I woke up to the warm body of Ace. We were still entwined like last night. Or morning. I tilted my chin up to look at Ace. He was still alseep. I didn't want to wake him up, he deserved the sleep.
I studied his features; that wouldn't wake him up. He had a square jaw, with facial hair slowly growing in. His black hair was laying in his eyes. I felt the need to move it. I slowly raised my hand off of his chest.
Before I could move his hair, Ace rolled us over. He put all of his weight on his forearms, his body parallel to mine. His beautiful blue eyes stared into my boring green eyes.
"Good morning sweetcheeks," he smiled.
"Morning," I replied breathless.
"What were you doing?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I wasn't- what do you mean- nothing," I stuttered. His closeness was driving me crazy.
"Come on princess, you were doing something," He coaxed.
"I was going to move your hair out of your face," I muttered.
"That's real sweet of you," he said. He rolled back over, laying next to me. Our shoulders were touching.
"I'm a nice person," I replied.
"What time is it?" He asked.
"I don't know, let me check my phone," I said. My phone was on the night stand on the other side of Ace. I leaned most of my upper body across his, reaching for my phone. I grabbed my phone and checked the time.
I went back to my original position. "It's 11:30."
"Well what are we going to do today?" He asked.
"You really want to spend the day with me?" I asked in surprise.
"Well yeah, I don't have any other plans," he replied.
That kind of hurt but at the same time I was glad he decided to spend time with me instead of doing nothing.
"Well, whatever we decide to do, I need to shower before," I declared. I started to get up but Ace grabbed my waist. I wanted his hands to stay there.
"Let's lay here a little longer," he suggested.
I wasn't going to deny this fine piece of boy. I put my head back on his chest. He ran his hands up and down my back. We laid there in comfortable silence.
While Ace was rubbing my back, he got a little close to the side of my stomach. I jumped.
"Are you ticklish?" Ace asked, smiling big.
I tried to roll away from Ace but he grabbed ahold of me.
"Don't you dare do it Ace, I'll kick your ass," I threatened.
"You don't scare me, Phoenix," he whispered into my ear. The way he said my name made my stomach do little flips.
Before I could say anything back to him, he tickled my sides. I squealed in laughter, rolling around trying to get free.
He wouldn't stop tickling me and flailing arms rendered useless.
"Ace!" I shouted. "Stop, please!"
"What was that? I couldn't hear you," Ace teased.
"Ace, seriously stop," I begged.
My stomach hurt from laughing.
"Okay," he said. His hands left my sides and I instantly felt sad.
I ignored the feeling and rolled off my bed. I grabbed some clothes from my closet.
"Try to amuse yourself while I go take a shower," I suggested.
"Maybe I'll just leave," he shrugged.
I didn't want him to leave but i wasn't about to tell him that.
"It's your choice," I replied.
Ace's face dropped. Then he turned playful.
He jumped off the bed and ran at me. I dropped my clothes and ran out of the room. I had the upper hand in this situation, I knew the house and he didnt. I ran down the hall and into the master bedroom. I lost him when I ran through the bathroom and back out into the hall. I bolted past my room and into the bathroom next door. I slammed the door shut and locked it.
I sat down on the floor trying to catch my breath. I waited for Ace to figure out where I was. I heard his footsteps come closer to me.
"You win that one," Ace said on the other side of the door
"I'm gonna take a shower," I said.
"I'll wait here," Ace said. I heard him slide down the door.
I turned on the water and got undressed. I pulled out a white towel from the closet and threw it down by the shower. I hopped in, smiling to myself.
I was falling hard and fast.
*****
When I got out of the shower I made a disturbing realization. I dropped my clothes in my room and didn't pick them back up.
But I wasn't going to let that stop me. I wasn't going to let Ace's presence effect me that much. I put the white towel around my body and a black towel around my head. I unlocked the door and slowly pulled it open.
Ace felt the door move and instantly stood up. His eyes lingered over my body. The white towel didn't cover much.
"Excuse me," I said with my chin up.
He backed up and let me travel down the hall back to my room. I felt his eyes stare into my back.
Once I made it to my room, I closed the door and locked it. I sighed in relief.
"That wasn't very fair," Ace called from the other side.
