PACKING THREE SUITCASES filled with summer clothes and basic necessities for two weeks, I slipped on a pair of worn out sneakers that lay in the corner of my bedroom, running out of the house.
With my father not allowing me to go out anywhere other then business trips and some meet ups with Celeste to hang out. Our families have been friends for a long time, so he'd know whether I had managed to sneak out and go on a secret holiday.
Mary Sindred thankfully can and will lie for me, for the sake of having fun. She has never liked my fathers ways and how he treats me, she takes care of me more than my actual parents do.
I had snuck out of the house with suitcases a few minutes after my family had left for a business trip to Louisiana, and had began to drive off to Celeste's house.
Buildings blurred beneath my vision, the lights forming lines as I drove past them. A few people were out at this time, most of them drunk and stumbling as the walked off the curb, nearly crashing into a oncoming car.
Grimacing and turning away from the couple that had nearly got hit, I began to speed off into the night, slowly turning the corner to the gates of the Sindred Home.
With the gates opening as I typed in the correct passcode, I carefully drove around the main fountain at the centre of the entrance and parked it, beeping the car horn to let Celeste know that I was here.
Running frantically out of her house with three suitcases rolling behind her, half a bagel was hanging loosely out of her mouth, as she nearly stumbled down the steps.
Mary had poked her head out the front door, waving goodbye to Celeste, before she scanned the driveway and her eyes landed onto mine.
Waving and holding up her ring finger in the shape of a hook, I mirrored the effect and blew her a kiss.
When I was little, Mary would take care of me when I had slept over at Celeste's as my family would go on business trips or even "family holidays" without me.
She made a small handshake with me to make me feel loved, because she did love me in ways I would dream to be loved by my parents in the same way. She fulfilled it, and I couldn't be anymore grateful.
Swinging the trunk open and putting her stuff inside, I felt the car begin to shuffle as she tried to position them in a way that would fit them all nicely.
Opening the passengers door and sitting down, she removed the half eaten bagel from her mouth and let out a huff, swiping the back of her left hand across her forehead.
"All you did was put in three suitcases in the back, how the fuck was that tiering?" I chuckled, circling around the fountain as she fastened her seatbelt. "Not to mention, you would of probably found a way to bring your whole fucking closet."
"Correct. But slamming your whole body weight onto suitcases multiple times in the span of five minutes is a task. They should of made us do that for gym classes, not fucking badminton." She groaned, taking a bite of her bagel. "It's midnight Aud, why so early?"
"New York to Daytona is a fifteen hour drive, why didn't we get Andrew to book us a private jet to fly there?"
"Don't you want to live like normal twenty year olds? I mean, travelling without a private jet, people catering to your every need. Let's do this trip together, like we're fifteen again." She prodded my arm, shoving the rest of the bagel down her throat.
"Deal. But I'm not driving for the whole fifteen hours, we're switching every three." I groaned, rubbing my eyes and slowly watching the house disappear from my view.
"Mhm." She hummed, pulling out her phone and taking the aux cord, plugging her phone in.
"Pick a good song Ce." I yawned, turning into the direction of the nearby Starbucks.
"Are you insulting my music taste Audenzia Lelia Charatan?" She placed her free hand on my chest, taking offence. "Leave The Door Open by Bruno?"
"Is that even a question?" I chuckled, rolling down my car window and speaking to the barista behind the screen. "Hi, can I have two grande iced lattes please?"
"Of course you can, anything else?" She spoke, she had a soft voice, clearly tired.
"No that's all thank you."
"That will be five dollars at the next window."
Ordering two iced coffees, and pulling out my credit card, I payed for them, handing over the other one to Celeste. Immediately she began to drink it, stopping midway through as she held onto the side of her head tightly. Brain freeze.
"Shit!" She yelled out, rocking herself back and forth to somehow get rid of the headache. "Fuck!"
"That's your fault Ce." I watched her as she placed her coffee down in the cup holder, propping her head up on her elbows.
