Chapter 7

Meet me by your locker. 3 pm

I stared at the note that had somehow been placed in the front of my binder. The boy was smart, I'd give him that. I had no fathomable idea on how he had pulled this off but, it was Ace. He could probably do anything and get away with it.

Like after his fight. Kimmy informed me he had gotten a stern talking to and a warning. He beat a kid up and didn't even get in trouble. There had to be something wrong with this school.

The entire span of my next two classes were me, full of anxiety. I had given Ace today to make me forgive him. And I had a feeling he had something good planned.

When the bell rang at 2:55, I hopped a mop out of my seat and tried not to walk too fast to my locker across campus. I made it there at 3:01 and saw students around but no Ace.

I walked over to the locker and looked around but nothing. I sighed and opened it up to put away my books. Another scrap of paper was sitting atop of all my other things. Once again, I wasn't sure how he had accomplished this. I opened it up and saw another note.

Meet me where you get your favorite food.

Ps. Ice Cream is your favorite.

I scrunched my eyebrows close together in confusion. But then, I got it. Ace had taken me to get ice cream last Friday. So that's how I found myself jumping into my car as fast as I could and driving over to Ida's.

I parked in the almost empty lot and opened the door, the little bell ringing. I imagined that Ace would be sitting in the spot we had before, waiting for me. But he wasn't. I looked over at Ida and she smiled, beckoning me over.

"Pick a flavor honey. It's already been paid for," Ida told me.

What was Ace up to? I ordered mint chocolate chip and she handed it over along with a piece of paper. Another piece of paper. I laughed and sat down, already eating my ice cream.

The next place is somewhere we haven't been before. But I promise, you'll like it. 314 Pomeroy Rd.

I typed the address into my GPS and saw that it was a flower shop I had never visited before. I mean, it wasn't like I strolled through when I was bored. I smiled and drove my way there.

The shop was cute. It was small and painted blue. I went in, unsure of what to say or do. I had a feeling Ace wasn't here either.

"Looking for something miss?" The voice was small and sweet. I turned around a saw a little old lady and I smiled at her.

Did I tell her I was looking for Ace? I wasn't sure. "Um, was there a guy here earlier? Tall, brown hair, green eyes?"

"Madison I take it?"

I barely had time to nod before she was off behind the counter. She pulled out a small bouquet of roses and handed them to me. Just as I expected, there was a note attached.

A bouquet of roses for the most special Mad I know. I don't know about you, but I am famished. Meet me at Roller Diner?

He really was going to such far lengths to get my forgiveness. I thanked the lady and made my way out to my car, the roses in my arms. They were beautiful red roses and even though they were cliche, they were my favorite kind of flower.

The diner was only a five minute drive from the flower shop and I made it there by the time it was 3:45. The little bell jingled here too. It was my favorite diner to eat at with my parents when I was younger. My mom had worked her when she was in high school.

This time, Ace was here. He sat in a small booth in the back. I nodded to one of the waitresses and she smiled and gestures for me to go on in. He wasn't looking at me but I could tell he knew I was here.

He was stirring a straw in his water with a sort of half smile on his lips. I sat down and he looked up.

"If I didn't know any better, this whole day feels like you trying to woo me Ace Craige," my tone was flirty and it freaked me out.

He continued to stir his straw but was looking right at me now. "I am trying to win back my fake girlfriend, you know?"

The waitress walked up to the table and asked us if we were ready. I quickly glanced at the menu but already knew what they served so I ordered chicken strips and fries and a root beer. Ace gave me a weird look but ordered a burger and fries.

"What?" I asked him when he didn't look away.

He laughed, "chicken strips? Are you 12?"

"They're good! There is nothing wrong with ordering chicken strips," I tried to convince him, knowing he was just teasing me.

"Not when you're 17," he told me, his voice monotone and sarcastic.

I jokingly frowned and gave him sad eyes. He quickly smiled charmingly and patted my head. I smacked his arm away but he was already laughing and I couldn't help but laugh along.

"Okay back to what we're here for," Ace's voice became serious. I waited and he continued. "Mad, talk to me."

I sighed and stared at his hands and then back to mine. "It was weird to see you like that yesterday, angry and mean."

I could see he nodded out of the corner of my eye. "I was mad and I took it out on that kid. I would say he didn't deserve it but he did. He was saying some pretty messed up stuff about some girl to us."

"But why did you nearly kill him? It was completely unnecessary Ace."

I looked up and saw him looking down now. "I kept thinking, what if that girl he was talking so disgustingly about was you? And then I got it in my head that if this girl was anything like you, she deserved more than that kid talking about her like that."

My breath caught in my throat. "You were thinking about me?" After I said it, I flushed. Wow, way to embarrass yourself in front of a very attractive guy rose.

But he just smiled, "You're my friend Mad. At least, I hope you will be after this." Friend. I skimmed over the word quickly.

"You scared me Ace. That's why I didn't talk to you. It-" I stopped, trying to find the right words. He looked at me confused. "Harry."

