Page 26 of Hers To Keep
Sixteen
SCARLETT
One week, and one day. That’s how long he’s been gone. That’s how long I’ve ached for him and fought these feelings and dreams I’ve been having. It’s Thursday now and I’ve had nightmares pretty much every night since he left last Wednesday. I wake up screaming in a cold sweat, with visions of both Drake and Ace lying bloody before me, and of Agent Servite standing over both their bodies, a wicked smile plastered across his devilishly perfect face.
Jade refuses to leave me alone; she’s been sleeping with me all week and is the one who’s been dealing with these dreadful night terrors. But I can’t bring myself to tell her what I see.
Her father, Ace, Wesley, Bass, Alek, they all have played a part in this, and I’m terrified to say it all out loud, but she’s relentless. I know she’d try to dig up information on her own if I kept quiet. The last thing I need is to be in this same predicament once again, begging Agent Servite to have mercy on my sister.
For now, she’s content with the answers I’ve given. AgentServite continues to be a nuisance, and the blatant threats he spews remain. I now know my mother is back in town and I’m determined to find her. Finally, Ace’s part in all of this is too big to ignore, and I don’t know where that leaves our relationship.
“You can’t let his family’s actions interfere in your relationship with him,” Jade says, taking a bite of her burger while she sits atop my bed. Stella ordered dinner for us from her favorite diner in town but left us to eat alone after something came up at her family’s estate that required her immediate attendance. Cryptic, but after all, she is a Silver.
“For one, we are the poster children for dysfunctional families, and second, he can’t be blamed for their sins, just like we don’t deserve to be punished for our parents’ sins,” Jade adds, wiping her mouth and taking a drink of her soda as I watch her attentively. I stare down at my burger, setting it to the side. My appetite has been nonexistent lately, nothing seems to appease me. My body craves something more.
“But what if he has some of his own,” I say solemnly, while she starts nearly choking on her food.
“Who doesn’t? Scarlett, I say this with love, we’re not perfect, and we have to stop acting like it. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone does or says things they don’t mean, but what we have is an instinct, an intuition that lets us see people for who they are deep down inside. To see their true selves.” She grabs her food, moving to stand, as she walks toward the door, turning back to me before exiting. “What you must do now is think about that. Does everything you claim Ace has done, mean anything after all he’s been through? If his uncle threatens you so easily, what do you think his life has been like living with that man for its entirety?” She walks out, closing the door behind her and leaving me to dwell with my own thoughts.
She’s right, her words are raw, and their meaning is felt deep inside me as my soul burns vigorously to have Ace near me again.
Does the way he was raised, with an absent, cowardly father, left tobe brainwashed by his uncle to believe all of this is morally right, that this is how it must be, justify his behavior? If not, who am I to say it doesn’t?
Just like if he could sense my doubts, as if our minds, not just bodies, were connected, he feels my need for him growing each moment I spend without him. My phone vibrates beside me, a text message from Ace, appearing on the screen.
Ace: I’ll be back at the beach house tonight. Meet me tomorrow before school starts. We need to talk.
Seeing his name pop up on the screen, I changed it once we officially became a couple, does something weird to me. It not only makes me instantly ache for him, but it also makes me feel all warm and giddy inside, and I don’t like it.
Me: Why not talk now?
Ace: Eager to see me babe? Believe me, I’ve missed you too.
His humor is refreshing after the seriousness of the last few times we’ve been together, so deciding to not turn this conversation into another one of our petty arguments, I decide to play along.
Me: I’ve missed a part of you, can’t say all.
Ace: Trust me I’ve missed every silky fucking inch of your perfect body.
Me: Hmm you just want me for my body.
Ace: Says the girl who literally just said she missed only ONE part of me.
I laugh to myself imagining the scowl upon his face as he reads my messages.
Me: I’ve missed your lips too…
I know I’m playing with fire here, but for once I don’t care if I get burned.
Ace: I’m calling you as soon as I arrive. You better fucking answer me, and you better make sure you’re alone.
I shift on my bed, his words fluttering something inside of me, making my craving for him insatiable. I need him to hurry and come for me.
Though instead of telling him that, I play coy. Nothing wrong with letting him grovel a bit longer.
Me: Mmm maybe.
He doesn’t reply, ending our flirty banter, and I can’t help but feel a bit pissed about it. That seems to have backfired on me as now I’m the one groveling. I head over to the bathroom, hoping a cold shower is exactly what I need to cool down, before finishing some homework and getting my things ready for school tomorrow.