Turning to the highway, we had officially set off to travel to Daytona. Humming along to the song, Celeste's brain freeze had gone and she began to talk about Elijah and how he made her smile way too much through the phone last night.
"He's so sweet, honestly. I think he made me blush more last night then I have throughout my whole life." She said, pushing her hands up to her cheeks. "You think he likes me?"
"Ce, of-course he does!" I glanced at her, my mouth open wide as to why she would thought differently. "Did you not see the message he sent me last night, because I'm sure he said 'whoever's next to you is fucking beautiful." I quoted, going slightly faster.
I'm not incredibly fond of going fast, the pressure placed on my chest and my head begins to pound, it getting harder each time. I form a deathly grip onto either the wheel or the arm rests, until my knuckles turn a ghost shade of white.
I had never found a solution to calm myself, the only time it would slightly get me to talk was if I was people special, people who I trusted.
I'm perfectly fine going fast with Celeste in the car with me, because she knows basically everything there is to me and my life. My fears and my most embarrassing moments, down to which foods I don't like.
Every time she drives and we're in a forced situation to go fast, she holds out her hand and holds mine, pressing the pads of her fingers in a pattern; and it works every time.
Celeste and Mary are the only people who can make me feel comfortable in a speedy car, like mother like daughter. Their whole family is sweet, yet Mary had lost a small piece of herself when her husband had passed away, Celeste's father.
She missed him and the small apart of her that he had created. He was an amazing father, and Celeste hadn't been acting like her usual self for around six months, until she had finally used a method that I had recommended her.
Writing down her feelings on a piece of paper and then burning it in her bathtub. The same couldn't be said for Mary. She hadn't fully recovered from the loss, he was her first love; her high-school sweetheart.
"You know, Elijah would probably love to meet Mom." She smiled at the thought, watching cars passing mine, the headlights racing against her eyes. "Dad too."
"Ce, dad would of loved to meet Elijah." I gave her a reassuring smile, holding her hand and squeezing it slightly.
"I miss him a lot." She mumbled, playing with the rings on my fingers. "I know he left a while ago but all I can think about is the night of the phone call; and then mom dropping to her knees in the living room."
The night that he had died, Celeste and Mary were at home, having a girls night and they got the call from the nearby hospital. From what I remember, Celeste wouldn't eat for days, weeks on end. I tried everything I could to help her, and I distracted her while she ate, so she could get some food down her system.
It worked to say the least.
"I'm sure he's proud of me, wherever he is." She whispered, quickly wiping away a tear slipping down her cheek.
"He is proud of you." I spoke, gently pushing her head down on my shoulder, pecking her scalp. "I'm proud of you Ce." Before I knew it, she was out cold, sleeping soundly on my shoulder.
She needs to drive in two hours; I'm not letting her sleep past it, no matter how much I love her. She agreed to it.
Softly chuckling to myself and continuing to drive, I changed the song that was playing to whatever was on the radio at this time. Surely it would be explicit, it's one forty-five after all.
I wouldn't say that I've been in-love before, but I would love to feel what it's like to be loved by someone who returns it back. I'm scared however, that my heart will just break from a split up, and I'll never be able to reform from it.
That's why I'm never willing to give my heart to someone, someone who could break it.
I'm scared that I'm going to lose apart of me that I'll never regain once more; once it's gone, it's gone. In reality, there's no looking back.
What is love exactly?
Is it the feeling that rushes over you when they smile, or do anything for that matter? Is it when you confess that you have feelings for one person? Is it the small dates that you go on? Or is it the way they look at you?
I wouldn't know.
There's an endless amount of possibilities for every word, the meanings behind them and how you feel about them. There isn't one solitary meaning to it, I can't say to someone that love specifically means that you get the feeling when they look at you.
It's not always like that.
Who's one to decide that except for yourself?
I haven't been in-love, yes, but ever since I had a car accident from five years ago, I had always felt like a piece of me was taken away from me.
