Chapter 11

- Mia White -

After I heard Ace's conversation with whoever he was on the phone with, I went back to my room and forced myself to fall asleep, not wanting to think about what he said and end up pulling an all-nighter.

He promised me that he wouldn't lie to me after I confronted him about having Zoey's number and not telling me. I wondered how many times he's lied to me before that. Just like he said the other day, he told me that he and Levi were going somewhere and that he'd see me later.

"I'll be back soon," he smiled, leaning down to kiss my forehead. "I love you."

I hummed in response. He frowned, asking me what was wrong. "I'm just tired, that's all."

After telling me to go rest, he left with Levi, leaving me here thinking of what he planned to do with Zoey. Although it felt like my heart was about to give out, I tried to convince myself that whatever Ace was going, he must have a good reason. I didn't want to think that he was cheating on me. I know when I tell Sarah, she'll most likely make plans to beat the hell out of him, but also tell me that Ace is incapable of cheating on me. That he wouldn't even give it a thought because of how much he loves me.

Ace might have noticed that Zoey likes him, and was just meeting her to tell her that he wasn't interested because he already has a girlfriend. If he was going to do that, he should've told me, and even if he wasn't, he still should've told me that he was meeting her. Does he not trust me enough to tell me where's he's going?

"Maybe he thought you'd be upset if he told you," Sarah said.

"Yeah, I would be a little upset," I admitted. "but at least he wouldn't have lied about it."

Sarah stayed with me the whole day, trying her best to cheer me up and forget about Ace. We walked around the town with Jacob and Ben, and even though they didn't know what was going on, they were able to make my day like always. When our feet started to hurt, Ben had the idea of renting an ATV so we didn't have to walk, which was a great idea of his.

It was a really fun experience to ride one, and it was better when I got to see Sarah clinging onto Ben as he drove fast. Throughout the entire time I was with my friends, I didn't check my phone until I check the time.

Other than a text from my mom saying she couldn't wait for me to go back home, I had no other notifications. I frowned, my brows knitting together as I dialled Ace's number, only for it to go to voicemail. Sighing, I put my phone away, deciding not to ruin the moment with my negative mood and just confront Ace when he gets back home.

That is if he ever gets back home...

Shaking the thought out of my mind, I tried not to focus so much on Ace. Whatever he was doing, I was going to make sure he told me once he gets home, and not get distracted like the last time.

Just as I hoped, the day went by smoothly without any problems. I even got to see Ben and Sarah spend some time alone with made me happy. After Piper, he didn't think he'd be able to trust any girl again, but maybe Sarah can change his mind.

Right now we were at the beach, and fortunately, not many people were around. Sarah and Ben were near the shore, and from what I can see, they were flirting with each other. Jacob was sitting beside me on the sand texting Charles. When we arrive back home, they were going to see a movie together.

It was already eight-thirty, but neither of us thought it was time to head back. Besides, it was nice outside since it was late.

The view of the beach I was now seeing was something I'd never forget. I watched as the sun started to set, getting closer before it was below the horizon. The last rays of orange and yellow disappeared once twilight hit. Starts started to form in the night sky, and when you closed your eyes, feeling the light breeze hit your face, being the only ones on the beach, it was perfect solitude. Well, if I was alone without my friends.

We were leaving in three days, and this was a perfect memory to keep. Besides the fact that Ace yet again messed up. Speaking of him, he finally decided to call after sunset.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?" No hello?

"At the beach."

"I'll be there shortly," he said before the call ended. That was probably the shortest phone call I've ever had with him. Now, I really wanted to know what happened between him and Zoey. I needed to know.

I waited for Ace to get to the beach, and once I did, I told Jacob that I was going with Ace. I stood up and walked towards Ace who had a slight frown on his face. He was about to speak before I cut him off.

"We need to talk." He gave me a confused look.

"Okay, but let's not talk here."

Taking my hand in his, he leads me away from our friends. His hand gripped mine tightly, but not to the point where it hurt. We didn't speak or talk as he lead us back home. When we got there, he opened the door, locking it behind him before dragging me to the living room. He let go of my hand and asked me what I wanted to talk about.

"Where did you go today?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I told you this morning, I was with Levi," he answered.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying to you."

"Yes, you are." I was started to get annoyed with this. Why can't he just tell me the truth? Was it that hard? "You were talking to someone on the phone last night. You told them you'd be meeting Zoey today."

I saw his eyes widen slightly before he spoke. "That was just your imagination."

"Don't fuck with me, Ace," I warned, seeing the surprised look on his face when I cursed. "Tell me, were you with Zoey?"

"Mia—" he started, reaching out to me, but I took a step back.

"Were you with Zoey?" I repeated.