"Life isn't fair," I called back.
I threw on a bra and panties. "What are we doing today?" I called.
"We're going bowling," he replied.
Bowling.
I threw on my black skinny jeans and a plain white tshirt. I let my hair fall past my shoulders. There was no way my hair would cooperate with me today. It was way too humid.
I opened my door and Ace instantly walked in. He laid back down on my bed and watched me continue to get ready.
"Do you want to shower?" I asked him while putting on my mascara.
"I showered last night before saving your life," he explained.
I just nodded. I didn't want to relive last night for as long as possible. I finished putting on my make up and turned around to face Ace.
"Let's do this thing," I cheered.
******
Ace helped me get off his death trap once we were at the alley. We walked close to each other, shoulders occasionally brushing. We walked into the empty bowling alley. Every single lane was empty.
We got our shoes and lane and Ace got us a ball. I put our names into the computer. I put his name in first so I could see what I was going up against.
"What and learn," Ace said.
I don't know what I was expecting from Ace. I guess deep down I was hoping he sucked at this. But he threw a strike and I knew I was done for.
"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you bowl," Ace bragged.
My competitive side of me started to come out. There was no way I would win, but I was going to come close.
I rolled the ball down the lane and knocked down nine pins.
"Wooo!" I cheered. I turned around and Ace was staring at the doorway.
In walked a group of 4 guys. They looked a couple years older than us. Ace stood up and walked over to me.
"You need to leave," he whispered at me.
I looked into his blue eyes, they held panic.
"I'm not leaving you alone," I replied.
"Phoenix, you don't have a choice," he said urgently.
"How am I suppose to leave if they're blocking the door?" I hissed.
"What do we have here?" One of the guys called from across the room.
Ace slowly turned around, pushing me behind him in a protective stance. I didn't know what was happening but it wasn't going to be good.
"Mark," Ace said.
"Reigns, where you have been lately?"Mark asked.
"I've been busy," he replied curtly.
"What are you hiding behind your back?" Mark smiled.
"She's off limits," Ace hissed.
Mark put his hands up. "I understand. Tell me Reigns, how's your dad?"
Ace's entire body tensed. "Don't bring him into this."
"I was just wondering if you visited him lately," Mark said innocently.
I've never heard of Ace's dad before, or his mom. It never even crossed my mind that he never talked of his family.
"You of all people should know I won't do that," Ace snapped.
"I understand. When I kill somebody I tend to never visit them again either," Mark smiled with malice.
Ace killed his own father?
*******
"Why are you here?" Ace demanded.
"I've been looking for you actually, you stopped showing up to the club and I started to worry. I thought you might have committed suicide like your mother," Mark smirked.
My stomach lurched. What is Mark talking about? Both of Ace's parents were dead and he killed one of them?
I placed my hand onto Ace's back. It was soon going to be four against one and Ace needed to know I had his back.
"I'm done coming to your club, I have other things I need to worry about,"Ace said.
"Well why didn't you tell me that in the first place? I could have saved myself a lot of time searching for you," Mark sighed.
"Well, when someone stops showing up it usually means they're done for good," Ace said slowly.
"You've always been indecisive though, so I felt the need to check up on you," Mark explained. The three guys standing behind him were looking bored.
"Well here I am. And I'm done showing up, so don't expect me anymore," Ace declared.
"Alright, I'll take your name out of the computer," Mark said easily.
"Thank you. Now my friend and I are leaving," Ace decided.
"Of course, of course," Mark said, stepping away from the door.
Ace grabbed my hand and led me out. When we passed Mark I got a better view of him. He we had broad shoulders and a round face. He didn't have a lot of hair on his head, and a what was there was gray. He had normal brown eyes. But something about his presence gave me the shivers.
Ace pulled me out of the building and dragged me over to his motorcycle. He threw me on it. He got on and started it up. We pulled out without looking back.
********
Ace drove a little faster than the speed limit. His knuckles were white from holding the bars so tight.
He drove us to the local park. There was a fountain and playground. The park was almost empty. I kept forgetting that I should be in school. Ace made me forget the bad things.
He parked by the fountain and got off. He held out his and helped me get off. He led us over to a wooden bench, refusing to look at me.
