Always There

Chapter 21

Its been around 48 hours since my fight with Ace. I can’t take it anymore. Jeremiah has been at my house since it happened. Sure, him being here is helping a little, but it’s no where near fixed.

I’m not sure how much more I can take. My dad showing up and Ace telling me he never wants to see me again, makes it really hard to overcome this.

Today is Ace’s birthday and I usually surprise him with a gift. I decided I was going to try and see if he would accept his gift and talk to me. I told Jeremiah that he could go home and then come back later when I returned from Ace’s.

I grabbed his gift that I made and walked out to my truck. His gift this year was a photo album of the two of us. It was filled with pictures, some from when we were young and some were more recent. On the back of the album, I wrote a phrase in glitter. The phrase read: To Infinity and Beyond. I attached a last minute note, saying how sorry I was.

I pulled into the driveway of his house and turned off my car. I sat there for a few minutes, finding the courage to get out. I finally got out of the car and walked slowly to his front door. I knocked on his door and it opened to reveal his step mom, Lindsey.

“Hi Lindsey, is Ace here?” She looked around hesitantly for a while, but then finally spoke.

“Actually, you just missed him.” I looked around, trying to think of what to say. I looked to my right and caught a glimpse of his window. His light was on, so either Lindsey was lying to me or his little brother was in his room again. I had a feeling the she was lying.

“Well could you please tell him that I stopped by to wish him a happy birthday,” I said as tears began to fill my eyes. I blinked furiously to try and stopped them from coming down my cheek. I was able to keep them in my eyes. She looked at me with a sympathetic smile and said.

“Of course I will honey.”

“Thank you.” With that, she shut the door and I walked slowly back to my car. Before I pulled out of the driveway, I sent Ace a text.

I know you are mad at me, and you don’t want to talk to me, but happy birthday. I’ve been telling you this since I could talk and I’m not about to let a little fight keep me from missing one of your birthdays. I have your gift, and I think it is a pretty special one. I’m leaving it on your front porch, please look at it.

I threw my phone on the passenger seat and walked back to his front door. I laid the album down on the mat and returned to my car. I backed out of the driveway and headed home.

*Ace’s Point of View*

I heard the roar of her jeep and walked over to my window. Sure enough, it was her. I watched as she sat in her car for what seemed like forever. She got out of jeep and walked to the front door, holding something under her arm.

I heard her knock and then I heard Lindsey’s voice greet her. I couldn’t really make out the rest of the conversation, but I figured that Lindsey lied for me. I told her earlier today that if Caroline come by, to say that I wasn’t home.

I watched as Caroline looked around, and her eyes landed right on my window. I jumped back so she wouldn’t see a figure. After a few seconds, I returned to my earlier position and watched her walk back to her jeep.

She sat in the driver seat and pulled out her phone. I watched as she typed a message to someone. If I had to guess it was probably Jeremiah or Cole. I saw her put down her phone and then I heard mine beep.

I walked over to my phone and read the message displayed on the screen. It was from Caroline, wishing me a happy birthday. She said she left my gift on the porch, so I walked over to the window to see that her car was gone.