'Yo. Let's meet up tomorrow. I won't take no as an answer. I have some errands to attend near your town but I want and need to see you first before that.' In any other context this would be taken as cute but for Aelise, it wasn't the best. These texts from Ace really didn't appeal to her.
'Okay. That's sudden. What time?'
'Anytime is fine. Just tell me when you're ready. Have to go now. Love you.'
'Okay then. Love you too and see you tomorrow.'
'I hate that I always have to lie.' Aelise thought to herself. She shook her head and went over to her messages with Zen and as soon as she was done reading his response, she started typing away. Her eyes widened in worry as she found out that Nate got rushed to the hospital.
'Yeah, honesty kills me, Zen. ಠ_ಠ and please tell Nate to get well fast for me. What happened to him anyway?'
With that, Aelise shut her phone off and looked around. Yuriko was nowhere to be found and she didn't even notice that he left. Once again, she sighed tiredly and closed her eyes. She thought of telling Zen about what was happening on the media right now but she couldn't since she very well knew that he was busy and certainly tired right now. Then the feeling of nervousness and fear consumed her just by thinking about her meeting with Ace tomorrow. It was just so sudden and everything was happening so fast. Not long after, she fell asleep and went to her precious dreamland.
Zen was exhausted. He was beyond exhausted. He got his coat and was about to walk out the company but Arai stopped him. "S-Sir. L-Look." He said and showed his tablet which showed the pictures. "Fuck fuck fuck. Get Hikaru on it. I want those pictures gone. Every single one of them." He told Arai who immediately rushed to do that. Zen got in his car with the help of his bodyguards and immediately drove to the hospital. Of course the front was swarming with reporters. He got out and kept his head down as he went in.
He got all the formalities completed and helped Nate out. "Slow and steady, okay?" He spoke as he placed Nate's arm around his shoulder. "You need to close your eyes." Nate spoke. "How the hell? I need to get you to the car, bud." Zen chuckled like it didn't matter but his anxiety was getting worse. He helped Nate into the car and got in too. One of the bodyguards drove them home.
Zen took a deep breath as he helped Nate inside the house. "Oh look who's here." He heard and saw Hannah, his sister. He wanted to slap the shit out of her but he couldn't. He helped Nate up the stairs and into his room. He saw Nate's mother and sister there too. "You guys-" Before he could finish, he was dragged downstairs and thrown onto the floor painfully. His bodyguards made sure that Nate's mother couldn't get to Zen and help him.
"How dare you hurt my husband?!" The mother yelled as Zen could feel constant hits and kicks to his body. He was breathing heavily, his lip cut and body bruised. "Who the fuck is this bitch? Why the fuck is she with you again?" She asked, pointing to the screen of her phone but Zen didn't answer which pissed her off even more. She looked at the bodyguards who nodded and beat Zen up hard. "Why were you with her?!" She yelled. "I-I love h-her." Zen whispered out, coughing up blood.
"You love her?! That slut fucking left you, you bitch. Get that through your thick skull." The father yelled and Zen only laughed. "Continue insulting her and i can't guarantee that you'll still have all your limbs." He threatened which only earned him more punches and kicks. Nate's mother was crying on top of the stairs. Zen saw that and his heart broke. He decided to just shut up so that they wouldn't have a reason to continue and he was right. "You filthy bastard. Be useful in some way at least. Should've kicked you out the second we knew you would be a waste. We did you a favour." He heard but then he was so weak, making him pass out.
Nate's mother and Nate both broke out from behind the guards and rushed to Zen. "Fucking pathetic." Nate mumbled to the parents as he picked Zen up and layed him down on the bed in Nate's room. His mother wiped her tears and immediately started to treat his wounds. "Why, Zen?" She cried softly. Natalie was sobbing too. She hated to see one of her brothers get so hurt. In fact, even Nate was hurt. "A-Aeli-Aelise." Nate heard Zen mumble and sighed. He took Zen's phone and immediately texted her.
'Yeah, he's okay now. Much better. Hey, can we please meet tomorrow? In the evening? And I'm really sorry for the pictures. I took care of it. I'm really sorry again.' He sent the text to Aelise, hoping that the girl would be able to respond. Nate's mother was checking out the bruises. "No use. These are definitely some internal injuries." She whispered. "Can we call Miyu over?" Nate asked. Miyu was Zen's personal doctor. She always helped even though his parents would be assholes and not allow her in. She always wished the best for Zen. "Hmm. We should. He might have injured something vital." She spoke as she gently rubbed some medical cream on the bruises to ease them a little.
'Just let me go please. I don't have anything to lose anyway. I've lost it all.' Zen thought to himself as he took his sharp breaths, hurting his chest and making him cough. Nate's mother was immediately by his side, helping him out. Nate got some of his clothes. He helped Zen out of his now bloody clothes and put the clean ones on. When Zen was clothed again, Natalie walked to him and placed her small bunny plushie near him. "Bunbun wish Zennie get well." She whispered.
Nate smiled at his adorable little sister and hugged her. "He'll of course get better, Natalie. He's strong. You've seen him right. He won't leave, don't worry." Nate smiled. Zen heard him and sighed. 'Right. I've still got this family.' He thought to himself, feeling some what reassured that he had someone in his world. 'I need you so much, Aelise. I just want to run to you and hug you so close to me. Please.' He thought and then let himself rest.
Aelise woke up abruptly and the first thing she saw as she opened her eyes were the blinding lights. She rubbed her eyes in annoyance and looked around. Instead of finding herself on a comfortable brown couch, it was a bed. Her own bed. She stood up and headed to the kitchen to get some water. "Another nightmare." She grumbled under her breath, wiping her tears away. She looked around the kitchen once again, noticing no presence. Her family was certainly watching T.V. by just hearing the loud blaring sound coming from the living room.
Aelise checked her phone and got a message from both Zen and Emma. Well, the others were people she doesn't know, mere strangers, who kept bugging her with questions. But she could care less anymore. She felt tired even after getting some sleep because the dream turned into a nightmare. She tried to forget about it and read Zen's message."Tomorrow?" She asked herself. She remembered that she was meeting up with Ace tomorrow, then her friend invited her to a party. She sent him a message. 'We can meet up now, if you like? I'm busy tomorrow after all.'
The female grabbed a pack of chips that just layed upon the counter, then headed to the living room. She only found her mother sitting on the couch, watching T.V, fits of laughter emerging from her. Aelise approached her while shoving a batch of chips in her mouth. "Hey, ma." Her voice got her mother's attention, immediately receiving a smile.
"How did your date with Zen go?" Aelise almost choke on her precious chips as she heard the question. Her cheeks flushed and she shook her head in denial. "I-It was not a date." With that, Eleanor erupted into laughter. It was like her daughter was even funnier than the show she was watching on the television. But behind her laugh, she was in pain from seeing her daughter like this, hiding away. She knew the exact reason why she and Zen broke up but she just played along with her lies.
Aelise was really secretive unlike before. She was a really honest person and she opened up to her parents when she needed to until that very certain day. 'I could tell her when the time comes instead. My precious baby is tired.' Her eyes softened as she admired her daughter's features. She really did get her eyes. Viridian and brown. They were beautiful. But if only her eyes were filled with genuine happiness, they would be beyond beautiful which she hadn't see since five years ago.
"You still love him, huh." Eleanor mumbled under her breath, to which Aelise tilted her head in curiosity, like a lost puppy. "What was that, ma?" She asked and Eleanor shook her head in dismissal. "Nothing. Now, may I have some of those delicious chips of yours?" She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously. "Hell no, ma."
'You do.'