Ace's Wild (13 page)

Chapter 6

Melody

    I’m stupid. I am so goddamn stupid
I
even want to slap me. Now, I’m searching for Ace high and low and none of us can find him. I have a gut feeling that something just isn’t right aside from everything else.

    After Ace stormed out of the coffee shop I tried calling him, but he eventually turned his phone off. It wasn’t until I called Nate that I found out what happened and I felt like a complete jackass.

    This week has been a whirlwind of studying and exams, I had been beyond excited to see Ace. I missed him more than anything and I was ready for finals to be over and winter break to be here. I was spending my evenings at the coffee shop studying because it was always pretty quiet especially in the evenings. On Wednesday I was sitting studying when a man asked if he could sit at the table next to mine. I didn’t think anything of it and just nodded my answer without peeling my eyes from my notes.

    The man noticed that I was studying out of a psych textbook that he was familiar with, he introduced himself as Zandor and, again, I didn’t think anything of it, I just thought he was being polite. We discussed the writings, and he helped me study.

    So, when he showed up Thursday I thought it was a coincidence but by Friday I felt like something was off. He was friendly enough but every flirtatious remark he made left me with a nauseous feeling.

    I made a point to tell him that I was happily taken, and he was a perfect gentleman but that doesn’t change the fact that I should have left. I should have studied somewhere else. But instead I gave a stranger the benefit of the doubt and look where that has gotten me.

    I was leaving early on Friday because of the uncomfortableness I felt. When I was getting up to leave I tripped over the leg of a chair and went flying toward Zandor. He grabbed ahold of both of my forearms, and I sheepishly apologized.

    That’s when Ace walked in.

    I tried to explain to him what he was walking in on but once he saw Zandor’s face it’s like something snapped. He came rushing at him with flying fists. It wasn’t until I talked to Nate afterwards that I found out Zandor was Zee. My stomach couldn’t take any more at that point, and I had to rush to the bathroom to empty its contents.

    Zandor ended up being fine. The baristas were going to call the cops and an ambulance but he refused. He was up and talking so I took his word for it. His face had a bad gash on the top and his nose looked crooked but he assured everyone he was fine. It was shortly after when I talked to Nate, after that I couldn’t care less how Zandor felt.

    I, on the other hand, feel like a floosy. I didn’t do anything wrong but imagining what Ace must have felt is killing me. To make matters worse I haven’t the slightest idea where he is. The only thing I can do now is sit and wait. Nate gave me the key to Ace’s house, and I’ve been here for a few hours waiting. I’ve been in tears most of the time, curled up on the couch staring at the front door.

    Sara is with Nate helping him through the pain of losing his grandmother. I wish I could be that for Ace right now. I seem to have a way of ruining things.

    At some point I must have fallen asleep because I wake up to the sound of the door banging open, the high pitched laughter of what sounds like a hyena, and smells like cheap perfume. I jump up and take in the sight of Ace appearing to be drunk of his ass with some wannabe Barbie by his side helping him keep his balance.

    She looks up at me with a snarled expression. “Who the hell are you?”

    I take a deep breath to calm my nerves but it doesn’t help much. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” I snap. At this point there may be flames coming out of my ears. The girl is lucky I don’t kick her ass out.

    Ace starts laughing before collapsing to the floor where he appears to have fallen asleep the moment his face touches the ground.

    “You can go now.” I tell Blondie. Her hair isn’t even a cute blond either, it’s practically white and looks totally fried. Under the horrid makeup and crappy hair she might be a cute girl, but with her bitchy attitude I’d like nothing more than to slap the shit out of her. Hey, my wish might come true.

    She brings her hand to her hip. “This isn’t your house, it’s his. I can stay if I want to, he invited me.” She points her acrylic nail over at Ace’s passed out figure.

     “I hate to break it to you
honey
but he’s three sheets to the wind and even if he wasn’t I’m pretty sure you’re not his type. Now, why don’t you walk your fake self out of here.”

     “If I’m not his type then why did he bring me home with him?” she spits out.

     This girl is just not getting it. Frankly, I’m done with this conversation. “He brought you here because you look like an easy lay.” I walk toward her. She’s the same height as me so I have no doubt in my mind that I can take her if I had to. She’s standing right next to the open door I reach forward, and I shove her chest.

     She stumbles back onto the porch, “Hey!” she screeches.

    “Just a word of advice, if you have to get a guy drunk to bring you home with him then you should probably work on your dating skills.” I slam the door in her face.

    Ace starts laughing again. “That’sss my girrrl,” he slurs.

   “Ace, what are you doing?” I’m hurt by his actions. I know my actions earlier weren’t the best, but I didn’t intentionally go looking for someone. We’re a couple, we’re supposed to work these things out. I trust him, but he just walked in with bimbo Barbie, how else am I supposed to feel?

    “I needed a ride hommme.”

    “Why didn’t you call me? Or Nate?” I’m kneeling on the floor next to him while we talks.

    “Phone died.” His voice drops at the end, and then he starts snoring.

    This is pointless. Talking to a drunk is like talking to a toddler with short term memory loss.

    “Ace.” I poke his side. “You need to get up. Let me help you to your bed.”

    “Mellll? Is that you?”

    I have a feeling this is going to be a long night. “Yes, it’s me, now can you please stand up so I can help you to your bed?”

    He opens his eyes and stares at me in confusion. “When did you get here?”

    I pull on his hand, but he doesn’t make an attempt to get up. “Please just stand up and we’ll
talk when you’re lying in bed,” I puff.

    I pull on his hand once more, and he slowly sits up. He looks around the room in complete confusion. “How’d I get here?”