Yes my memory was taken away, but that's not what I mean.
A few supposed "lost" memories had come back to me through dreams, and they feel really every single time. I was reliving them over again, some relieving to remember, others, not so much.
No matter how hard I tried, there was still that small piece missing, and I couldn't seem to find it. According to the doctors and nurses, I had managed to regain my memories back, all of them.
I don't believe them.
There's still something missing, physically and mentally for me. Like someone had given me memories that I had yearned for regain once more. I haven't got the slightest idea about who this person is, but like Mary, I miss the part of me that they took with them.
But you can't miss something that you can't remember, right?
So why do I?
Groaning and glancing at the time, it was currently around two to three am, so it was close for a switchover with Celeste. Rubbing my eyes and concentrating on the set of headlights in-front of me, they blurred, forming lines.
Taking a sip of my coffee and shaking my head from side to side slightly, it woke me up slightly. Driving further until I hit a pullover section, I stopped the car and nudged Celeste slightly, getting a groan of frustration from her.
"Ce." I spoke, shaking her slightly harder.
"Hm?" She hummed, her eyes still closed as she threw the blanket over the head that I had placed on her prior.
"It's your turn to drive."
"No it isn't. Shut up and drive." She shifted her head to face me, opening her eyes slightly before dozing back off. "And I quote Rihanna." She stuck her index finger in the air before dropping it once more.
"Another twelve more hours Ce and we'll be there!" I spoke, shaking her more violently. "Come on."
"Should of just taken the private jet." Her voice was horse, pulling the blanket further up her face. "Let's just stop here for the night and then drive off again later on tomorrow. At like eleven or something."
"We can't stay here. It's a pullover zone."
"Find a fucking hotel." She mumbled, wiping the mouth with the back of her hand.
"Fuck off." I rolled my eyes and began to drive again, asking Google where the nearest hotel was.
Responding with a five star, the hotel looked clean and new, a few shrubs wrapped around the entirety of the building as I pulled into the vast parking lot, filled with cars and small lights still on inside.
Manoeuvring my head around, I searched for an empty parking space. Finding one close to the entrance I parked, taking off my seatbelt and nudging Celeste's shoulder, she groaned, opening her eyes fully this time.
"What?" She snapped, kissing her teeth.
"Hotel." I pointed to the glass doors, her eyes following along. "Get out and I'll book us a room." I rolled my eyes and shut the door, walking around the back and taking out my suitcases, rolling them towards the front entrance.
A young man who looked like he worked there, caught notice of us, before smiling and strolling over towards us with a suitcase carrier.
"Need help?" He asked, leaning against the door frame.
"If you wouldn't mind." I smiled, taking Celeste's suitcases out of the trunk too. "Thank you." I spoke as he loaded the suitcases on, pushing them into the lobby.
"No worries. So one or two rooms?" He asked, handing out stuff to another employee on duty.
"One please." I spoke, holding onto Celeste as she stumbled around the lobby, in search for a comfortable place to sleep. "Thank you." I mumbled as her head started to drop down.
Checking in and entering the room, my eyes widened at the sight of the room we'll be staying at for the night. A large king sized bed was pushed up against the left wall, the black headboard reflected a sleek impact to the room, matching matte black wall lamps on either side.
Hard-wooded floors lined beneath my feet, a glazed over coat making it shine from the ceiling light. A large glass window took up the whole back wall, showing off the city scape in-front of me.
Celeste immediately dived for the bed, smashing her face into the pillow and taking in the fresh cotton lingering throughout the room. Smiling to herself, her eyes remained closed as she threw off her trench coat and threw it somewhere in the room, before tucking her body into the new sheets, tangling herself within them.
"Goodnight Aud." She mumbled, dozing off into her much needed sleep.
"Goodnight Ce." I mumbled back, pushing in the suitcases, and turning to shut the door behind me when a hand grabbed the door.
"Miss me princess?" A deep voice spoke, pushing the door open.
