Yes Sir... - Ace Merrill

You love her?

*****
Chapter 37 - You love her?
*****

Odette was silent as Eyeball let her go in the house first. She kept his suit jacket on, for warmth and a small part of comfort. There truly was something incredibly comforting to her about him.

"Eyeball we need more-"

The words immediately stopped coming out of Ace's mouth as he appeared in the doorway to the living room. The sounds of the other cobras and the TV in the background.

"Ace we need to talk." Eyeball spoke calmly as he looked down at Odette before back up at Ace. "We need to talk."

Ace quickly turned and went back into living room as a thud crash was soon heard. Eyeball looked down at Odette.

"Go have a bath, I'll bring you up some clothes you can wear in a bit okay?"

Odette tried to nod but it was clear, for the first time since stepping into this house, she felt unwelcome, and it was by the man who always made her feel most welcome.

Eyeball gave her a further nod as she slowly and cautious began to go up the stairs. He quickly slipped into the living room, where the other cobras were all sat staring at Ace.

Ace was standing facing the wall, his arm was raised as his fist had disappeared into a hole that he had apparently just punched. His forehead pressed against the wall.

"When I told you all a few months ago I never wanted to see or hear from her again, the last thing I expected was for one of you to bring her back here!" Ace finally snapped as he pulled his fist from the wall and turned to face Eyeball, his glare harsh, firm and angry.

"Ace listen, she desperately needs a place to stay. And when I say desperately, I mean to the point drug dealers burnt down her house after she jumped out the window, cut her body up, her dad fucked off, abandoning her completely, she has no friends or anyone to look out for her at school and we've all seen that, poor girl is as horny as you and she was gonna sleep on a park bench... That kind of desperately." Eyeball instantly began to defend his actions, he knew he didn't care what Ace wanted, or what any of the other cobras wanted for that matter. All that mattered to him was a 17 year old girl didn't sleep on a park bench, wearing not that much clothing.

Ace was silent.

All the other cobras were silent.

"She's horny too?" Ace finally managed to speak.

Billy picked up a cushion from the couch as he chucked it straight at Ace's head. "That's not the most important part of what Eyeball just said!"

"Funnily enough it's the only part I expected him to notice." Eyeball mumbled with a shrug. "Look, I was just not about to let a 17 year old suffer by sleeping on a fucking park bench."

Ace had calmed down already, as if there was no trace of any frustration or anger in his being. He nodded slowly at his best friend.

"You did the right thing Eyeball..." Ace mumbled as it was clear to all of the cobras Ace was definitely thankful.

Eyeball shrugged it off. "It's what we do for the ones we love."

"You love her?" Ace's head snapped up at him as that previous fire instantly returned.

Eyeball grimaced and shook his head. "Ew no. I'm never having your sloppy seconds ever again, especially after that party in high school."

A few of the others laughed as Ace nodded slowly before giving a glare at the others to shut them up. Eyeball kicked out at Charlie, who just continued to laugh.

"Hey! It's not my fault you two shared a girl!" Charlie tried to laugh out as Eyeball had practically dove on him, trying to punch him as Charlie tried to protect and defend himself.

"At the same time!" Billy managed to laugh out from his spot sat next to Charlie, as he too, quickly tried to protect his face.

This instantly caused all the other cobras to thoroughly join in the laughter and the fight as they began happily teasing Eyeball for having shared a girl with Ace before.

"Ace help!" Eyeball tried to shout out as the living room almost looked like a fighting ring with Eyeball set on hurting all of them.

Yet Ace didn't help.

Eyeball looked up from his spot, half trying to sit on Vince to smack Jack and Fuzzy while trying to simultaneously kick Billy.

"Ace?" Eyeball asked blankly as Ace wasn't even in the room.

It was then that they heard footsteps going up the stairs, up towards the bathroom...

*****

Odette stood under the shower, letting the hot water cover her skin, the beads of water trickling down her. Her hands brushed over her body, washing off the last of the soap as her fingertips brushed over where her skin was grazed.

She had ensured she had carefully cleaned each cut and scratch from her window jump, washing out all the dirt, even though it stung. She had washed her whole body, letting the soap create a bubbly lather as she faced the tiled wall and let the water pour down onto her as her head rested forward against the tiles.

Her eyes shut as she tried to take a few deep breaths, her wet hair sticking to her face shoulders and back. There had to be a better place for her to stay, until she had her official graduation, got her diploma certificate and could go do something with her life.

Though she knew there wasn't. Odette truly had nowhere else to go, but the more she began to realise this, the more desperate she became to think of anywhere else. Literally anywhere else.

"Clean clothes."

Odette almost screamed as she half jumped, turning around to see Ace stood there, pointing to where he had put a pile of clothes on the counter for her. Odette's hands had gone out to the tiles to try claw at something to keep herself steady as she looked at Ace.

"I um-" She mumbled.

What did she say? Did she thank him for the clothes? She had a feeling they were gonna be his, part of her knew he would never accept seeing her in anything belonging to any of the others. Did she ask if she was still allowed to stay here? Did she thank him for that?

What did she do? Did she try to cover her body? It wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked before but they weren't fucking and they weren't a couple anymore. What was protocol for ex's? But he knew that she'd be naked in here so had he wanted to see her naked?

Odette's mind was clouded and swarmed with questions, emotions, thoughts and feelings. They were flooding her, drowning her brain and stopping anything logical happening. Instead she just stared at him through the glass of the shower as he stared right back.