Ace opened his mouth to speak before closing it. He sighed, running a hand through his hair before chuckling bitterly. "Yes, I was."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I could already feel tears start to form in my eyes as I tried to control them from not falling down. I asked him about the phone call, and he said that it was just my imagination?

He lied to me, again. I was starting to wonder how many things he kept hidden from me.

"I didn't want you to get upset because I was going to see her," he defended.

"I'm more upset that I had to find out rather than you just telling me! Why are you even talking to her anyway?"

"Mia, please listen to me," he begged when I looked away from him. "I have a good reason why I went to see her."

Walking towards me, he placed both his hands on my cheeks and turned my head to I was facing him, but I refused to look him in the eyes.

"Mia..." I didn't even realize I was crying until he whipped the tears away with his thumb.

I sniffled. "Tell me the reason."

Ace sighed and rested his forehead against mine. "I can't."

"Why not?" Is what he's hiding from me that bad that he can't tell me? "You won't tell me anything, Ace."

"Because I want to keep you safe. I don't want to hurt you."

"You already have."

"Mia, I know it seems bad, but I'm doing this all for you. I love you so much," his voice laced with sincerity. Before we had a chance to finish this conversation, we heard Ben and Jacob yelled you they were home. I sighed, placing my hands on Ace's chest to push him away from me.

"We'll finish this later," I told him before running to my room. I would have to tell Sarah about this, but for now, all I wanted was to be along right now. I locked the door once getting into the room so Ace wouldn't get in. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth before quickly changing into a new pair of clothes for the night.

Grabbing my phone and headphones, I chose a random playlist so I could fall asleep with music that would hopefully make me sleep faster. Moving to get more comfortable on the bed, I cocooned myself with the blankets.

Wiping the freshly fallen tears, I closed my eyes and let the lyrics of the song sink in before I fell asleep.

x-X-x

Our stay in Greece ended way too soon that we were already in Ace's private jet going home. Ben was the first to notice that something was wrong when he saw us the morning after we fought. We didn't talk at all. Ben - for the first time - didn't ask or bother us for the rest of the trip. Eventually, Sarah and Levi noticed after day three when we'd still didn't talk.

They didn't bother to ask us, knowing it was serious. Sarah - thankfully - told Jacob not to ask either before he had the chance to. When Ace and I fight, we usually forgave each other after a day or two, but seeing that we won't even look at each other, they knew we had gotten into a pretty big fight.

I was sitting beside Sarah while Jacob, Levi, and Ben were playing cards. Ace was sitting by himself, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked out the window. "Want something to drink?" Sarah asked.

I shook my head. "I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Sarah sighed, a short silence between us before she spoke again. "Can I ask what happened?" she asked slowly as if I'd yell at her for asking. I knew that eventually, I was going to tell her everything, but now was not a good time.

I knew that once I get home, my mom was going to be there, asking questions about the trip, so I told Sarah that when we get back home, I'd call her when I was free, and I'd confess everything.

When we arrived home, my mom was waiting for me. She waved at me, and when I was close enough, she gave me a hug. Putting out luggage in the trunk, Sarah and I got into the car. After dropping Sarah off, mom and I headed back home.

"How was Greece?" Mom asked.

"It was fun and really hot."

"Well at least you had a good time," she chuckled.

Once we arrived back home, I got all my bags and carried them into the house. I was glad to be back home, and I felt ever better since both my mom and dad were present. Once dad saw me, he smiled and gave me a hug just like mom. He had a warm smile on his face as she offered to take my bags up to my room.

For the rest of the day, I spent it with my parents. Mom asked a lot of questions asking about the place, and when I told her about the beach and all the shops that were open, she was already planning when we should go there as a family.

After all the excitement, mom decided that it was time to go back to bed since she had work tomorrow morning. Saying goodnight, I headed upstairs, but dad calling my name stopped me. "Mind if I have a quick chat with you?"

"Sure."

"Did you and Ace get into a fight?"

"How did you know? Did Ace tell you?"

He chuckled. "No. Whenever your mom said his name, you looked kind of down. Did he do something to you?"

"I don't really want to talk about it right now," I said.

"That's alright. I understand. Whatever he did, I hope you two find a way to come back to each other," he smiled. "I like you two together, even if he screws things up all the time."

"Goodnight, dad."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

When I entered my room after going to the bathroom, I turned on the Christmas lights that were decorated around my room before turning the main light off. I got into bed, making sure that my phone was being charged for the night. I closed my eyes, ready to fall into a deep slumber before I heard my phone vibrate on the nightstand. Reaching out to grab in, I adjusted to the bright light before looking at the nightstand. It was a text message from Ace, saying "goodnight and I love you."

Even when we're in a fight, he still manages to stay sweet.

••• - ••• - •••

Since it's my birthday, I decided to make it longer! I hope you liked it!

Thank you for these awesome covers, w.mays.w!