The Light in the Darkness

Chapter 9:

I woke up to an empty house. Mom left a note telling me she went to the store and she'll be home soon. The house was cold and quiet. I turned on the radio and Journey flowed through the room. Music always made me feel better; it's a big part of me. I probably wouldn't be here without it. The song switched to some upbeat pop song. I danced around the living room while tidying up.

"Lovely dance moves, Zo." Mom said coming up behind me.

"Jesus!" I said jumping back.

"No, it's your mother, who really needs help." She was juggling four grocery bags. I grabbed a couple bags; she was having the most trouble holding.

"Thank you, dear."

I put the bags on the kitchen counter.

"These are the last two bags, Stacey." Sarah came into the kitchen.

"Thank you." She said smiling. "I've decided to pick Sarah up at school since I was heading that way anyway. She had to stay after school and work on her project."

"Oh, was it fun?" I asked, turning to her.

"Yeah, I get to make two different volcanic geysers and they have to guess which will go higher before testing."

"Awesome!"

"Do you want to help us with dinner?" Mom asked me.

"Sure." I said smiling.

"Yay!" Sarah said, jumping up and down.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Where's Jace?" Mom asked.

"I don't know. He was gone when I woke up."

"So, he's gorgeous isn't he?" Mom said. "Do you like him?"

"Mom!" I said. I threw a piece of lettuce at her.

"It was just a question but I'm going to go with yes!" Mom laughed.

"Mom!" I laughed.

~~~

"What do you want, Jace." Louis asked, crossing his arms. "Are you going to hit me again?"

"I just want to talk." I said smiling.

He glared at me. "About what? You aren't really the talking type, Jace. There is nothing more that needs to be said."

"Just hear me out, please."

"Fine." He sighed. He sat on the swing and slowly swung back and forth.

"I want to apologize, I know what I did was horrible but really I'm truly sorry."

Louis smiled and then threw his head back with laughter.

"You're sorry?" He laughed again. "This isn't even about me or you, this is all about Zoë. You would never in your right mind apologize to me, ever." He took a breath. Because, well, you're Jace Midas." He jumped off the swing and turned to me. I could see his chest tattoo threw his white v neck. "Why should I accept your apology? You made my life a living hell and you were supposed to be my best friend. It's going to take more than I'm sorry to fix this."

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Lou, please." I said reaching for him.

"Jace, stop!" He pushed my hand away. "You can't fix this. You won't be able to. I loved you and you made me think that you loved me too. You didn't even care. You dropped me like every single girl you ever slept with. I was too stupid to even believe you could ever love me the way I loved you. You broke me then Mattie came along making me feel whole again. For reasons I will never understand you became a jealous boyfriend that you never were. You hated seeing me happy because it made you look bad; all because Mattie wasn't like us. You kicked me out of the group, your own best friend. You beat me and put me down. I hate you, Jace, How could I EVER forgive you." He turned away from me. "Don't forget you fucked this one up, not me." He turned back and looked at me with sad eyes. "I'm sorry for ever loving you."