Hey everyone! The new chapter is here! *drumrolls* This chapter contains a few surprises, but you'll survive :P Oh, and we wanted to thank each and every one of you for your constant support and love for this story, we would have never made it this far without you guys! <3 Okay, that's enough, enjoy reading!! XD -M&N
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"Angel!" I make my way to her and hug her so tightly. I'm basically holding her as if my life depends on it. I pull back and look at her eyes that so much resemble his and sigh, "I missed you so much."
"Well, you don't have to anymore; I'm staying here for the next couple of months." She says and squeezes my shoulder. Angel has been the most important adult in my life since I met her. She is even closer to me than my mom is.
Ace coughs, and my eyes dart to him nervously. I grab Angel's hand, close the door, and walk up to ace, "Angel, this is Ace; he's my..." Ace raises his eyebrows expectantly "friend. He just transferred here a few weeks ago."
"Hello, Ace, nice to meet you," she smiles and shakes his hand. "I'm Alex's mother, Evangeline, but you can call me 'Angel'. Oh, Eternity, remember how he was the one who gave me that nickname?" Dammit! I shake my head at her, trying to make her understand that he doesn't know anything.
"Alex? Oh yes, Alex! Nice to meet you, Angel" He says, shaking her hand back then. He looks at me when Angel walks away to the kitchen. "Oh god, I'm starving! Your parents aren't home, Eternity, are they?" She calls out.
"No, Angel, they are not," I call back as I grab Ace who looks at me like he's enjoying this whole chaos.
"Alex, huh? Never mentioned any Alex's to me, Infinity." He pokes my nose.
"Stop goofing around, Ace, this is serious!" I say as I slap his hand away. "Listen, trust me, Alex is not something I want to dwell about now, so one day when I'm ready to talk about him, you will be the first one to hear it."
"Okay," He says and raises his hands, signaling he won't push it any farther.
I walk away towards the kitchen to catch up with Angel when Ace starts, "Eternity."
"Huh?" I reply, turning around to face him.
"Did this Alex do something to you? Did he break your heart?"
"Let's say he didn't get the chance to."
He looks at me and says, "And that woman inside? Should I trust her?"
"Yes, Ace, she's amazing, I swear." I say while rubbing my eyes. Man, I'm exhausted.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it. Plus, she reminds me of my mom, and I need someone like that now."
My hands stop rubbing immediately and I look at him, "Your what? Your mom? You have a mom?!"
"Who doesn't, sweetheart?" He smiles, his smile a bit broken though.
Just as I'm about to reply, Angel walks out of the kitchen; she's on the phone, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be there as fast as I can."
"I'm sorry, baby, I have to run."
"You're not gonna eat?" I ask, concerned for her.
"I'll grab something on my way." She says as she slams the door.
Ace looks at me and cocks an eyebrow.
"What? She's a doctor." I shrug.
"Let's get you upstairs; we've a lot of things to talk about."
***
A year ago, I had vowed to never let another heart touch mine again. No. Not after everything that happened. So what am I doing, grinning like an idiot from ear to ear as I lead Ace to my room? You're swimming in dangerous waters, Eternity. I feel way off my game, but then I wonder if I were ever on my game in the first place, where Ace is concerned.
Terrified by the thought, I pull my hand away from his, watching his face fall in confusion and what I think--more like 'like to think'--is disappointment, "You're doing it again." Ace says wryly.
"Doing what?"
"That thing with your eyes. When you suddenly get that distant look in your them while still keeping eye contact." I blink. He had noticed that? Had he seriously been paying that close attention to me?
"It doesn't matter."
"It does" Ace nods, "'cause it's annoying."
He stands by my dresser and narrows his eyes, before he reaches for a picture frame. Oh no. I freeze. "Huh, never thought those existed."
I cock an eyebrow. "A picture frame."
