It Starts With Him

22

Picture: Ace's house

Tossing my handbag onto the passenger seat, I start my truck's ignition and peel out of the driveway, taking a sharp right off my street. I sigh and grip the steering wheel tightly for support. After a minute or so, I turn onto the main road in the direction of the 'city'. I don't know if I exactly want to even go, but I know I won't be able to kick my nagging thoughts out of my head if I don't.

It's been about 3 days since the incident with the Outlaws. I haven't done much. Spent most of my time at home whether it was binging cringy flicks with dad and Lucas, and sitting on the front porch, or beach with a book. I usually can tear through a full novel in two to three days when I'm into it, but across these past few, I've only managed to go through about 60 pages. I even yet again attempted to write, and - you guessed it - no luck. My mind has simply been elsewhere. I could never fully focus on the conversations I was having or be immersed in the television screen in front of me.

Put simply, I've missed Ace.

My truck, just as he promised, was in my driveway the next morning after the incident as soon as I woke up. Not him, though. And though I felt confident at the time that putting a stop to things was the best to do, that mindset has been faltering within these past few days as my mind has been given the opportunity to turn things around over and over within itself.

However, given this time to think and possibly regret my rash decision, it's also given me time to ponder other things. I remembered back to when Ace and I had gone to Nightscape. The bouncer had been familiar and friendly with Ace, which clearly means he was a regular there. But in addition to that, he had said that I wasn't 'the usual girl' Ace brought there. Of course, Ace had written it off as the bouncer simply being confused, but given everything that's happened, I can't help but wonder.

After a while of driving in uncomfortable silence with myself, I hastily parallel park outside of Nightscape in the exact same place as last. I don't know exactly what I desire to find here, but I know the idea's been tempting me for 74 hours now and I needed to find out why.

I grab my handbag and turn off my truck, hopping out of the tall opening, my feet landing on the concrete with a thump. Slamming the door behind me, I hastily make my way to the entrance of Nightscape. It's almost 7 P.M., and a small line has already started to form, but I move towards the front of it only hoping that the bouncer isn't someone else this time around. Luckily, I spot him before he sees me and recognizes him as the same man before - Maurice, Ace had called him.

"Hey, do you remember me?" I ask as I approach. Maurice eyes me with a dirty glare, and a girl in the front of the line with a hot pink dress scoffs at me. "Get in the line like everyone else, bitch," she spits, and I stare in shock.

"Um. Sorry, I'll be leaving, I just wanted to ask about Ace?" I say hastily before the chance comes for me to be kicked out. Maurice pauses and stops checking the girl's I.D., the card hovering in the air in his grasp. His eyes look down at mine, his facial features suddenly softer than before.

"Ah, yes, you're the new girl Ace took here a bit ago," he says, giving the girl a stamp on her wrist and sending her on her way. He gets working on the next person in line and doesn't look at me when he says, "Sorry, he isn't here. He never comes during daylight anyway. Give it like 5 hours."

I pause, unsure of what to say next. This was stupid. What did I expect to come out of this? Clearly, someone is missing Ace and is looking for answers to his secrets on her own. I turn to walk away and head back to my car when Maurice says, "Wondering who the other girl is?"

I turn back towards him, making a face. "How'd you know?" I ask, moving closer. He laughs and stamps three more people. "I saw your face when I mentioned that you weren't the regular girl Ace brought here. I had a feeling you'd come back to ask. Jealous girlfriends can be like that," he marveled with a chuckle. I defensively cross my arms across my chest.