Love me or hate me it's still an obsession

Chapter 13

The weekend flew by. Ace treated Effie like a Queen. He took her to a local café, giving her a bite of his favourite brownie even though she had ordered cake. He made her laugh, teased her playfully whilst they lounged about in his massive apartment. He kissed her cold nose as they strolled down the vibrant London street at night and when they returned to his, he put out his home cinema screen so they could watch her favourite movies, waiting for the sun to rise. She told him her deepest secrets and he let her control what they spoke about. He blew his brother off for the first time in over a decade, and as they walked to the local café to pick up some hot chocolate he wrapped her up in his warm coat, giving her butterflies as he kissed her head. He had worked out by the end of the weekend that even though she said 'one sugar' in her tea, she really meant two. He calmed her down when she got mad at a group of teenagers who were hassling an old lady in a coffee shop and made fun of her when she got sassy with the checkout man at a shoe shop. By Sunday evening there was no denying the love they felt for each other. They were each other's completely - her lover, his best friend.

He drove her to her flat in the early hours of Monday morning, not wanting the weekend they had had to end. She turned to face him as he parked up outside, knowing that this was it, the moment she had been dreading, back to reality. He looked at her face that suddenly seemed full of sadness, "what's wrong?" he asked, putting his hand on her arm, stroking her skin caringly.

She looked out the window, not able to face him, "I just know the way things are, cannot carry on. I have felt so loved, so happy but I know that it can't be forever."

He turned her face towards him and kissed her, "Effie, nothing can change what we have. I am going to love you in your weak moments, in your strong ones, when you're happy or sad. I am here and I am not going anywhere."

She shook her head, pulling his hands from her face, "it isn't enough Ace. We are from two completely different worlds. We cannot be together at work... so what, we just hide in our own little bubble at the weekends? I don't want that. I want someone who is proud to show me off, that wants to have me whatever the consequence, but you have too much to lose. I cannot do that to you..."

He saw her eyes become teary, killing him that every word she had said was true. "Effie, I can speak to dad, I can change things..."

Her expression changed; his words different to what she wanted him to say. "You go. I will meet you at work. Wouldn't want anyone to see us arriving together. Might hurt your ego." She didn't wait for his response, grabbing her handbag and slamming the car door as she got out.

He watched her go inside, holding his steering wheel tightly in anger, his hands gripping the leather rigidly, "fuck!" he shouted as he turned the engine on and drove away.

Effie made her way slowly up the stairs to her flat door, her tears staining her cheeks, making her make up run. She got her keys out, sniffling as she threw her bags onto the floor when she realised her door was already open. She looked in confusion, holding her keys tightly in her fingers. "Cade?" she shouted out, pushing the door open. She put her hand to her mouth in shock seeing the mess in front of her. She walked inside looking at the pictures on the wall all slanted or pushed onto the floor and the shoe storage box had been completely turned upside down. The kitchen and living room had been pulled apart. She ran over to her family photo that was upside down on the floor, the glass smashed to pieces. "No, no, no", she whispered.

She suddenly got up and ran to the bedroom, looking for her family jewellery, the only things she had left of the family she knew nothing about. Her bedroom had been ransacked, her clothes all over the floor and her jewellery box opened bare on her bed. She grabbed the jewellery box and shook it, hearing just the clashing of a few rings that Cade had got her over the years. She crawled across the room to her bedside table, pulling out the top drawer and rummaging through the photos. She pushed down the back of the drawer, lifting up a corner at the front. Underneath was where she kept her most prized jewellery from her family and luckily the small pouch hidden inside hadn't been found. She grabbed it and held it tight to her chest as she leant back on the wall and cried. She felt her throat close up as she wiped at the tears falling from her already bloodshot eyes. She looked inside the pouch and gently pulled out her mother's silver chain with a purple amethyst amulet dangling from it; she felt a security with it in her fingers, the chain falling around her skin almost like it was absorbing something from her. She put it around her neck, attaching the clasp securely. She could no longer trust it to be safe in her flat, she didn't know why but she felt like it was important. She tucked the necklace into her top and grabbed her phone from her pocket. She dialled the number for Wesley Incorporated, not wanting to see or hear from anyone for the rest of the day; she didn't have the strength to even try.