Touching the Heart of Ace

??I called a cab and went back to Ned??s apartment.??

??I do not understand you, Dave. You call the cops when someone intrudes into your dorm. Not hand him full-day authorization.?? Jason sighed and handed me my carrot juice with a cute umbrella on it. Robbie was not someone, was he? The college would not be happy if they found out about an unauthorized person in their campus. I had to it to keep him safe.

I wanted to ask Jason about a lot of things.

??Spit it out.?? Jason could really read minds.

??Is he okay???

??No.??

??Why not???

??That I do not know. You tell me.??

I shrugged.

??How is...???

??Pregnant, frustrated and angry.??

Robbie should be with his wife. I was sure this pain in my heart would go away.

??He was confident when I saw him.??

??Did something happen??? Jason narrowed his eyes.

??No.?? I was not telling Jason what happened. Jason would go after Robbie if he came to know about the video clip. Jason was the only friend Robbie had, they needed to stick close. ??But he is slacking off work, not visiting your mother, and he lost 23 computers till date because of you.??

??I was angry.??

??Yeah, the investors are on his back for not involving FBI.??

??They can, they would not find me. I know what I am doing.?? I was not worried about FBI. They would not trace it back to me.

??Unless Robert is forced to tell them his suspects.??

Why did truth always slap on the face?

??He would not put me in trouble.?? My voice was so small, I felt so small.

I trusted that man with my life. It never occurred to me Robbie had the power to retaliate. That, if he disclosed my name FBI would do a thorough sweep and there might be a chance of them finding enough evidence. I was relaying on the fact that they would not know where to look.

??Yes. What I wonder is, why???

No, he did not love me, Jason. I did not love him either.

??I have to go, Jace. I am helping Liam with the tuition today. He wants me to sit with his tutor.??

??At least, finish your drink.?? I gulped the whole thing down without meeting his eyes.

?? You guys question my sanity; you know? What the fuck are you both doing??? I kissed Jace on his cheek and he hugged me tight. ??I hate this Dave, I hate this. Come back home, we will figure something out. Robert will understand if you want him away. That man listens to you.??

He was wrong.

Yes, Robbie listened to me except when the decision was about me, about my body or my heart.

I could scream and he would not listen, he was my big baby, I knew him too well.

I could ask for a star and Robbie would die trying to find me one, but the thought of breaking up with me, would only bring him closer. I had to stay away.

Even if there was a chance of Robbie loving me, it would not erase the baby. It would not erase his wife.

If he was in trouble with the investors I should stop the malware, but then the prompt would be displayed all over his monitors and I did not want him to know what it was.

What was I thinking!

But he deserved what I did.

Then why was I the one who was hurting.

Whatever!

I stomped my feet and went to the room I rented out for Liam. He needed a place to study and feel comfortable.

Liam was mostly worried of being called names. But Ned was not like that. He would pull his ears if Liam did not behave but he would never hurt him for not following.

??Whut bout water in desert? I thought dat shit was osmosis.??

??No Liam, that is oasis. Osmosis is why raisins swell up in water. Wanna see???

The tuition was going on fire. I thought Ned would go for first grade books, nope, went right to the toughest subjects of all and making it fun. I hoped Ned became a teacher, he had that voice that made us curious.

Why the hell else would I stare at the dried up raisin swelling in water with wonder? Liam and I even high fived. I meant I was an engineering student, of course, I knew what osmosis was! But I wanted to see it

too.

By the end of the session Liam and Ned forgot about me.

Meanies!

There was an ache in my chest when I went back to my other apartment. Was he staying at my dorms? Was he eating? Still sleeping in my bed? Did he miss me as much as I missed him?

But I did not miss him. I was just wondering.

Would he kiss me if we met again?

Or would he ask me to run before he took me on the side of the road like the bitch I was?

Would Robbie??s baby look like him? With his gorgeous steel eyes?

Robbie??s baby had a nice ring to it. Would he name the baby, Bobby? Robbie??s baby should be named Bobby.

But what if the baby was a girl, Bobby was a boy??s na...

??Oompf.??

I was smacked to a wall.

??STOP STALKING ME.??

I screamed to his face. His lips were on mine in an instant.

There, the answer to my question. Would he kiss me if he met again? Of course he would. He kissed me every time he wanted me to stop talking. His lips were a bit chapped. Was he not drinking enough water?

??Strike two, Angel. Are you coming with me???

He had under eye bags. Was he not sleeping well? Or was his sleep restless.

Why was I thinking about him!!!

Stop it, Ace.

??I am not. Let go.??

??Good.??

He kissed me again, taking in my scent, groping every inch of my body.

Wait... he said ??good??. Why did he say ??good??? Did he not want me to go with him? Then why did he ask me?

??Jason advised me to give you time. This my giving you time. Run along kitten.??

He bruised my lips, squeezed my butt and warned me again. ??Run, if you don??t want others to hear you scream from this ally.??

He changed his mind and sucked on my neck, leaving me a nasty hickey. ??Ro... Robbie.??

??Run.??

He watched me leave, with red rimmed eyes. I had better self-control, I maintained my composure until I reached the apartment Jason got me.

??Jesus! How did he???

Blood red roses and notes, half eaten chocolates, petals arranged in our names... and much more intimate things.

They do not look real, do they? Just like you.

Hide, baby, I love this game now.

You can have all the choices you want except in being with me.

I do not need your permission, Angel.

When will you be coming home? Coming with me?

I miss your warmth Angel. Miss your tight heat.

I miss your eyes Angel.

I miss your smile.

I miss your lips.

I miss you.

You will come with me.

Hundreds of hand written notes, each one equally aggressive, begging and demanding.

I had to do something before he finds me one more time.

I knew me. The more time I spent with him, the more I was falling.

Falling to our destruction.

I had to move away, till I could find a permanent solution. But as long as I was studying here, he could always find me. There was a project-break coming up in three days. I was planning to stay here and get some work done, because my project was already finished and only report was pending.

I could easily convince Dean to give me a two week break.

??Robbie, why are you after me??? I popped a half-eaten heart chocolate and called mom.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