SAVING ACE

fourteen

A/N: this chapter is a little bit intense, so please read it at your own discretion. If any of the matters listed in the warning below may trigger you, please don't read this chapter.

TW: suicide, self-harm, abuse.

f o u r t e e n

Olivia Rose Spencer

"What's the matter, Auntie?"

My aunt had entered my room, completely distraught, a puzzled look on her face, her eyes wild and frantic.

"Oh, my sweet child."

She scooped me up in her arms, clutching me tightly. I started getting nervous, as I was afraid something dreadful had happened.

"I went for a walk along the shoreline, as we usually do," she started. "When I got to our cliff, there was a boy there, he must have been to your age and he... I don't know if I should tell you this. Maybe... We should forget this."

"You know you can tell me anything, Aunt. I'm quite grown up, as you're always saying."

"He was going to take his life, Livvie, he was going to jump off that cliff. Oh, what an awful thing! I talked to him for a long time, apparently he's abused by his father. He was so young, Livvie, he had a long life ahead of him. Fortunately, he called a friend  who came to pick him up. I just hope he doesn't tries anything like that again."

"That's so sad, Auntie. What must have been going on in his head?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. There are people who suffer greatly, and we must never judge the others - we never know what's going on in their world."

"What was the boy's name?"

"Angelo."

"Angelo..." I repeated softly.

"Promise me something, Livvie, if there's a time to come that I'm not beside you, and you can't talk to me, just promise me that you will never give up on anything. You're a very strong girl, and I admire you for that."

"I promise, Auntie."

She laid down next to me, and we stared at the ceiling for awhile.

"Have you ever been in love, Auntie?"

"Yeah, yes, I have," she sniffed. "It was a long time ago."

"Oh?"

"He had crystal clear blue eyes and a huge heart."

"Like my father?"

"Just like your father, sweetie."

"Why didn't you stay with him, if you loved him?"

"He didn't love me back, sweetheart. That's the pain of falling in love: for how great your love can be, you can never force someone to love you back."

"That's... a bit sad," just then we hear the front door open.

"I must get going."

"Why don't you and mother get along? You're sisters."

"We used to get along, but I did something that she deems unforgettable and she also did something to me that pains me a lot. I love you, Olivia, I love you and your brother more than anything."

I woke up drenched in sweat, my covers thrown messily all around my bed, as it always happened when I dreamed about my aunt. This was one of the most vivid memories that I had of us together. It was such an intense moment, when I thought about how her life came to an end and about when I broke the promise I made to her.

There was a stinging pain all around my lower stomach and back, as well as a certain numbness spreading to my thighs. I confirmed that it was indeed my period, as soon as I reached the bathroom. 

As I was splashing water to my face, since I felt very dizzy, my stomach lurched and I threw up violently on the toilet.

"Livvie," Ace banged on the door. "What's the matter? Can I open the door?"

"No! I don't want you to see me throwing up!"

"Too bad."

Ace opened the door, immediately crouching down to my level, pulling my hair back, as I threw up once again. This was disgusting. I can't believe I'm letting him see me so fragile, with my guard down. With shaky legs, I soon rose from my position, to rinse out my mouth. As I lifted my head from the tap, I made eye contact with Ace through the mirror. He looked so worried.

"Don't look so worried, Cupcake, I'm fine," I whispered.

"No, you're not, amore. Was it something you ate?"

"No, this happens frequently. I've got fibroids, they're like benign tumors on my uterus, so I have really heavy and painful periods. Sometimes I also throw up, so there's that."

"Oh no, Livvie, that's really bad. Should I get anything for you? Is there something you need?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll get everything I need myself."

"I want to take care of you, please, amore."

I couldn't deny myself the affection that Ace wanted to give me, so I nodded my head in agreement, and asked him to get me my medicine bottle from the kitchen. Ace helped me to bed, as the sharp pains in my uterus made it almost impossible for me to walk. When he returned, he brought with him my medicine, a glass of water, as well as a hot water bottle.

"I figured a hot water bottle might help you with the pain, my sister always needs one when she's on her period."

"Thank you, Ace, really," I craned my neck up, noticing that Mr Snowie wasn't in the room. "Where's the cat?"

"He's sleeping in my bed," answered Ace, a smug look on his features.

"I really don't understand why he likes you so much."

"It's my natural charm, Livvie."

I picked up my phone from my bedside table and quickly called my supervisor, letting her know I wasn't coming in today. Fortunately, my boss was understanding enough, that she always gave me two days off per month because of this. Next, I tried calling Phoebe, but she didn't answer, not that I was expecting her to, since she would probably be sleeping off her hangover from yesterday.

"You don't need to stay here with me," I told Ace, as I noticed that it was only 9 a.m. "I'm sure you have better things to do, I know how boring it is to look after a sick person."

"Well, I want to stay with you, unless you don't want me to?"

"No," I smiled softly. "You can stay here."

"What do you wanna do? Watch a movie?"

"Can we keep talking? Or can you just talk? Your voice distracts me from the pain."

"I can read to you, if you'd like?"

I nodded, so he picked up 'Crime and Punishment', the one which I had been reading, since his recommendation. I curled up on my left side, rising both of my knees closer to my chest, cradling the hot water bottle closer to my tummy. Ace was sat on the plush chair that was on the corner of my room, and soon his deep raspy voice filled my room, as I listened intently to the story of Raskolnikov. 

Lulled by that sweet voice and the heat in my tummy, I closed my eyes, even though I wasn't sleeping. When Ace noticed my closed eyes, he stopped reading.

"You can keep reading, Cupcake," I whispered. "I'm not sleeping."

"All right, amore."

xxx

i broke this chapter in two, because i didn't want it to be to heavy. this chapter is really important for the plot.