Chapter 09
- Ace King -
Even when Levi apologized to his brother, he was still pissed off. Mentioning Piper always made him either depressed or angry. He tried his best to forget her. He removed any contact he had with her and destroyed every picture or object that reminded him of her. The only thing he couldn't get rid of were the memories.
He knocked on my door, way too early in the morning and asked if I could go somewhere with him. And me being a good friend, and making sure he wasn't going to do anything stupid, I went with him. I made sure that I left a note for Mia when she wakes up so she doesn't think I left her.
Not many people were up, and since most places were closed, we walked around in silence.
Piper was someone who used to be very important to Ben, but after what happened, everything changed. Mia, Levi and I helped Ben through his heartbreak, but he would always shut us out. Eventually, he started to feel a little better as time flew by. We always made sure that Ben was never reminded of Piper, but we knew she still hanging in the back of his mind.
Although Ben appeared happy on the outside now, Mia, Levi, and I knew it was just his way of trying to hide his pain through smiles and laughter.
Like what happened yesterday, there were some times Piper was accidentally mentioned, and when she was, Ben would not take it lightly.
"You know he didn't mean to say that," I said, after a long moment of silence.
"I know," Ben sighed. "But it still pisses me off that he did."
"I could tell."
"I know it's been two years, but I just can't seem to let her go." Before I could reply, he continued. "Why don't we go somewhere?"
"Where?"
He smiled. "Remember the place I wanted to go to on the first day we came?"
Luckily for us, going to Amoudi Bay early in the morning meant that we didn't have to see many people uncomfortably sun-basking on the rocks, but that didn't mean we were the only ones here. I chuckled as Ben flirted with a few girls that were present, and was glad that he quickly forgot about what happened the other day.
As weird as it sounds, it actually was fun to jump off a cliff and dive into the crystal clear water. I'd have to bring Mia here one day, I'm sure she'd like it even though she's afraid of heights.
After some time, Ben and I got something to eat, but still returned to the cliff. As I waited for him to return to the top of the cliff, I got a phone call from Mia. I hated that I wasn't with her in the morning, but because Ben wanted me to go somewhere with him after his fight with his brother, I couldn't say no.
When Mia mentioned that her dad wanted to talk to me, I already knew what he was going to ask.
Louis' father, Fredrick, has gone missing, which I knew would make my mom worry. We'd have to find him as soon as possible before anything bad happens. However, before he took off, he had been keeping an eye on Mindy's family. The reason as to why is still a mystery.
As for Louis, Levi found out that Zoey was still in touch with him. He spotted them a few days ago back at Zoey's mother's shop and hasn't been seen since then.
"Your stay in Greece is ending soon, right?" Mia's dad asked.
"Yeah."
"When you arrive back home, I want you to spend some time with your mother, and visit your father at least once."
"But-"
"I know you want to spend your summer with Mia and the others," he interrupted. "but you also need to be with your family. Think about how your mother feels. And I know what your father did was wrong, but you can't just ignore him forever. You'll have to speak with him sooner or later."
"Fine," I sighed, and with that, he ended the call.
After my parents divorced, mom has been shunting herself out lately. Before leaving for Greece, I tried to talk to her, or get her out of the house, but she said she wanted to be left alone. Jacob's parents moved out of our house a few months ago, but they still like to visit mom, especially Mrs Daniels.
She's informed me that mom was feeling a bit better and that she's starting to go out more. As for my dad, I don't know how he's feeling. I haven't seen him since the trial.
When Ben and I left Amoudi Bay, he decided he wanted to spend the rest of the day by himself for a while, so I was free to go back home. I was thinking about going home, but because we were about to leave Greece in a few days, I decided to buy a something for Mia.
She loved reading, so I went to Atlantis Books, which is an independent bookstore with multiple fiction and non-fiction books written in several European languages such as Greek, English, Spanish, Italian, etc. I've seen Mia read several different genres from science fiction to horror. Recently, I know that she's been reading a romance book with mystery and action, so I might just buy something similar to that.
