Chapter 19

- Ace King -

The rain was pouring heavily from the sky that it made both my mom and I want to stay indoors. Not wanting the day to be so gloomy, mom turned the speakers on and started playing music from the 60s through 90s. She danced around in the kitchen as she made lunch or quietly sang the song that was playing.

I, on the other hand, wasn't in such a good mood as my mother. If it hadn't of rained, I'd already be at Mia's house like I promised her yesterday when she asked if I wanted to come over.

By now, we'd probably be fighting about whether we would watch The First Avenger or The Winter Soldier. But due to the weather, I couldn't see her, and because her mom decided to have the day with her.

I texted Mia this morning, but still no reply. Every few minutes I'd check my phone to see if she answered, but received nothing. There was nothing really to do. I didn't even get any annoying texts from Ben.

The only things I've done was grab my present I got from Mia, and read every single piece of paper of the things she loved about me. I know I was supposed to read one a day, but I couldn't help myself.

Every note I had read made me smile, but it also made me wonder how the hell I'd supposed to prove to Mia that I wasn't going to lie again. How do you even to that? Nothing came to mind, which only made me frustrated.

At times, I don't even think I deserve Mia's trust after what I did. There was no fixing it. But I didn't want to give up hope. There had to be something I can do to make it up to her.

"Ace! Lunch is ready!"

Getting up from the couch, I walked towards the kitchen and helped my mom by setting up the table. I placed the finished food on the table before sitting down.

As I waited for her at the dining table, she cleaned up the mess she had made before joining me. Since I used to look up to my dad, my mom and I were never close. But after everything that's happened, our relationship was getting better.

"How's the situation between you and Mia?"

I shrugged. "It's getting better... I think."

"You still haven't told me exactly why you guys are fighting in the first place," she said. "And stop taking all the bacon."

"We aren't exactly fighting anymore. I messed up, and now I have to find a way to make it up to her," I answered, completely ignoring my mom's request to stop stealing the bacon.

She slapped my hand away and took the plate away, making my chuckle.

"You're gonna have to think outside the box for this one, Ace," she stated. "You buying her things isn't going to solve this."

Looks like my plan to get her a Tesla was thrown out the window.

I groaned. "But I don't know what to do, mom."

"You need to remind her why she fell in love with you in the first place."

"Why she fell in love with me?" She nodded.

Mom knew I was thinking, so she stayed silent before speaking after a few minutes. When we both finished eating, I helped her clean up before heading to my room. Grabbing a towel, I entered my ensuite bathroom to take a shower.

How am I supposed to remind her why she fell in love with me? I mean, she did give me a jar filled with 365 things she loved about me, but how was I going to take that and turn it into an apology? Or a way to prove my trust? I groaned and rubbed my temples. This was frustrating, but this was for Mia. So I'll put up with it.

Maybe I'll talk to Sarah. She knows Mia almost as much as I do.

Once I was finished, I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off. Wrapping my towel around my waist, I grabbed another one to dry my hair. When I opened the door, I glared at who I saw sitting on my bed as if it was theirs.

"Mom!" I groaned.

"Sorry, sweetie!" I heard her yell back.

"Good seeing you too," Ben smiled.

"It's pouring rain outside, why are you here?" I asked, irritated by his presence.

"I can't hang out with my best friend?" He pouted. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a pair of new clothes and underwear before going back into the bathroom to get changed. When I walked back into my room, Ben was holding a red plastic envelope filled with papers.

"This is from Levi," he stated. "And look it's sealed in your favourite colour."

I grunted and took the envelope from his hands before taking a seat by my desk. I heard him mutter a "rude" but I ignored him. Giving the twins the job to watch Zoey; Levi would handle information and have his brother do the dirty work.

I got the basic info about her; full name, grade, appearance etc. Levi included every background information on her he could get his hands on from the age of three to eighteen, which was her current age. Zoey had a long list of past relationships, but they all seemed to end with good terms. All but Louis. She's had a lot of success growing up, winning pageant contests from when she was little to being student of the year almost every time.

She didn't lack intelligence, I'll give her that.

I had also told Levi to give me some details about Natasha, Zoey's identical twin sister. Her file was smaller than Zoey's, making me assume she was the shadowed twin.

Although having some of the same success as her older sister, there wasn't much a sour Natasha. She sort of resembled Mia in a way. They have the same interests, liked and dislikes. It makes me wonder if they'll get along in the future.

I was so focused on examining the files that I almost missed someone knocking on the door.

"It's open," Ben said, and the door opened.

"Sup loser," Sarah smirked as Levi entered behind her.

