“Am I okay?” she echoed as she snapped out of her momentary shock at what had just unfolded and shook her head slightly. “I’m fine. Are you okay?!”
Ace nodded but she could see that the exertion had taken a toll on him. His shoulders slumped slightly and there was sheen of sweat on his forehead. She needed to get him back to bed, check his wound, and give him pain medicine.
She ducked under his arm and draped it over her shoulder as she snaked her arm around his lower back. “Come on, let’s go.”
He didn’t argue and even leaned on her as they made their way down the hall. When they got to her bed, his breathing had become labored and he’d lost all the color in his skin. He’d hurt himself for her, to protect her.
The correct response would probably be to thank him, instead she heard herself lecturing him. “You didn’t need to do that. I was fine. Mason’s harmless, he just gets like that sometimes. He’s used to getting his—”
“Don’t,” he said through clenched teeth as he lay back on the pillow. “Don’t do that. He’s not harmless. You told him to leave, that he wasn’t welcome and he pushed his way into your house. That’s not harmless.”
She stared down at him for a moment as what he said sunk in. Ace was right. She’d always made excuses for Mason. When he’d told her what to wear, she’d justify it by telling herself it was because he wanted her to look nice. When he’d told her what to eat, she’d justify it by telling herself it was because he cared about her health. When he’d told her what not to say around his family and friends, she’d justified it by telling herself it was because he’d wanted them to like her.
But that wasn’t the truth.
The truth was Mason was a controlling bully and she’d been attracted to him because for once someone was paying attention to her. For once someone “cared” about her. For once someone wanted to “take care” of her. She’d believed that she loved him, but the truth was she’d loved the thought of someone loving her.
If she really wanted to take a fearless inventory, this was a good place to start.
“You’re right, it wasn’t harmless. Thank you…for everything.” Stephanie lifted Ace’s shirt and peeled back the bandage that was soaked in blood. His wound was inflamed and she cleaned it before placing a clean dressing on it.
“Can I ask you something?” Ace flinched as he lifted his shoulder.
“Sure,” she said as she adjusted his pillows to give him more support.
“He said that he knew you were grieving. What was he talking about?”
She and Ace hadn’t had much time to talk since he’d been back. This was by far the most lucid he’d been since coming home from the hospital. He was the only person she’d wanted to talk about it with since she’d gotten the call, she just hadn’t pictured it happening like this, him lying in her bed recovering from a gunshot wound.
“My dad died.”
“I’m so sorry.” He lifted his left arm. “Come here.”
As much as she wanted to, she shook her head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I need to hold you. Come here,” he repeated.
And so she did. She climbed into bed and snuggled up against his good side. His hand ran up and down her back and she closed her eyes and absorbed his strength. This was what she’d wanted from the second he’d left, to be in his arms again. She felt like nothing could hurt her there. It was the safest place in the world and she never wanted to leave.
***
Ace waited for her to say something, to explain what happened, as he held her close to him. His mind was reeling. Losing her father must’ve been why she’d lost weight and had dark circles under her eyes. He couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling. He wanted to take away all of her pain.
She shifted so that her cheek was lying flat against his chest and he wondered if she could feel his heart pounding like the drumbeat in a fast-paced rock song. It was still racing from the adrenaline that had surged through him when he’d seen Mason push past her. He’d wanted to kill him. Not hurt him, not threaten him, kill him. He’d never felt that kind of blind rage before. But it had all disappeared the second that he turned around and saw her standing in the doorway. In an instant all of the anger boiling in him dissolved and was replaced with…love.
She was the light in his darkness and he was drawn to her in ways even he didn’t understand. She was the good to his evil. She truly was an angel in a world filled with demons.
As they laid together, her body molded to his, he tried not to think about what would’ve happened if he hadn’t been there to stop Mason from coming in the house. It didn’t matter because he was there and he wanted to keep being there for her. He wanted to be the one that was there to catch her if she fell.
He’d never met anyone so selfless, so giving, so caring. Over the past few days she’d taken him into her home, fed him and taken care of him and he wanted, no needed, to do the same for her.
After several minutes of silence he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s not really anything to say.” Her shoulder shrugged. “He had a heart attack and died.”
“When?”
“A few weeks ago. His attorney called me to let me know the morning you left.”