Life was hard for the past six months when Ace was gone.

I could always hear loud coughs from Ace's house. His mother was getting sicker. There'd be shouts from Ace's father and agreements and sometimes I'd hear loud sobbing from the mum. It made me feel more depressed than ever.

Holly still wasn't here to comfort me about Ace-- which was totally fine. She still hated me and had every reason to do so. I hated her too. She had become a totally different person-- and two weeks ago she was thrown off the head of school council, meaning she was no longer in charge of the recycling community nor arranging or holding any assemblies. I laughed.

My mum got her job back as a fashion designer and we had the most money we had had in forever and my dad was still his usual self, staying late at work. I wasn't going to school much. I skipped probably two months of school and when the school called my mother about me bunking school, my mum couldn't care less. She wanted me to have a free life, in school, or out of school, she didn't mind. Dad never knew about me not going to school. Mum and I agreed to not tell him because if he'd known, he would've flipped the sockets out of the walls.

I mainly stayed in bed, either sleeping or watching Orphan Black and lots more other shows I didn't want to list. My life was a misery. I didn't even know if I was a good girl anymore.

Heck, I didn't even know what girl I was then.

Mum left early in the morning and dad was always leaving early in the mornings around four, so Bob was almost always at my aunty's. That meant I had the place to myself. It was a Wednesday and I was bored to my skull.

Holly wasn't here for me, Mum left early for work, Dad was always gone and Ace was in prison. And that Reece kid wasn't even a choice. He was so rude. I wanted to punch the guts out of his body.

I groaned and rolled off my bed. I sighed and pulled my
hair back into a high pony tail. I leaned over the bed to pause the episode of Orphan Black and trudged to the bathroom. It was probably eight in the morning and I was pretty tired.

I took a shower and brushed on a little bit of make up. Deciding to skip school that day, I didn't bring my school bag and instead I took my my jacket. I skipped down the stairs and into the deserted kitchen. Apples were great to eat in the morning, so I grabbed one from inside the fridge and washed it in the sink. My feet found their way to my black converse and I slammed the front door shut before getting into my black Mercedes Benz.

Christmas had passed already and I didn't do anything. I didn't find any presents from me, I didn't buy any presents for anyone. Hauled up in my room was what I did all Christmas break. It was mid January and my birthday was coming up soon. Twenty first of February, I'd be eighteen.

I stopped off at Starbucks and bought a hot chocolate. I sipped on it whilst I drove past my school. I caught sight of Holly's light brown hair and the hair of Jessica. They were both hanging out together. I turned my attention away from them and continued to drive to the Ace.

I arrived and greeted Haley. The receptionist-- and she made me sad because every time I saw her I was reminded of how long as had left. Two months.

I hadn't told Ace about what him and Reece were discussing, the rob of Holly's house but I was planning on doing that soon. Reece hadn't visited Ace much, probably only once which was the limit because I needed to visit Ace.

"Hey Vicky."

I smiled at Haley and waited for her to tell me I was allowed to visit Ace. Instead, she told me something else.

"Ace will be released early."

I blinked. "What?"

"This is due to confidential reasons and I am not in any position to tell you," Haley said, smiling. She tapped her pen on her watch.

I beamed. "Oh my god! When?"

"Today."

I waited for around twenty minutes, checking my phone plenty of times and also checking my bitten nails out, trying to control my excitement.

My mind wondered to the time where Ace and I were stuck in the storeroom. Then my mind went to what I could've done to help everything. It would've been so much easier if I lent Ace a few thousand and then let him use the money for his mother, instead of him going through the trouble of stealing Holly's car and then selling it.

They'd managed to get back Steven's car and it turns out it was as new as ever-- which was probably a bonus for Ace.

A security guard walked out of a door and was making hand gestures to someone. Another security guard stepped out holding onto someone's arm. Once I took a glance at him head to toe, I sprung out of my seat and dashed to where he stood.

He was wearing a big white t-shirt and black jeans. I didn't know where it was from but he looked good, if you ignored the sadness in his eyes and the eye bags underneath his eyes and his dry lips.

When Ace saw me, his face brightened up and he yanked his grip out of the security guards. Haley nodded at them and they raised their eyebrows in unison and wondered off.

Ace's stare trailed down my body and my legs. I was wearing tight jeans and a tank top with a brown coat in my hands. I blushed a little and tucked a strand of my frizzy hair behind my ear.

"Cupcake," Ace whispered, holding his arms out. I walked closer to him and rested my head against his chest, wrapping my arms around his upper body. I hadn't hugged him in months and this felt so good.

"I'm out early."

I pulled back and he grinned at me, the same cocky smirk plastered into his lips. He leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"Are you allowed to leave?" I asked.

"Sir, you need to come with me, to sign some final agreements," a woman wearing a blue skirt announced.

Ace nodded, biting his lip. He let go of me, giving me a look, and disappeared off with the lady. He came back out twenty minutes later, holding a paper with some signatures and we held hands as we exited.

***

Ace stepped into my room, taking in the surroundings. He awed at his view and flopped onto my bed, letting out a deep, heavy sigh.

"It's all still the same," he murmured, kicking off his adidas shoes. "I remember this strawberry smell."

I laughed and took off my coat, throwing it to the side. "Nothing was bound to change."

It landed on the roller chair and I walked over to the bed where Ace sat. I sat beside him and leaned my head on his warm shoulder. He leaned his head on mine and we stayed like that for a few seconds before I broke the silence, dropping a bomb.

"I know you and Reece are going to ruin Holly's home."

Ace froze. He lifted his head up and gave me the are-you-serious, look. I nodded and took my hand into his, staring at him into his brown, sparking orbs.

"Look, Victoria. I'm sorry," he muttered, shutting his eyes. I sighed and tightened my grip around his fingers. He opened up his eyes and gazed at me. I leaned in and pecked him on the lips.

"I want to go with you," I said, sitting up. Ace sat up too, not believing that I had said what I just did. I didn't believe myself either. He frowned and bit down onto his lip as I continued. "Can I?"

Ace shook his head. "No, Cupcake. No," he said firmly. "Thats fucked up."

I bit my lip and grabbed his arm. "We won't get caught. Please. And I know Holly's house. It would be easier."

Ace looked at me and gave me a sigh.