I opened the door wider for Ace to enter though his walk had become a limp as he made his way towards the couch.
"Lock the door." He mumbled as he passed. His voice was deep, commanding. Pained. I quickly shut the door, trying to dull the sound of blood rushing in my ears. With both locks bolted, I made my way to where Ace had taken a seat, his head resting on the back of the couch. With his eyes closed he asked, "How many doors into the house does this place have, I don't remember."
My mouth was coated in a thick layer of spit as my nerves worsened. He was hurt, really hurt. The cut on his forehead was turning purple from bruising and I could only assume there were more injuries under his shirt from the way he was holding his side. My mind raced through several different ways this could have happened but all my thoughts returned to a single culprit.
His parents.
They must have done this to him. Ace promised me he was safe, that we were both safe, but the evidence before me was irrefutable. They hurt him, badly. I remember punches and cuts but I could only pick out a few times when his parents beat him in visible places.
"Genevieve, how many doors?" Ace questioned again, his tone stricter.
I jumped in fright and squeaked out, "Two."
"Make sure the other one is locked too." Ace ordered, "Go."
No further direction was given or needed. I took off through the house, heading for the back door which led from the kitchen to the backyard. With shaking hands, I reached forward and twisted the locks on this door as well then pulled the blinds down for good measure. Then I returned to where Ace was nearly passed out in the living room.
He looked terrible.
I entered the room silently, afraid of making any noise and disturbing Ace. But not even the Lord himself could disturb Ace. His body was strewn across the couch, his hand still gripping his side though it was clear he was asleep. The even rise and fall of his chest proved so. I eased my way towards him, walking on my tip toes.
When I reached him, I felt inclined to run back out of the room and pretend none of this happened. But I couldn't. The bruising on Ace's face was worsening by the minute and I could only imagine what damage was done beneath his shirt.
What was I supposed to do? Sit here and wait for him to wake back up?
No. I've done enough waiting. Ten years worth.
So as silently as before, I snuck from the room to grab the first aid kit grandma kept in the upstairs bathroom. It didn't have much but it had bandages and antibacterial cream. I couldn't reverse Ace's beating but I could clean him up. No one ever helped him when we were kids, I wasn't about to join that majority.
At first I worried I would wake him up but Ace slept through it all. I dampened a washcloth and dabbed it across his forehead and cheek to remove the blood from his skin, then rubbed the antibacterial cream on the cut before covering it with a bandage. There wasn't much I could do for the bruises on his cheek except get him ice whenever he woke up.
One more challenge faced me. How was I supposed to treat his torso? I didn't see any blood seeping through his clothes which meant he wasn't cut. What a relief. But he has been holding his side since he got here. Something was definitely wrong.
So was I supposed to pull his shirt up or ...
No. I couldn't do that, it was an invasion of privacy. Of Ace's privacy. I had no right to be taking his shirt off.
However ... the tiny voice in my head kept saying it was for a good cause. That I had to make sure Ace was okay. What if he had a life threatening injury? If the roles were reversed, he'd do the same for me. At least I'd want him to -
Damn. These unrelenting thoughts of mine were taking my mind places I didn't want to go. Well, maybe I did but that wasn't allowed. Ace had a girlfriend. It was plain and simple. Me taking his shirt off should have nothing to do with these stupid thoughts plaguing my mind. It should be only to help Ace.
I managed to convince myself that what I was doing had no correlation to my unwelcome desires. This was solely to make sure my friend was okay. That's it.
But oh how my will melted when I saw just what was waiting for me under that shirt.
Abs. So many solid, defined abs. His tanned skin was stretched across a torso containing little to no fat, only pure muscle. Ace's hand fell from his stomach onto the couch beside him, offering more cloth to lift. And the higher I rose his shirt, the more drool escaped from my lips. I assumed Ace had muscles but not like this.
Luckily, something drew my attention away from how heavenly this body was. The dark blotch of bruising on Ace's side. And when I said dark, I mean black. The bruise consumed nearly the entirety of Ace's side, devouring the skin from his hip to his ribcage.
My limbs froze in mid air. I couldn't rip my eyes from that carnage. It was so dark, so ... painful. It was devastating to look at, I couldn't even imagine how it felt. Poor Ace, I thought he was done with this. With the abuse. Who would have thought, ten years later, he'd still be fighting his demons.
Then again, so was I.
Seeing no other solution, I let his shirt drop back to it's rightful place. Then I gingerly took Ace's shoulders and pushed him sideways until he was laying on his back with a pillow propped under his head. I retreated to the kitchen and filled two plastic bags with ice then wrapped them both in kitchen towels.
Hoping that it wouldn't bother him too much, I placed the bags of ice against Ace's body. Right against his side where the bruising was. Then I waited. Surprisingly, the chill from the ice didn't wake him which I was grateful for. He needed some rest.
