What The Heart Needs - The Heart #3 (Complete)

Chapter 12 - Part 1

If I wasn't studying I was spending all my free time with Lacey. I didn't want to admit by making my friend my only priority I was delaying making a decision about Aiden. He had kept his distance and since Lacey hadn't remembered him he had kept away from her which had made it easier to not be reminded of the choice that hung over me.

But no matter what I tried I couldn't get him off my mind. The time I didn't see him, he was on my mind and it was driving me nuts. I didn't know how to handle this at all.

I also hadn't heard from Max. I wondered how he was doing and I had even contemplated messaging but had decided against it. I was probably the last person he wanted to talk to.

This wasn't about me and what I wanted. I had done something really bad and I had to respect that Max didn't want anything to do with me.

There was no getting away from having to choose to either be with Aiden or walk away. My head wrestled with my heart, agonising over the choice.

One week became two, and then three.

It became easier to throw every spare moment I had using Lacey as an excuse to not deal with it.

I cut my hair short so she wouldn't feel so self conscious.

"You know this is going to be so much easier to manage," I told her enthusiastically, trying to lift her spirits.

She gave me a soft smile, that barely masked her troubled expression.

There was something going on with her, something she wasn't ready to talk about. I was trying my best not to push her too hard for fear she wasn't ready. She seemed so fragile since the surgery, and I felt protective over her in a way.

I was thankful everyday that she was still alive but I remember what we had all been through and it was nowhere near what my friend had endured.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" I asked, turning around from the full length mirror in my room to face her.

She shrugged.

"Come on, there must be something you want to do. There's a party tonight?" I suggested. Maybe she needed to get out a little. She had been cooped up inside her house for far too long.

What point was there to overcoming such odds if she was too scared to live.

"We don't have to go for long."

She studied me and then nodded her head. "Just for a little bit."

We spent the next hour getting ready.

"You look beautiful," I murmured as she touched her shorter hair self consciously.

"Thanks."

My mom raised a questioning eyebrow when I told her where we were headed.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" She asked softly, out of earshot of Lacey.

"We won't be too long. She needs a change of scenery Mom."

My mom nodded. "Just keep an eye on her."

"I will."

We listened to some music as I drove us the party. We could hear the music as we parked down the street and followed the noise.

I grabbed Lacey's hand and she followed me into the house. I nodded my head at some familiar faces.

We weren't here to party and get drunk like most of the partygoers but we headed to the kitchen to get something to drink. I filled two cups with water and handed Lacey one.

We went back into the living room and watched people dance.

I wondered whether this had been a good idea as I watched Lacey.