Five Words

Chapter 31

~Cher

My heart is beating so strong against my chest I think it will burst. I have been pacing around the basement for over fifteen minutes with Natalie drifting away into nothingness while waiting for me to speak up. I've sent her an SOS text early in the morning and demanded that she comes here as soon as she wakes up. She is definitely not viewing this as an emergency now.

I don't know how to tell her, but I really want to let it out of my system. I believe that it will all fade away the moment I confess everything. I will hear how stupid it sounds that I will back out on my own.

I stand still for a second and rush the words out of my mouth.

"I think I'm falling for Ace."

This sounds all the bit much stupid, but not the tiniest bit of my feelings have changed.

She leans back further into the couch, crossing her arms over her chest, and right there, at the corner of her lips is a crease of amusement. Triumph. The all famous triumphant smirk.

"Don't even start." I warn her and continue pacing around the room while rolling my thumbs, trying to think.

"I need to get rid of all these feelings, now. Just tell me how."

She huffs, "You think I'll help you get rid of the feelings I was dying for you to admit? I don't think so."

I inhale deeply, "You know that we'll never be together. And I was fine till today morning."

"Why? What happened today morning?" She rests her elbows on her knees and leans forward.

"I remembered that I was going on a date today, and it's not Ace who I'm going out with. And it annoyed me so much that I wanted him to be the one who asked me out not your brother."

I have been putting off Gabriel for over a week now, coming up with meaningless excuses just so that I can spend my days with Ace. Realizing that I can't keep avoiding him till Ace leaves, I've agreed to go out with him tonight.

"You're going out with Gabriel?" She's clearly confused, "Why would you do that?"

"Because I promised him that I'll do it sometime."

"He will think it's a date." She points out.

"I know. I'll explain it to him later. But now, help me not feel things." I beg her.

I don't know what happened today. I don't know why my heart chose today, a couple of months before his leave. Oh yeah, Paulina extended their stay when she saw the great progress Ace is achieving and how happy he is. I don't understand why my heart had to press this button and let me feel everything at once. Couldn't it wait?

"What is it about him that attracts you the most to him?" She's grinning.

At least my torment amuses one of us.

But what is it about him that attracts me the most to him? That's a hard question because I have to choose. So I stop for a minute and think about it.

I love how he remembers all the tiny details. Like the other day when I took him to the Castle of Rochefort-en-Terre, he has startled me by remembering all the details I have rambled on about when we first hung out together. All that time, I have believed that he was bored out of his mind and wasn't listening to a single word. Boy, I was wrong.

I love how he would compliment me, even when I am not all dolled up. His compliment would warm my heart because when I look into his eyes, I can see that he genuinely means it.

I love how we annoy each other. We would say all those mean comments that we don't mean all for the sake of annoying each other. It wouldn't make our time together any less special to me.