Hot chocolate. The liquid burned my throat like fireflies swarming around the night sky. Marshmallows melted into little blobs, bringing back the memories of squeezing the ooky-goo in my fingertips. My sister loved overflowing her hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon. Sometimes she would throw globs at me.

When she used to be happy...

"Sorry if it has too much chocolate. I got heavy-handed with the chocolate chips," Ambrose stated, pulling a seat over next to me on my balcony.

The balcony grew from the walls of the room as generous arms from a host, or perhaps those of a mother, to cradle her infant child. The metal had a patina of ocean greens and blues, or maybe it was more the hues of a mossy forest floor in softened early light, yet either way it was soothing.

Especially after the night I had tonight...

The flavor made my mouth salivate, wanting more of it. "Don't be. Chocolate is my best friend."

Unconsciously, even with the heated drink in my hand, my teeth chattered from the harsh winds. From the looks of it, a storm was on the horizon from how severe the gusts tugged at my hair. Ambrose must've caught wind because he placed his beverage on the patio table and draped his jacket over my shoulders.

"I could just go get a blanket. You don't have to freeze yourself to impress me." Yet, I gripped at the jacket, inhaling the old spice scent coming off from it.

Ambrose lightly chuckled, returning to his chair. "Is it a crime to be nice to you?"

My eyes narrowed. "It is. For you."

Ambrose's golden specks shined with amusement as he sipped on his drink, taking in the atmosphere around us. Stars were like pixie dust dropping from Tinkerbell's wings as she swarmed through the sky. It brought peace. Something I desperately desired after my encounter with Colton tonight.

He's staring up at the sky, waiting for me to say anything. My eyes followed the line of his jaw, the curve of his cheeks, the outline of his lips. His eyebrows were drawn together in contemplation. I don't understand why he changed his tune, but I didn't want to spend the next twenty-four hours rethinking it.

"Do you want to talk about tonight?" Ambrose asked, his gaze piercing into mine with concern.

My mouth was composed into a straight line. "Not really. But as my therapist would say, talking about it would make it easier to digest."

Ambrose angled his body in my direction, his knees grazing mine. "D-don't feel obliged, too. I just want you to know I'm here for you. For anything." His hand rested on my knee, his touch ignited like fire on my skin.

Sour features washed over my face. "How dare you? After what you said at the beach... You said it yourself, remember? That there was no way that you and I would work out... Even as friends. You would rather be playing Xbox right now instead of talking to me."

Ambrose's pink lips gaped open. His eyebrows jumped at my words, looking flabbergasted. He stared quietly at the floor, his brain working overtime as if I spoke a whole other language to him.

The ground was suddenly my best friend, and I was too nervous to look away. "Just give me a straight answer. You hate me. Don't you?"

"I don't hate you."

Those four words somehow extracted the aching sensation that yanked at my chest all night. The statement that bothered me all week wasn't true? Was he just lying to make me feel better? I was in a vulnerable state. It would make sense.

No, Ambrose wouldn't do that. You know it.

My eyes widened hesitantly as I glanced up to face the boy, who made my heart explode from my chest. In a good way. Ambrose peaked at the dawn-lit street, his cheeks matching the red mug in his hand.

"Sorry. I didn't realize that what I said at the beach hurt your feelings." His hand clawed at his neck. "And to be honest, it still hasn't completely set in. But I do admit that I was way out of line. So this time, I'll be straight with you."

He took a deep breath. "You're just not my type. You're ungrateful, rude, annoying, and have the tendency to act like a big brat. We'd probably fight non-stop, so I don't think it'd work out. That's my straight answer... But!"

Even in the awful lit area, his cheeks were beetroot red. "I don't hate you, not by a long shot. I consider you a close friend."

Fluttering butterflies erupted in my stomach, bringing the urge to laugh alive in the back of my throat, but I swallowed it. He didn't hate me. I know, I'm no picnic to be around, but knowing he respected me brought this feeling on.

Because deep down, I loved being in his company...

A wide smile stretched across my face. "I see..." I scooted my chair closer to his and gently dropped my head on his shoulder. "So, you don't hate me, huh?" His old spice cologne brought a sense of unity to my mind.

"Your head is oddly heavy," Ambrose stated, his pearly whites showing.

