Counting Down with You(94)
He catches my hand to press his lips against my wrist. “I have to go deal with this. Can we get a rain check?”
“It’s not raining,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
It works because a real smile touches Ace’s lips. “A sun check?”
I smile back, glad to see his face brighten. I still have the urge to stab Xander with a pencil, but that’s neither here nor there. “Yeah. We can get a sun check. Call me tonight?”
“Of course,” he says before hesitating. “I hope you know I wouldn’t be brave enough to even consider doing this without you, lionheart. Wish me luck?”
Even now, in the middle of such a tense situation, he manages to make my stomach do cartwheels. “Always.” I lean forward to kiss his cheek. “Good luck.”
Ace’s face flushes as he pulls away. To Xander, he nods shortly. “Let’s go.”
Xander’s expression is a mix of distrust and bewilderment. When Ace walks away, he has no choice but to follow, leaving me alone.
Ace is going to face his family, and he says it’s partly because of me. I don’t know about that. Sometimes I wonder who the real lionheart is in this relationship. During moments like these, I’m almost certain it’s him.
When Ace calls me, I fall off my bed in an attempt to answer and nearly knock over the candle on my dresser.
“Are you okay, Myra?” Dadu calls from the next room over.
“I’m great!” I say and slide my thumb across my screen. Ace shows up a moment later. There’s a smile on his face that makes me want to smile, too. “Hi.”
“Hey. Are you busy?”
“Not at all,” I say, turning my phone so he can see the episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender paused on my laptop. “So what happened?”
Ace chews on his bottom lip and I stay silent, not wanting to rush him. “I talked to my mom and dad. About everything.”
“Everything...?” I wait for him to elaborate, settling more comfortably in my bed and holding him up on my pillow.
Ace nods and lies down on his own bed. Seeing him shirtless on my screen doesn’t cause me to fling my phone across the room, which is a definite improvement from last time.
I know odds are we’ll never spend a night lying next to each other without pulling some kind of reckless stunt. This has to be enough. It is enough. I love seeing him like this, warm and natural and soft.
“I told my dad how I felt about the whole Xander situation. I don’t think he realized it was that bad. He’s not...happy with me about certain things, but I’m not happy with him either, you know? But at least now he knows I wasn’t trying to leave home because of him. We both agreed to try going forward. I didn’t tell him about the college thing yet, but I’ll work up to it. I don’t want this to be a thing I did for him. It’s a me thing. I want it to stay a me thing as long as it can.”
His smile makes sense now, and it makes me happy to know things are working out for him. “That’s amazing, Ace! I’m so happy for you. I’m glad he was understanding about it. What about Xander?”
“Xander is... Xander. I think he also didn’t realize how serious it was. For him, it’s always been a competition. I don’t think he ever realized I wasn’t playing. He talked to Mom on his own, so I don’t really know what went down there, but he seemed different afterward. Better.”
“Will he relax then, do you think?”
Ace laughs. “We can hope. He’s still Xander, though. I don’t know if he can help himself.”
“Brothers,” I commiserate, but then I soften, seeing how bright his eyes are shining. “I really am so happy for you. This is everything you deserve.”
Ace’s smile stretches even wider. “God, you’re so sweet. I wish you were here, baby.”
My cheeks warm as I laugh. “I wish I was there, too.”
He tilts his head, considering me before he presses two fingers to his lips and lifts them to the camera.
I lift my eyebrows. “Are you attempting to kiss me through the phone?”
Ace shakes his head, amused. “What else am I supposed to do? I can’t exactly come over. Your grandma is great, but even she might protest me throwing rocks at your window at 11:00 p.m.”
“Not might. She would definitely protest,” I say before pressing two of my fingers against my own lips and holding them to my camera. “Happy?”
“Ecstatic,” he says, and he looks like he means it.
I fall asleep to the sight of his smile, but despite the happiness I feel for him, my mind can’t help straying to my parents.
Ace’s family accepted everything he told them. They sat down and tried to understand his side of things. I don’t know if that will ever be in the cards for me.
I want to be lionhearted, too. Not because of Ace, not because of my friends. I want to be a lionheart for me. I want to apply to Columbia for English and go on to have the future I’ve always wanted.
With six days left until my parents’ return, desperation claws at my chest, begging me to save myself. But I still don’t know if I have it in me to try.
43
T-MINUS 5 DAYS
Inspired by Ace, I decide to talk to Samir the next day. I don’t know what I’m going to do about my parents yet, but maybe if my brother understands what I go through, things will be a little easier around here.