Chasing Ever After

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Chasing Ever After Page 23

by Stephanie Hoffman McManus


  My mood wasn’t any better in the morning. Sadie hardly spoke to me, but was cheerful with my parents and grandma. In just a few days they had all fallen for her too. I thought that bringing her around my family would bring us closer, and at first I’d thought it was working, but the drive home proved otherwise. She was still withdrawn and quiet and slept for most of the drive, only this time I was pretty sure that she was faking.

  A half dozen times I started to open my mouth to say something, I just wasn’t sure what to say yet. I’d have to figure it out soon, because I was not okay with this shit. I wasn’t going to let Sadie run away just before we actually started to make this thing work, and if I had done something to upset her, I needed to know so I could fix it.

  Chapter 24

  Sadie

  “How was work?” Ace asked as I passed by the kitchen.

  “Fine,” I responded and continued on to my room. That was how it had been all week since we got back from his parents. I didn’t like it and it wasn’t how I wanted things to be, but it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t do this to us. He lied to me. He was keeping things from me, keeping Jules from me. I didn’t know what it meant. I thought we were finally getting somewhere, that maybe I was ready to give him a chance, but now I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t going to wait around and be the girl on the side while he tried to rekindle things with his former fiancé, if that was even what he was doing. I didn’t want to believe it, but I just didn’t know. All I knew was that he lied, more than once, when it came to her. He was a damn lying liar who lies! I practically slammed my door behind me.

  I was just getting ready to pull my work polo off when someone knocked on it. I dropped my shirt back down and pulled the door open. Ace was standing there. “What?” I asked him, not bothering to hide my irritation.

  He frowned. “Is something the matter?”

  Yes there was, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Nope,” I answered dismissively. He didn’t’ look like he believed me. I didn’t really care, nor did I feel bad about not being honest with him. He started this whole lying game. I tapped my fingers against the door impatiently. “Did you need something?”

  Again I watched as his mouth turned down and his frown deepened. “Uh, I was just going to ask if you wanted to go to the light festival with me tonight.”

  “Can’t. I already told Jax I would go with her and Ky tomorrow.”

  “Oh,” was all he said, but I could see the disappointment in his eyes. It softened something inside of me and I actually started to feel bad for how cold I’d been toward him.

  “I think a bunch of the group is going, so you could come tomorrow night too,” I told him.

  “Okay, yeah. Tomorrow,” he confirmed. “Then do you want to do something else tonight? We could go see a movie or something.”

  I looked down at my feet and sighed, “I don’t think so. Not tonight.”

  “Are you sure something isn’t wrong?” I felt his eyes boring into me and when I looked back up at him he was inspecting me closely.

  “I’m fine. It was just a long day.”

  “What about yesterday? Was that a long day too? And the day before? You’ve been off since our last night in Hamden, so you want to try again and really tell me what’s up?”

  “No, because nothing is up. You’re reading too much into this. I just don’t want to go out tonight.”

  “Bullshit,” he called me out, “there’s more to it than that. What the hell happened? I thought we were finally getting somewhere and now you’re pulling away from me. Why? And don’t lie to me.”

  I snorted, “You probably shouldn’t talk to me about lying.” His mouth fell open and then he shut it again.

  Yeah, that’s right buddy. You’re the liar here. Not me.

  I shut my door on him. He didn’t knock again and I avoided him the rest of the evening and the next day. I went over to Jax’s early before the festival. I hadn’t told her what was going on with me and Ace, but she picked up that something was wrong and as soon as Ky left for some rehearsal.

  “Last I heard things were all good in Connecticut. If I’m remembering correctly, you texted me to say that Ace’s family was wonderful and that you were having, what was it? Oh yeah, a ‘magical’ time with him.” She gave me a bad time over the text I’d sent her from the sled park. “You don’t look so magical right now and he texted me last night to see if you had talked to me about what was wrong. Care to fill me in?”

  “Not really,” I mumbled, taking a sip of the tea she’d made for me.

  “Too bad. Tell me anyway.”

  “What do you know about his ex fiancé?” I asked her.

  Her brow wrinkled, clearly it wasn’t what she had expected from me. “Uh, not much. He’s never really talked about her much. Spade said she really did a number on him back then though. Why do you want to know about her?”

  “I met her,” I said.

  “What?” Jax practically shouted. “When? Why?”

  “When he took me sledding, she was there. I saw him talking to her and when I asked him about it, he said she was just someone from high school, but then later she came up to me while he was in the bathroom and introduced herself. She said that the two of them had made dinner plans and that she’d told him he could bring me along, but later he never mentioned it and said he was going to a poker night with some old buddies. I know he was lying. I’m sure that he met up with her, I just don’t know why.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe it was nothing. I’m sure it was. He wouldn’t get back together with her. He’s crazy about you,” she tried to reassure me.

  “But why would he lie if it was nothing?” People don’t generally lie about nothing, they don’t usually keep secrets if it’s not a big deal.

  “I don’t know, but I take it you haven’t asked him about it.”

  “No.”

  “You need to,” she urged me.