Ace stood there effortlessly, his jet black hair disheveled and messy, his top half bare. His legs were covered by a pair of grey sweats lazily thrown on, his voice had a rasp.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" I whispered shouted, stepping out of the room and softly closing it behind me, careful to not wake up Celeste.
"Not the warmest of welcomes Charatan." He smirked, edging slightly closer to me as he trapped my body against the door. "I think a hello would be nice, don't you think?"
"It's three in the fucking morning and I'm tired, so no." I groaned, rubbing my eyes as they adjusted to the light emitting from the hallways.
"Manners?" He played, placing his hand further up the doorframe, balling his hand into a fist and leaning into it. "You should know what they are after all."
"You aren't doing this to me right now." I kissed my teeth, crossing my arms over my stomach. "Would you be so kind to let me enjoy my slumber that I have yet to experience?" I rolled my eyes and fumbled with the doorknob, trying to get back in.
"Mhm. No." He chuckled slightly as he watched me frantically trying to get back into mine and Celeste's room. "Stuck?"
"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" I raised my voice slightly higher, pushing against the door once more; to no avail. "It's stuck."
"That's what she said." He chuckled behind me, slowly edging closer towards me as his body hear radiated off of him.
"Oh you're so mature." I rolled my eyes and turned back around to face him, his face far closer than it was before. "How old are you? Seven?"
"I'm twenty two actually, baby." He whispered in my ear, his breath hot. "Want to get to know me already?"
"You are the most annoying man I've ever met." I spoke, putting my palm to my eye and rubbing aggressively.
"Didn't you hold my hand in the café?"
"It takes two to hold hands, baby." I smirked back, watching his grow larger by the second.
"Already copying my mannerisms?"
"Already being a bitch?"
Boring our eyes into each-other in a silence, his eyes swirled with enthusiasm, lust and desire. He was enjoying what was happening between us, the tension hot and floating around in the air.
"Just going to keep staring at me?" He spoke, a grin spreading across his face. "It's three thirty. I don't mind if you want to stand and stare for hours on end, vice versa too."
God he can be attractive but the most annoying man I've ever met at the same time.
"Shut the fuck up and answer the question I asked before." I spoke with a much more stern tone, hoping he'd get the hint to, I don't know, fuck off?
"I'm here because I was actually planning to go on holiday with Elijah for two weeks." He answered, watching me fidget uselessly with my ring. "What about you?"
"The exact same with Celeste." I rolled my eyes and groaned, hoping that he wouldn't spend his two weeks at Daytona Beach, hopefully not at the same cabins either. "Where?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
I want to punch this stubborn bitch.
"I'm staying at Daytona Beach." He smirked, bringing his head closer to mine, his soft brushing against my forehead leaving a tickling sensation.
"You've got to be fucking joking." I groaned, throwing my head back the door slightly brushing against my scalp. "I'm not about to spend two weeks with you."
"You spent a night with me, in the same bed. I'm sure for two weeks, where we'll even be in separate rooms, you can do." He pressed, bringing his body closer to mine. "I might even leave early, happy?"
"Why would you even leave early?" I asked.
"Business." He replied bluntly, leaning down closer so his hair was brushing against my forehead.
"Annual leave?"
"Not that simple, baby." He smirked, his scent overtaking me once more. "What a lovely game of twenty questions."
"Are you aware of the fact that you are the most annoying, stubborn man that exists?"
"Very much so."
I'm never going to win with Ace fucking Valentino.
Yet another silence drafted between us both, the eye contact we held previously still maintained itself, yet I had no idea what he was truly feeling about this confrontation.
The power of eye contact is one of the strongest powers a human can contain, it speaks louder than words and gets your point across, without the need to speak or doing any actions. Simply with your eyes.
"Stay in my room."
"What?" I asked, I knew perfectly well what he said, I wanted to hear it once again.
"Stay in my room to get some sleep." He repeated, lifting his head up from mine and glancing at his watch, taking note of the time for how long we've been standing here, just staring.
