The Ice Cream Pact

Chapter Thirteen

"I didn't see who it was," I lied, and reached up to bring his hand back down from the side of my face. When I did so, he held my hand in his instead of letting me release it, and I felt my face heat up even more at it. I tried not to think too much about it.

I wasn't trying to protect Bruce, but I was trying keep Jake on a leash. And I guess now I was trying to keep Lucas on a leash as well. The last thing I wanted was either of them getting hurt or into trouble because of me.

It was an absolutely terrible feeling- needing other people to stick up for you all the time. It was terrible.

"Did it happen when you ran off yesterday?" He tried to word it nicely, but it still made me feel embarrassed as hell. I looked down at my lap, where my hand remained in his warmer one. Even his metal rings were warmer than my freezing-cold hands.

"Yeah.. sorry about that by the way. I, um," I sighed, "I get freaked out some times at certain things.. it's stupid," I shook my head.

"Don't apologize, cielo," he cut me off, and I snapped my attention back up to him, trying with all my might to will away the mortified burning in my eyes. "Talk to me," he said. My heart stopped again.

"I appreciate it, but um," I felt myself starting to somewhat panic, "no thank you. I-I mean I'd rather not, right now," I stuttered out, and he nodded understandingly. I hated that he had to be understanding. I hated that I couldn't just act goddamn normal around people like I wanted to.

I thought again about what I had seen him and Alesia doing in that car, and my already sunken heart sank a little more. Maybe he did truly see me. But that didn't mean that what he saw was what he wanted.

And that honestly hurt more than having no one see me at all.

"About Alesia, um," he started, as if he could read my thoughts, and I looked back up at him. He was looking down this time, though, "Her brother is, well.. he's not doing very well right now. We left the fair the other night because she got some news that he was back in the hospital. I knew if I let her go without me she would have gotten herself into trouble one way or another," he tried to explain casually, but my eyebrows raised slightly. I could tell it was hurting him, whatever he was trying to bury under the surface. I knew what that looked like. And what it felt like.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and when he hesitated, I added, "Don't lie." He smiled slightly at me.

"But you lied about being okay," he countered. He looked over my busted eye, and his smile faltered again as he commented, "That looks really bad."

"Why thank you," I mused.

"Does it hurt?" His voice was smooth and somewhat soothing as he kept looking over my face. I swallowed the small lump in my throat.

"It's not too bad," I shrugged, and his warm eyes floated up to meet mine again.

"What are you doing after school?" He asked, and my face started to heat up again. I didn't know what to think, or how to respond... I obviously would have loved to do something with him, but I couldn't get the image of him and Alesia out of my mind.

However, after a bit of hesitation, I said, "nothing," if for no other reason than to make sure I didn't have to see Jake after school.

"Let's do something, then," he looked down at his hand and selected one of his rings to take off. "And just to make sure you don't bail on me," he grinned, taking my hand in his and slipping the ring onto my pointer finger, "give this back when you see me."

My stomach was a mess of butterflies, but I still wasn't letting myself get excited. For all I knew Alesia currently had one of his rings, too. Hell, for all I knew there were a ton of people who had a ring.