Chapter Twenty- Five

I woke up, confused in an unfamiliar bed before I remembered the disappointment that I was to my parents after the stunt I pulled last night. My eyes were still heavy from sleep as I felt the spot where Jace should've been but he was gone. I opened them slowly, blinking at the sunlight shining through his large windows.

I stood up in a daze and walked downstairs, following the sweet scent of pancakes. I arrived in the kitchen to see Jasmine talking animatedly to Jace. I heard from the doorway when she was telling him about a run-in with Lucas. Jasmine jumped up when he saw me and ran to hug me.

"Where've you been gorgeous?" I asked as she gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"It's only been two weeks," Jace muttered, handing me a plate with pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

"Two weeks is like a year in my time," I said, pulling away from Jasmine and taking a seat next to Jace.

"Okay, no reunion right now. It's breakfast time." The food he made was surprisingly not terrible. Considering the fact that boiling pasta was too hard for him.

"I thought you couldn't cook?" I asked after breakfast. I was passing him dirty dishes while Jasmine was wiping down counters. They were the only two kids in the house who refused to let the maids do their chores for them, except cleaning their room, but I can't blame them for that.

"He can't cook," Jasmine answered.

"Okay Jas, then don't eat my food next time," She laughed. "And yes Let, I do cook breakfast on occasion."

"Let?" Jasmine asked, curiously.

"Your brother is stupid and gave me a horrible nickname."

"Hey, I just wanted to be original!" He splashed water on my face and I shoved him against the counter. His cheeks turned red as he glanced down at me, his eyes searching every inch of my face. I didn't move and neither did he. We were just there. Together. And it was enough.

"Your sexual tension is killing me," Jasmine muttered and we turned away at the same time to see her standing next to us. Jace moved away first and flicked water on her face.

"You're too young to know about sexual tension!"

"I'm thirteen!"

"Exactly and we're seventeen-"

"Sixteen!" I corrected him.

"Whatever, the point is you're too young."

"When will you stop treating me like a child?" She huffed, stomping out the room.

"You play the part of the overprotective big brother a little too well," I said, standing next to next. "Maybe you should tone it down a bit."

"I just want her to know that I care about her and love her with everything in me."

"She already knows so stop trying so hard. You're an amazing brother, Jacey." I pinched his cheek before walking back over to the fridge.

Damn, I'm really craving a pickle.

"Do you have any pickles?" I asked, riffling through his oversized fridge.

"Pickles?" His eyebrows raised in amusement.

"Yeah, pickles make anything better," I grabbed his shirt bringing me closer to me. "Anything." I released him and he stumbled back on the counter.

"We don't have pickles. I'm allergic." I laughed.

"Allergic to pickles?" He nodded. "No wonder your life is hard. You've never had a pickle!"

He shook his head. Truly I feel bad for him he's been deprived of a life without the amazingly sweet and sourness of pickles.

"When are you going home?" He asked. I shut the fridge.

"Trying to get rid of me already?"

"No- no. It's just... I know your parents might be worried." Oh yes, they are extremely worried. Pissed. Annoyed. Angry. But they're also in church all morning.

"It's fine. They're good. They trust me." Usually, but not today.

"Are you sure?" He actually sounds genuinely concerned.

"Positive." I winked.

Truth be told, my phone was turned off. I'm probably giving my parents a heartache, but for once in my life, I want to be reckless. I want to stay out all night with a boy and show up the next day prepared for an ass beating.

I'll probably start regretting my decision on the ride home but for now, I'm content living my best life.

"The guys are coming over later," I nodded dancing around the kitchen, humming to a Taylor Swift song. "I'm still not kicking you out! They love you, but I'm just warning you." He quickly adds.

"That's fine. I like your friends," A grin stretches across his face. "When are they coming?" He glances at the clock on the oven.

"In like an hour or so."

A new thing I learned about Jace today, he was a liar. An hour in Jace time meant half an hour to the rest of the world. So when I was dancing around the kitchen while Jace was in the bathroom in nothing but an oversized t-shirt, I was met by an unexpected surprise.

"Nice moves," I freeze, dropping the remote that I was using as a microphone drop to the ground. "I didn't mean to scare you, by all means, continue." Carter snorts.

"He said half an hour!" I mustered out.

"The world and Jace are in two different time zones." I picked up the remote, making sure to use my knees not my back so he doesn't get a sneak peek at my ass.

"I need to go." Is all I said before scurrying up the stairs. I returned half an hour later, freshly showered and wearing some clothes I keep in the trunk that I forced Jace to get. I refused to go back down the stairs until I was wearing pants.

I found the boys in the game room like always. They were huddled around Alexander who was trying to beat Cameron in Mortal Kombat. Cameron was winning, I used to play this game with Ashley's brother, Terrance all the time. Spoiler alert: I was in middle school beating a high schooler in a violent video game.

When Cameron won and Alexander sulked in the chair next to him, I challenged Jace to a game. He shrugged, thinking this is going to be a quick win. I can't wait to prove him wrong.

A few expertly skilled combo attacks later, Jace's character had a busted skull and the real one was groaning beside me. His friends were making fun of him for getting beat by me. I know they wanted to say getting beat by a woman, but they didn't. Weirdly, I respected them for that.

"Don't feel too bad about this Jace-y! I've only been playing for six years." I clapped my hand on his back and offered to go to the kitchen for drinks. They shouted orders at me and I struggled to remember them all when I made my way up to the kitchen.

I made my trip uninterrupted and was about to go back inside the room when I heard Jace say something.

"I don't know guys. I'm in love with her and it terrifies me."