"Why?"
"You look tired." He hummed, focusing on my eyes and the eye bags soon to form underneath them. "It's not like we'll be sleeping in the same bed anyway."
Pinch me.
"Where will you be then?" I asked, grabbing onto my biceps, holding tighter.
"Well Elijah and I are leaving in an hour, so the room is yours to stay in. It's paid already."
"I'm not accepting you to pay for that."
"Whether you like it or not, it's been paid for. So shut that pretty little mouth of yours and go to sleep." He pointed to the door opposing mine and Celeste's room, the door slightly hanging open.
"No." I replied bluntly, uncrossing my arms and aggressively tugging on the doorknob once more to see if this time it would actually let me in.
"Stop being stubborn Charatan." He rolled his eyes and grabbed my wrist, pulling me away from my room. "Go to sleep." He opened his door, showing an identical room for what I saw previously.
The bed was slightly messed up, the sheets thrown over to one side, his pillow having an indent in it from sleeping previously.
"Sleep on the other side if you want, just please get some sleep." He spoke, still holding onto my wrist, not tight so that he would hurt me.
"Why do you care if I'm tired or not?" I protested, glancing down at his hands, his veins popping out.
"I don't care, you aren't driving when you're tired. You in a car accident, not a pretty sight." He rolled his eyes and let go of me, the cool air circulating around the room hitting my warm wrist.
"Are you insinuating something about my driving?"
"Don't you understand anything?"
"Care to fucking explain?"
Why do I have to be so difficult? All he's trying to do is help me out, but why? Surely he doesn't care, just something a basic human should do, it's the decency.
"Go. To. Sleep." He pointed to the bed, before I could open my mouth, he had disappeared into the en-suite attached. The sound of the shower turning on, hitting the tiles was followed soon after.
Slipping off my shoes and placing them next to the foot of the bed, I slipped inside the covers, taking in the warmth. Although I was wearing leggings, my legs were cold to the touch, the covers warmed me up.
Taking in the scent of him, sandalwood and a mixture of strong cologne filled the room, and for some odd reason it calmed me.
I hate what he's doing to me.
He's always there, wherever I am. I understand the business meeting, but New York, the strip club and now a two week trip to Daytona Beach?
It's either it's all just some massive coincidence, or he's apart of some government shit to find out exactly where I am at every time. Like the mafia or something.
Yet a part of my likes the way that he's there, maybe it's his presence, maybe it's his smile. I'm not sure, but it's just something about him that's making me drawn to him. And I can't put my finger on it.
Softly shutting my eyes, I gripped onto the sheets and pulled them to my nose, making my face slightly warmer from the intense blast from the air conditioner.
Tossing and turning until I could get comfortable, I found myself sitting up, pulling the sheets up to my upper body, sitting there in the cold.
"Cold?" A raspy voice spoke as he leaned against the wall supporting the headboard.
Turning my head to face him, his hair was dampened, his bottom half covered by a new pair of grey sweats. They were a different brand.
"Yes." I replied bluntly, ripping my eyes away from his body, facing the city. Cars zoomed by, headlights forming lines as I blurred my vision.
"There." He spoke, turning off the air conditioner with a simple press of the button.
Feeling the room instantly heat up, I found myself using my hands to fan my face down from the sudden rush of heat washing over me and my body.
Grabbing the collar of my hoodie, and repeatedly moving it back and forth, I felt myself get even more warm in the process, along with the gaze of Ace burning into my temple.
"You can take the hoodie off. I'll turn around."
"You aren't seeing me in a sports bra."
"I've seen you in lingerie Charatan." He replied, chuckling slightly. "And that barely covered anything."
"Turn around." I snapped, watching him slowly twist his body around, his back facing me.
Slipping it off and pulling the covers to my chest, I said that he could turn around, with only my bare arms visible.
"Thank you." I mumbled under my breath, taking in the highway that we were facing. "Kept the blinds open?"