Looking through the bookstore, I found three books I thought Mia would like. I tried to pick one that she'd like the most knowing that she'd probably be upset if I bought all of them.
In the end, I bought all three.
As I got closer to home, wondered if Mia was already back since I haven't called or texted her lately. Which was something I don't usually do. When I was just about to call her, I heard my name being called out. I'm looking around, I spotted Zoey smiling and waving at me.
Not now.
Before I could leave, she had already made her way past the people between us and was standing in front of me.
"Hey, it's been a while," she smiled. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," I replied.
"Are those for your girlfriend?" she asked, pointing at the books.
I smiled. "They are. She's a real bookworm."
"You must really know her well."
"Of course. We were always together ever since we were young. I could practically write an entire book about her."
She chuckled. "I bet you could," she said. "Anyways, are you here by yourself? You're usually with your friends."
"I was with a friend, but I decided to have some time to myself."
"In that's case, would you like to join me? I have to pick a gift out for my sister, Natasha," she suggested. She stepped closer to me as she looked at me with hopeful eyes.
"I actually have to get back home," I told her, taking a step back. Zoey frowned before her face split into a smile.
"That's alright. I hope you get back home safely."
"Thanks," was all I said before we went our separate ways. I have a feeling that Zoey may like me, but she already knows I have a girlfriend, and I've already given her signs that I wasn't interested. I told Ben to get closer to her, but he told me that she wouldn't even talk to him, and only has a liking towards me.
I was brought back to reality when my phone started to ring. It was Ben.
"What's up?"
"When are you coming back home?" Ben asked. "Mia looked really upset when I saw her. Did you fuck up again?"
"No, and I'm almost at home."
"I swear, if you fucked up, and you plan on apologizing to her by having s-"
"Bye, Ben."
At least I know Ben is back to normal.
When I arrived home, the house was silent, so I tried my best not to make too much noise. I walked into my room to see Mia peacefully sleeping on the bed. Placing the books on the table, I took a quick shower and changed into a pair of shorts for the night. I slowly crawled under the sheets beside Mia before pulling her closer to my chest.
x-X-x
Our stay in Greece was coming to an end, so we all decided that we should do as much as we could before the last day; going to the beach, going to multiple stores, and trying out new things. It was kind of funny to see Levi all shaken up after he and Ben tried tubing. As expected, Ben said he had a great time and that we should all give it a try whistle Levi disagreed.
Right now, Ben went to go tubing again but with Jacob, and Sarah and Levi went to go get ice cream.
I was laying next to Mia under the large beach umbrella Sarah bought as she read one of the books I bought her. As I thought, she was upset that I bought three instead on one, but she was still happy. She must've noticed me looking at her because her eyes locked with mine as her brows knitted together.
"What?" she questioned. "Is there something on my face?"
I chuckled. "No. Just wondering how I got so damn lucky."
She blushed and turned away with a small smile on her face. I guess she must've remembered something bad because a few seconds later her smile fell.
"What's wrong?" I asked, moving so I was sitting straight. I moved closer to her and gently cupped her cheek to turn her head towards me. When I did, she avoided eye contact.
"Well, it's just..." she trailed off. "I've been meaning to ask you something."
"And what's that?"
She seemed hesitant to ask me but finally spoke up. "Is there anything going on between you and Zoey?"
A small smile spread across my face. "Are you jealous," I teased.
"Ace! I'm serious."
I chuckled. "There's nothing going on between Zoey and I," I answered.
"And why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm completely, madly, and insanely in love with you," I replied, resting my forehead on hers. "and I'm never going to stop falling in love with you. There's no one I'd rather be with than you. I can't think of a day where I don't think about you. You're always on my mind. I love you, with everything that I have. I can't even imagine what I would do without you. You mean so much to me than you think, Mia."
I smiled when I saw the deep red blush on her cheeks. I kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you too," she mumbled.
"Come here," I chuckled before pulling her into a kiss.
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Please don't murder me. You know I love you guys ð