I rolled my eyes. "It's because I have a big brain, unlike other people."

His lips pursed. "Touche."

The silent blanket hovered over us. Unlike the beach night, it was soothing, consoling, and just plain old fucking great. I couldn't get enough of his cologne and invaded his personal space, but maybe I was going too far. Until he dipped his head on mine, immersed in the starlight above us, and didn't seem to think twice of this friendly contact.

"I appreciate you taking your time to search for me at the party. I'm sure you had tons of amazing things to do," I said, focusing on my breathing instead of my speeding heartbeat.

"How could I not search for you after hearing Colton was at the party? What kind of friend would I be?" Ambrose asked.

An amused grin danced on my lips. "You would be surprised at how many so-called friends forced Colton and me to talk."

His eyes carried a serious tint in them. "I'm guessing Ryler is one of them. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I just left you there to fend for the wolves. I know you can handle yourself but when I saw the lobster's head surrounding you, I was glad I went looking for you."

My body flinched at the slimy feeling of the lobster head. "Even without the heads, Colton has a way of bringing out the fifteen-year-old scared girl. I always feel so fucking helpless, but it's like I get all shivered up." My fingers tugged at his jacket's tag on my arms. "I hate that he knows. He has me wrapped around his finger."

Ambrose caressed my knee, making it harder to focus. "You aren't. I think if you stopped looking at the negatives, you would be able to see all the achievements you accomplished on this journey. It's natural for you to be afraid to confront him. He must've made your life a living hell, but you're doing twenty times better than he is!"

A soft giggled departed from my lips. "Like what? I haven't had an audition in years. My agent of thirteen years is minutes away from dropping me. The only reason I'm still on the media's radar is because of my scandals, and to tie everything up with a bow, I'm in a PR relationship."

My whole body short-circuited when his finger grazed my chin, pulling me over to face him. "Didn't I just say think about the positives? Milo just wanted to set a fire under your ass. He wouldn't dream of dropping you. You have a genuine friend in me and my whole gang. You placed first place in the last three rounds. And most importantly, you're healthy and have a great heart... when you want to."

"I like it. Shower me with more compliments!" I took a large gulp of my lukewarm hot chocolate.

Ambrose rolled his eyes with a smile. "Sure, sure! Awesome, totally awesome!"

Two big elephants lingered in the room; the guilt weighing on my chest for creating the entire issue between us, to begin with, and the last thing Colton dropped on Ambrose. To get back at me. If we were truly friends, Ambrose wouldn't criticize me for my past mistakes... for the night my sister ended up in the hospital.

Yet, fear crept up on me. I didn't want his small percentage of my greatness to be tainted because of what I had done. But I dreaded if I held onto the secret longer, it would only work out horribly in the end. If I lost Ambrose in the process, then so be it, but I had to speak my truths to the world.

I couldn't run from it anymore.

"Sorry," I whispered. My cheeks felt like they were burning in hell. "For how I've been lately. For going crazy on you. Sorry... for my nasty attitude and all. Sorry... for saying mean things, and embarrassing us in front of everyone. I'm sorry."

Ambrose blinked, his mouth dipping open until I covered it with my hand.

"I'll go back to normal now. Back to the way, I was before... I'll go back to my usual self. When we were polar opposites in every way, the fake couple that hated each other's guts. I'll go back to being that Davina. So, please... Um..." I rubbed my hands in a way of making fiction and ignoring the jitters in my gut. "Will you forgive me?"

He coughed, spitting out the gulp of hot chocolate he failed at swallowing. "I don't see a problem with it. If we're a fake couple that hates each other, then it's only natural that we'd fight."

My eyes narrowed into murderous slits. "But you just told me that you didn't hate me by a long shot..."

Ambrose gasped. "No, listen! You're the one who just brought up hating each other."

I nudged his shoulder with my elbow. "Then? Were you lying to me?"

He playfully flicked my head using his middle finger and thumb. "No, no! What are you talking about?" He exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Listen, do you want me to hate you or not? Which is it? Jeez... So?"

My eyebrows pinched together. "So what?"

Ambrose cleared his throat. "What about you, then? Don't you hate me?" If I wasn't mistaken, he almost looked upset at the thought of me hating him.

"Me?" Shock registered in my voice. "Well, I...absolutely abhor you." I teased with a fat grin on my face.