It was all I had to say because Ace's face fell and the look he gave me was so sad my chest literally ached. "Mad-"

"Harry used to lose his temper on people. Random people, my mom, and on me. The way you looked at me yesterday Ace, I've seen it before. I used to see it all the time because Harry wore it all the time."

Ace didn't speak; he let me talk. I told him the stories of when Harry had lost his cool and had scared me and my mom. And when I was done, he sat there in silence.

The waitress came back over and set down our food. I immediately found myself digging into my meal, wanting to end the awkwardness. But Ace barely picked up a fry.

"Are you gonna say anything or are you planning on sitting there with your mouth hanging open all day?" I asked him, trying to keep my voice light.

He shook his head. "I just, don't know what to say. I knew you were upset with me but I didn't think it was really about the light. I thought I had done something wrong, which I did, but I thought it was because I had gone too far at my family's get together."

"What are you talking about? I had a great time with your family on Sunday," I was still chomping on my chicken strips.

He dipped a fry into the ketchup off my plate and I resisted slapping the fry out of his hand. "You got all weird afterwards. I thought I had pissed you off for making you sing in front of everyone."

I blushed, remembering the reason I had acted that way. It was because I had realized there was more Ace and me than a fake relationship. "It was fun. That's not why I got mad."

"Then why did you yell at me that night?" He asked me but I wasn't quite ready to spill that.

I changed the subject, "it doesn't matter now. I'm not angry anymore over that night."

He nodded. "Okay, so what can I do to make you feel better about me lashing out on some Junior?"

"I just, I don't know. It freaked me out that you even had that kind of anger inside of you. It made me realize you could snap like that anytime, just like Harry," my voice went from upbeat to sad.

He looked at my face. His eyes trailed over every feature and I heated up a little when they went to my mouth. "I don't know what I can tell you Mad, except for you to trust me. I would never, ever hurt you or anyone that I care about."

"But how can you prove that?" I asked him, trying to focus on my food.

He shook his head, "I can't. I'm sorry that I can't do that. It sucks because all I want to do is be able to tell you that I will never act like that again. But I can't promise you that. I can't lie to you."

And man did that hurt. But I understood him, I did. I wanted to think the best of Ace because that's what he had showed me today. And I wanted to be Ace's friend, didn't I?

I nodded, "I trust you Ace. I literally met you like a week ago but I trust you."

I paused and spoke to myself. "Man, that's really insane."

I looked up at him and saw the small smile that lit his face. "What are you saying Mad?"

I stuck out my hand, "friends?"

His lips parted into a beautiful smile with his teeth showing. "Friends," And then he shook my hand and it reminded me of when he had held my hand at the football game on Friday."

I went home that night with a lighter step and a slight smile on my face. But it disappeared the moment I walked in the door. Harry was sitting there on the couch, beer in his hand like always. The tv was on but nothing was playing, just static.

What the hell is he doing?

I walked into the apartment and closed the door slowly, trying not to make much noise. Maybe he wouldn't notice me if I walked past him carefully. But he wasn't asleep as I had hoped. "Maddie, you're late," his voice grumbled at me.

I looked down at my phone. "It's 5 o'clock." And then I kept walking to my room.

"Young lady, you listen to me. If you were with that boy again, you're grounded. I don't like him," my father told me, making me roll my eyes.

He saw the action and anger flared in his eyes. "He's just my friend Harry. And I was with Kimmy anyway," I lied.

I could tell he didn't believe me because his eyes narrowed on the roses I held behind my back. "Who are those for?" He nodded to the flowers.

"Me," I told him, my heartbeat speeding up. "I thought it was ironic. You know, my name is Madison, these are roses. Good times." God I was stupid.

He placed his beer on the coffee table and stood up slowly. It looked like it was a lot of effort because he stumbled on his feet and fell sideways a little. He was drunk. But it wasn't a surprise.

"I'm just gonna go do my homework now," I started to walk back to my room but Harry took a step forward, a little more steady on his feet.

"Maddie, I'm serious about this boy. I don't care if you think you can do whatever you want or whoever but you're better than this. You're better than her." Harry was comparing me to my mother again.

If only she hadn't left us. If only she hasn't left me with him. Why didn't she take me with her? I could have gone and gotten away from harry and his nonsense. I could have left this stupid town and gone somewhere. I could have been someone else.

But she did leave. And I had an amazing best friend and was on the verge of making another. I wouldn't let Harry or Samantha take that away from me.

"I understand Harry," I told him, even though I didn't. But I figured arguing would make him volatile again.

He looked at me surprised when I didn't talk back. And then he looked smug and I wanted to wipe it off his face. "And stop calling me Harry while you're at it. It's disrespectful."

I clenched my jaw in anger. How dare he talk to me about being disrespectful. The anger that bubbled up inside me was weird and new. Of course I had been mad at him before but the way I felt at that moment was pure anger.

But I managed to nod my head and he let me walk away. I found a vase in my room filled with fake flowers. I had tried to liven up my room at one point but it didn't really work. I filled the vase with water from my water bottle and put the roses in. Ace was the only thing keeping me calm right now.