â**Chapter 8**â
Ace
I was on the couch watching a movie when Madison came with a handful of snack and wine in her arms. She put the chips on the table with the wine before turning to me.
We didn't go to work today as I said so, but she still work earlier, with her laptop. Even so the, our day flies so fast that it's already night again.
She's wearing pajama shortsâas alwaysâ and a huge sweatshirt that almost cover the shorts.
"Let's play Ice Breaker, but just the easy one." flopping herself beside me, "You can't say No. I want to know you." Taking her phone from her pocket, she smiles at me before showing it to me. "I ask Hazel to make some icebreaker question for us."
Looking through to the questions. My eyes narrowed, making her laugh and hit my arms.
"Please, just for tonight. It'll be quick."
"Whatever. Go ahead." I took the remote from the table and turn the TV off.
"Thankies, I'll just shuffle the questions and read it out loud, then we'll both answer it. Okay?"
"You first."
As I said that, A huge grin appeared on her lips, the questions are easy, and I understand why she wanted to do this.
For her to know me and for me to know her.
Focusing my attention on her, she took her phone and start to read the question.
"What was your first impression of me?" the first question.
She stares at me for a moment before answering. "Grumpy, Hated Everything, and find everything boring. Like you're asking yourself why are you even here, you know?" she took the box of chocolates while talking to me, and she added, "When I say you on the other end of the aisle that day, you have the most uninterested look that even if I combined 100 bored look, yours will still win."
Bored. If she just knows how stunned I am that day because of her, It's just my way to stop myself from smiling like a fool.
That's the truth.
"I thought you'll be like someone who'll act like a trapped rat in this marriage, like who will choose phone make up over food. But by looking at this, I think you already know what I meant." we both look at the cookies, chips, chocolate and the donuts from earlier on the table and chuckle at the same time.
"What's your favorite color to wear?"
"Mine is Black, Brown, Yellow and Lavender. Yours?" she mumbles while stuffing her mouth with marshmallow.
"Black and Gray, It's easy to pair with anything."
"It is, A Hundred percent agree."
"What's your idea of a perfect date?"
She seems to think of it before answering, "The one with holding hands, everything is perfect with holding hands."
Holding hands? That's easy.
"It would be if you agree to go out, How will it be perfect with my date, right?"
"You know you don't need to make me fluttered. Just saying." With her trying not to smile, a chuckle left me.
"Let's continue."
She starts to look at the question as I took a canned soda and drink it.
"What's a bad habit you had that you've been able to overcome?"
"Smoking."
She didn't even hesitate, making me choke on my drink. Looking at her shocked, she just smiles.
"That's when I was 18- 20, I used to smoke whenever I'm stressed, but I stopped and look for another hobby that will help me. Reading, exactly."
I can't imagine her smoking, and at that age?
"Does your brothers know?"
"They don't. They don't care about me. So, what's yours?" she said while bring her hands up with bite size brownies in front of me, not minding her, I lean to her and let her feed it to me.
"Always drinking, every day and night"
Still, her smoking can't get in my mind, like how? Who the fuck teach her how to smoke?
"What's the wildest thing you've ever done?"
She looks at me before laughing. "It's actually embarrassing, let's just skip this. Gosh, why would Hazel put something like this." shaking her head. "Okay, this one."
"What's the silliest excuse you ever used to get out of a date?"
"I had a huge boil in my butt, after that he didn't call me again."
"That's gross, though, for real."
She smiled at me knowingly before laying her back on the couch and putting her feet up on the table. "Yours?"
"Nothing, If I don't want to go then I won't that's it."
"So you'll keep them waiting for nothing?" looking at me, she again feed me with her snacks. Why is she even feeding me?
"Like that."
"If you could live anywhere, where would it be?"
"I wanna know yours first."
"Okay then, I would sayâ Spain."
"For me, I want to leave in Norway. I wonder how people there feel whenever they see Aurora Borealis. I want to see that too."
Norway? She hadn't been there?
"When was the first time you fell in love?"
"I was 16 as far as I remember."
"I only found out the meaning of falling in love when I was 25."
She widens her eyes at me before signaling me to continue.
"It's because when I was in high school and collage, I was too busy studying and I don't have time for that. When I graduated, I became busy with business, and still I wasn't interested. Not until when I was 25, I went to Barcelona, and met a stranger. I fell for her. But that was our first and last meeting. Even so, I had some flings, not an official relationship."
I expected a response from her, but she suddenly had this unhappy frown on her face while her lips went to a small pout.
It's cute as fuck.
"Hey, Are you okay?" I asked when I saw tears building in her eyes. "Hey, What happened?"
