8

I took the bus across town to my friend, Catherine’s, apartment. I knocked at her door and she quickly opened it, a smile spreading across her face when she saw me.

“Stella!” she squealed as she wrapped me into a tight hug. “Honey, it has been too long” she drew out in her southern accent. “Get in here girl!”

She moved her petite frame to the side as she held the door open for me. I stepped into the apartment and out of the hot Florida heat. The cool air conditioning felt heavenly.

She closed the door, trapping the heat out of her large apartment as she skipped happily next to me and led me over to the oversized, brown couch with bright white pillows. Her living room was at least twice the size of mine, and beautifully decorated. I never understood why she didn’t go into interior design with the natural talent she had.

“So” she drew out as she sat down next to me. Her blonde hair fell in large waves around her tiny face. She looked like a real-life Tinkerbell and had the voice to match. Only hers was a fairy with a Southern accent. “What brings you  to my neck of the woods?” 

I shrugged as I held down the lump in my throat.

She tilted her head to the side, sensing my hesitation. “Come on, girl. What’s going on? Spill it?”

I glanced away from her and out the large, bay window that overlooked the backyard which led to the community pool. “Ace and I had a fight.”

Catherine sighed as she moved closer and wrapped her arms around me. “What did the jerk do this time?”

I laughed lightly. She always referred to him as ‘the jerk’. She had always held a certain disdain toward Ace, ever since we worked at Blue Hades together. “It was just stupid, and he overacted.”

“As usual,” he inserted. “That boy has a temper that would rival the devil himself.”

“He’s not that bad,” I protested lightly. 

“You’re just delusional with love.”

“I don’t think I know what love is.”

She pulled back as she looked at me with sad eyes. “You just haven’t found the right guy.”

“I haven’t found a Fred,” I teased her lightly. Fred was her live-in boyfriend. Oddly, he was a client she had a Blue Hades and somehow a relationship had been born from it.

Her face lit up at his name as she chewed on her lip. “He is pretty dreamy.”

I laughed lightly at her obvious delight at talking about him. “You are so head over heels in love with him.”

Her smile suddenly faded. “Did he do that?” Her hand pushed my hair behind my shoulder and off my neck.

I quickly reached up and covered my neck with my hand. She instantly pulled it away as she moved closer to inspect it. “That son of a bitch,” she breathed out in a fairy-high voice. “Did he choke you?” 

“It’s nothing” I replied as I quickly stood up and moved away from her inspecting gaze. “Please don’t make a big deal out of this.” Catherine was the only person I had ever confided in about Ace anger. When he had first hit me four months ago, I had run to Catherine’s apartment for a place to getaway from him for nearly a week.

“You can’t allow him to keep doing this,” Catherine warned me softly.

“I know,” I replied. Deep down, I knew that. I knew what he was doing was wrong, but I also knew I could fix him. I could help him. He just needed some time. He needed to get off of the drugs so we could have what we had once had again. 

Catherine opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped when the door to the apartment opened and her boyfriend, Fred, walked in. He smiled warmly at us as he glanced between us. He had short, buzzed blonde hair and was almost comical with Catherine as he stood over six feet tall to her tiny frame.

“Hi Stella,” he greeted me warmly. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“You too,” I smiled nervously at him. Would Catherine rat me out to him?

“Hi honey” Catherine called as she hopped off the couch and fluttered over to him. He leaned down, way down, to kiss her as she stood up on her tiptoes. “Stella just came over for a girl’s night. Is that okay?”

He smiled, obviously enamored with her. “Of course. I’ll get out of your way.” He winked at her, giving me a slight nod as he disappeared down a hallway to the bedrooms.

“Well that was surprisingly easy” l remarked with shock at his exit.

Catherine laughed. “That’s called respect and giving your significant other space.”

“Significant other?” I asked as I arched an eyebrow at her. “Moving pretty fast in this relationship, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know,” she smiled coyly at me as she held out her left hand which held a sparkling diamond ring on her ring finger. “You tell me.” 

My jaw dropped as I stepped over and took her hand into mine to examine it. “He proposed?”

“Yes!” she squealed as she bounced in place. “I was going to call you to get together and tell you!”

I smiled, but something within me ached. She had found love and I was genuinely happy for her, but at the same time it hurt to not have that. To probably never have that. Ace was the only man I could ever let to know me completely and fully. He was the only one who could ever know my past and my secrets, and I wasn’t so sure he was the one I wanted to marry. At least not right now, not while he was battling his addictions.

“I’m so happy for you” I said, meaning each word.

“Let’s get some wine,” she said as she held onto my hand and dragged me into the kitchen behind her. “I can tell you all about how he proposed, and we can gossip about all the latest news!”

I finished my lunch shift at the restaurant the next day and walked out into the pouring rain. I was dreading the walk to the bus station. I hadn’t bothered to look at the forecast when I left for work in the morning beneath a sunny sky.

I had spent the night at Catherine’s, ignoring every call from Ace. I had stopped at the apartment long enough to shower and change before leaving for work. He was nowhere to be seen.

I no more than walked out the door when Ace ran toward me with a large, black umbrella. He quickly held it over my head and displayed a dozen red roses with the other. 

I turned toward him in shock. His hair was straightened and gelled up and back. He wore a very colorful and sparkly jacket with a beach scene upon it. He always had an eccentric style of fashion when he put time into his appearance. 

“What is this?” I asked in annoyance after the last time I had seen him.

“This is I’m sorry. And this is I swear I’m going to clean up and do better. I was a jerk, Stella, and I’m sorry.”

“You can’t keep doing this, Ace.”

“I know” he quickly replied. “I know I’m screwed up. I know I need help. I’m gonna pick up some side jobs and get into rehab. I’ll clean up, Stella.” He looked me in the eye, his eyes full of remorse and sadness. “I’ll get better for you, because you deserve better than the shit I put you through. I know you do. Hell, I don’t deserve someone sour like you.” He smirked but it quickly faded at my serious look gave him.

“I know I need help” he said with a sadness that tugged at my heart. “Help me get it. Please. Don’t leave me, Stella. I need you.” 

I sighed as the rain pelted the umbrella and fell around us. I looked wearily at him, tired of the constant drama and abuse from him. At the same time, I still held feelings for him, for the man he used to be, for the man he was right now. Yes, I had jumped eagerly into Alaric’s arm and I was still trying to figure that all out. But Ace still held a piece of my heart. And with his background, I knew he wasn’t solely responsible for his behavior. How did you know better the way we were raised? He was trying to break the cycle, just like I was. 

“I’m not going to leave you” I assured him softly. 

He smiled slightly, seeming to sense my thawing. “I want to take you on a date this weekend. A full on, all day date. Everything’s on me.” 

I looked at him as though he had lost his mind. “I have to work this weekend.”

He shrugged. “I contacted Jaxon and told him you needed a weekend off.”

“I still owe him money, Ace. I have to pay that or … “

“I took care of it,” he grinned reassuringly at me. “I paid it. Don’t worry about it. Just let me take my beautiful, sexy girlfriend on a date.” 

I slowly nodded as he stepped closer and gave me a quick kiss.

“Thank you,” he said softly. “I’ll make this right, baby. I swear it.” 

Ace was true to his word. He took me to a local theme park he knew was my favorite. He was the handsome, charming suitor he had once been. He held doors for me, looked lovingly at me, and paid for everything, albeit probably with my money. At the end of the night, he drove us home and we found ourselves tangled in bed together in each other’s arms. I couldn’t help the little voice that whispered it didn’t have that burning, all-consuming fire I had felt with Alaric.