Chapter 14

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Chapter 14

                “You came.” Jace said with surprise as he opened the door for me later that day.

                I nodded, offering Jace a subtle smile. “I did,” I confirmed, holding up a paper mug that held Jace’s hot chocolate inside, “and I brought you a drink, courtesy of Ryan.”

                Jace gave me a weak smile before allowing me inside, taking the lukewarm drink in his palms. “Thanks.”

                “Don’t thank me.” I muttered, standing aside uncomfortably after I kicked off my worn out boots. I stood in my mismatched socks as I wiggled my toes, feeling the softness of the carpeting in Jace’s house under my feet. Before I got too comfortable with myself here, I piped up. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

                “Straight to the point, huh?” Jace tried to crack a joke, but unfortunately, he didn’t earn any smiles from me. “Come sit down first.”

                Jace guided me to his living room, perching down on the couch as I chose to sit at the opposite end of him. I didn’t know if my eyes were deceiving me, but I might’ve seen Jace stare at the empty space between us momentarily.

An uncomfortable silence ate away between us, creating a thick tension in the atmosphere. I dwindled my thumbs, trying my best not to glance over at Jace as he tapped his fingers against the armrest of the couch. I began to lose my patience after an awful few minutes of complete and utter silence. “Jace.” I whispered unintentionally, his name rolling off the tip of my tongue. “Why am I here if you aren’t going to say anything?”

                “Well, I’m not really sure what to say to someone who told me that I don’t mean a flying fuck to them.” Jace snapped at me, causing me to flinch and sink back into my seat. Where the hell did this profound anger come from? Once Jace noticed that he startled me, his face softened as he released a breath of air, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Shit, I’m sorry Everly.”

                I shook my head immediately, gnawing on the insides of my cheeks. “No, it’s fine.” My voice shook, looking at anything but Jace.

                Jace gulped, running a hand through his hair, which was already an effortless mess. “I, I,” he paused, hesitating on his words, “could you maybe sit closer to me?”

                My eyes snapped towards his with surprise. “What?” I asked.

                “I don’t like this distance between us.” Jace admitted.

                I was reluctant to move, but I too, wanted to be near Jace. It wasn’t until now that I realized how warm and protected I felt whenever I was near Jace. Getting up from my position across from Jace, I inched closer to him, taking the nearest seat beside him. Our bodies became so close that my arm was brushing against his and my knee was barely touching his. I gulped nervously, wondering how come I never felt this attack of anxiety whenever I was near Jace before.

                “I called you here because today, I realized something.” Jace started off, startling me once again by speaking without warning.

                I blinked as I turned my face to his, my eyes widening when I realized that we were just mere inches apart. How the fuck did we manage to get close within a matter of a few seconds?

                “W-what?” I asked, trying to control my irrational breathing at our close proximity.

                I tried to force myself to back away from him, but I just couldn’t.

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