I hold her arms while my other hands hold the bag on her lap and put it on the table. Pulling her beside me, I bring my hands up to her cheeks and chuckle at her while staring deep in her now crystal-like eyes.
"Why are you crying?"
"You never see her again?"
She's crying because of that? Holy shit.
"If I did, do you think you'll be here? Stop crying, That's really meant to happened."
"But you didn't try to look for her?"
"I did butâ Let's change the topic now, stop crying. When was yours?" still wiping her tears, I couldn't help but smile at her silliness. "Stop crying, if you don't then let's stop this now, I'll go to bed."
"Okay, okay, still it's sad." trying to make herself feel better, she took the donuts and sat back next to me. "I wasâ 16. You know, right emotion to the wrong person. Okay next."
"What's your favorite thing about me?"
"Uhmmmâ about you? Your hair, It smells good and so soft like fur. I wish my hair was like that. So, What's yours?"
"Your smile." I simply said while taking another sip of the soda.\
"If you could travel to any year in a time machine, what year would you choose and why?"
"2007, July 9th and why? Because that the day my Mom and Dad died. That's all." her tone suddenly lowered like she won't be able to say it out loud, but she still has this smile on her face.
Now I understand, not because she's smiling means she's happy. Her smile now is nothing different as how she smiled at the cherry blossom days ago. You won't even notice it.
"I would say 1995, before my Dad agreed to marry Victoria. That time, I was 3 and Melissa, Luke's Mom, was pregnant with Luke. But Victoria stole Dad from her. I would want to tell Dad not to marry her because he'll suffer. Still, after 6 years they divorce and Dad went back to his real family, I was 9 while Luke was 6 that time and our youngest brother kit was 4. In that six years that Dad is married to Victoria, he's always with them. I can even remember the name of the hotel he bought for them, he's there 5 days in a week."
"What about Jenny?" sounding curious and sad at the same time, I smile bitterly.
"The reason why Jenny is special to me, I'll do anything for her, is because I'm the only one who loves her... 3 years, after 3 years, Victoria still don't want to give up. So she tried to drug him and apparently something happened. As she wanted, she got pregnant and thought that Dad will come back to her after knowing that she's pregnant with a girl. But Dad didn't. He just considered Jenny as a mistake, while my Mom considered her as a useless child just because her plan didn't work out... That's why I love Jenny more than anyone, because she never felt loved by her own parents. I want to be enough for her, I don't want her to think that no one loves her, that no one cares for her."
As I finished, I was embraced by a pair of hands around my neck and sobs. Her face resting on my shoulder.
"You're crying again." I chuckle at her as I wrapped my arms on her waist and gently caress her hair. "It's okay, don't cry, it's fine."
"Your life is messed up." she mumbled with her sniffles.
"It is, But it'll be better if you show me your smile, come on, stop crying, so we can finish this game."
Cupping he face in my hands, I smiled at her red face before wiping her tears.
"What's the next question?"
"What's your biggest fear?"
"Rain."
"Nothing."
Again back to herself, she playfully narrowed her eyes at me before continuing.
"Of all the personal questions I could ask you, what's one you wouldn't want to answer?"
"What's the thing I regretted and will regret for my whole life?"
"When am I going to start a family and have a kid? It's tiring."
"Yes, It is."
She looked at her phone and burst out laughing...
"You just said it." she wheeze while holding her phone.
"If you had a kid, what would you name it? And how many?"
Facepalming myself, she chuckle at me before signaling me to go first.
"It'll depend on you. You're the one who's going to carry that and give birth to it. It doesn't matter what I want, what matter is how much you think your body can take. If your body can't hold you anymore, you and the baby will just be in danger. That's why, about this child or family thing, you're the boss."
We both staring into each other's eye before she smile. "Thank you, for being like this, even we're not in front of Dada."
"I mean it."
"Okay, I'll answer the first question, then the second is yours." she thinks of it before answering. "Maybe two or three? Okay, what would you name them?" she again read the question.
"If its a boy options are Ezekiel, Lyle and Keegan, if it's a girl, Alora, Zariyah and Harlee."
"Where the hell did you get those names?"
"I also don't know, It just came in my mind right now."
Letting out a chuckle, she continue to look through her phone.
"If we were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, who are three people you'd want on your team?"
"I won't last long in a zombie apocalypse." With what she said. A chuckle left me.
"I don't usually mind things like this but for this question, Might be Jenny, Kit and you."
"Awe, you're going to carry me on your back if I stumble and break my ankle? That's sweet."
"But if we have no choice, then I'll throw you to the zombies, so we can get away."
Her smile immediately dropped as she stare at me with her done-face.
"I'll bite you if I saw you then." she smirked.
"What is something you want to do together that we haven't?"
"Travel around the world."