    “You tell me,” I grunt. I’m pulling on his arm, but he’s much bigger than me so if he doesn’t want to move then I can’t do much to help.

    Finally after a few pulls he unsteadily stands on his feet. I put his arm over my shoulders and guide him to his room. We only have to take a short break in the middle, but I finally am able to get him to his bed.

    I walk out to the kitchen to grab a few bottles of water and some Tylenol because I know he’ll need it in the morning. I turn off the lights and lock up before walking back to his room. When I walk in he seems a little more alert, as in he’s not passed out.

    “Hellooo, heartbreaker.” I cringe at his name for me.

    “I’m probably going to have to tell you this again in the morning but it’s not what it looked like. I tripped and Zan…
Zee
, caught me. I had no idea who he was until Nate told me, I swear to you.” I sit on the bed next to him and lace my fingers with his.

    Ace starts laughing uncontrollably. “So you’re telling me you’ve never seen Zee before? I find that hard to believe.”

    Ouch.

    Although he does make a valid point, I truthfully had never seen Zee before. I’d heard his music, but he wasn’t exactly singing to me now was he?

    “No, I didn’t know what he looked like,” I answer truthfully.

    Ace closes his eyes and begins shaking his head. “I fucked up Mel.”

    My heart drops. My chest suddenly feels tight. “What do you mean? What did you do?” My voice shakes.

    His breathing slows, and he quietly snores. Wonderful timing. Now, I’m going to be worrying all night about what he did.

    I decide to stay the night and make sure Ace is okay. The last thing I want is him to wake up and start choking on his own vomit. I debate if I’m going to sleep on the couch or in the bed with him. I’m upset that he didn’t talk to me after the coffee shop incident, even though I keep telling myself that he was in the right, but was he? It’s not exactly normal to start pounding someone’s face in. The even weirder part is that Zee refused any kind of medical intervention. I mean, I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure the guy had a broken nose.

    I look over at Ace sleeping peacefully and just hope that his dream world is just as serene because tomorrow he’s going to wake up in the middle of a shit storm with a massive hangover to top it off.

   I run my hand over his face and then lean down to kiss his cheek. I begin taking off his shoes and jeans so that he’s at least semi comfortable. I have some clothes in the dresser so I dress in a tank top and yoga pants before getting under the covers.

    I don’t usually pray, but tonight I do. I pray for
Grams. I pray that my relationship with Ace can survive all of this. But most of all I pray that Ace’s life doesn’t disintegrate from this—I pray for the strength that he’s so obviously going to need in the morning.

    I just hope that he didn’t do anything too damaging that requires me to walk away.

Ace

    I wake up with the urge for my body to expel the contents of my stomach. I pull the blankets back and haul ass to the bathroom before unloading on my bedroom floor.

    My mind has to play catch up with my body. Then it all rushes to me at once. Grams, Melody, Zee, blood, alcohol, bimbo trying to hit on me, more alcohol, me telling bimbo to take a hike, more alcohol, blank.

   What the fuck happened last night? How’d I get home?

    After I wash up I turn off the light and go to lie in bed again. That’s when I notice a very feminine figure in the bed. It’s too dark to notice any obvious features other than her silhouette, but I’m close to freaking the fuck out.

    I fucked up big time.

    There’s no fixing this, if I slept with someone Mel would never forgive me.

    I tiptoe out of the room and into the hallway to turn on the light. It illuminates my room enough for me to distinguish features but not enough to wake her up.

    I tiptoe back to my room and notice a sleeping Melody.

    I exhale.

    I know I can do stupid shit, but that would be a whole new level even for me. I immediately feel relief but then that’s followed by more questions as to how she got here.

    My mind was so much of a mess last night that I thought alcohol would help quiet it down. It did, but now my thoughts are yelling at me demanding to be heard. On top of that I have a massive headache and feel like I could throw up again at any moment.

    I begin walking out of the room but my eye pauses at my nightstand when I notice the water bottles and medicine.

    Melody.

    Even in the midst of me being a crazy emotional asshole, she still has me on the forefront of her mind. I don’t know how I could have ever thought Melody was deceiving me. My thoughts were muddled by madness. They still are, but not so much that I think Mel would ever cheat on me.

    That doesn’t change the fact that I fucked up last night. I allowed my madness to drive me to drinking after I swore to never touch it again. I can’t be the man Melody needs if I’m reverting to drinking every time I hit a bump in the road. It’s not fair to her.

    I walk over to my side of the bed and throw a couple of pills into my mouth followed by a whole bottle of water. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until the bottle touched my lips.

    I must have made too much noise because when I bring my head back down my eyes meet Mel’s.

    I set the bottle on the nightstand, my eyes never parting from hers. “Hi,” I say.

    “Hi.” She smiles sadly.

    We stare at each other for a minute, and I’m soaking in the moment, because I know after I say what I need to say, I won’t be seeing Melody again.

    I finally tear my eyes from hers and take a seat on the bed. “We need to talk.”

    Melody sits up and scoots back against the headboard. “We do,” she sighs. “Yesterday, at the coffee shop, it’s not what you think. I had no idea that Zee and Zandor were the same person. I tripped, and he caught me that’s all. I just thought he was another customer, he helped me a little bit with studying, but that was it, I swear. I would never betray you Ace.” Her voice shakes from the emotion packed into it.

    “It’s okay,” I say. She looks up at me confused, and I bring my hand to her cheek. “My mind wasn’t in the right place yesterday. If I would have just taken a minute to think, I would have known that you would never do that to me.” I smile.