Two Worlds Collided (Ace Merrill)

Unforgiving

"You were supposed to be watching him!" I snap as I find Elizabeth.

She looks at Lucas, then at me. "I'm sorry. I got carried away in this book."

"I don't care! His first real day in a new town, and he gets picked on by a group of assholes!" I spit.

She sighs.

"I'm sorry, Lucas."

Lucas shakes his head. "It's okay. People at the orphanage were meaner than that."

The bell hanging above the door rings, and we all look. Ace walks in, his eyes scanning the aisles.

I roll my own eyes. "Great."

When he finds us, he stops.

"Eleanor, can I talk to you?"

Elizabeth walks up to the counter to pay. Lucas follows her.

"No," I say.

He sighs, stepping closer. "Please?"

I roll my eyes.

"No. I told you I didn't want to talk to you again."

He pauses, then looks over as my siblings join us.

"I'll make sure Eleanor gets home, if you two want to go ahead," he tells them. They look at me.

I glare at him. "No, you won't. I'm leaving with them. Bye, Ace."

I shove past him and leaves the store with Elizabeth and Lucas.

We visit several stores over the next few hours, then get lunch at a diner. While we eat, we learn more about Lucas.

His favorite color is green, and he loves tigers. He's never met his real parents and doesn't know their names.

When we get home that afternoon, I take a shower and head to my bedroom. Curling up under the blankets, I open a new book and start to read.

It isn't long before I'm thinking of the comic book store. Should I have given Ace a chance to explain himself? After all, I didn't really see him saying or doing anything to the kids.

Still, he allowed it to happen. He stood there, grinning, while the other three boys teased my brother and his friend. I can't just ignore that.

I know they didn't know Lucas was my brother. But still, why would they want to pick on a kid that wasn't doing anything to harm anyone? A kid they didn't know, because he just moved here yesterday.

I frown. I already decided I didn't want to be friends with him anymore. He's too mean, and sort of ignorant.

Regardless of the reasoning behind my choice, our friendship wouldn't have lasted, anyway. He's a rebellious, wild teenager that couldn't care less about rules. I'm a calm teenager that spends my free time reading and cleaning. It's a surprise we even got along at all.

I don't know him well, either. So it should be easy for me to just turn away and make the decision to never see him again. It's true that he's attractive and can make me laugh, but so what? I'm sure the same can be said for plenty of other guys. I shouldn't be upset. I shouldn't even be thinking about him at all.

So why can't I get him out of my mind?