I don't know but something dirty went in my mind making me smirk. Her eyes went to my lips as her eyes widen before she hit me with the cushion in the face.
"Skip it. Next question."
"What's your biggest regret when it comes to a past relationship, specifically?"
"Trusting the wrong person. I trusted the wrong person."
"Not having the courage to know my feelings much earlier."
"That sounds problematic." She sighed before eating a donut. She was about to read when the crumbs fell on her lap. "Ughh."
"Give me your phone, I'll read it."
She get up from her seat and put her phone to my lap before brushing the crumbs out of her legs. I look at the phone and notice there's only one box that's not checked yet.
"Looks like there's only one left."
"Really? After this, I'll cook dinner."
Nodding at her, She sat back beside me and look at her phone.
"Last question. Name one of your exes."
It seems like an easy question, but she halt on her movements and slowly looks at me. I don't know if she don't want to answer, or she wants me to go first.
"I'll go first then, Alyssa Connor."
As I thought she was about to answer, she just continue looking at me before sighing.
****
Madison
There's nothing really wrong with it, right?
It's not my fault that I met his brother before him.
Taking a deep breath, I look at him and force myself to look at him. I know he already notice that something is wrong as his eyebrow frown.
"Luke Ashford."
The moment it came out my mouth, I felt a little at ease for letting it out that my worries from yesterday[- starts to vanish. His gaze not leaving me, the smile on his lips starts to fade as he heard it.
"At first I thought it was nothing, so I didn't tell you, I'm sorry, Butâ"
"Is that why you reacted that way when you came in my office earlier?"
"I swear, I didn't realize it just then, when I saw you two together."
I don't know why am I explaining myself to him, but I feel like I need to.
"Sorry I didn't tell you much earlier, than lying."
He didn't answer me and just put my phone down before leaving to his office room.
"Ace!"
I called him, but he didn't even look back. The last thing I saw on his face before he shut the door was his usually cold one. But it's not my fault, why is he even mad?
****
It's already been half an hour since he went in his room, half an hour having this unnecessary thoughts running in my head. I can't even focus on the dinner that I'm cooking.
Ace is not an idiot. I'm sure he knows what's happening and won't leave without thinking just because I said those few words. But still, Can't he be more nice and talk to me? If he really wants to know something about it, then he can ask me. When I said that I'm over with Luke, I mean it.
"Is he mad at me?" I ask myself as I stare at the spatula in my hands. I was sitting on the counter stool with my hands resting on the kitchen counter table.
Now I'm kinda regretting that I told him that, however. If it's not me, then Luke might tell him then, and I'm the one who'll be lying to him.
I was lost thinking of how will I talk to Ace when I felt a pair of strong arms around waist. Gasp escaping me, I tried to look over my shoulder when he suddenly rest his chin on my shoulder and tighten his arms around me.
"I'm not mad at you, sweetheart. Just can't believe that Luke had you first." he whispered in my ears before kissing my neck. "He's really stupid for letting you go."
"Aceâ"
"I apologize for leaving you earlier. I know you didn't foresee it to happened, beside just like me, I never really considered him as my brother."
He let go of me to turn my chair around and face him. He stand between my thighs before cupping my cheeks.
"Whatever happened between you two has already ended the day you broke two broke up. I don't need you to prove it to me, This band already tells who you belong to." he said softly with a smile on his face while his hand went to my wedding band. "How long have you two lasted?"
"I doâ 2 years."
"See, he only had you for 2 years, but I have the rest of my life to be with you, right sweetheart?"
I look in his eyes only to feel different. He doesn't want a word, he wants reassurance. Reassurance that I won't leave. His eyes were telling me everything.
"Yes, You do. I'm sorryâ"
He cut me off by planting a soft kiss on my lips.
"No need to apologize. I understand."
Nodding at him, he again peck my lips before holding my hands.
"Come on, don't think about it, let's eat now."
"You're not mad?"
"I am not. I swear." he chuckle reassuringly before holding my hands. "Why would I be? It's not your fault, come on, let's eat now."
A smile slowly formed on my lips as I stare at him.
I knew it. Ace is not stupid.
"But can I ask, why did you two broke up?"
I knew it, I can tell him we fell out of love, but I don't want to hide this because there's nothing wrong.
"I caught him... Naked with his ex. Banging each other in my car."
I expected him to say something or ask how... But he just stayed still, but I can see in his eyes that he's pissed off.
"You moved on already?" he asked.
"I do, a month after the break-up. I hate being depressed because of some cheap guy who fucks garbage."
The corner of his lips twitch upward into a smirk. "That's right." when his huge arms went inside my sweatshirt, holding my waist before pulling me into a kiss. "You are mine, sweetheart, just like how I'm yours."