Chapter 14

- Mia White -

It's been maybe an hour since I arrived at Levi's place. Not feeling tired at all, I kept myself occupied with the books provided for me on the shelf. As I thought, there were some that I wanted to read, but after finishing those - since there weren't many chapters - I was now bored once again.

I didn't know whether to go out of the room for not. I still haven't memorized the place, and I don't think I want to stumble across another room I'm not supposed to be in.

Luckily, Levi had knocked on the door saying he ordered pizza and was going to see a movie downstairs in the living room since he wasn't in the mood to go to bed. Having nothing else to do, I decided to join him. Entering the living room, Levi told me to pick out a movie while he got us something to drink.

Since I didn't watch it before when Ben asked, I chose The Maze Runner.

After inserting the disc into the DVD player, I sat down on the couch just as Levi came in and placed the box of pizza on the table in front of me. Saying a quick thanks when he handed me a cup of water, he turned off the lights - but leaving the kitchen lights on - as he sat down beside me, making sure there was space between us.

As the movie played, I wasn't really paying attention because my mind seemed to drift off to Ace yet again. I know that at some point I'm going to have to talk to him sooner or later, and although I'm upset about the whole situation, I can't help but miss him. It felt weird not having him around since we've always been together. Since I haven't seen or have talked to him, I wonder how he's feeling. Was he waiting for me to talk to him? Was he planning to talk to me when Levi drove past him?

"Have you decided to talk to Ace yet?" Levi asked, breaking my chain of thoughts.

I shrugged. "Not really."

"I think you should. I mean, you can't avoid him forever."

"That's true," I chuckled. Even if I tried to avoid him for the rest of my life, Ace would be too stubborn to give up on me.

Levi and I continued watching the movie until all the pizza was gone and the credits were rolling. I didn't even realize that Sarah had been calling me - since my phone was on silent - until I went to check the time.

When I tried calling her back, she didn't pick up, so I assumed she'd already gotten into bed. After Levi had given me an extra toothbrush to use, as well as some toothpaste, I quickly brushed my teeth before scurrying off to bed.

Just as I took off my shoes and got into bed, my phone started to vibrate from the nightstand. Picking it up, it was Ben who was calling. "Hello?"

"Mia! I'm so glad you picked up!" he exclaimed. "You're at my place, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I uh... forgot my keys, so do you mind opening the door?"

"Alright. I'll be there in a minute."

Ending the calling, I put my shoes back on and made my way to the front door. When I was walking down the stairs, I saw Levi already at the door. He had a concerned look on his face. When he saw me, he quietly told me to stay hidden. I didn't know why he wanted me to since he was just letting Ben inside, but I did as I was told, and when he opened the door, I realized when he asked me to do so.

Ben shyly smiled. "Hey! So, I brought Ace over!"

"Where is she?" Ace asked angerly, eyes narrowed towards Levi.

"You need to calm down first," Levi said. "She's not gonna want to talk to you if you look as if you're about to punch her."

Ace said nothing but sigh in annoyance. His shoulders were tense before he relaxed upon hearing Levi's words. Seeing Ace actually comply with Levi was kind of funny since Ace was the one who'd boss him around. I quietly chuckled as Ben slowly moved away from Ace before dashing to the kitchen, either to get away from him or to get food.

Knowing Ben, he probably just wanted food.

"There. Now let me see her."

"How do you know she even wants to talk to you?" Levi asked.

Levi's head turned to face me,

"I don't. But I can at least try and get her to listen," Ace answered.

Levi turned his head and looked at me, waiting for an answer. Sighing, I gave him a slight nod before he let Ace into the house. Walking down the stairs, I saw Ace already looking at me. I felt kind of uncomfortable since we haven't seen each other in a while, so I decided to just stay at the staircase a few feet away from him.

Levi said that he'd be outside to give us some privacy. He grabbed Ben out of the kitchen to make sure he didn't interrupt either before they both walked out the door.

"Don't fuck up!" Ben told Ace before closing the door.

Once the two were out of sight, and Ben's happy aura was gone, the atmosphere in the room became tense. Neither of us said a word to one another as we looked around the room awkwardly. I wanted to say something but just didn't know what to say. Do I say hi? Get straight to the point? Or wait until he talks first?

I'm not the best in these types of situations.

"Hey," Ace said, a small smiled making its way across his face.

"Hi."

He sighed. "Look, I'll admit, I was an asshole for lying to you, and seeing Zoey behind your back. And I'm so sorry about that. I know that you probably don't believe me, but at least hear me out," he begged. Seeing that I wasn't going to say anything, be continued.

"I know that saying sorry won't fix anything, because you deserve more than just an apology. It was wrong of me to keep lying to you when I promised that I would stop keeping secrets from you. I'm so fucking sorry for hurting you, and for making you cry. I was just trying to keep you safe."

