Aces [#NANOWRIMO2017]

Ace Makes Both A Death Threat and A Pun In the Span of Three Paragraphs

I walked away with a gnawing in my gut; something like guilt. At first I thought that it was because of what Sera said, that was making me uncomfortable, but a moment of soul-searching proved me wrong.

As I disappeared from Sera's line of sight, I realized that walking away from her so abruptly was what was making me feel so uncomfortable.

I shook my head at myself. Come on, Ace, toughen up. This is good! Seraphine doing something like that? Couldn't have gone better if you tried. Now she's going to be thinking about you all day and all night. It's like if you were playing hard to get, except Sera did your job for you. Stop moping.

I ran my fingers through my hair almost without realizing it. It had hurt more than I'd expect, Seraphine making a drinking joke just after I'd confided in her. I knew that she wasn't trying to make me feel bad, but still — it felt... bad.

Truthfully, besides Hazel, no one else knew about my situation at home; not even Matt. But something about being with Sera had just made me feel so free. It had seemed like I could tell her anything, and for just a moment, I had let my guard down; I guess that I had tried to see what it would be like to finally be able to trust someone again. I had a moment of weakness. I'd... legitimately hoped that maybe, just maybe, Sera could be my new shoulder to cry on, my new secret-keeper. My new Hazel.

And so I'd opened up to her in a way that I hadn't done for two years, and just a minute later, she'd turned right around, thrown my trust on the ground, and stomped on it until it was nothing but dust.

What a jerk. An unintentional jerk, sure, but a jerk nonetheless.

I guess that just proved what I've always known; love does nothing but destroy.

Holy heck.

Did you see what I just did there?

I said, "Love does nothing but destroy."

I associated Sera with love.

Dammit, I thought, I'm going to have to be more careful with my choice of words. That one was nothing but a dumb mistake, but if I say something like that around the gang, they'll never let me hear the end of it.

I kept walking.

The feeling of guilt followed me.

I walked faster; the gnawing kept up.

I ran.

I ran all the way back to my house, and then I regretted it. Because my house was where my weakling mother was; where my drunkard father was; most importantly, where Hazel wasn't.

It may have been the roof that I lived under, but my house was certainly not my home.

I lingered outside the door for a bit longer, not wanting to go inside. Then I realized that there was no one telling me that I had to go inside anyway; I might as well stay out here for the rest of the night. There wasn't anything stopping me, and besides — even if there was something or someone trying to force me inside, the keyword there would be trying. Like I'd told Matt; nothing could stop me.

Instead, I headed into the backyard, got out my phone, and speed-dialed Hazel.

Two rings later, there she was. "Hey, Ace! How are you?" she asked me.

"Good. I'm good. I just missed you."

"Awww, Ace, that's so sweet! You actually caught me at the perfect time; I was just about to call you. I'm at the coffee shop with Trent. You have to talk to him," she gushed.

"Uh, okay..." I said. "Yeah, that sounds good."

I heard a bit of rustling on the other end, and then a guy's voice came through. "Hey. It's Alex, yeah?"

"Ace," I said, irritated. "My name is Ace."

Man, this guy is a douche. "Huh. Could've sworn your sis called you Alex. Right, so is it cool with you if I date Hazel, Ace?"

I was tempted to say no. But Hazel sounded so happy when she talked about him, and I didn't want to take that away... "In all honesty, Trent? I'm fine with it for now, but if Hazel ever — ever — calls me and she's hurt in any way, shape, or form, I will find you and I will stab you to death while you sleep. Slowly and painfully."

Silence.

"What I'm trying to say is, I love my sister more than anything else in the world. She's perfect. Perfect, you hear me? So you better give her all the love and respect that she deserves or you're dead."

To my surprise, Trent laughed. "Yeah, I hear ya, midget," he said in a tone that was almost... caring. Not caring, I realized. Patronizing. He doesn't take me seriously. I'm just a poor little high school kid, and he's in college. "Don't worry; you don't need to get out your butter knife. I'll take good care of my girl, promise."

I hated the fact that he wasn't taking my death threats literally — and I was serious, all right (one might even say dead serious! Ah? Ahhhhh? No, no need to show me the door, I'll see myself out) — but he sounded genuine, and that was enough. "I'm glad. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to keep talking to Hazel?"

"Sure thing, bro."

"Thanks. Remember, if you break her heart, I will break you."

"I'll keep it in mind." As Trent passed the phone back to Hazel, I could hear him faintly saying something. I couldn't quite make out his words, but I managed to catch my name... cute... so protective... just adorable. I fumed.

Hazel got back on the line. "So—"

"Tell your boyfriend that I am not cute," I grumbled.

"Why would I want to do that? That would be lying, and lying, dear brother, is a sin."

"Hazel! Come on!"

"See? Adorable."

It was only after Hazel hung up that I understood the irony behind me lecturing Trent about the perils of breaking a girl's heart.

But that's different. I have two hundred and fifty dollars at stake here. He has nothing to gain but a bit of a boost in reputation, if he hangs out with that kind of person. And honestly, anyone who hangs with people who would like him more for being a total jerk like that doesn't really deserve my time anyway.

Okay, stop that. I can feel you judging me. Let me just say, you'd do the same in my shoes. Two hundred and fifty dollars, man!