An Ace Of Hearts (Book #1) (Completed)

Chapter 05: A Failed Apology

AHVI TAKEDA

"You look terrible." Ren commented as I walked into the living room the next morning, rubbing my eyes.

"Jee, thanks." I mumbled as I threw myself on the white couch. My brother sat in front of his laptop, his gaze flickering between the screen and me.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" He questioned and I nodded my head.

"I did." I lied. I had stayed up most of the night because of nightmares. I had tried to get some sleep but I gave up after tossing and turning for half an hour. Instead, I caught up with a few classes I had missed in the past weeks and worked on the orders that kept piling up.

"Kiddo, be honest with me." Ren's voice turned stern like it did when I did something that I wasn't supposed to.

"I'm being honest. I'm just tired. The week is almost over though. I can get some rest soon." I insisted. He eyed me with suspicion but I didn't let the lies show on my face. I didn't want Ren to worry about me. He had enough going on with the business already. The only good thing that came from Jace talking too much was that he revealed things about the business to me without meaning to.

"If you need anything, you can tell me." He gave me a tight-lipped smile and I nodded. I knew it drove him crazy when I didn't share all my problems with him but my problems were not his to shoulder.

I got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast. I made myself a bowl of cereal and settled myself on the stool, glancing at my brother who was still busy on his laptop. The fact that he had not insisted on making me breakfast spoke volumes about the stress in his life but Ren Takeda was stubborn as fuck. He would rather suffocate than share his problems with anyone else.

Well, it ran in the family then.

I finished my breakfast in silence, going through my schedule for the day. Eman and I were going out for a movie this evening because she needed to get away from the craziness of the wedding and I...well, I accompanied the woman anywhere she asked me to. I wanted to be there for her because of how stressed she seemed these days.

Once I was done with breakfast, I washed the dishes before going back to my room. Ren stayed seated on the couch, occupied and the ball of concern in my chest grew. I contemplated asking him what was up with him but then felt a pang of guilt. I didn't tell him the truth, did I? How could I expect him to be honest with me then?

I changed for university, taking my time in the shower. I inspected my hands as I stood under the stream of water. Some of the cuts had healed. The others were deeper and hadn't healed as much as the others. I sighed, my shoulders sagging slightly as I let my arms fall down to my sides.

I started cutting myself when I was sixteen, the same day I wrote my darkest secret. I never told anybody because I had seen people be shamed on social media, had seen them made fun of and bullied. I didn't want to be that person. I didn't want others to think that I was looking for attention because it was quite the opposite. I wanted to be as invisible as possible so no one could see me, no one could doubt me.

My chest grew tight as the memories swarmed in. I closed my eyes and swallowed, letting the water cut off oxygen for a while. I didn't want to relive the past again, wanted to be as far away from it as possible.

My hands shook at my sides and I dug my nails into my palms. My chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as the water streamed down, drowning out my thoughts. As I felt myself needing air, the memories faded, a strange panic and need replacing the fear.

My eyes flew open and I leaned away from the spray of water to breathe. Shit. My heart thundered as I stepped out from under the flow. Cleaning myself as quickly as possible, I got out. Changing into my outfit for the day, I dried my hair and pulled it away from my face with a claw clip. It was too hot to go out with my hair down today.

The apartment was silent as I walked out of my room. "Ren?" I called out but my brother didn't answer. I sighed as I turned around and walked to his room on the other side of the hall. I knocked on the door but he didn't respond. I frowned and turned the doorknob to find that the door was locked.

I dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed him. A moment later, he answered. "Yes?" He asked in a formal tone. The sound of traffic behind him told me that he was on the road. Had he left me at home? Had he forgotten about me?

"Where are you? You are supposed to drop me off at uni," I said and heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line. My brother cursed soundly and I cringed a little.

"Shit. I forgot. I will turn around-" He began but I cut him off.

"It's okay. Don't worry. I will call Eman." I shook my head even though he couldn't see me. A moment later, I added, "Ren, are you okay?" This wasn't like my brother. He didn't just forget about me. He didn't just leave the house without telling me that he was leaving.

"Yes, kiddo. I'm fine." He replied but the moment that passed before he gave me the answer confirmed my suspicions. But I knew better than to push.

"Take care," I said and my brother hummed before hanging up. Something was bothering him.

>.<

The movie was shit. I didn't know how I sat in the dark theatre for two hours straight but I somehow managed. I was pretty sure I dozed off for a good part of it because of how bored I was.

"You're rude." Eman hissed at me as we walked out of the theatre.

"I just didn't like the movie. I have a right to have my own opinions." I responded, leveling her with a dry look.

"Yes, but you don't say it to people who're walking in to watch it. They've already paid for the ticket." She argued, glancing over her shoulder at the people who were walking into the hall now.

"I was just giving them a heads-up." I argued. "Also, you told me that this movie was your apology to me for what happened the other day. Apology not accepted."

"Come on, Ahvi. Don't be a grump. I didn't know that the movie would be so awful." Eman argued, coming to a stop on the sidewalk. I halted and turned to face her. She blinked up at me, giving me her best puppy dog eyes. Her hazel eyes shone and I huffed, rolling my eyes.

"You know I hate it when you give me that look, don't you?" I groaned. People stared at us as they walked past us, taking in the weird duo. With my green highlights, baggy jeans, and shirt, I didn't look like the kind of person Eman would hang out with at all. She wore a lilac colored abaya today and a matching hijab, gold jewellery peeking from under her hijab. We had completely different aesthetics and I couldn't even blame the others for staring.

"Alright, fine." I gave up. "But you're going to buy me an iced matcha on the way back." Eman grinned, walking up to me and slinging her arm around my waist.

"As you wish, bestie." I chuckled as she led me down the road toward the cafe which was one of our favorite haunts in the city. It served the best iced matcha and both Eman and I came here at least three times a week. I hadn't known it was so close to the movie theatre and took it as a sign to buy my favorite drink.

"Ahvi." Eman's grip on my waist tightened as we stepped into the cafe, the smell of coffee overpowering my senses.

"What?" I asked, my eyes fixed on the display in the front.

"Vi!" Eman's voice was a squeak this time and I peeled my gaze away from the display. I raised a questioning eyebrow at her and she pointed over my shoulder. I followed her gaze and paused. Jace Hyde sat in one of the booths in a corner with a woman whose back was turned to us but from the way he was looking at her, it seemed as if he was not enjoying the conversation at all.

Jace was uncomfortable in the presence of a being with long legs that wore a skirt and had a vagina? Now that's interesting.