Good morning. What time do you want me to pick you up?
On Sunday morning I wake up with a smile on my face, when I read Jace's text.
Whatever works for you I answer quickly.
I text him back, letting him know that I'm ready when he is.
Be there at 11 he says.
Happy to finally see him again today, I get up from bed and make my way downstairs to the kitchen. I know it's only been two days, but when you're constantly around someone, you start to miss them right away.
Overall, I've had a great weekend. Like predicted, I spend a lot of time worrying about Jace and the things he might be doing, but I was able to distract myself decently. Jace texted me on Friday evening as promised, and also called me Saturday night. He didn't go to a party this weekend, he stayed home instead. I'm not going to lie, I was glad to hear it.
"Good morning sweetie" my mom greets me at the table, which is set with breakfast already.
"Morning mom" I say, smiling at her and taking a seat. "Thank you for making breakfast."
"No problem" she says, handing me a slice of bread. "Ready to go back to college?" she adds, making conversations.
"Surprisingly, yeah."
"Well, there is a certain someone making it easier for you to go back, am I right? When is he coming to pick you up?" mom smirks at me.
I grin back at her. "Eleven. And I'm kind of sad Ava is in Cali visiting Ryan, I would've loved to see her" I explain, trying to change the topic slightly.
"I'm sure she'll be here next time" mom reassures me.
We soon finish breakfast with a little bit of conversation, before I make my way upstairs again to get ready for the day. Since I showered last night, I comb through my hair and tame it with my straightener. I throw on my light blue straight cut jeans with a white a simple white sweater. Gathering all of my belongings that I need back at college, I carry my bag downstairs. I'm surprised when I hear chattering from the living room. I turn the corner to see Jace sitting on the couch next to my mom. My heart flutters at his presence.
"You're early" I say, as both of their heads snap towards me.
"Actually, I'm perfectly on time" Jace smirks at me. I quickly check my phone to see that it's 11:01am.
"Oh..." I drift off. Guess I must've lost track of time upstairs.
"Ready to go babe?" he asks me, coming my way. My cheeks start to heat up slightly, from the name he just called me in front of my mom. Silly, I know.
"Yeah" I nod my head back at him.
My mom comes up to me, engulfing me in a big hug. "It was nice to have you here sweetie" she says, pressing a kiss onto my cheek.
"It was good to be home. I'll see you in two weeks" I say, inhaling her scent for the last time. Maybe I'm just weird, but the smell of my mom always makes me feel like home.
"Jace. Take care of my baby for me, will you?" mom says, giving him a side hug too.
"Always, Helen" Jace replies, before grabbing my bag for me.
I turn around to give my mom one last wave, yelling "love you" before she closes the front door behind us. I don't know why, but leaving my mom's house will always be just a little painful. I don't want her to be alone, because I know I hate the feeling myself.
"Hey, hold up" Jace says from behind me, stopping me from walking to his car.
I didn't even notice I was walking in front of him, too lost in my thoughts. He grabs my hand, turning me around to face him gently.
"Sorry" I half-smile at him. "I was thinking" I add, stepping closer to him.
"Good to see you" he says quietly, grabbing my chin with his thumb and index finger.
"It's good to see you too" I say back just as quiet, before Jace's presses his lips onto mine softly. This is the second time I feel like home today.
"See, that's better" Jace laughs, before letting go of me as we arrive in front of his car. He throws my bag into the trunk and we take our seats in the car.
"Did you have a good weekend?" he asks me, placing his hand on my thigh as usual.
"I did. How about you?" I answer, putting on my seatbelt, as Jace is pulling out of our driveway.
"It was good. Quiet" he says, referring to himself staying home all weekend. "How were you feeling with everything?" he genuinely wants to know.
I sigh quietly. "Alright. I don't know, I mean, there are so many dumb thoughts running through my head sometimes" I let him know in honesty.
"Good I'm glad" he says, looking at me for split second before returning his eyes to the road. "You know you can always check my phone, right?"
I get a bad feeling right away. He knows that's never what I wanted.
"No, it's alright. You know that's not..." I start, but I'm interrupted by my phone vibrating aggressively in my pocket.
"Sorry, I should take this. It's my dad" I say confused about what he could want from me on a Sunday. Jace strokes my thigh gently, encouraging me to pick up.
"Hey dad" I say into the phone.
"Hey Mila, how are you doing?" he answers. I can tell something's up already, because he sounds sad and upset.
"Good. What's up?" I add, wanting to know the reason he's calling right away.
"I found out that Julie talked to you and Ava. I'm pretty upset that she did, I would have loved to talk to my daughters first, explain why I did what I did and how everything happened" he explains. I didn't even think about that. I can see that he's upset at Julie for taking that from him. Obviously, I also see why Julie was upset too and that she had to get everything off of her chest.
Sighing heavily, I already know that this conversation is going to be a lot for me. There's so much going on at the moment with Jace, Derek and my life at college in general, I don't really need this to pull me down. Still, he's my dad. So I'm going to listen to what he has to say.
"I'm sorry, but yes she called me and told me what happened" I answer.
"And what exactly did she say?" my dad asks me.
So I proceed to tell him all the things Julie told me. That he lived with another women, rented her an apartment and financed her life, how he's supposedly involved in sketchy business, how he drinks everyday. I know Jace can hear every word, but I trust him enough to know about what's going on in my life. Or in my dad's life, I guess. Jace tenses right away, when he hears the things my dad, supposedly, did.
My dad proceeds to tell me his side of the story. He met this girl and felt sorry for her because her family had kicked her out and she didn't have anywhere to go. He rented her that apartment so she could have a place to stay and wouldn't have to live on the street. What was a small act of kindness became something more. He claims that there's no way that he's an alcoholic, that he drinks a maximum of one glass of wine everyday. For some reason he doesn't mention anything about the sketchy business, but I decide to let it go.
I get why Julie would overreact a little bit. She was cheated on with another, younger woman, her whole life is probably falling apart right now. Yet, my anger starts shifting towards her more and more, for taking my dad's opportunity to talk to his daughters first. For tellings us a complete different and over exaggerated story and, most importantly, for giving us such a wrong image of our dad. The worst part is that Julie's telling this story to all of their mutual friends, making every single one of them hate my dad. She even went to dad's best friend before he had the chance to.
The more we talk, the more I realize that I'll always stand on my dad's side, even if he's the one that messed up and made a mistake. My anxiety rises along with my anger towards Julie, I feel my body start to shake when we arrive in front of Jace's apartment.
"Look dad, I have to go now. I'm really glad we talked. Please know that we love you, we'll always be by your side, okay?" I say, eager to get away from the conversation, so I can calm down.
We hang up the phone and I can finally breathe again. "I'm so sorry" I say, talking about the fact that I was absent the whole car ride.
"Don't worry about it. Are you okay? You're shaking" Jace states as he stops the engine of the car.
"I'll be okay, I just need a minute" I answer, unbuckling my seatbelt.
My whole body is buzzing as we make our way upstairs. I'm slowly starting to feel sick and dizzy at the same time. I know I shouldn't get too worked up about something that isn't even happening in my life, but I'm already too far over the edge. I think of Jessica, Derek, Julie and my dad at the same time, and my head starts spinning. This is too much for me, I can't turn it off anymore.
We arrive upstairs in Jace's apartment, as I already see little stars in the corner of my eyes. I hold my left arm out to hold myself steady, bending forward slightly so I won't fall backwards.
"Shit. Mila, what's happening?" Jace asks me hectically, throwing my bag onto the floor.
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What's going on with Mila?
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