"You were right. They're better open." He whispered, sitting down next to me, on his side of the bed. "Don't let that get to your head Charatan."
Too late.
"Mhm." I hummed, playing with the dainty gold chain that wrapped around my neck. "Travelling by plane or car?" I asked.
"Car to this hotel, the rest of the journey via plane. You?" He asked, throwing his legs off the bed, his back to me.
Turning over to answer him, I caught the glimpse of a bruise and scar on his back, both of them quite large, the scar cutting deep into his skin. They looked as though they occurred a while ago, a few months.
"How did that happen?" I slipped out, before covering my mouth with my hand. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive." I blurted out, edging closer to hear him.
"It's okay." He whispered, slightly turning his head to face me. "It was nothing major. Just a fight."
"Can I?" I asked, referring to slightly skimming my finger over them.
"Go ahead." He spoke, leaning forward, running his fingers through his hair.
"Tell me if it hurts." I whispered, shuffling from off the bed to his back, stopping inches away. "Who did this to you?" I asked, carefully placing one hand on his shoulder to steady myself.
Propping myself up on my knees, my legs carefully brushed against his lower back. Running my finger carefully down his back, I circled it around his bruise, beaten purple and black.
"It's nothing. It doesn't matter anymore." He mumbled, tensing up as I got closer to the centre of the bruise.
"It does matter. This person hurt you, and you're brushing it off like it's nothing." I spoke softly, even though I was getting agitated inside. "Answer the question."
"Why do you care?"
"I don't care, I just don't want you to think like that." I retorted, stroking my thumb up and down his shoulder.
"It was a meaningless fight Charatan." He spoke, twisting his ring around his fingers. "It's over now."
I decided not to press about it anymore, so I carefully ran my finger down the scar, taking note of the intense hue of the bright red.
"Knife fight?" I questioned quietly, watching my finger trail itself further up and down.
"I'd rather not talk about it."
-
- ACE'S POV -
Her cold finger trailed up and down my scar caused from a knife fight with the Russians, her soft voice asked me why.
She had concluded that it was caused from a knife fight, but I couldn't let her know that she was correct. I know she's not stupid, she's intelligent.
Her thumb rubbed comforting circles on my shoulder, starting clockwise, once she finished, she swirled them anti-clockwise.
"Are you okay? Not just physically, but mentally." She asked, her voice soft.
"I'm okay. What about you Charatan?" I asked, stopping the temptation to put her hand in mine.
I liked the feeling of her hand in mine, whatever the reason, it was comforting.
"I'm okay." She whispered, her ring shock cold against my warm skin. "Why don't you care about what this person did to you?"
I do it to them too Audenzia. Except I actually manage to kill them off.
She can't know that.
"I'm still alive." I mumbled, slowly taking my hand up and brushing our fingertips together, before interlacing our fingers.
Her hand was now attached to mine, still on my shoulder as she began to sketch small drawings on the muscles on my back. It was soothing, the pad of her fingers drawing what felt like a small flower.
"It doesn't mean that. I could get shot in the leg and still be alive, but it would hurt wouldn't it?" She spoke, lifting her other hand onto my shoulder.
"I'm more concerned if someone else got hurt. Myself, not so much." I replied softly, taking her other hand in mine. "Wouldn't you be concerned if someone else got hurt, even if you were too?"
"Yes. Yes I would." She responded without hesitation, resting her head on the top of mine. "Which cabin are you staying at in Daytona?"
"Ormond Beach Cabins." I knew she was staying at the same one, I do own it after all. She doesn't need to know that again. "You?"
"Same one." She mumbled, softly rocking out bodies back and forth. "Following me?" She chuckled lightly, her body slightly moving as she did so.
"Are you following me?" I chuckled softly, pulling her hands off my shoulders, her elbows replacing them.
"Should we just go together?" She asked, before quickly adding on. "I mean, since we're going to the same beach, same resort and cabins, so we may as-well just go together. If that's okay." She rambled, before hiding her face behind my head.
