Holding Back [COMPLETED]

Chapter 26 - "I don't want to drown myself in ice cream."

The question was so surprising to Haley that she didn't have an answer for him. Part of her wanted to say yes. But another part of her wanted to say no, not knowing if she could handle getting deeper into something that could just end. It was that part of her that took a step back.

Before she could take another, Jace reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, Haley Day," he said, "friends don't leave each other hanging when they are in need of help."

He tugged her forward and Haley blindly followed, stunned by his easy use of the term friends. It wasn't that it was shocking that he had admitted it, but that Haley agreed with it. When Jace opened his front door, he let go of Haley's hand, trusting her to now follow. As she stepped inside, she was struck by the scent of freshly baked cookies.

"Yes!" Jace said in triumphant. "It was a good day."

When she gave him a baffled look, he explained.

"My mom works from home, she's a computer programmer. It's been a good day when she bakes because there is downtime as she waits for things to recalibrate or whatever. If it's a bad day she doesn't bake cause she's spent the whole day trying to figure what's wrong with the coding."

"Is your mom Wonder woman or something?" Haley asked.

Leading the way to the kitchen, Jace just laughed. "I think she is."

Sitting on the counter in neat rows were chocolate chip cookies. Some even had steam still rising from them. Without hesitating, Jace stacked six cookies on top of each other and stuck one in his mouth. When he faced Haley, she couldn't help grinning at how funny he looked with a cookie hanging out. Biting it, he grinned back.

"Grab some and let's go."

"So those are all for you?" she asked, eying the stack.

Jace scoffed. "Of course. I'm an only child, I don't share."

Shaking her head, Haley took a cookie and bit into it. It was warm, gooey and tasted like memories. Jace watched her, smiling.

"Good, right?"

"Amazing. They are just like the ones my mom and I used to cook for her open houses."

"You don't anymore?"

Haley shrugged and examined the cookie in her hands.

"She has someone else do it. Which is fine."

Jace nodded, his expression curious. When Haley raised her head, he said nothing and directed their way upstairs. As they headed down a hallway, Haley was treated to a gallery of family photos. Most of them were crammed with faces she had seen the day before. Towards the end of the hall, a soft, but firm voice spoke.

"You understand that means that I will have to recode the entire site, correct?" A pause. "As long as you're certain this is what you want. It will be down for three hours."

They passed an open doorway. Inside was an array of computer screens, all laid out before Jace's mother. She sat in a chair, one leg tucked under her and her hair pulled into a messy bun. From behind she looked as if she could be a college student. Not wanting to bother her, Jace pushed his door open and nodded for Haley to enter.

Having spent years living across from Jace, Haley figured she knew what his room looked like. But seeing it from this angle felt strange. She could make out the names on the posters on the far wall, noticed the line of trophies on his bookshelves and realized that his carpet was a midnight blue. For some reason, she had never registered that. As she took in his room, Jace turned on his TV and started up the video game. He hopped onto his bed and kicked off his shoes, letting them fall to the floor.