He looked so peaceful. With his eyes closed feather soft and his lips parted ever so slightly, one would never be able to guess the kind of horrors he's seen. The kind of horrors he's faced. Although, the bruise on his cheek and the cut on his forehead were dead giveaways.
My eyes began to sting but only because it pained my very core to know that Ace was still trapped by his parents. They weren't good people, they didn't deserve him. They should be locked behind bars, left to rot in their own filth and disgust. Yet still they roamed free, beating their son even though he was well over eighteen and legally allowed to kick their asses.
I wish he would, if only to save himself from nights like this.
Once fifteen minutes passed, I decided that it may be a little weird watching him while he slept. So I moved to my feet, stepping away from the couch to go busy myself in the kitchen while Ace recovered. But before I managed to take a single step I heard a gruff voice ask, "Where are you going?"
My eyes snapped back to where a now fully awake Ace was staring at me. Watching me. A strange force slapped against my chest as a wave of relief washed over me. Thank God that he was okay.
With shaking legs, I practically collapsed back onto the coffee table where I had been sitting before. Ace continued to watch me. Then he attempted to push himself up but a hiss of pain danced through his teeth.
"Don't get up." I instructed, pushing his shoulders down until he was once more laying on his back. His eyes remained closed while he worked through the pain, his jaw clenched tightly. I sat back, forcing my hands to remove themselves from his shoulders, "Just relax."
"Did you lock everything?" He asked. I nodded, Ace couldn't see me but he knew my every move. Like always. He sighed loudly, his hand drifting to his side again. But when his fingers met the towel wrapped around the ice, he stilled. I saw him look down towards his side before shifting his gaze to meet mine, "What's this?"
"Ice." I answered simply, fiddling with my thumbs in my lap, "To help with the bruising."
A smirk appeared on Ace's face, "And how did you know it was bruising?"
Fuck.
My cheeks heated, as did my neck and ears and whole damn face. I swallowed roughly, trying to find an acceptable excuse for how I knew but there wasn't one. The grin on Ace's face told me there was no way out of this one. So I settled with the truth.
"You were holding your side." It was the only answer I could conjure, my mind was otherwise blank. Where had all my thoughts gone? Right out the window, of course. Ace chuckled lightly to himself but his laughter caught halfway through as he grimaced again. I felt my heart skip a beat, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Bunny." Ace mumbled, his hands gripping at his side once more. His body tensed, every muscle coiled tightly as he fought the pain, "Thank you for the ice though."
I nodded, losing the will to speak. Not that I ever had the will in the first place. Ace noticed though, he noticed everything. When his body relaxed once more, he turned his head to look at me, "I'm fine, Genevieve, really. Don't worry."
How could he say tell me not to worry while he laid on my couch writhing in pain? Where did that logic come from?
Ace pulled his phone from his pocket and cursed under his breath. Then he hit a button and lifted the phone to his ear. After a moment, I heard a deep voice answer, "Ace? Where the hell are you?"
"I'm at Genevieve's house. Did you guys make it out okay? Where's Holly?" Ace questioned quickly, closing his eyes once more as he waited for apparently bad news. He must be talking to Creston. They were together just a few hours ago, and Holly too. But something terrible must have happened between when Ace called me earlier and now.
"She's with me, we're fine. For the most part." Creston spoke, "Once we get the truck, we'll come get you."
Ace nodded, "No rush. I'm in good hands."
The boys said their goodbyes then Ace hung up and I couldn't stop the words from spilling out my mouth, "What's going on?"
Ace turned towards me once more, his eyes so deep that I almost fell into them. Almost. He didn't say anything for a while, he only stared. Then he shrugged and said, "Nothing."
I about lost my shit. He was seriously going to try telling me that this all was nothing? The bruises, the cuts, the cryptic phone calls, it was all nothing? Something boiled deep within my stomach, something different. Anger. I was angry at Ace, something that had never happened before.
"Don't lie to me." I ordered, my tone sounding much different than before. I hadn't expected it to sound so pissed. But also so hurt, all at the same time.
Ace's face fell, that casual expression falling away to a foreign one that I couldn't place. He looked borderline guilty, but his face was mostly blank as though he didn't want me to know how he currently felt, "I would never. Don't worry about it Bunny, everything is under control."
That was the last lie I wanted to hear. Without giving it much thought, I nodded once to his words then jumped to my feet and left the room. I physically couldn't bare to sit there one moment longer listening to that bullshit. He was straight up lying to my face. I wasn't dumb, I knew there was something going on and the only explanation he had for me was 'nothing'?
I took the stairs two at a time, propelling my body towards my room with an alarming speed. Ace could let himself out, he basically let himself in anyways.