"It makes sense to do so." I chuckled, taking her right hand and pecked her knuckles. "I'll get someone to take our cars to a parking garage suitable for them to stay for two weeks."
"I'll pay."
"No, no you won't."
"I will."
Pulling us off the bed, her chest hit my back, her grip on my hands tightened. She squealed from the instant lift, instinctively, she wrapped her legs around my waist, to hold her up.
"What are you doing?!" She whispered shouted in my ear, taking her hands off mine and grabbing onto my shoulders.
Before she could get off, I held onto the back of her thighs, lifting her further up my torso. Maintaining a tight enough grip on her, I walked over to the large paned window, shifting us so that she could get the full view of what I could see.
The moon, in full view, the sky as clear as day. I heard an audible gasp escape her lips as she looked in awe, her chest hitting the back of my head.
Softly moving us a few steps to the right, I saw her mouth lay agape through the reflection of the window, as she rested her chin at the top of my head.
"This person who made you see the moon differently, I want to meet them. If that's okay with you of-course."
It's perfectly fine with me Audenzia, but you can't meet them. I wish I could tell you that.
-
Softly nudging Audenzia awake, a groan of annoyance left her lips and she pushed the cover further up her perfectly shaped body, burying her head into the pillow.
Somehow she had convinced me to stay with her that night, or maybe I just stayed because I liked her company. Being awake since three, I had sat there, scrolling through business emails and the constant reminders that this wasn't a trip to Daytona to have fun, it was to do something specific.
"Wake up, we have to leave in a few to catch the jet." I whispered in her ear, before aggressively pulling the covers off her body.
With a scream and shooting herself up from her slumber, she pushed her hair away from her face, groaning and rubbing her eyes from the sunlights pouring through the blinds.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, turning over to face me. "Oh wait, never mind." Audenzia added on, collapsing onto her back. "I didn't get any sleep because you, showed me the moon and wouldn't let me down." She emphasised on the "you".
"Actually, we were there for five minutes. You fell asleep on me so I had to carry you to the bed." I spoke, snatching the pillow that supported her head.
"Did I? Okay just wait for me. I'm going to the bathroom." She spoke, tossing her legs off the bed and rubbing her eyes. "Uhm, can you also knock on Celeste's to see if she can hand you a new set of clothes for me?"
"Sure." I responded, throwing on a hoodie that was lazily thrown onto the chair in the far corner of the room.
Slipping on a pair of shoes, I heard the shower turn on, so I took that chance to get up and leave. Knocking on the door, Celeste opened it, her eyes dropping from being intensely tired.
"It worked?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Did you tell her about it?" She asked, opening the door wider to let me in.
Scavenging through Audenzia's suitcase, she pulled out a fresh matching lounge wear set and a pair of socks.
"I'm not going to tell her, and risk her running off and putting herself in more trouble?" I answered back, pressing two fingers at the top of my head. "I told you I don't want her to know."
"You have to tell her one day. She won't hate you forever." Celeste spoke, passing Audenzia's clothes to me.
"She won't hate me forever. Yet she'll still have that part of her hating me." I spoke barely above a whisper, running my fingers through my hair frustratingly. "Those two reasons will be the reason that she leaves and something happens to her."
"Ace, I get that you want to protect her, but she deserves to know the truth." She placed her small hand on my back. "Tell her after this trip."
I don't want to lose her.
"She does deserve to know, but the possibility of hating me, you and Elijah?" I spoke up, placing her clothes on my lap and leaning forward, placing my head into the palms of my hands. "She's going to storm off, and then they'll get her. When she's vulnerable, without anyone there. She's smart, she'll know if any of us decide to follow her."
Rubbing her hand carefully up and down my back, Celeste spoke once more.
"Would you rather lie to her for who know how long, or tell her the truth and let her decide for herself?"
"I want her to be happy."
"Then tell her."
