she’s satisfied. If she isn’t, you all lose your jobs immediately.”
As they took me away, I couldn’t help but think about his mother. The only thing I’d read about her years ago was that she died of an overdose, and that article is nowhere to be seen today. The magazine that published it was also sued and forced to close down due to debts.
What could Alicia Ravenscroft been like?
And how did she end up with a man like Eldric?