  “Why? I don’t think I trust him to be honest with me,” I told her.

  “So you’re great plan is to what? Just keep freezing him out over something that may or may not even be a big deal, just to get back at him?”

  “Well when you put it like that it makes me sound petty.”

  “You’re not petty, but you do need to talk to him. I don’t think it’s what you think it is, but the only way you’ll know is to be up front with him. He made a mistake by lying to you, but at least give him the chance to explain before you decide to end things.”

  “I don’t even know if there’s anything to end.”

  “Talk to him.”

  I sighed and inwardly I was groaning because she was right and I hated that she was right. I didn’t really want to confront him, but what I was doing, ignoring him and flinging snide comments at him wasn’t exactly working out either. I just felt crappier the more distance I put between us and it didn’t solve anything.

  “Fine. I’ll talk to him.”

  “Tonight.” She fixed me with a look that said she wouldn’t accept any arguments.

  “Okay, tonight. I’ll talk to him tonight,” I promised.

  I rode to the festival with Jax and Ky after he got home. Bas and Lissa were already there with Violette and Jake, but I didn’t see Ace or any of the other guys yet. The three of us joined the four of them and if the situation was any different and these guys weren’t my best friends, I would have felt like the odd girl out in all of their coupliness. As it was, I barely noticed, with all of the activity around us. We walked up and down the streets, enjoying the sights of every shop decked out for the holiday. Icicle lights hung from just about every building, windows were painted and street poles were decorated with garland and lights, but none of the lights were on yet. There was a fresh coat of snow on the ground that made everything that much prettier. There were so many people out enjoying the night, couples, families, college kids. There were so many amazing smells wafting through the air too.

  As we walked past a litt
le bakery and coffee shop, I inhaled the smell of cinnamon and gingerbread and other spices. It was wonderful. I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Jax and Vi both insisted we stop and go inside. The guys didn’t argue. The line inside the shop stretched to the door, but it moved quickly and it wasn’t long before we were all walking back outside with our treats and warm drinks in hand. Even with my heavy jacket and scarf, I still felt the chill in the air. My cup of cocoa warmed my hands and my insides, and my pumpkin spice muffin tasted as good as it had looked in the case.

  We didn’t make it another block before I heard a familiar voice shouting at us. We all stopped and turned to see Ace, Spade, Chris and Danny approaching. We weren’t the only ones who noticed them either. People were staring and snapping pictures and it wasn’t long before they realized Ky was with us. He’d gone unnoticed until now, but it was impossible not to notice when they were all together. They commanded people’s attention, and they certainly had it now.

  I should have been used to it, not bothered by it, but I think my frustration with Ace was making my temper short. I had no patience to stand around and watch girls ask for pictures and autographs. Even though most of them were innocent enough, just regular fans, I just didn’t want to deal with it.

  “I’m going to find a bathroom,” I whispered to Jax.

  She gave me a knowing look, but I brushed it off and stepped inside the little corner mart. I didn’t really need to use the bathroom, but I did anyway, and then I wandered around inside until I could see that the crowd outside had dispersed. I bought a pack of gum and then slipped back out into the cold. Jax and Vi were waiting for me.

  “Done hiding?” Jax asked.

  “Shut up. I don’t know how you deal with it all the time, how you share him with the rest of the world. I don’t know if I could ever get used to it.”

  “When you love them, you do, besides, I’m not sharing him with anyone. He’s mine,” she said confidently. “He loves his music, it makes him happy. His fans make that happen, so I am thankful for them. If he’s happy, then I’m happy, but at the end of the day, he’s not with them, he’s not thinking about them and he’s not married to them, so I don’t mind if they want a little piece of him every now and then because I’ve got all of him.”

  She did too, even now I could see him standing up ahead looking back, waiting for her. Must be nice to be so sure. “I guess you’re right,” I muttered.

  “I am, so come on, let’s go so you can get this over with.” She grabbed my arm and started to drag me forward.

  “Ooh, get what over with?” Vi asked.

  “There’s some tension between her and Ace she needs to get resolved,” Jax answered.

  “Of the sexual kind?” Vi grinned at me.

  “No, of the regular kind. He lied about meeting up with his ex fiancé and I don’t know what that means,” I explained.

  “Oh, what a jackass. You should make him sweat.”

  I started to say I agreed, really I was just trying to avoid, but Jax didn’t give me the chance. “No way. Don’t encourage her. She needs to deal with this and just confront him.” I didn’t bother arguing with her.

  The guys and Lissa all stood in a group in front of the giant Christmas tree when we caught back up with them. There was still twenty minutes until the lighting of the tree. It was now or never. Jax gave me an encouraging nod and I walked over to where Ace stood talking to Ky and Spade.

  “Hey,” I said to Ace.

  He paused in what he’d been about to say and looked over at me. “Hey.”

  “Can we go somewhere and talk for a minute?” I asked quietly.

  “Now you want to talk?” I could hear his annoyance and it only made me angry.

  “Actually, no I don’t, so just never mind.” I started to turn away from him but he reached out and grabbed my arm.