Reaching my room took only seconds. I slammed my door shut then threw myself onto my bed. Filly was there. She'd keep me company while my downstairs was occupied by a traitor. Ace and I were friends, I'd like to think best friends. At least we had been as kids. Things change, I get that, but Ace was always honest with me.
We were each others rock.
Well, not any more but there was a time when Ace came to me for everything and if I hadn't been so stupid, I never would have been sent away. These last ten years would have been different. Maybe Ace would still trust me.
Only a minute had passed when I heard a knock on my door before it opened, revealing Ace on the other side. I had half a mind to demand that he lay down and rest but then I reminded myself why I had fled to my room in the first place. Without saying a word, Ace slowly shuffled towards my bed, one hand around his torso while the other hung loosely at his side.
As he neared, he paused at my vanity. He picked something up, stared at it for a moment before holding it into my line of vision as he said, "Couldn't have said it better myself."
In his hand was a small cylindrical object that has been causing me more distress than I'd like to admit. A candle, no bigger than his palm, met my eyes. The words, Ignorance is Bliss, scribbled across the front of the label. Damn those candles and their unfortunately relevant titles. Ace replaced the candle, then sat himself down at the foot of my bed. The bottom of my leg pressed into his thigh, transferring heat from his body to mine.
He was quiet for a long time before he let out a sigh, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you so angry."
I pushed myself into a sitting position and scooted away from him, putting some distance between us to clear my head. But my movement cause Ace to frown, his eyes piercing mine as always with a look of ...
Something else caught his gaze before I could pinpoint his previous emotion, and his entire countenance flipped. Ace leaned over, not easily due to his side, and lifted Filly into the air, "I can't believe you still have her."
"Of course I do." I answered quietly, keeping my own gaze on my feet which were folded under me.
Ace didn't approve, "Genevieve look at me." When I didn't, I felt his fingers pinch my chin and force my head upwards, drawing my gaze with it. I didn't want to look at him because I'd fall under his spell just like every other time and my anger would fade all too quickly. But when our eyes met, I saw that he wasn't looking for forgiveness. His eyes were filled with something else. He licked his lips anxiously before he said, "Please don't be mad at me."
How could I not be? I felt my eyebrows draw together, "I am."
Ace moved himself closer, placing Filly on the bed as he did so. This his hands were on my face, his palms cupping my cheeks while his fingers spread over the back of my head. His face was so close to mine, his eyes so directly aimed at my own that I almost broke under his intensity. He shook his head, "I know you don't understand and I'm sorry but you have to trust me. This, along with everything else I do, if for your own good." He paused for only a second before he placed his forehead against mine.
He knew how to get to me, to reach me on a level that no one else could. He drew in a deep breath, not just of air but of me as well, and it almost made me wither in his grasp. I wanted to give in, so badly. My body was begging me to accept him and forget the tension between us.
But my will held strong, more so than I would have ever thought.
"You said that we were safe." I replied, my voice so quiet that one might not even consider it a whisper. But my voice wasn't a tool for my desired use, it was a last resort. I moved my hands to his wrists, holding them tightly to ground my spinning mind, "If you can tell me that we're safe, and mean it, I'll let this go."
Ace's fingers tightened on my head as his eyes closed tighter, "You are safe, Bunny. I promise."
"That's not what I said." I responded quickly, a shaky breath passing through my lips, "I want to hear you say that we're safe."
He pulled away, only enough to look into my eyes. His thumb rubbed over my skin, he did that a lot. But every time he did it seemed more profound than the last. And the way he looked at me, it wasn't just a stare in which he called upon daily. No, the way he looked at me was different. He didn't look at Creston this way and if he looked at Holly like this, it was done behind closed doors with no public viewing.
"You know I can't say what you want but not for the reasons you believe." Ace eventually explained, his jaw clenching upon saying these words as if they left a foul taste in his mouth.
I didn't understand, "Why can't you just tell me?"
He stared at me for a long time, his gaze never wavering. Those eyes weren't just clouded in color, they were clouded by thought as well. He'd always been a deep thinker, covering every aspect before he made a decision.
"Today, at the curb, you were remembering something from our childhood." He didn't phrase it as a question, more as a known fact.
My eyes closed for a moment, those horrid images flying through my mind once more, then I rolled my lips into my mouth and nodded, "That time your parents picked you up from my grandma's house. The only time."
Ace nodded, obviously remembering that day just as clearly as I did. This time, when he sighed, it was unsteady, "Do you remember things a lot? From back then?"
I nodded again, I was incapable of lying to him, "It's hard not to."
Ace didn't respond for what felt like years. His deep breaths were the only sound I heard, besides my rapid pulse throbbing in my chest. His hands never left my face and my grip never left his. To others, we might look strange, sitting this way. But to us, to me at least, this posture was welcomed. This closeness to him was welcomed.
