*This chapter contains violence*
"Why were you in my brother's room? " She squints.
I hesitated for a moment, trying to think of an explanation.
Andrew shook his head, " I just wanted to tell her something Mel, don't turn this into a bigger deal than it has to be."
She frowns, "Do you realize what this looks like? "
"I understand why you're upset, Melody," Andrew said, "But I swear, it's not what it looks like. Lucy and I were just talking, and I couldn't find a quiet place in the house." He explains.
She looks at him in disbelief, "Do you really expect me to believe that?" She muttered.
I shrug, "Well that's what happened." I clarify.
But she looks at me as if she has already made up her mind, "I don't think we should be friends anymore Lucy." I blink in shock.
"Mel be reasonable." Andrew cuts in.
"No Andy, I asked you not to date her. You are just going to get your heart broken again, she likes Jace." She bursts out. "You are a fool." Melody shakes her head and walks into her bedroom and slams her door.
As Andrew drove me home, I couldn't help but feel hurt by Melody's words, but it seemed like she had already made up her mind.
I looked out the window, "Don't worry about my sister," Andrew said, breaking the silence. "She can be a little overprotective sometimes."
"It's okay," I said, trying to sound convincing.
But my heart was still pounding in my chest when Andrew pulled up in front of my house.
He helped me out of his Jeep, "Here miss-moon boot." He teased as he helped me down.
"How are you feeling?" Andrew questioned while tilting his head slightly towards me.
I leaned against the car giving my leg a rest, "I'm okay," I replied, giving him a small smile. "I'm just processing everything."
Andrew smiled at me, I felt mixed emotions about everything.
I felt miserable, how could I let myself be engulfed by Jace like this? Why does my heart long for him? Especially after Andrew told me about Caroline.
Andrew rubs his thumb across my cheek, "Where do you go when you're not here with me?" He asks softly, I look up at him. His eyes shone down at me.
My attention is pulled by a roaring motorcycle, as it parks outside Jace's gate, he takes off his helmet. Revealing who he is.
His eyes look at mine filled with disarray.
Jace walks angrily to Andrew and me, Andrew fixes his gaze over to Jace.
"Should I even ask what's happening Lucy?" Jace sounds angry and hurt,
I turned to him, "What do you mean?" I know he is mad, it's understandable. I left him only yesterday and now I'm standing a bit too close to Andrew–
"What the fuck?" He looks at me stiffly, "Did you lead me on?"
My eyes widened at that accusation, how could he accuse me of leading him on?
"Jace it's not like that." I tried to explain to him, but he simply wouldn't listen.
"Why, Lucy?" He asked genuinely, I looked at him helpless to say anything further, but I attempted to. "Andrew– he just wanted to speak to me. It's not like that."
I felt as if I needed to tell Jace that I know the full story about Caroline. Just to see if he needs my help, and to find out if he is still using.
"Jace, Andrew told me everything about what happened with Caroline." As I explained to Jace about Andrew warning me about what happened with Caroline, his expression hardened. I saw anger start to boil inside him.
"That wasn't his place to tell you!" Jace exclaimed, turning to face Andrew who was standing next to his car. "Why couldn't you mind your own business?"
"I was just trying to look out for her," Andrew replied calmly. "I didn't want her to get hurt."
Jace scoffed. "Why are you involving yourself, do you have feelings for her or something?"
Andrew looked taken aback. "Does it matter if I do, someone had to tell her"
Jace stared at him for a moment. "You're always sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong. Just stay away from her."
I shook my head, "Jace, Andrew told me how you did drugs… and how you might still be on them?" My voice shakes. Maybe that is why he is being so aggressive.
"I can't believe you would say something like that Lucy! " Jace shouted at me.
"I'm sorry, Jace," I said, instantly feeling guilty for bringing up such a sensitive topic. "But I'm worried about you."
"Don't act like you suddenly give a fuck about me, besides It's really not your fucking business anymore." He snapped at me and I flinched at his words.
He turned to Andrew, "And you, you're just trying to get with Lucy you fucking asshole." He cursed.
"That's not true," Andrew shot back, frustration evident in his voice. "I was just trying to warn her. I didn't want her to get hurt like Caroline did." Andrew said stiffly.
I looked between the two of them, feeling helpless. "Jace, can we talk about this later?" I interjected, hoping to diffuse the situation.
But Jace wasn't having it. "No, Lucy," he said, his voice shaking with anger. "I need to know where you stand with me. Do you have feelings for this prick?"
I sighed, feeling the weight of his question. "Jace, I care about you. You know that."
"But do you have feelings for him?" he pressed, his eyes searching mine.
"I don't know," I admitted, feeling torn. "I'm confused right now, and I need time to sort out my feelings."
"I can't believe you would even consider having feelings for him," he spat, his anger palpable.
"I'm not 'considering' anything," I protested. "I just need time to figure things out."
"Stop giving her a hard time Jace, she said she needs time," Andrew interjected, moving forward to block me from Jace.
Jace walked closer, and pushed Andrew. "Fuck. You." He then pushed him again.
''Using dirty tactics, you know you don't have a game without it." Jace shook his head.
''Considering Caroline, does Lucy know that I was merely the gun but you were the bullet?" He illustrated, "Did you tell her about the rumor that you spread?" Jace asked in spite.
I wondered what he was talking about but I was shocked when Andrew lunged at Jace, and the two of them started trading blows. I felt paralyzed in shock, unsure of what to do. But I knew I had to try to do something.
