Lost

Chapter 22 - Heart to Heart

"What the fuck?!" Caleb exclaimed, jumping up as he threw his hands in the air in surprise. He turned to see Ace standing just to the side of him, his hand withdrawn from touching Caleb's shoulder in order to get his attention. "Don't sneak up on me like that, man!" Cal scolded, rolling his eyes.

Ace shrugged, not really bothered by his friend's dramatic ways.

He pulled out a chair next to his friend and sat down. It was five in the morning and Caleb was already awake which was pretty much unheard of. Ace usually wakes up around this time to go for a run and then be able to be back by the time Jodee wakes up, which is usually about six or six thirty in the morning. Caleb will wake up at maybe seven, eight ish and that's Jodee's honored task — she loves it.

Ace has always woken up before his little sister, ever since she was small and that usually disappoints her because she loves waking people up. She loves jumping on the bed and cuddling with her brother as he fights to go back to bed, she loves it all. So Christmas morning is really her prime time for that as she wakes up insanely early and Ace always has to convince her to try and sleep just a little longer.

Right after he had sat down, Ace noticed that Caleb had quickly hidden a piece of paper-looking-thing from his friend's view. Ace reached over to grab in, curiosity taking over but Caleb quickly pulled it out of his grasp.

"Hey!" Caleb pouted, holding the paper close to his chest before kinda downplaying how much of an overreaction he had.

He knew right away that his action would backfire on him as did Ace. Ace's drive and want for something always intensified if someone was trying to keep it from him. So right now, his bright blue eyes zeroed in on that piece of paper and he knew that he wouldn't rest until he got to the bottom of whatever Caleb was hiding for him.

They didn't hide things from each other.

"C'mon." Ace snapped, holding on his hand as if Cal was just going to place the paper on it.

His best friend didn't respond for a second, the two of them getting into a glaring match before Caleb grumbled a little, "No."

Ace raised his eyebrow in surprise and unamusement. He had a neutral look on his face that suggested the fact that he was bored but the way his eyes danced told a whole different story.

"Cal." Ace growled.

"No." Caleb said a little more forcefully, making a move to stand up.

Just as Caleb pushed his chair backward, Ace grabbed his friend's arm, his grip was harsh as he pulled Cal back and the two boys almost crashed into one another. Caleb tried to wiggle and break free from the ironclad hold but Ace wouldn't budge. In a moments notice, Ace had snatched the small sheet of paper from his friend — taking advantage of the moment Caleb was more focused on getting away than protecting it — Ace quickly turned away, taking the time to flip over the piece of cardstock which he had now recognized as such to see what Caleb was hiding from him.

At this point, the writing was on the wall and Caleb had no other option but to allow Ace to know his little secret. He ran a hand through his disheveled golden locks, waiting nervously for Ace and him to talk after Ace and surveyed the card.

Right away, it was clear that this was a Christmas Card. Ace knew very few people who still sent these and of those, the Chambers family got very few cards. But he also knew that the Warner family got a decent amount because Caleb's mom still had some friends from back in the day and some people just didn't stop sending them, even when they lost touch.

The thing that Ace didn't understand, however, was why this certain card was so special to his best friend. It was of a small family — just one mother, one father, and a young boy. They were all posed and wearing nice outfits, probably had a photographer take their photos especially for this Christmas card. The dad was quite tall and a stern-ish looking man although his smile was true. The mom was young, definitely younger than the father, and probably had her son fairly young as well. Ace's eyes zeroed in on the young boy as he didn't really think the parents would be Caleb's issue.