He turns to me with a sarcastic look, "No, dummy." He flips the frame so I can see it, and my heart starts aching again as I look at it. That photo probably captures the happiest moment of my life, I think, as I look at mine and Alex's smiling faces. "Your smile in that photo." He raises his eyebrows to prove a point, before putting it down and walking over to sit next to me on the bed. "What happened that was so bad, Eternity? I won't tell anyone, I promise." He asks, his tone sincere.
"Well," I start. "Like you said, you've got your secrets and I've got mine. Say what? I will tell you about Alex, if-" I raise an eyebrow. "you tell me about your mother." I solely expect what I just said to get him off the subject for good. What I don't expect is for him to sigh, prop himself backward so he's practically sitting up next to me, his left side completely pressed to my right side, and rest his head on my pillow, before looking at me with sincere blue eyes.
"What do you want to know?"
"Ace..." I say slowly, my breath hitching due to his proximity. "What's your family like?"
He sighs again. "I'm warning you now. This is not a happy story."
"Don't underestimate me, Moreno."
He smirks, before starting, "Last year, things were way more normal. I lived with my parents, had a job, no visions." I nod, thinking about how much I can relate to what he's saying. "Down side? My dad was a douche; there were those days when he'd lose his mind and start taking out his anger on my mother, though it never went so far." Suddenly, I'm filled with an impulsive urge to comfort him. But the only thing I dare do is squeeze his hand which is holding mine, and that seems to urge him to continue. "One day though, it did go far. It went as far as him beating her up, so bad that she lost consciousness. And-" His breath hitches, and I realize how he must be reliving everything that happened that day, much as I relive the night I lost Alex in my nightmares. "Well, she-she hasn't woken up since." We both fall silent.
"Why are you telling me this?" I finally ask.
Ace looks up and smiles. "Because last week, I forced you to trust me without giving you a reason to. I'm telling you this because I trust you." He speaks in a low voice and I can barely hear what he says. I shake my head.
"But, you've known me for like, what? Two weeks? Why would you tell me that?"
"You just seem like a good person. Guess I just trust my intuition." He shrugs. His words touch my heart and I find my eyes brimming with tears. His mom isn't that old. And she doesn't deserve to have that happen to her. To have a year of her life...gone. Taken. Wasted.
"I'm sorry, Ace. I really am. I can't even imagine how hard this must have been-be for you." I add, "Please tell me you didn't let him get away with this."
He half smiles at the last part. "Hell no, I made sure he paid the price. I kicked the crap out of him."
"You beat up your dad. I'm impressed." I say, and just like that, the gloominess goes away, and we're Ace and Eternity again. And he is the Ace that drives me crazy.
"It's your turn, princess." He pokes my shoulder, smirking. "What's the whole thing with Alex that Chloe was talking about? And while you're at it, why all that antagonism?"
"Oh I'm sure if you'll ask her, her answer would be much different from mine." I say, turning on my side so that I'm facing him.
"I'm asking you." He brushes my bangs away from my face, before he starts running his fingers down the length of my hair.
I sigh. "Just so you know, I used to be a lot more fun."
Ace half-smiles. "Oh, you're not the worst company in the world, Infinity." I punch his shoulder. "Ow!" He holds his arm and gives me a wounded puppy look. "I think it might be broken." He pouts.
"Oh stop playing around that didn't even hurt" I roll my eyes. "Ace, I swear to god if you repeat this to anyone-"
"Haven't we been over this already? I won't. That's the point of trusting someone. You don't keep asking for it every five minutes."
"That's what she said."
"Smartass." He mumbles.
"What was that?"
"I said I like cats." I shoot him a look and he laughs, before sobering up. "So tell me, was he your boyfriend."
"Not really." I say, shaking my head. "Or more like, he never really got to be..." I look down at my hands, every minute of that night racing through my mind, every little detail etched in my mind forever.
I feel it before it comes. My vision starts swirling, and I feel Ace's arms on my shoulder, as I start having another vision.
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