A Second Chance I DISCONTINUED

A Newfound Friendship

Hey guys! I'm back for chapter 10. I'm technically supposed to be doing homework right now, but I decided to write a new chapter for you guys instead. Enjoy! And, as always, Kiera Cass owns everything.

Aspen POV

Maxon seems to be having some sort of internal struggle, his eyebrows are furrowed and his lips are pursed. I sigh, as much as I love chatting with the prince, I do have to get back to my rounds. After a few more seconds of watching Maxon debate with himself in his head, my patience runs out.

"Just spit it out Maxon", I huff

Maxon's head snaps up, his eyes meeting mine. The look in his eyes scares me a little. They are frantic and seem to hold an ancient grief. This is my first clue that whatever Maxon was having trouble telling me was pretty important.

"Maxon, just tell me", I say a little more gently, straining to keep the irritation out of my voice.

Maxon gnaws on his lip for a second and then realizes a short breath. "It's America", he confesses. He then bites his tongue, almost as if he was physically restraining himself from saying more, from saying too much.

At the sound of America's name, I go stiff. I may be with Lucy now, but that doesn't mean that I won't always love her like family. And the things Maxon had done to her were inexcusable. Leading her on just to betray her in the end. It was absolutely sick.

"What about America?" I ask through gritted teeth. Maxon shifts backward a little, putting some distance in between the two of us. And maybe I imagined it, but I see a look of fear go through his eyes as he catches sight of the expression of my face. I had no doubt that it was menacing and very, very protective. My reasons for protecting America were different now. I no longer had to protect her from getting too close to Maxon. That had already happened. I had to protect her from getting her heart broken again.

"I just...", he trails off. He then takes a deep breath and lets out a quick jumble of words. "IstillloveAmerica." They were quick, but not too quick for my highly-trained ears to catch. At his words, I became furious.

"How dare you?" I spit. "You broke her heart. You didn't see her after the Choosing ceremony. She was an utter mess, laying in bed for three days straight! And the way she had her arms wrapped around herself, as if she was trying to keep herself together. You have no right to go and try and win her back!" The majority of my speech had consisted of me shouting at him, but I pronounced the last line quietly, enunciating each word to make sure he understood.

"But I have to!" Maxon bursts. "I was an absolute idiot when I didn't choose her. I can't live without her! I realize that now." His expression is pained and he inhales quickly before continuing. "And you're wrong. I did go and see her. To try and get her back, actually. And do you know what I saw? I saw her with another guy!" Maxon's body is shaking violently, but he takes a deep breath and calms himself down before I have to intervene.

It takes me a second to process his words. When I do, my mouth drops open in shock. How could she have moved on so quickly? Even with me, it took her much longer. But three days! And back at her house America had looked completely broken. How had she managed to get herself together in order to go on a date?

Maxon must have seen the questions on my face because he speaks up. "She claims Celeste made her do it. But how can I be sure? How can I be sure that she still loves me? When we talked afterward she said she did. But how can I be sure?" he repeats, his voice hysterical.

"Maxon, calm down", I instruct, my guard training kicking in. "I can't help you if you go crazy", I say with a humorless chuckle.

Maxon stopped breathing. "You- you're going to help me?" he asks incredulously.