A Slave to Broken Hearts (A Slave to Love Sequel)

Chapter 19: Please

A long, lonely week passed without so much as a text message from Blade. The small bit of distraction I had scrounged up on that first day had been the last moment I'd enjoyed whilst staying with Ace. The longer Blade ignored me, the worse I felt. My tattoo had begun to grow a thin red rim around, and my temperature had already risen several degrees. Ace had managed to hunt down some clothes for me that were at least, from this century, since I hadn't come with anything but the clothes on my back.

Worst of all, Blade was also ignoring Ace, so even he couldn't find out if he was alright or not. He had suggested asking Lexi to check on him but I squashed that idea immediately. If Lexi got involved it would be a nightmare for everyone.

The guilt over having had a bit of fun with Ava and Marco was enough to keep me in bed, not finding it fair that I was acting so carefree when Blade was still hurting from what I'd done. Being cooped up in bed alone was enough to put me in a foul mood, wallowing in the guilt, worrying about Blade and how he was doing, if he'd ever forgive me, if he had spoken to Eliza since we last saw each other, whether nor not I should text to him to see how he was or to apologize for what I did or--

It was a vicious cycle.

Ace began to give up on trying to distract me, mostly dropping by to check on me and make sure I was still eating. I was, but I was beginning to have to choke it down through sheer force of will. If I stopped eating, I would just deteriorate that much faster and so would Blade, and I wasn't about to let that happen. 

"Kiana, are you sure you're okay?" Mike asked, voice low. Even though I had no desire to show up for work and be perky, I didn't have a choice. At least when it was busy it was distracting and I could almost forget the awfulness of my situation and the burning in my arm, made worse by having to support trays of food and drinks all day.

"Fine," I said impatiently, unable to help it. My limited energy was stretched thin, and I reserved it for clients because that was more important. I tried not to snap at Mike or my other co-workers, or break down crying, but it was a difficult feat. Particularly as I was already feeling run down and hot, on top of wearing a long sleeved shirt to cover my reddening tattoo. No one could see it, they may think it was getting infected and that was certainly going to put people off their desserts.

"You're not usually...like this," he said, gesturing at all of me. "Did something happen?"

"Nope," I said quickly, stacking the menus I'd just cleaned. I really had no interest in getting into the whole story at work, even if it was just the two of us left. I still hadn't even told Ace what had happened yet. He hadn't questioned me thus far and I was glad; admitting I'd made such a stupid mistake wasn't something I was excited to do. And maybe I was hoping the whole thing would blow over soon and we would go back to normal. It was stupid, but I was getting desperate.

"You sure?" he prodded, placing the clean coffee pot back in its holder.

"Yup."

"Okay, if you change your mind-"

"Thanks," I said, trying to muster up a bit of a warmer tone. He was only being nice, I didn't need to be so short with him. It was just harder now, as it had been a long day and it had worn me out even more than I already was. Thankfully, it was almost over. 

When we closed up for the night, my first night shift this week, we headed outside together. I checked my messages, trying to swallow my disappointment that there was still none from Blade. Unsurprisingly, there was one from Ace, though the message preview was confusing. 

Ace: I'm here!

Here? Here where? 

Puzzled, I frowned down at the message, stopping in my tracks.

"Something wrong?" Mike asked, pausing beside me. 

"No?" I said, but I wasn't sure, not until I heard a voice calling my name. His text suddenly made more sense.

He was here, sitting his car with his head stuck out the window like a dog, as he waved frantically to get my attention. "Hey!"

"Friend of yours?" Mike asked, stepping closer to me.

"Yeah," I said, still not entirely sure what was going on. "Ace, is there something wrong?"

"Of course not," Ace said, ever cheerful. "I wasn't about to let you take the bus home at night alone. I'd be skinned alive if anything happened to you on my watch so I figured it was better not to risk it."

Ah. "Thanks." 

I could feel Mike studying me curiously. He knew Blade would drive me to and from work, but this was the first time we had left together or that I'd left before he had since the separation. No doubt he was putting together the pieces of the puzzle to my less than stellar mood.

"You good?" Mike asked me quietly, still eyeing Ace, who waved at him. 

"Yeah, I'm good. See you this weekend," I said, heading over to join Ace before he could question me further, and Mike made his way to his own car to head home.

"You didn't have to pick me up," I said to Ace once I got in. I felt bad enough about imposing on him for all this time, and being a less than ideal house guest, always making sure to organize myself with enough time to make it for the bus so I wouldn't have to depend on him for rides when he was already so busy.

"I know, but I think you've had enough people attacking this past year that I figured it wouldn't be such a bad idea to keep you from travelling alone at night," he said, pulling out onto the street. "Just be glad I haven't made a point of driving you every time yet."

"Taking the bus isn't that dangerous," I pointed out. Sure I was glad I wouldn't have to wait twenty minutes for the bus in the dark while being eaten alive by mosquitoes, but everyone else did it and so could I.

He laughed. "Maybe not, but you're a magnet for trouble. You've already been attacked at school in broad daylight. You'll have to forgive me for wanting to make sure you get home to Blade in one piece. Or else I'll be the one dealing with his wrath next, and I'm far too pretty to die young."

