As Cold As Ice

One

What the fuck had happened?
I hadn't been asleep for that long, had I?
Where's Sofia?
Where's Ace?

Those questions kept playing in my mind, like a record player on repeat, as I drove Dante to the hospital. He was clutching his arm, which was bending the wrong way. I was worried; for him, for us, for everyone. There were cracks in our friendships and they were beginning to show.

"I can't believe he did this," Dante spat, clearly attempting to distract himself from his arm.
"What the fuck happened?" I snapped suddenly, which seemed out of the blue for Dante but I still hadn't been told anything about what had happened. I was still in the dark and he wasn't shedding any light on the situation.
"I was just in the living room, until I heard Sofia and Ace arguing from the kitchen. I hadn't really ever heard them argue before so I stood up from the couch, and all of a sudden, Sofia storms through the living room, not even looking at me. She heads for the hallway and leaves.

The girl just left. And she was crying. And I felt bad. So I approached Ace, and he acted so nonchalant about the situation, as if Sofia wasn't out on the road by herself. It made me angry. He didn't deserve her, Ice!" Dante yelled at me, as if I wasn't listening.

"Ouch, my ears. I'm right fucking here, you don't need to yell," I shouted back at him, my eyes widened with disbelief. Why was he shouting?

Dante threw me a guilty glance before speaking. I interrupted him quickly.
"I swear to god Dante, if you tell me that you did something fucked up, I'll break your other arm."

"I- I admitted the only reason I had called him soft was because I was in love with Sofia. I don't think it's love, honest! It's the word that slipped my mouth in the moment and I swear, I've never saw him so angry. I thought he was going to kill me, Ice." He shook his head, slapping his palm to his forehead.

I hit him across the back of the head. It wasn't hard, but it was hard enough for him to know he'd done something wrong.

I was struggling to keep my eyes on the road as Dante told me his ridiculous confession.

I know Dante very well; and I know his 'love' for Sofia wasn't real. Sofia was an attractive young woman, and that's what he sees as love. He falls in love every other month at this point. It's pathetic.

"Who are you to be involving yourself in there like that?" I yelled at him. My anger was written across my face, a crease was carved between my eyebrows.
"I-I don't know, I just wanted him to go after her and he didn't. He let her leave anyway and snapped my arm..... which I probably deserved," Dante muttered, keeping his eyes closed as he slowly rocked back and forth in the seat. I'm not sure if he knew he was rocking himself, or if he was doing it subconsciously.

"You're a fucking idiot sometimes Dante. We've finally gotten past my vendetta against this girl and now you're pulling this bullshit. You do realise we're horrible people," I spoke, the realisation only hitting me as the words left my mouth. We were horrible people.

If anyone deserves love out of the three of us, of course, it's ace. He does everything for everyone. He may be a shitty friend, but so are we. We've been trying to stop him from loving anyone with the fear of him becoming soft.

"Let him become soft Dante, let him love. Have you ever saw Ace genuinely smile? Like seriously smile because he was happy?" I questioned him, waiting for his response. Dante shook his head slightly, staring out the car window.
"We've all had our own trauma, and we're preventing his happiness. Maybe we don't like Sofia, but he does. We should be happy for him," I stated, gripping the wheel tightly.

"Wow Ice, you're really sounding soft right now," Dante muttered and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm being serious Dante, deathly serious. Let the man breathe, let him be happy. Maybe he'll find the happiness we've never had" I nodded.

"Plus, I just miss my brother," I uttered out loud, forgetting that Avery was someone I no longer spoke about.
"What was your brother like, was he like you?" Dante asked, and I realised I had never really spoke about Avery with anyone except Ace. I shook my head, keeping my eyes glued to the road, he wasn't someone I was ready to speak about.

Dante ended up getting a cast around his arm. He was scared of Ace for days. He wouldn't come to the house. Myself however, I kept my distance from Ace. He was miserable. I'd only see him when I was walking down the hallway, heading for the door. I could catch a glimpse into his office.

And every-time, he would have his head against the desk and a beer bottle next to him.

Sometimes he would be sitting upright, but only for seconds. He didn't shave, so his stubble was grown out, and his hair was a mess. He looked pale, as if he was sick, and his shirt was always undone. Ace's shirt was never undone.

He was unravelling before me and I had no idea how to help.

Everyday I kept going to work, running the mafia, so that Ace didn't have to. It was difficult. It was challenging but I managed to keep everything in place.

Then I received word that Sofia had been spotted with Haze. I couldn't breathe. How do I tell Ace?

I went straight home and I decided to speak to him for the first time in days.

I didn't knock on his office door, I just barged straight in.

"Get the fuck up," I said, my blood boiling.
"What?" He muttered, lifting his head from his desk.
"We're going to get Sofia back. She was spotted with Haze. They'll kill her," I shouted, the urgency in my voice, crystal clear.
"Let her stay with him," Ace mumbled, leaning back in his chair, his head falling to his shoulder. I widened my eyes in disbelief.
"Dante is an idiot, I'm an idiot. Go get your girlfriend back, now!" I demanded, and somehow, with that one sentence, I had flipped his switch. Something in Ace, that had been turned off, was flicked right back on.

"Ice, I fucked it up. I fucked it up bad. She won't want to come back. I lied to her. I lied to her." He shook his head, before covering his face with his hands.
"Then go tell her the truth. I've dealt with Dante. You only need to get her back now. Ace, I swear to god, they'll kill her. If you don't go, I will." I hit my hand against his desk. It really hurt but I hoped he didn't notice.

"You're not listening, she won't want me back."

"You know what Haze does. He stays with women until the honeymoon phase wears off, then he slaughters them because she wasn't the one. You and I both know that she's not the one for him. He'll kill her!" I yelled, knowing we had a limited amount of time.

Sometimes he'd kill them in days, sometimes he'd kill them in months. It all depended on the woman.

I couldn't lie to myself, I was worried for her; about her.

"How do you know she's not the one for her? Have you saw her? She's the one for everyone," he stated, rolling his eyes and immediately locking his eyes with mine.
"She's not the one for him because she's the one for you. Now get your ass up!" I yelled.