"That's why I can't tell you what happened tonight." Ace finally muttered. When my countenance turned questioning, he continued on. Though this time, he spoke much slower, "You worry about me too much. How could I put more on your mind when it's already filled with things that happened to us so long ago?"
My mouth sputtered for a response, "No ... that's not what this is about, Ace ... I just ..." But I wasn't sure what my words were trying to accomplish. Ace was a stubborn guy, always has been and probably always will be. My poor excuse of a persuasion wasn't going to change that.
Ace chuckled lightly to himself, "I'm fine, Bunny. If I thought I was in any real danger, you'd be the first to know."
I pulled back from him, hardening my gaze to the best of my ability, which wasn't much, "You have to promise me. From now on ... if something bad happens, you have to promise that you'll tell me."
Ace let out a long sigh, his hands finally falling from my cheeks. But his fingers took residence in my palms, gripping my fingers tightly. But eventually he nodded, "Okay. I promise." I gave him a look, one reinforcing that I meant business. Ace didn't find it so threatening though. He laughed, that cute dimple appearing once more, "I promise, Bunny. Have I ever lied to you before?"
That phrase, the same one he used when we were kids. I wanted to stay mad at him, force him to tell me why he was so beat up. But I couldn't stay angry, not when those grey gems were looking directly at me with such joy glinting within them. It drew a soft smile from me as well.
Ace stood up after that, offering me a hand. Once I was on my feet, he pulled me towards the door. But just before we left to descend the stairs, Ace stopped. Then he bent forward and picked something up. Something small and round, something I had seen way too much of in these past few days.
He turned to face me, lifting the candle up, "You like these huh?"
I shrugged, tossing a glare towards the object which seemed to hold no regards for someone's personal space. Without even looking at the candle, I knew which one it was. It held the same musky aroma of Ace's shirt.
Then Ace life Rekindled Emotion to his nose and sniffed. A small smirk met his lips, "This smells just like my cologne."
"Yeah, weird." I commented, snatching the candle and placing it back in it's rightful place on my desk, now next to Ignorance is Bliss. Damn these candles. If they kept showing up like this, I'll have enough to open a store.
Ace watched me while I slammed the candle down but said nothing more. We walked back downstairs together, both of us relatively silent. As we reached the first floor, there was a knock at the door. Ace's body stiffened but only momentarily because soon after came Creston's voice from the other side of the door, "Ace? Open up."
I stepped forward to open the door and saw Creston on the other side. He didn't look nearly as bad as Ace but I saw a cut strewn across his bottom lip and a bruise growing on his chest, just barely peeking out from under his shirt.
What surprised me even more was that Creston wasn't alone. Next to him was Holly, her normally perfect hair was a mess and her eyes were wide. Alert. I saw no evidence of violence on her which was an important clue to figuring out what happened to them.
Because the pure fact that Creston was hurt as well meant it hadn't been Ace's father who hurt them. I was the only other person, besides Ace and his mother, who had fallen victim to Mr. Hunt's fist. Ace told me so himself.
So who used Ace and Creston as punching bags?
"Good evening." Creston smiled, seemingly ignoring the cuts and bruises. I smile back and nodded a reply. Creston appeared to have realized that I didn't talk much, and he was totally fine with that. I liked him.
"We should get going." Holly cut in. Her, I didn't like so much.
Ace turned towards me, his smile was light and easy, not at all alarmed, "You going to be okay?"
I nodded again.
Ace's gaze peered across the room, then they shifted upwards towards the second floor, "Where's Maggie?"
"Oh um ... she went to Donna's house. Her husband was murdered." I informed quietly, dipping my head as my own form of respect. However, my movement didn't hinder me. I still caught the quick glance Ace shared with Creston, then with Holly. As if ... they knew something.
Ace looked around once more, this time more so as if he were checking the perimeter, "Well do you want us to stay with you until Maggie gets back?"
I shook my head, "I'll be fine. You guys should get some rest."
"You sure? It's really no problem-"
"I'm fine." I repeated, offering him the most convincing smile possible under the circumstances.
Ace nodded again, slowly, though when his eyes fell on me again, they were worried, "Okay. If you're sure. You have my number in your phone, right? If you hear anything or see anything, call me right away. Understand? I don't care what time it is."
"Um ... yeah. Of course." I agreed, utterly confused as to what he was referring to.
Ace nodded one last time. Then he gave my hand a quick squeeze, his fingers lingering on mine, "Okay. Well goodnight, Bunny. I'll see you tomorrow."
Creston and Holly said their goodbyes as well before the three of them started off towards a truck lingering in the driveway. I watched them leave then closed the door firmly behind me. My hands began to shake and a shiver ran down my spine. Because that small voice in the back of my head wouldn't shut up. It kept telling me that I cleaned off an awful lot of blood from Ace ...
... what if it wasn't all his?
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