by Edward, Réna
Standing with my ear against the door, I hear a conversation going on out in the sitting area. There are more voices than just Ace’s and Gary’s. Quietly, I crack the door. Sighing with relief when I am able to open it without a sound, I turn my ear to listen to the conversation. Nosey, yes, but hearing my name I feel it’s okay to eavesdrop.
“You want us to babysit?”
“What the hell have we done to you?”
“It’s not babysitting. This is my girlfriend you’re watching out for. She’s not safe where she is and I need to know that she is, so I’m entrusting two of my best members of security to help ensure she is safe.”
“So it’s a glorified babysitting job,” an unknown male voice wails.
“I hated high school when I went through it. I have no interest in going back, especially not for some hoity toity brat that could probably solve all her problems by keeping her legs closed,” unknown male voice two sneers.
I hear a scuffle and a glass break. Opening the door a little further, I see Ace with his hands around another guy’s throat while pinning the guy to the wall. My breath catches in my throat.
“That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about,” Ace growls darkly. “She’s no damn slut you asshole! I suggest you watch yourself, you’re on thin ice.” He releases the guy and backs away.
“What I don’t get is why we even have to do this?” The first guy asks.
“Because I said so. When she heads back home, you will be following her. I’m going to put her up in a hotel so she doesn’t have to stay at her house. You will stay in a room across from her door so you can see her door at all times. You…”
I am pissed. Here he is dictating my life. Ace hasn’t even asked me if I want him to intervene like this. No, he just expects me to go along with it. Well, fuck that! I slip on my shoes and storm out of the bedroom. Gary and the two guys look at me. Gary looks worried, the other two men have a mixture of surprise, realization of why Ace is having them do this, and something else. Ace turns around and smiles.
“Hey baby, did you sleep well?”
“Fuck you!” I hiss as I storm out the door.
This time I don’t care what attention I draw to myself. The quickest escape possible is all I care about right now. My speed isn’t up where I need it to be because of my sore and achy muscles from all the throwing up I did. Just as I round the corner of the building, my arm is grabbed.
“Let me fucking go!” I scream as I punch him.
“I can’t. I won’t,” Ace says, holding me tightly.
I try to knee him, but he quickly blocks me. Between the punching and the struggling to free myself from his grasp, my energy is slowly decreasing. The sudden weakness brings tears to my eyes and I sag into his hold.
“Don’t run from me, please.”
“Why can’t you just leave me be?”
Ace pulls back and looks at me shocked. “Why are you asking me to?”
“This isn’t your fight.”
“But I’m trying to help find a solution so you can start living.”
“This isn’t your problem to solve, Ace. Not everything has an easy solution, this is one of them.”
He drops his hands, paces away a few feet while he runs his hands through his hair. Honestly, I am just tired of this whole thing. Maybe it is time to tell someone why I let this happen to me.
“My mom died protecting me. She jumped in front of a bullet that was meant for me. If I wasn’t there when those robbers came in… These beatings are the least I can take for taking my mother before her time,” I say softly.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Ace roars walking towards me. “You blame yourself for your mother’s death. So, what, you think this is your just deserves?”
“Yes. I’m not weak, Ace. Maybe I was when I was younger, but I can handle myself now. My mom should be here, not me. So if being treated like this by him and the people at school is what I have to live with…then I will until I can leave here with my diploma in hand.”
“What does your diploma change?”
“I don’t know. Maybe that I suffered long enough? Maybe that it’s my proof that my life can finally start fresh? I don’t know, Ace. Nevertheless, I do know that as long as my father has to see me, he deserves to have an outlet for his remorse. His loss.”
He cups my face in his hands, looking me in the eyes. “Baby, do you hear yourself? You do not deserve this. None of it. What happened, though tragic, is not your fault. You were a child. She was protecting her child. I would do the same thing for my children and I’d be very upset if they blamed themselves like you are doing. You’re making it seem like your mother died to torture you. She died protecting you, so you could have a chance at life. What have you done with that chance? Think about it logically for a second, not emotionally. Remember the person your mother was, would she want this for you?”
Tears fall as I slightly shake my head. “No,” I squeak out. “But I need her with me, every day I need her and she’s gone because I was there that day. I miss her so much,” I sob.
Ace gathers me in his arms, holding me tightly. “Missing her is normal, baby. But missing her and blaming yourself are two totally different things. You didn’t fire the gun that shot the bullet that hit her, did you?”
“No.”
“You didn’t break into the house to rob the place, did you?”
“No.”
“You didn’t stage it all so she’d die, did you?”
“No,” I sob.
“Then baby, it isn’t your fault. You should not feel guilty. You’re just as much the victim here as she was. You have to let go of this guilt and claim the life that your mother selflessly gave you the chance to live,” he breathes. “You want to live, don’t you? To see what life has in store for you?”
“Yes,” I sob harder. “But it’s so hard.”
Ace pulls me tightly against him, kissing the top of my head repeatedly. “Then take it baby! Claim it! What do you want?”
My tears are falling faster and hard gut wrenching sobs wrack my body. Lost in all the pain, I didn’t think about the answer before it came out of my mouth. “You. I want you,” I sob into his chest.