Pink blossom floated over his cheeks. "You're so annoying! Now, I'm going to have to search up this word to know what you think of me." He hoisted onto his legs and began walking inside.

"Wait." I leaped from my seat. "I wanted to tell you... about the thing Colton mentioned."

Ambrose's thick brown eyebrows knitted together. "Are you sure? Colton is probably exaggerating. I don't believe a word that comes out that dumbass's mouth."

My tongue snaked out to moisturize my lips. "Normally he is... but this time not so much."

He blinked a few times before taking the seat next to me. "Take a deep breath and when you're ready, I'm here."

I nodded. "Okay... My sister... she's like incredible, my truest best friend. She always held her head high and wanted to better the world. So eight years ago... My sister and I loved going ice skating. There was a little pond in the middle of nowhere that always froze over when it was cold enough. Kasey had just broken up with her first boyfriend so I wanted to cheer her up and skating always made a smile appear."

I wrapped my arms around myself. "It was a horrible idea. My mother forbade us from going, but I was in my rebelling stage. When she fell asleep, I stole my mother's key, grabbed our skates, and went on an adventure." The smallest grin crawled on my lips. "Kasey wore the biggest smile when we glided over the frozen water. I'm surprised we didn't cause it to break altogether."

"Then." I licked my lips. "Snow started coming down so we rushed to the car, giggling and I started driving... It happened so fast... I don't even know, but we ended up with the car flipped over and both of us in critical condition."

He chewed the inside of his cheek. "Did she?"

I shook my head eagerly. "Oh God, no. But the result wasn't any much better. She lost feeling in her legs... forever. How is it fair for a fourteen-year-old to have her entire life taken away and I get to go around as nothing happened?"

Ambrose's expression turned grim. "Why is it fair for parents to abuse their kids? Why is it fair for babies to get cancer? Because life is a mystery, you know sometimes you can try to stop things, but other times it just happens. You shouldn't blame yourself for the accident."

I shrugged; irritation gnawed at me. "Kasey wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. Now, she's hardly moving around because her clutches scape her elbows. I should've had been the one who got hurt. She had a whole life in front of her..."

His head dipped down, causing his bangs to obscure his eyes. "Davina, you can't beat yourself over this. From how you described Kasey, I doubt she resents you. All you tried to do was make her happy. I'm sure she cherishes that. It probably hurts her to see you hurting like this... it really hurts me to see this. You lost that Davina sparkle."

My face scrunched up. "Davina sparkle?"

"That's really all you heard?"

"The rest didn't matter. I couldn't see her face after I heard she pulled through surgery. So, I took the lead role on Twisted Love and moved to L.A. for the shooting. I moved in with Colton's parents, but whenever we fought, he would just bring up how a horrible human being I was for hurting Kasey like that. The worst part is that I believe him."

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Ambrose tense. "Colton is an asshole. A lowlife garbage who has nothing better to do than bring strong independent girls down. Go talk to Kasey, clear the air, and ask her to forgive if you want. I'm telling you she probably doesn't blame you at all."

Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on my words and not the overwhelming hopelessness flooding my body. "I-I can't. I won't be able to handle it if she can't forgive me... I'm not ready to confront her."

He opened his mouth only to quickly shut it. After a couple of deep breaths, he said, "I have a suggestion, D. Since you're turning a new leaf maybe you could contact your father again? It's a baby step until you're ready to reach Kasey."

A tired sigh resonated through me. "You think it will really help?"

His pained gaze bounced from my eyes to the sky. "It doesn't hurt to try. You can't keep running away from things you're scared of... They always find a way to us. Whatever the results are, I'll support you because we're each other's family, remember?"

With a smile breaking across my face, I shifted towards Ambrose and wrapped my arms around him. I breathed in the scent of his cologne and clung to his shoulders, secure in absolute trust between us. His hand cupped the back of my head protectively, sending a wave of ladybugs from how his touch felt on me.

"Thank you for listening."

"Anytime," he whispered.

Thank you for reading this chapter!! I hope it made you guys forgive Ambrose a bit for being an idiot a few chapters ago lol! Can't wait for you guys to see what's next!!

Thank you for every single comment and vote! Truly means the world to me!! ❤️❤️❤️love ya!