I want to, but the risk of her hating me?
"I'll tell her about the crash. Just not why I'm really here just yet." I concluded, before adding on. "That doesn't mean I'm never going to tell her."
"When you're ready Ace."
-
- AUDENZIA'S POV -
Drying myself off with a towel, I wrapped the towel around myself, waiting for Ace to knock on the door and return a fresh set of clothes for me.
After a few minutes, a series of knocks were thrown against the bathroom door, indicating that it was Ace.
"Yeah?" I called from inside, just to make sure.
"It's me Charatan, I've got your clothes." Ace spoke from the other side of the door, his voice soft.
"Thank you." I spoke, unlocking the door and holding out my hand, it being greeted by the softness of my clothes.
Letting the towel fall down to my ankles, I slipped on my underwear and the sweatpants, fumbling with the clasp of my bra. My arms couldn't wrap around myself, they grew tired from trying.
Groaning and throwing my head back, I'm sure Ace heard my struggling, because a few seconds after, he knocked on the door softly.
"Is everything okay in there?"
"Yeah, everything's fine." I huffed out, reaching over once more and managing to finally clasp it together.
Faint footsteps walked around the hotel room, then carrying on as I slipped on the hoodie and threw the towel into the laundry basket.
I decided not to wash my hair since I would wash it when we got to Daytona, we were planning on going for a night swim anyway.
Softly closing the bathroom door, Ace was looking out of the window, the sunrise highlighting his godly facial features. His eyes were trained on the sun itself, his mind somewhere else.
"You okay?" I asked, standing next to him and slipping on the pair of sneakers that I left there last night. "Thinking about something?"
"It's nothing important." He murmured quietly, spinning the ring on his middle finger around. The four days that I've met him, he always chooses to spin the ring on his middle finger, despite having a variety to choose from.
Maybe it's his favourite finger, to flip people off maybe? Can't argue with him there.
"We should get going, the jets here." He spoke coldly, getting up and grabbing his stuff, opening the door and stepping inside.
Did he regret last night?
Did I do something wrong?
Grabbing a note and scribbling down a few words, thanking them for the service and managing to find Celeste and I a room at three in the morning, I placed it on the bedside table, before walking out the door and taking my stuff out of the room Celeste stayed in for the night.
Waiting at the lobby, Elijah came into view as he sat down next to me.
"You okay?"
No.
"Yeah. You?" I whispered, resting my head on his shoulder.
"Good. Auden, don't lie to me." He spoke, turning his head to face me. "If there's something wrong, you know you can tell. If you're not comfortable then don't."
"Thank you El, but I'm fine." I mumbled in his shoulder, taking my head away from him.
"If you say so." He spoke, patting the top of my head.
-
The plane ride was quiet, Celeste had fallen asleep half way through, Elijah had done the same. Her head fell comfortably on his shoulder, his head lay on hers.
I tried to not pay attention to Ace who was sitting in-front of me, but his demeanour had changed so suddenly over the course of an hour.
He regretted last night, didn't he?
His stance had changed subtly, his fingers pressed against his temple quite a few times, as though he was stressed or keeping something to himself.
I opened my mouth to ask whether he was okay or not, yet the words never escaped my lips. Did something happen overnight that made him act like this?
Definitely the feeling of regret.
The beach came into view, the wooden roofs of cabins acted as a border for the beach itself, cyclists rushing past the civilians on the track as they slowly drove off underneath the pier.
Daytona, baby.
hi guys, did you like this chapter? it was really long (that's what she said ha) but do you guys like longer chapters or shorter ones? this was around 6000 words and oh my god this took me a while to write but i really like the small moments that audenzia and ace had with one another.
also this is how you pronounce audenzias name.
au-den-zee-ah
i suck a pronunciation, but hopefully that clears it up.
do you guys also like the dual pov chapters? if so, would you like to see more in the future?
thanks for reading, stay safe, have something to eat and drink today too. love u lots :)