Ben chuckled shyly as I glared at him. Putting the papers back in the envelope, I watched as Sarah say in the bed beside Ben and Levi settled on an empty chair before turning their attention towards me.

"Mom!"

"I'll bring you guys some snacks!"

"Nice room, Ace," Sarah complimented. "Looks like you're going for a fifty shades kinda vibe. Probably for Mia I assume?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Ben called us over, and your mom invited us in," Levi answered.

"The rain wasn't gonna stop us from coming over. Besides, I wanna know your plan to get Mia back. It's been a while. Have you came up with anything?" Sarah asked, her head slightly tilting to the side in curiosity.

Frowning, I shook my head in disappointment.

Sarah hummed. "I'm willing to help you, Ace. I want you guys  back together as much as you do. I mean, I wouldn't even know what to do."

"Well," Ben cut in. "You guys are technically broken up, right? Maybe to regain her trust again is to start from the beginning. You know, do the things you did to win her heart before you guys started dating."

"...why she fell in love with you in the first place." My mother's voice echoed in my mind.

Levi looked at his brother, surprised. "Wow Ben. Starting to mature, eh?"

Ben gave him a small smile. "Lets just say I've had some sort of experience."

The room went silent and Sarah placed a hand in Ben's shoulder. He smiled back at her before chuckling. "Come on guys, don't worry about me. Ace is the one who needs help."

He stood up and walked towards the door before opening it. He eyes landed on me and he grinned. "Lets go get your best friend back."

x-X-x

"Looks like I'm seventh wheeling again," Levi muttered under his breath as he leaned against his car, waiting for the others. Sarah, Ben and Levi came up with a plan to get Mia and I back together.

First step was for us to all hang out. Sarah would see how my relationship was at the moment. And see if there was anything I could improve on. I had to trust them and go with whatever they had planned.

Besides, I probably have no choice. Even if I said no, they'd command me to do so.

Everyone was here, Charles, Jacob, Sarah, Ben, Mia, Levi and I. After decided what to do, they all decided they wanted to go to what Ben called my 'Party House.'

It was really another mansion that my family owned where I was allowed to host parties. I've hosted many throughout high school, but stopped once I reached senior year.

Mom banned me for the year, saying I needed to focus on my studies.

The house was was filled with things you could imagine in a party house. You got multiple rooms, bathrooms, a theatre, four arcade rooms, an indoor and outdoor pool, a secret bar, etc. Typical stuff.

Everything in that house cost at least over ten million, and if something was broken it can easily be repaired. When we arrive, they'd be people who work at the house making sure everything was spotless before leaving us be.

It was an hour drive since it was on private property, and because when we did have parties, my mom didn't want us to disturb the neighbourhood.

We divided ourselves into groups to drive to the house. Mia, Sarah, and Ben could go in my car while Jacob and Charles went with Levi. I sorta felt bad but Ben loved it. He couldn't refrain from laughing, which only irritated his brother.

"Where are they?" Levi groaned. "Usually Mia is the early bird."

"She's probably getting held back by Sarah," I replied, scrolling through my phone.

We didn't talk for a while before he decided to break the peaceful silence.

"Question."

I hummed in response.

"What if Mia doesn't want to be with you anymore?" He asked, causing my body to tense. "What would you do?"

"Why? Wanna steal her away?" I scoffed, but soon frowned.

"No, I wouldn't do that to you. But really, what would you do?"

I sighed. "I'd let her live her life."

The thought of her not wanting to be with me formed a twisted feeling in my chest. But if she was happy to be with someone else, so be it. I'd rather suffer through the pain and see her happy than have her be miscible being with me.

Nevertheless, even with that chance, I wasn't going to give up on Mia. If she doesn't want to be with me anymore, then I want a full out rejection. Since she hasn't given one to me, there's no backing down.

"So, you won't try and kill the guy?"

"I never said that."

Levi chuckled. "Well, lets just hope, for everyone's sake, that you and Mia find a way back to each other."

Smiling, I looked up to see Mia waving her hand at us as she came walking with the others.

"Don't worry. We always find a way."

••• - ••• - •••

Thank for everyone who was patient for the update, and willing to wait in order for me to get better. You guys are truly amazing, and I honestly don't know what I did to deserve you guys. Thank you for being understanding, and sending me support while I deal with a harsh time in my life.

You guys don't know how much you've helped me during hr past two months. Like, really. My mood has gotten way more better whenever I see the positive comments and messages for all of you. ❤️❤️❤️

Again, thank you so much. I'm honestly surprised so many people were patient, and for those who weren't then I'm sorry.

Man, I apologize for this long ass paragraph but I just had to let you guys know. I love you guys so much & I'm grateful for having such amazing readers like you. ❤️❤️🥰