He squeezes me tighter. “You have me, Bella. You’ve had me for a while now. I’m not going anywhere.” He pulls back and looks me in the eyes. “I love you, Bella.”
Shaking my head, “What? Why?”
He laughs. “Baby, I’ve been addicted to you from damn near the moment we started talking. It’s crazy I know, but I know I do. It’s the way I feel when I look at you, when I touch you, when I kiss you. Before you start to worry about saying it back, don’t. Don’t tell me until it’s something you can’t deny or hold off any longer. Only then, tell me because I want you to be as sure as I am when you say them. There’s no pressure from me.”
“How is it even possible that you’re single?” I ask in disbelief.
“I’m not,” my heart sank. “I’ve been taken for about six months now.”
The air rushes from my lungs and I start laughing. “Holy crap that scared me. Don’t do that.”
“Yup still the best sound in the world,” he smiles down at me. “So can we make this official?”
“Make what official?”
“Well, my beautiful Bella, will you be my girlfriend?”
“So cheesy,” I laugh.
“Yeah, well,” he shrugs with a smile on his face. “I’m still waiting for an answer.”
“I don’t know that I’d know how to be a girlfriend, Ace.”
“Baby, you don’t have to do something specific, just be you. Just not with any other guys,” he laughs.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay, I’ll try to be your girlfriend.”
He grins widely. “Thank you! That’s all I can ever ask of you, Bella.”
Ace leads me back toward the trailer, his arm wrapped around me, not to make sure I don’t run off, but just because he wants me close to
him. It is as we near the trailer that I decide he needs to know something.
“I’m not a slut. I want you to know that I don’t sleep around.”
“I’ve never thought you did. Why would you… You heard the conversation we were having?”
I nod my head in shame. “I’m a virgin,” I blurt out.
He only nods his head. Ace is quiet for a while before he stops us, looking down at me. “You know I never thought you were a slut, right?”
“I think I know, but I just wanted you to know that I’d never even been kissed before you.”
“My gain because you’re amazing.”
I drop my head, looking at my feet. “Am I?”
Tipping my head up, he smiles, “You are.” He leans down kissing my cheek. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you.”
“For what?”
“Taking care of me. You didn’t have to, but you did.”
“I wanted to. Though, I hated seeing you like that, I liked that you needed me.”
Leaning in to him, I rest my head on his chest. My hands rest on his hips. He rests his chin on my head with his arms around my shoulders. Breathing deep, I just enjoy the feeling for a moment.
“Are you hungry?” Ace asks after a moment.
“Actually, I am, but I’m afraid to eat,” I say looking up at him.
“You just need to eat slowly.”
I nod my head. “Okay.”
“Why don’t we go inside and figure everything out?”
We walk inside and the two guys are still sitting there with Gary. From the looks on their faces, Gary must have had a word with them while we were gone. Ace releases me and walks up to the red haired muscular guy. Without missing a beat, he punches him in the stomach then the face.
“Ace!” I scream.
The guy stands up straight, glares down at Ace. “It’s fine Miss. I deserved it. Please accept my apologies for how I spoke about you earlier. I just assumed that you were another one of those wannabe princesses that seem so drawn to Ace here.” He walked toward me and held out his hand. “My name is Heath. I’ll be your protective detail.”
Tentatively, I shook his hand. “I’m Isabella, but you can call me Bella,” I squeak out.
The burly dark haired one walks over then. “I’m Ethan. I’ll be your protective detail as well.”
I nod. This guy scared me. No wonder he is in the security business. He’s freaking scary. No one will approach him for fear of being broke in two by just a glance. Glancing nervously at Ace out of the corner of my eye, unconsciously, I take a step closer to him.
Wrapping his arm around my waist, he kisses the top of my head. He is talking to Gary and Ethan just kept staring at me. It is making me very uncomfortable. Placing my hand on Ace’s chest, he looks down at me.
“I’m going to go lay down. Still a little drained from this morning,” I lie, but I can’t tell him that Ethan is scaring me, especially not in front of him.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a bit to check on you,” he smiles.
Walking back to the room, I sit down on the bed and remember my bag in the back of the limo. When I walk out of the room, I see all the guys sitting in the sitting area talking. Without even looking at them, I walk out the door. Looking around the lot, I look for the limo. It’s on the other side of the building.
“What are you doing?”
“I left my bag in the limo. Do you think that I can get a ride to a hotel?”
He walks me to the limo. “You don’t want to stay with me?”
Leaning in, I grab the bag out of the back of the limo. Just as I go to throw it over my shoulder, Ace – err AJ, grabs it and carries it for me.
“I don’t want to have a security detail,” I say quietly.
“Bella, I can’t…”
Turning to him, I brace myself for the fight I’m sure will be coming when I say this.
“I’m not your responsibility. My life is my own. Yeah, it’s not ideal, but fighting him will only serve to cause more harm than good. You don’t know him like I do.”
“I can’t, in good conscience, let you go back there by yourself. Knowing what you’ll face when you get there…” He shakes his head. “My heart can’t handle you being hurt.”