He sat down and pulled me with him. He put his elbows on his knees and his hands on his face. I wasn't sure what to do so I put my head on his shoulder.
"You knew I was going to tell you eventually," Ace whispered, his voice cracking.
"You still don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I whispered.
Ace looked at me. He was staring at my eyes. "You're still looking at me the same way."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"When people hear that I killed my father and mother committed suicide they have this look of pity and fear," Ace muttered. "They don't know whether to fear me because I'm a murderer or give me sympathy because I lost my mother."
"Your past doesn't define who you are today. It might make you who you are, but it doesn't give me the right to judge you," I promised.
Ace opened his mouth but then closed it. He looked past me and slit his eyes. I turned around to see what he was staring at.
It was Jason.
My heart rate instantly picked up and my palms became sweaty.
"Shouldn't you be in jail?" Ace asked, standing in front of me.
"Dad bailed me out," Jason shrugged.
"So what are you doing here?" Ace asked.
"I felt bad about trying to kill Phoenix. I came to apologize," Jason said.
"To hell with that," Ace spat.
"I didn't know what came over me. I guess I was mad at first that she didn't kiss me back. But then I became furious when I saw you spending time with her. And then I thought, why should Ace get to be happy? He killed his father, his mother died, and he still manages to get what he wants. So here's what I decided: you both get to live, but you can't see each other," Jason preached.
"And what if I don't stay away from her?" Ace asked.
"I'll make her life a living hell," Jason threatened. "I think taking her out of state might make you realize how serious I am."
I was gasping for breath. The earth was spinning faster than it was before.
"At least let us have this last day together, please," Ace begged.
"I guess that's fine. But this is the last time I'll be seeing you two together," Jason pointed out.
Ace nodded and Jason left.
Ace turned around and knelt in front of me. I was coming undone again. Tears were threatening to spill over, and my lungs were begging for air.
"Don't cry, please," Ace begged.
"He's taking you away from me," I cried. I turned my head away from Ace.
"I know he is. But think about like this, he's going to leave you alone and you can live a normal life from here on out. I was just causing trouble in your life. You can give full attention back to your grades and you can be happy. I couldn't have made you happy," Ace said, his voice cracking at the end.
I got up from the bench. "You make me happy. You were the only person there for me when my life fell apart. You've saved me more times than I count. You cared for me. I can't lose you," I yelled, breathless.
"Maybe this was how it was meant to be. Maybe we weren't ever suppose to meet," Ace tried.
"I wouldn't take back that day in the hallway. I would never take it back because if I did, you never would have changed my life. You made me realize that I can't control every aspect of my life. You can't leave me," I whispered weakly.
"I have to leave you to keep you safe," Ace murmured. "Let me drive you home."
"No. Just get this over with. If you aren't willing to fight for me you can just leave," I cried.
"How am I suppose to fight for you if he threatens to take you away?" He asked.
"I have nothing left in this town, run away with me," I begged.
"Phoenix, I knew I was going to have to tell you eventually, but I didn't think it would be this soon. I know that you're falling for me. But we will never be able to be together, we're too different. This is your chance to get over me instead of suffering through the pain of us never being together," Ace explained.
******
I always thought the worst kind of pain was losing a loved one forever. I never thought losing Ace would hurt this much. But at the same time I never prepared myself for that moment. I don't know how I ended up getting home, I must have walked. All I did know was that I cried the rest of the day. I couldn't stop the tears from falling down my face.
Every cell in my body hurt. The focal point of my pain was my chest. All of the crying made my lungs hurt, but my heart hurt most of all.
I allowed Ace to get close to my heart without even thinking about it. I was too caught up in masking the pain of the loss of my mom and dad, that I didn't think what would happen if Ace left me. I put my trust in him not to leave me.
I walked through my front door and instantly left. The memories of this morning were still fresh in my mind, how close Ace and I were. The feeling of waking up with him right next to me. Listening to his laugh ring through my ears.
I left my yard and started walking to the one person who would understand.
I walked all the way to Jade ' s house.
Thanks for reading guys! This chapter made me sad, nobody ever told me writing would be sad. But here it is. Hope you liked it.