Viper's Girl |Complete|

Chapter 40

Ella's POV:

This morning I wake with Ace next to me for the first time since we've been back from Florida. Since we came back, he's been avoiding me and that meant me waking up alone in the mornings while he was in the shower or in the office or doing whatever he could to be anywhere but with me.

I'm hopeful that today things will change. Last night Ace said we'd talk about what's going on, and I hope we will. By this point I'd usually be in panic mode, but Ace assured me it's nothing to do with me, and he kissed me goodnight and told me he loves me.

Looking up at him, I smile softly. He looks even cuter when he's sleeping.

"Are you watching me sleep?" He smirks.

"I might be, your cute when your asleep." I giggle softly.

"Oh, just when I'm sleeping?" He opens his eyes with a grin.

"Your cute all the time, you know this." I boop his nose gently.

"Your cute all the time." He rebuts childishly as rolls over quickly and pushes me against the bed, then begins planting kisses all over my face as he tickles me.

"Ace, stop." I giggle loudly.

Buzz buzz buzz, my phone rings loudly on the side table. Ace stops tickling me and leans over, picking it up. "It's your Mom." He says hanging me the phone.

"I don't have anything to say until she's ready to be honest with me."

"I know." He nods and hangs the phone up, then places it down on the bed next to us. "And while we're on the topic of honestly, why don't we head downstairs and get breakfast underway so we can talk?"

"Mmm, how about you go and get breakfast ready and I'll lay right here in bed?" I grin.

"Oh really?" He smirks down at me "You think I'm you personal chef now? Shall I call you Miss Ella or Miss Vargas?"

"Mmm, Miss Ella is fine." I giggle.

Buzz buzz buzz. My phone rings once more. I pick it up and see it's Mom calling again, I then check the time to find it's after nine and Mom should be at work. Maybe she's only calling to make sure I'm okay as I'm not at work.

Sighing, I press answer and hold the phone to my ear. "I'm fine, Ace and I are having a day off together."

"Oh? Your not at work today? Me either, so that works out well. Ella, I need you to come home, we need to talk."

"Are you going to tell me the truth?"

"Everything will be explained when you get here." She assures.

"You'll have to give us a moment to get ready, we've only just woken."

"Actually honey, maybe it would be a good idea if you come on your own, this is a family matter."

"Ace is my family. Whatever is going on here, I want him to know about it, he's just as involved as I am."

Sighing, she stays quiet for a moment. "Just get here as soon as you can." She says before hanging up the phone.

"Mom wants me home as soon as I can, she says we need to talk." I tell Ace who is watching me in wonder.

"As she didn't want me there?"

"She says it's a family matter, but you are my family. Let's get dressed, the sooner this is over, the sooner you and I can talk."

***

Arriving at home after not being here for a week feels strange, it still feels like home, just different.

If I'm honest, I don't want things to be this way between Mom and I; I don't want to go back to calling her Katherine and not trusting her, so I'm hopeful whatever she has to say to me today, it's the truth.