Rich People Problems

xxxxiv | dealt cards

JACE

IT'S BEEN THREE fucking hours.

Three fucking hours since the abrupt confession and three fucking hours since she left without a coherent response.

I was going crazy with worry, checking my phone every five minutes hoping that she would at least text or call. Realizing that pacing would not bring her back, I called the one person who knows everything about the woman I was in love with.

"Jace? This better be important," the annoyed voice filled my ears.

"You know I wouldn't call you unless it was," I exhaled, trying to control the worry in my voice. "Has Kimberly been to your apartment?"

"Yeah,"—I immediately felt the tension release from my chest, only to be brought back after hearing her next words—"but she left like ten minutes after she came. Is she still not home?"

If she wasn't with Vivian and she wasn't with me, where else could she be? Images of her getting into another fucking fight with a drug dealer and getting into another accident were plaguing my brain.

Breathe, Jace. Breathe.

"If she was here Vivian, do you seriously think I would be calling you, asking where she was?" I rolled my eyes, a habit I picked up from spending so much time with her.

I could practically see her sneering as she answered me. "Shut up, I'm thinking. If I'm not mistaken, I vaguely remember her talking about going to see Ash."

The relief was brought back, knowing her cousin was a safe place for her.

"Okay, that's good. I'll go over to his apartment to see if she's still there. Is there anywhere else you think she could be?" I asked, grabbing my keys and wallet to head for the car.

Every part of me was sure I looked like a mess, and I would normally be embarrassed to go out like this. But today, it didn't matter. I only had one person on my mind. Granted, that one person was driving me insane.

I heard shuffling at the other end of the phone and a sigh as Vivian returned to the phone. "I'll try calling her and checking out her favorite bars and clubs in case. I'll meet you at Ash's place if I don't find her. Good luck."

"Good luck to you too."

♕♕♕

The drive to Ashton's apartment was too long for my liking. Every minute that I didn't know where she was was a minute that I couldn't breathe properly.

"Ashton! It's me, Jace," I started yelling as I was pounding on his door, "Open up! It's important."

I heard footsteps shuffling behind the door and was greeted by the familiar voice, "Chill, I'm opening it."

Two seconds passed before I saw the face of the person who was like a little brother to my wife. The family resemblance between the two of them was almost unbearable and did nothing to calm my nerves.

Wasting no time, I entered the apartment. "Where's my wife?"

"I don't know. She was here like a while ago. Something about needing a therapist, which she so happily asked my girlfriend for," he replied, matching the confusion on my face.

Okay... at least she was talking to someone about her problems.

I ran a hand down my face in frustration. Everyone around me seems to have a knack for making me age prematurely. "How long ago was that?"

Ashton glanced down at his watch before responding, "She left like an hour ago. Why? Because, no offense man, but you look like someone ran over your puppy, which, by the way, is really stressing me out."