"Stop it!" I yelled, my voice breaking. But they didn't want to stop. Jace was landing more blows, Andrew did get in a few which left Jace's cheek bruised which made him even more angry. Jace fought like a kickboxer, leaving Andrew to block both punches and kicks. Andrew tried desperately to block Jace's punches, but he did a poor job.
I knew I had to do something before someone got seriously hurt. I stepped forward and grabbed Jace's arm, trying to pull him away from Andrew. But Jace shook me off, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Get out of the way, Lucy," he growled. "This is between me and this arsehole." Jace had Andrew by his shirt, Andrew looked dazed with blood running down his face. As he was trying to pry Jaces hands off him. I was terrified for Andrew because of the hatred I saw in Jace's eyes.
My stomach turned in horror. Jace had him on the ground punching him one after the other. "Stop, Jace. Please, you're going to kill him." I cried, terrified as the tears were rolling down from my eyes.
Feeling desperate, I reached out and grabbed onto Jace's shirt, trying to pull him off of Andrew. But in the struggle, I lost my grip and fell to the ground.
As I lay there, dazed and disoriented, I could hear the sounds of the fight growing more intense.
"Stop!" I cried, feeling powerless. I knew I had to do something drastic. I then threw myself down on Andrew's chest and put my arms around him, shielding him from Jace's blows. Jace stopped immediately before he could hurt me, but still, the damage was done.
I turned to Jace, "I can't believe you did this." I shook my head holding Andrew tight, "You scare me."
Andrew laid on the ground, battered and bruised.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered to Andrew. "I had no idea things would turn out like this."
Andrew just smiled faintly at me. "It's not your fault, Lucy," he said.
I looked at Andrew, then turned to Jace, who was still fuming with anger. "Why did you hurt him like this, you should have stopped."
Jace glared at me, his eyes cold and hard.
I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. I knew that Jace was hurt and angry and that Andrew started this fight but that didn't excuse the fact that Jace couldn't stop and that frightened me.
I felt a lump form in my throat. I fell for Jace, but this made him unrecognizable.
I only could watch as Jace walked away. But I don't want things to end like this…
"Jace, wait!" I called out, leaving Andrew, half-running after him.
Jace stopped in his tracks, but he didn't turn around. "What, Lucy?"
"I want to know your side," I voiced.
"No, you don't, you want to make a villain out of me." He replies bitterly.
"No Jace, I never meant to hurt you," I said softly. "But you have to understand, I had no idea about Caroline and what happened between you and Andrew– I needed to hear the truth."
Jace finally turned to face me, his eyes narrowed. "You believed him?"
"I don't know what to believe Jace," I admitted.
"I don't know who you are and I'm terrified to find out more, but I do know that I can't just ignore what he told me. And I can't ignore how I feel about you, either."
Jace let out a bitter laugh. "You don't know who I am? Well I tried to let you in, Lucy. But you already believe him over me. I guess I should have expected this from you."
I stared at him in bewilderment, and for the first time I was speechless, Jace let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. "You're not making this easy, Lucy." He shook his head, "You ran away from me last night. Leaving me to fill in the blanks." He gave me sad eyes then they went cold.
I felt a pang of guilt in my chest, Jace turned away from me once more. I had to make a choice right now, I could either tend to Andrew or run after Jace. But it just seems like the universe doesn't want us to be together, I then stood still knowing that I chose Andrew and I think Jace knew that too.
As Jace walked away, I knew that whatever we had was over between us.
As I sat in the hospital waiting room, my mind was still reeling from the events of the past few hours. I couldn't believe that Jace had fought Andrew to that degree. Jace didn't seem to care that I was begging him to stop the fight, even as Andrew was lying there hurt and bleeding.
My thoughts were interrupted as Andrew's doctor came out and told me that Andrew was going to be okay. Relieved, I went into his room to see him given that the Doctor told me that he was requesting for me.
"Hey," I said softly as I sat down next to his bed.
"Hey," he replied with a small smile.
"I'm sorry," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "I never meant for any of this to happen."
"It's not your fault," he said, taking my hand in his. "Jace has always been a bit...intense, besides it's my own stupidity that I got my ass handed to me, I mean I know the guy does kickboxing but I still let my emotions get the better of me."
I let out a small sigh. We are quiet for a moment.
"I don't regret telling you how I feel," he looks at me, face bruised with purple and blue. "Even though things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to, at least now you know."
I smiled weakly at him. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
We sat in silence for a few moments, I reached over to hold his hand. He looked at me, eyelashes long and fairylike, he leaned in and kissed me on the lips. I gulped and leaned in for a genuine kiss. My stomach filled with butterflies, it just felt… right.
As we pulled away from the kiss, I looked into Andrew's eyes, his pupils were dilated, and he smiled, that wide one that I'm so fond of.
"I'm glad you're okay," I said, breaking the silence.
"Me too," he joked, rubbing his thumb over my hand. "I'm glad that you're here with me." He said becoming serious.
I smiled softly, feeling my heart flutter in my chest. "Of course, I'm here. I care about you."
"I care about you too," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "And...I know it might be too soon, but would you want to go out with me sometime? Maybe grab that coffee I spoke about?"
I felt a rush of excitement at his words. "I'd like that," I replied, feeling a smile spread across my face.
As we sat there, talking and laughing, I couldn't help but feel grateful for this unexpected turn of events. Sure, the fight with Jace had been scary and intense, but it had also brought Andrew and me closer together. And I couldn't wait to see where our relationship would take us.