This song matches so much with this chapter. I was listening to it the whole time writing this chapter because I knew that this was exactly the vibe I wanted to project in the scene with Ace. OKAY, I WON'T SPOIL!!!!! Listen to the song at the same time if you want. Let me know what you think.
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"What do you mean you got me a job interview?" I stood up and walked to the kitchen where Joe was standing, cooking us breakfast.
"I heard you tell Ace that you want a job and to get you busy he gave you a task anyone can do," he started, "so I went to talk to Rob and he told me that he will be waiting for you this Friday."
"I sat on the stool on the island and started thinking about what he said, "who's Rob?"
"He was a very good friend to Frank. He knows us all."
"Does he–know what you do?"
He looked up at me for a few seconds, scoffed and shook his head. "Yes, he works with us." I gulped, unsure of what the job was. I didn't want to get involved in what they did and I didn't want to work with someone that has something to do with the drugs they sell. "Don't worry, his company is outside of the things he does under the table." He explained and I stayed silent, not wanting to tell him my thoughts not to offend him but based on what he said, it sounded like he understood. "I will be gone till then though," he added.
"Why?"
"Because we have a mission and Ace is driving all of us crazy." He raised his eyes to steal a quick look at me then continued mixing whatever he was cooking. "Don't worry, Talia. You're safe here. And you have my phone, if anything happens call me."
I nodded. "So you're not coming back tonight?"
"I will be gone today and tomorrow. I will be here before your interview." He assured me. I sighed. "You know I have to go right?"
"Of course. Don't worry about me. I will survive."
"How sweet! You can't live without me now." He teased. I giggled.
When he left I felt like the house got dark, boring, insipid. I lit the television but my eyes weren't watching. I watched the view I fell in love at first sight but the sky was gloomy. The clouds were dark and dull making the morning bitter. I walked to the room and the first thing my eyes fell on was the flowers Joe got me a little more than a week ago. But they weren't fresh yellow. The once vibrant petals had relaxed to a brown-infused pastel of what they once were. They were dry, lifeless. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to push the image of my father that barged in, unwelcomed. I sat on the bed next to the vase. But this also reminded me of Ace. The flowers looked dead but in fact were still fighting to survive. Under the surface of the dry petals, there were still soft ones, begging for a life they were not given to them, silently screaming for an opportunity to feel alive again. I softly touched one of the flowers but still managed to make a few dead petals fall down, revealing a healthier colour underneath. That made me wonder if that will ever happen. Will I be able to find less dark Ace if I dig deeper? Or was he is past the stage? Is he already brown or does he still have lifeful ones deep down he is keeping safe?