“But hovering over me will only push me away.”
His eyes widen for a moment. “But you going back to your home, alone, could take you from me forever,” he whispers.
Sighing, “Look, I need a shower. Is it okay if I take one?”
“Of course,” he says cautiously.
“Thank you.”
Kissing his cheek, I turn and head inside for my shower. The guys are still there. They all stop talking as I walk in. Heading straight for the bathroom with my bag, I climb in and start the shower. The chill of the water didn’t even faze me. But once the water warmed up, I let it run over me, massaging my tired and achy muscles. All the while, I try to think of what I need to do.
Ace means so much to me, but to put him in the middle of any of this bothers me. He doesn’t need to worry about me. His life will be tore apart if he tries. Between his concerts, interviews, guest stars, he just doesn’t need to add me to the mix.
Grabbing his shampoo, I really wash my hair for the first time in a very long time. Because papers don’t always happen, I have to buy cheaply in order to get a semblance of clean when I shower. His stuff smells so good.
Ending the shower far too early, I climb out and dry myself off quickly before wrapping my hair in the towel. Opening my bag, I grabbed out my robe and slipped it on. It was the thought of him needing to shower before his concert tonight that had me rushing out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.
Dropping the bag on a scream, I am surprised to find Ace in the bedroom. He’s sitting on the bed with his hands in his hair and his elbows on his knees. His head snaps up when I scream. He’s on his feet and in front of me in the blink of an eye.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say laughing. “You just scared me. I didn’t know you’d be in here.”
“Sorry for scaring you.”
“It’s fine. Just wasn’t expecting it was all.”
Stepping away from him and grabbing my bag, I walk over to the side of the room where the mirror is. Removing the towel from my hair, I bend down and dig out my brush. Just as I locate my brush, I feel Ace’s hands on my hips. Standing up quickly, I turn around.
“You are unbelievably sexy, Bella,” he says breathlessly before covering my mouth with his.
The kiss deepens as he walks me back until my back presses against the wall. His hands lower down to my butt and lift me from the floor. Instinctively, I wrap my legs around his waist. A low, deep moan vibrates from his throat. Leaning into me with his hips, his hands begin to roam my body.
“Ace,” I breathe as I pull my lips from his.
“Hmmm,” he hums as his mouth trails down my throat.
“We need to stop. I’m not ready… Ah,” I moan as he nibbles my earlobe. “I’m not ready for this yet, Ace.”
He stops his kissing and caressing, resting his head on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Bella.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t care, but this is the last thing that hasn’t been taken from me. I don’t want to rush into anything.”
Setting me back on my feet, he closes my robe that I hadn’t even realized had opened. Ace walks back to the bed and flops down on it, lying on his back.
“No doubt you feel like this is all I want and it’s not true. It’s just… I can’t seem to control myself around you. I’ve never felt like this before.”
Crawling up on the bed next to him, resting on an elbow, I put one hand on his chest. His heart is racing beneath my hand. Lifting his arm from his eyes, he looks at me cautiously.
“I never felt anything outside of pain before. You bring out feelings in me I’ve never felt. The one thing you have never made me feel is used.”
He pulls me down to his li
ps, kissing me softly. Resting my head on his chest, we lay here not moving or saying anything. Just laying here, enjoying the silence. Whatever I did to deserve this guy, I’ll be glad to repeat it to be here, like this, now.
“You want to get a hotel room?”
“Mmmhmm,” I murmur on the verge of falling asleep.
“Okay. I’ll reserve a hotel room. Do you want to stay for this show or just go right to the hotel?”
Raising my head, I look at him. “Well considering the distraction I was last night, I’ll just go right to the hotel.” Looking down, “You’ll come to the hotel though, right?”
His brows furrow in confusion. “Of course, what would ever make you think I wouldn’t come?”
I shrug. “I don’t know because when I mentioned it, you didn’t seem to like the idea. Or maybe because you’ve realized that I have far too much baggage to take on. The list is endless really,” I explain, ashamed.
“Yes, I don’t like what your home life has been like, but you are worth far more than the baggage, as you call it. Every moment I have you in my arms is one less bad time I’ll remember. You erase all my pain. I hope I can do the same for you.”
All I can do is smile at him. I’m lost for words with his honesty. He stands and grabs a phone off the nightstand. He starts talking about hotel rooms.
“How much is this going to cost? I don’t have the money for anything spectacular.”
He waves his hand at me and continues on with his conversation. Actually, with everything that’s happening today, I feel almost railroaded.
“Ace, please listen to me,” I quietly plead with him.
He gives me a look I can’t quite understand and walks out of the room. Tears burn the backs of my eyes. Here yet again, someone is making decisions for me. This isn’t happening again. Making sure everything is in my bag, I throw it over my shoulder just as Ace walks back into the room.
“I’ve got… What are you doing?”
“I can’t do this,” I say as I walk past him, not looking at him.
If I look at him, if my eyes connect with his, I’ll lose all will to do what I know I must. Things between Ace and I are far too intense and he deserves so much better than me. His hand comes out and grabs my arm just as I make it outside.