in between all things

Chapter Ten

"Hey, Macie, can you come pick me up?"

I'd considered going home after Jace left, but I didn't want to face Drew, nor be forced to see dad. After a while of wandering around the street, I decided to just go home with Macie.

"Yeah, sure. Where are you?" She asked through the phone, concern laced in her words. I rattled off the cafe address that I was at. Ten minutes later, her car pulled up into the sidewalk carpark, and I got into the car.

"Hey, Ash! Do you want me to take you home?"

I shook my head and explained everything that had happened as she drove, minus the Jace bit. I wasn't ready to come out to Macie, or anyone besides Drew for that matter.

"You can stay the night at mine. My parents are out tonight - my dad's working late and my mum's going to a party." Macie explained as we pulled up at her place. We got out and went inside, heading for the kitchen and to our surprise, her parents were in there.

"Jarred, will you listen to me for once?" Macie's mum, Carol, demanded, trying to keep her anger in check. Macie's dad, Jarred, slammed his hands down onto the bench and glared at Carol.

"I'm not having this conversation with you again!" He yelled and turned around, noticing us for the first time. His expression softened a little and he smiled at us slightly.

"Hey, kids. Bye, kids." Jarred said, brushing past us and going out the front door.

"Stop being so rude!" Carol shouted after him, then turned to us. "I'm sorry you had to see that, dears." She told us sincerely.

"What was that about?" Macie asked with an unreadable expression.

"Nothing," Carol said quickly. "Alright?"

Macie muttered a reply and pulled me upstairs. Once we reached her bedroom, she plopped down on her bed and put her head in her hands. After a moment of hesitation, I came down next to her and wrapped my arms around her.

In that moment I felt guilty. I'd been avoiding my best friend for weeks and I never got a complaint from Macie. I knew what she was going through and I'd never bothered to check in on her lately. I sighed and put my chin on her shoulder as she turned to look at me tearfully.

"I'm sorry. I thought they'd be out."

"Don't apologize, do you want me to call Louis? He always makes you feel better." I said truthfully. No matter how sad I got about them dating I couldn't deny that Louis was good for Macie.

Macie shook her head, laid down, pulling me down beside her. "Nah. Just cuddle with me tonight and be yourself, sarcasm and all." She said as she buried her head into my shoulder.

"Yes ma'am. We must never forget the sarcasm."

We both spent the rest of the night making jokes, laughing at my sarcasm and cuddling. Every few hours I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, though knowing it was probably Drew calling I didn't answer it. Plus I was with Macie and I didn't want her to feel like I was ditching her anymore.

"We should sleep." Macie said, smiling up at me.

Noticing how late it was, I smiled back. "No, we should go out and play in the streets." I stated sarcastically.

Macie punched my shoulder and pulled the blanket over us. "Night, loser."

"What you going on about? I'm the king of Narnia."

"Does Narnia even have kings?" Macie asked, confused.

"Who knows? I've never watched it." I laughed and cuddled my pillow as Macie did the same. I watched as she fell asleep and I did the same to my phone's vibrations.

~~~

"Wake up, king of Narnia!"

I groaned as Macie's voice filled my ears. I rolled over to face her and noticed she was already dressed. "I don't want to go to school!" I cried.

"Too bad, I ain't facing your brother alone."

I sighed and propped myself up on my elbows. "You're right. He's going to go apeshit if I'm not at school."

"Don't I know it?" Macie said, chuckling. She chucked me some clothes and I looked at her strangely. Why does she have guys clothes?

Noticing my expression she rolled her eyes. "They're your brothers. He left them here the last time we went to the beach."

I nodded in understanding, and waved Macie out of the room. Once she left, I got out of bed and threw on the clothes. I passed her mirror and stared at my hair, noticing the blonde mess. After a minute of debating whether or not to leave it like it was, I decided that it was a lost cause and went downstairs.

"Hey loser, let's go." Macie said, throwing me a granola bar. We got into her car and went to school. Once we pulled up in the carpark, we got out and made our way inside, going towards the senior hallways.

"ASHER!"

I winced as I heard Drew call my name and spun around slowly. I saw Drew rushing up to me with Louis and Jace. I blushed at the sight of Jace, smiled at Louis and Drew.

"Hey Drewy, wha-" I started saying, as Drew pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged back for a while before he let go.

"Don't you dare do that again. I had no clue where you were!" Ah. Looks like Jace didn't open his mouth to Drew. Good boy.

"You're not my mother." I rolled my eyes at him, refusing to have this conversation at school, or ever. Yep, never was a good option.

"Never is not a good option," Drew said sternly, causing me to groan.

"Oh my lord. Remind me to learn how to speak in my head!"

"That never works, Ash." Jace said, giving me a knowing look just as the bell rang. I smiled brightly at Drew, before tugging on Macie's arm.

"I'll walk you to class." She said in between kisses with Louis.

"No, hurry!" I demanded, managing to pull Macie away from Louis. Once we were safely inside our English room, Macie turned to me. "You know, you're going to have to talk to Drew at some point."

"Look, I understand why you ran but he's your brother and he cares. I hate your dad for what he did, but I don't think you should have left." She continued, ignoring my glares.

"How can you say that?" I asked. I thought she understood. Drew would forgive me anyway, if that what was she was worried about.

"Bloody hell, Ash! You didn't even notice Drew's expression, did you? He was scared. You never notice expressions, do you?" She said as she let out a humorless laugh. "News flash: We all notice yours. And you looked like a jerk."

I drew my eyebrows in and cocked my head to the side. "What do you mean?" I asked. I was good at reading expressions, right? What did she mean about people reading mine? And most of all, where did this sudden anger come from?

"Oh my god, you oblivious idiot! We all see the way you look at my boyfriend. We also see the way you and Jace look at each other. You guys are hiding something." She said angrily, then her voice softened. "He called you a gazillion times, leaving messages. I mean I understand why Drew called you, but the messages Jace left you..." She trailed off. The expression she gave me told me that she had heard them. See! I was good at reading expressions.

I drew my eyebrows in at her. I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just took out my phone and checked the missed calls.

Missed calls:

Jace the Fatty: 2
Drewy: 6

I reluctantly put my phone to my ear and listened to Jace's voicemail.

Edited by: LarryShipSails

Hi guys!! I had just enough time to edit this chapter, but unfortunately, I don't have time to edit more. I'll edit as soon as I can, though!!