I sobered immediately at the mention of Blade. He seemed to realize this was a mistake because he quickly winced and muttered a 'sorry' to me before we lapsed into silence for the rest of the ride home. By the time I got home, I was too exhausted to do anything besides mumble a halfhearted 'goodnight' to Ace and drag my feet to my room, now that I was finally familiar with the way. 

Peeling off my work clothes, I collapsed on top of my bed in my sports bra and underwear, too tired to get up and shower and too hot to bother with any kind of pajama. Thankfully, there was a fresh cup of water on my nightstand. No matter what, there was always a glass of water around for me and some kind of food, no doubt on Ace's command, to make sure I was at least hydrated and had the option to eat. I sipped it briefly, then flopped back down on top of the blankets. The heat of summer paired with the growing fever of separation was making it hard to sleep. Or do anything really. Particularly as this wasn't my home and I wasn't comfortable enough to lie around naked in this room like I used to with--

Something had to give. And soon. 

I wanted to give him his space, but every day I was growing worse, and who knows how Blade was doing? He could only have so much time apart before it killed us both. It wasn't just that I wanted to see him and make things right by him and make sure he was okay, it was also our bond that made my resolve begin to crack. We hadn't spent this much time apart physically since Aros and it was getting harder and harder to keep away. At least when we fought after my birthday we were still in the same house, the physical proximity making it slower to ruin us. I should not be struggling this much after only a week apart, and if this kept up no amount of forcing down food and water was going to help. 

********

Two days later and I had made my decision. He wasn't going to like it, but I had to go home. I had to talk to him, at least try to fix this, and if he didn't want to hear me out yet then he would just have to ignore me. Staying apart like this wasn't working. 

I stumbled through the halls after breakfast, trying to find Ace but not entirely sure where he would be on a Saturday morning. Today was my day off so it was the perfect opportunity to deal with this Blade problem, in case it went so poorly I needed the day to recover and get my shit together before returning to being perky enough to serve coffee tomorrow. 

After maybe thirty minutes of dragging my feet all over the mess of hallways, I gave up and went to settle in by the fireplace the first night I had come here, texting Ace to ask where he was. It took a while for him to answer, which wasn't unusual since he wasn't always able to text during meetings.

Ace: At a trial. What's up?

Kiana: Nothing, just curious.

I had promised myself not to interfere with his work any more than I already had, even though he had assured me many times that he was more than happy to be pulled away. Almost as soon as I sent my reply he called.

"Ace, it was nothing," I said when I picked up.

"Doubtful. What's up?" he said, a low hum of chatter in the background.

"Nothing," I insisted. "Aren't you in trial right now? How are you calling me?"

"Momentary recess, so you're not interrupting anything. Now come on, fess up, darling. You hardly text me to find out what I'm doing or where I am so what's going on? Something happen?" 

"No, nothing," I repeated. He stayed quiet but his silence was very pointed. "Okay, fine. I was wondering if I could have a lift somewhere, but you're busy now so don't worry about it."

"I should be done in about an hour, then I can drive you anywhere you like," he said, "And if its where I think you want to go, you're definitely not going to weasel your way out of it."

"How did you know?" I asked, plucking at a stray thread on my shorts. I'd put back on my clothes, the ones I had shown up and been stranded here in. 

"I'm incredibly brilliant, that's how."

"Since when?"

"Ouch. Fine, I saw your tattoo and figured you'd be leaving within the next two days, tops. Any longer and I was going to bring you home whether you liked it or not," he said. "You're deteriorating too fast being apart like this."

"I know," I sighed, stretching out along the length of the couch, switching my cell to my left hand so I could study my tattooed arm better. The angry red rim was getting thicker and my arm was hot, uncomfortable. 

"I'll meet you at the front in an hour alright? If I get held up I'll text you."

"Okay. Thanks, Ace," I said, curling up on the couch more comfortably once we hung up. Instead of being relieved, my stomach sank. Now that I had a ride, confirmation I'd be returning home, the anxiety that had been steadily growing began to escalate. I had no idea how Blade was going to react to me coming home or what was going to happen. I knew it wouldn't be good either way.

Ace was prompt, meeting me exactly when he said he would. When we got in the car, I texted Blade a simple 'I'm coming home' and nothing else, now that I knew we were on our way and there was no backing out. He deserved at least this warning.I just hoped he wouldn't take off before I got there. When we arrived, we sat in the long drive in silence. 

"It's going to be okay," he said softly when I made no move to get out. 

Blade was here. I could feel him near, for the first time in over a week. Just that alone was enough to make me feel less tired, less hot and aching. My bond may have been relieved, but I was not. My heart was tripping already.

"I'll hang out here for a bit, in case--" he cut himself off abruptly, as if realizing that wasn't as comforting as it sounded. 

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Hopefully, him sticking around would be useless. 

His hand touched my arm briefly and I flicked my eyes his way, taking in his encouraging smile. "You're going to be okay."

I hoped he was right. 

Getting out of the car without a word, my legs began to shake. Instead of feeling glad that I was home again after all this time, I was filled with terror. The high stone walls had never seemed so intimidating before, but they loomed over me, dark and cold and unwelcome. I didn't have to worry about Blade avoiding me however, because he was still nearby. To his credit, he didn't move from wherever he was, so he either hadn't noticed me arrive or was simply ignoring the fact that I was here.