Love?

Is Jace holding out on me? He stopped talking to Marley and he's so busy with baseball and school. I couldn't imagine him with a girlfriend. He spends all his time with me.

So, why is he telling the boys about how in love he is? And why didn't he tell me?

"Hey boys," I open the door slowly. All eyes landed on me.

I threw everybody their sodas except for Jace. I walked over to him and sat on the floor next to him, handing him his Diet Coke.

They didn't mention the girl or the shocking revelation that Jace was in love. Instead, Henry just fired back up the video game and they yelled over top of each other.

Jace has a smile on his face. He genuinely looks happy. Surrounded by the people who love him the most in the world.

We had chilled out, momentarily. The game was turned off and we were all telling stories. The boys asked me the most questions. I answered them the best as I could without revealing too much.

"So, Scarlett do you have a boyfriend?" Alexander asked me, looking around the whole group. They were silent waiting for my answer.

"Guys, stop it," Jace said.

"It's fine, Jace," I reassured him. It was a simple question with a simple answer. Yes or no. "No- no boyfriend."

"That's interesting," He took a sip of his soda, Sprite. "Our buddy Jace here doesn't have a-" Jace took that as his cue to start coughing uncontrollably.

"Cut it out!" He sputtered, slapping Alex on the back.

"I'm well aware. He won't let me take him to the mall and set him up with some lucky girl." I nudged Jace in the side. He grimaced, looking uncomfortable. The same grimace he wears whenever I bring up getting him a girlfriend.

"What about you?" Carter asked.

"Me? You mean being his girlfriend?" He nodded. "Oh no, I'm definitely not his type."

"Why do you think that?" Jace voiced, startling me.

I shrugged. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Y-"

"HEY!" Jasper barged in, taking everybody by surprise. "IF IT ISN'T THE MERRY BAND OF MISFITS?"

"Not now, Jasper," Jace answered, tone growing darker. He ignored Jace and looked around, catching my eye

"Princess, you're still here?"

"Go fuck yourself!" I spat. He put his hands up in defense.

"And if it isn't my favorite homos?" Alexander grabbed Cameron's hand. "I just came to say that Claudia left." That must be his mother.

"You told me, now leave." Jasper didn't waste any time going back to where he came from.

"Jace no offense, but your brother's a dick," Carter said. Jace's hand was clenched in a fist, his bruised knuckles going white. I rubbed my fingers gently across his fist and he slowly unclenched it until it was flat on the ground.

I moved closer to him until my lips were inches from his ear. "I'm right here. These are the people that love you. We support you." His breathing slowed. I wished I could put his mind at ease like I do his body. But in his head where everything's negative, I want to be the one positive.

"We can do this, together. It's you and me."

At some point during these two hours, all of Jace's friends conveniently decided to leave at the exact same time. They all had a flurry of excuses and I didn't know who to believe. Wait, that's a lie. I didn't believe any of them

It was just Jace and me, sitting side by side in the empty game room.

"Scar-"

"It's really nice seeing you like this surrounded by the people you love. You look happy." I mentioned.

"It's because I am. You make me really happy Scarlett."

"You're overexaggerating." I blushed.

"Why did you say that you weren't my type?" Why was he bringing this up now? It's been over an hour.

"Because I'm not. You like girls like Marley, I'm nothing like her." Among other reasons why we would be a terrible match that I won't tell him.

"She was just one example."

"So, am I your type?" Do I just ask to be disappointed?

"Umm... why don't you have a boyfriend?" He changed the subject, my mood dejecting. Not that I liked Jace like that anyway, the thoughts never even crossed my mind.

"I told you why." I really didn't want to say it again.

"No, you didn't."

"Love is overrated," I said instead of answering.

"Aren't you supposed to be a hopeless romantic?"

"I'm also a realist. Just because I want to believe in something doesn't mean it's real," He looks at me confused. "Okay, so it's like Santa. Of course, I wish he was real, but he's not. And as I've gotten older I've learned to accept it."

"But love is real." I shake my head

"Love is messy. And complicated and weird. And I've accepted a long time ago that I'm not the person that people fall in love with."

Jace is quiet for a minute before saying, "I think you're wrong."

"I'm not here to convince you." I could tell he wanted to say more, there was so much that he wanted to say, but then Carter came back. And all the other boys followed shortly after. I saw Jace frown at every single one of them.

I didn't understand his sudden questions or why they all left and came back with frowns on their faces. I'm missing the piece of the puzzle and I feel like it's so obvious that I don't see it. I don't understand why the rooms aura shifted or why Jace was quieter than usual. And maybe I should've

But I didn't. And one day I'll regret not knowing what he wanted to say. I'll regret how I answered his question. What I said about love. I'll look back at this day and the piece I missed will come shining through and I'll be pissed I didn't see it before.

But for today it was just another thing that I didn't know. Another part of Jace that he was hiding or maybe I was just too blind to see it.

The boys left around three, they all had varying excuses. Now it was just me and Jace sitting side by side in the movie room with Avengers: Endgame playing in front of us.

The guilt got to me early and I was nervously twitching, trying not to think of my parents. But alas, guilt won and I turned on my phone. I had dozens of texts from various family members trying to get in contact with me.

I decided to read the ones from my mom just to see how many ass beatings she's going to give me tonight. They were all angry or concerned, some made me laugh when she talked about how much Brielle missed me. I can't believe she tried to pull that on me, Brielle doesn't care about anybody but herself and God. I don't know which order.

It was the last text, sent an hour ago that had me snatching my bag and gasping.

Brielle's in the hospital

Holy shit.