  “Wait. I’m sorry. You’re right, we should go talk.” He turned to the guys, “be back in a few,” he told them and then began leading me away from the group with his hand still on my arm. I shook it off, but kept walking until we were out of hearing distance of anyone around. There was a big outdoor skating rink behind the tree and we made our way around it.

  “So you ready to tell me what’s been up with you? I thought we were good,” he spoke.

  “We were, but then you lied to me.”

  “What are you talking about?” He asked, genuinely confused and I wanted to punch him because he obviously believed he’d gotten away with his deception.

  “Jules.” That was all it took for his expression to fall and his eyes to fill with panic.

  “How do you know about that?”

  “Better question, why did you lie and keep it from me? You want me to trust you and then you go and prove that I can’t.”

  “It’s not like that, I swear,” he protested. “Shit. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  “Well I’m sorry I went and ruined things for you.” I glared at him.

  “No, that’s not what I meant. What exactly do you know?”

  I snorted, “So you can figure out how much you need to lie to cover up, I don’t think so.”

  “That’s not what I’m trying to do. I just need to figure out what exactly it is you think I’m lying about so I can fix this.”

  “Just tell me the damn truth, all of it!” I cried.

  “Okay, fuck, I’m sorry. I’ll explain, but it’s not what you think.”

  “I’m listening,” I said.

  “She was there, at the ice rink. I saw her when we were leaving. I didn’t speak to her, but it rattled me a little. I didn’t expect to see her, but I didn’t tell you about her because I didn’t think it mattered. I had no reason to believe it was anything more than a weird, fucked up coincidence. I hadn’t seen or talked to her since she basically ‘Dear Johned’ me.” I didn’t think he was lying about that part, so I let him continue.

  “Then she was there at the park when we were sledding, but I’m thinking you already know that.”

  I nodded.

  “How? I mean, I’ll tell you everything, but I just want to know how you found out.”

  “She came up to me and introduced herself when you went to the bathroom. She told me that you guys were reconnecting and she led me to believe that you had been in contact with her. She also told me about your guys’ plans that night and that she’d asked you to bring me along so we could all be friends, but that you’d told her not to say anything to me.”

  Anger burned in his eyes and he clenched his teeth. He was mad, not just mad, but pissed. “Dammit, that damn bitch. I should’ve known better.” He raked a hand through his hair angrily.

  “She lied?”

  “Yeah, she fucking lied. Did you even really need to ask that?” He snapped at me.

  “I don’t know Ace. I didn’t want to believe her, but then you went and lied to me about your stupid poker night, so what was I supposed to believe?”

  “Shit, you’re right. I’m sorry. Listen to me,” he grabbed my shoulders, “I didn’t get in touch with her, she just showed up. I didn’t know what she wanted, but she said she had something important she needed to talk to me about. It wasn’t a date and she was lying about inviting you. I thought, maybe, well I don’t know what I thought, but I decided to hear her out. I didn’t tell you because the timing fucking sucked. We were finally good, you were finally giving us a chance and I was so scared that you would freak out if you knew who she was. I thought I could just talk to her and then put her behind me and you’d never have to know about her.”

  “That was stupid of you,” I told him, but I understood it at least. I didn’t like it, but I believed that his intentions hadn’t been to hurt me. “So what did she want?”

  “It doesn’t matter. It was a waste of time and she didn’t have anything to say that I wanted to hear. We met at a diner and it didn’t even take ten minutes for her to piss me off and then I left. I stopped at a bar to grab some food and wait to pick you up so you wouldn’t wonder w
hy I was back so soon. I know I’m a dick for keeping it from you. I knew it was a mistake the second I lied to you, but then I was too afraid that if I just came clean you wouldn’t trust me because I’d already lied. I really thought I could just forget about her and bring you back home and then work on us. I’m sorry. I really am. I just didn’t want her messing things up for us because I really want there to be an us, more than anything.” He looked at me hopefully while I weighed what he’d said.

  He was a jerk for lying to me, but I could forgive that. He hadn’t been sneaking around behind my back, he wasn’t trying to rekindle anything with her. From what I could tell, she was a bus full of crazy and he didn’t want anything to do with her. Crap, I felt so much better knowing that, and the fact that I was so relieved told me what I really needed to know. “I’m still mad at you, but I believe you, and I want there to be an us too,” I told him. “Please no more lying. Don’t keep things from me. If you want this to work, I need honesty, even if you don’t think I want to hear it.”

  “Okay. I promise.”

  “Okay.”

  He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly to him. Everything I’d been feeling the past few days, all the anger, frustration, resentment and jealousy, just melted away. He took my hand in his and we made our way back to group. I couldn’t fight the smile that spread across my face when Jax saw the two of us and winked at me. She looked pretty pleased, and she wasn’t the only one grinning at our interlocked fingers. They stayed that way through the rest of the night. We watched as the lights on the tree came to life and then all the lights around, on the buildings and street poles, came on as well. It was beautiful. It was magical. I don’t care how cheesy that sounds. It was. I love Christmas time and I think that I was maybe, sort of, possibly in love with Ace.

 

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