Catch Me if You Can (18+) (FINISHED)

7 - I Claim I Hate You, I'm Really Protecting You

Aspen

I stared wide-eyed at the plate as a waitress set pancakes in front of me, her nodding to Ace as he watched my expression.

He ignored her, though.

"What?" he said then. "Never been to IHop?"

"I think her brain's exploding," Nick said, chuckling.

"Yeah," Kylo responded, shoveling hash browns into his mouth, "she's going braindead right now."

"Aspen," Ace said with a touch of annoyance, "eat the food. Now."

I listened, grabbing a fork and cutting off a bit of the pancake, taking a bite hesitantly and swallowed.

But once the flavor burst in my mouth, I felt my eyes light, and I stared eating faster.

Ace shook his head in fake disappointment and went to eat his meal.

"Why did you take me here?" I questioned him as I finished, pushing my plate away. "You hate me."

He gazed up at me. "Because if you didn't eat you'd die, Aspen."

"And?"

"And we still need answers," Jax responded. "We still hate you, you're just a tool to us."

My heart stopped for a moment, and I gazed up at Ace who was still eating, but slower.

"Oh," I said, "I see. So, you don't actually care, that's good to know. It's okay, though," I said dryly despite the cold swarming inside, "it's not like I thought you cared. You never did, did you?" I chuckled. "No one does, but at least I don't play you like a fucking game."

I shoved out of my seat and walked off to the bathroom to wash the syrup off my hands, and then walked back to the booth we were in to sit and wait for the bill.

"Aspen," Nick whispered.

"Fuck off," I told him. "Don't worry, just wait for the bill and I'll be out of your hair."

"We can't wait," Jax responded. "You're a worthless piece of shit."

My heart froze over, but I dropped my head to meet the table, and stared at the wood for a moment.

"You never loved me," I told Ace automatically. "You're a fucking player, I've known for a while."

He still ate his food quietly, but I caught the slight dark tint to his eyes.

"Any girl is better than you," Jax responded. "So much better."

"Man, can you shut the fuck up?" Nick said then, making me stiffen. "You're being a dick right now."

"Why?" Jax said. "We all hate her; she's been lying to us for ages."

"It might seem that way," Ace responded, and I closed my eyes as the cold consumed me, "but there's more to the story than you think, so yeah, please shut up. You don't know what's going on, Jax, so stop interjecting when it's not your place."

I opened my eyes again.

Are they... standing up for me?

Or were they trying to make it so I wouldn't run off?

I stared down at the table, wondering if I should ask Ace the question I've been longing to ask for years.

Did you ever love me? At any point in time?

I remembered all those times we sat in abandoned places and made-out, how he touched me and ran his fingers lightly through my hair, how we kissed, and it felt so hot and warm. Did he feel it, too?