He sounded as if he was on the verge of tears. Ace looked at me with saddened eyes, never once breaking eye contact as he said those words. My heart felt like it was being held in a tight grip, making it almost hard to breathe. Maybe Ace had been crying these past few days. I've never seen this side of him before.

"The only reason I was with Zoey, was because she has a connection with Louis. Remember him?" I nodded, knowing he was talking about that pizza guy. "I have absolutely no interest in Zoey. There is nothing going on between her and I. She means nothing to me. I don't even find her appealing," he said, making me slightly smile.

"I would never even think about cheating on you. You mean everything to me, Mia. And I love you so fucking much. I know you won't believe me that quickly after everything that's happened. You probably even hate me," he lightly laughed.

"I fucking hurt you, and I deserve some pain after what I did, right? So it's fine if you walk up to me and punch me in the face, or treat me like the piece of shit that I am. Just know that even if you want to break up with me, I'll keep trying to win you over. I'll prove how much I fucking love you. I'll show you that you mean the world to me. Even if we have to start over, just as friends. I'll do whatever it takes to get you back."

I was speechless. I had no idea what to say after what he had just told me. I knew that after what he said, he at least deserves a reply, but genuinely didn't know what to say. Seeing as Ace was looking at me, waiting for a response, I spoke.

"I forgive you, but I don't trust you," I stated. "So we'll start over. Prove to me that I can trust you again." Although we're still not together, Ace smiled knowing that I was giving him another chance.

I only hope that he won't fail me again.

x-X-x

The next day, I was at Sarah's house, planning to spend the rest of the day with her. Like always, I told her what happened last night, and although she said it was sweet of him, she still didn't forgive him for what he did.

Right now, Sarah and I were waiting for Jacob and Charles to arrive. Since coming back from the trip, Jacobs and Charles have been spending their days of summer together, and I can happily say that they've made it official.

Being the girl that she is, Sarah decided to celebrate. She invited them over to her house since she was too lazy today to go out. "Why is everyone getting into a relationship but me?" Sarah groaned.

I chuckled. "Don't worry, Sarah. I'm sure Ben will ask you out sooner or later."

"Yeah, sure," she said with heavy sarcasm. "Why did you make a cake?"

"You told me too!"

"I did?" She gave it a thought. "Oh yeah! Sorry, my brain isn't working today."

Just as I was icing the cake, the doorbell rang, indicating that Jacob and Charles were probably at the door. Jumping off the couch, Sarah went to the front door and quickly opened it. I heard them talk for a while saw Charles walk into the kitchen.

He smiled. "You guys made a cake?"

"Of course. This is a celebration after all," I chuckled. "Just a little heads up, but be prepared to answer a lot of questions. Sarah wants to know everything."

"Mia!" Jacob exclaimed and he ran into the kitchen before giving me a hug. "I missed you so much!"

I laughed. "I did too! But you gotta let go of me before I stop breathing."

Pulling back, Jacob had the happiest smile on his face. "We have so much catching up to do!"

When I nodded, he looked at Charles before leaving closer towards me. "By the way, I'll tell you and Sarah about what happened to Charles and I three nights ago," he whispered in my ear.

"Why, What happened?"

He leaned. "You poor innocent soul," he sighed. "Now, come one, Sarah is waiting for us in the living room."

When I told them I'll be there in a minute, Jacob grabbed Charles' hand before making their way to where Sarah was.

They're so cute.

Once I was done decorating the cake, I placed a cover on top of it before headed to where the others were. As expected, Sarah wasted no time as she pampered them with questions.

We spent the whole day chatting, watching movies, and eventually got some fresh air after convincing Sarah to go outside with us. It wasn't until sunset that Jacob and Charles so had to leave. Since I wasn't allowed to spend the night at Sarah's place, I had to go back home after saying goodbye.

Since both my parents weren't at home - like always - the house was silent. At times, it would kind of scare me, thinking that someone would break-in, but after years of being home alone by myself, it didn't bother me as much anymore.

But that wasn't what scared me. What scared me was walking into my room after coming from the bathroom and suddenly hearing my phone ring. Now that scared me.

Hate it when that happens.

Picking up the phone, I stopped when I saw it was Ace. I frowned and stared at my phone before decided to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Hey... sorry for calling so suddenly."

"No, no, it's fine."

There was an awkward silence before he spoke again. "I was wondering if you're free tomorrow."

I hesitated. "Why?"

"Uh, maybe we could, hang out, you know? I mean, if you don't want it to just be the two of us, we can invite Sarah—wait no, that's a bad idea. Maybe Ben and Levi?"

"Um, maybe some other time?"

"Okay," he sighed. "I love you."

"I know." I love you too.

••• - ••• - •••

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Thank you xo_glamfire1 and Emiley for making these covers!! ❤️