The Bad Boy's Princess

Ch. 28 - New York

Thank you so much for reading my story every one. I apologize to those new readers who haven't seen my message board. But I was on a short break to prepare and study for my LSAT coming up. I will try my best to write and update as much as I can. But please be patient with me. After June, I will be back to posting on normal schedule :)

With much love, H.

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Avery's POV

Winter break has been eventful, to say the least. New York was still the same as I remembered it from previous visits. From family dinners to visiting my dad, I tried to keep myself busy and distracted from my own thoughts. As much as I try to ignore them, I kept having thoughts about Jace and what happened before the break.

For the first week, Jace was calling every day, twice a day. But I never picked up. I wasn't ready to talk to him because I was so confused with my own self.

Then he stopped calling. I had more time to really think about everything.

How fast things took a turn for the worse, and how horrible it made me feel... It was all too much. From not feeling anything at all my entire life then to feeling so much for Jace, I was terrified. I didn't even realize how much I liked him and how deep of an effect he had on me.

But I missed him.

It was Christmas Eve and he was probably with his family right now, but I couldn't help but looked at the gift I got for him, a customized racing helmet. I drew on it myself. It was such a mundane gift compared to all the gifts he was going to be receiving, but Jace never cared about materialistic things and I adored that about him. Seeing how much he loved the scarf and gloves I got him made my heart swell with warmth.

I still remembered the words Scottie said to me at school that day. I trusted Jace, but for some reason, I wasn't ready to talk to him about it. Scottie was someone important to him, and I would never want to get in the middle of that. They had something that I didn't understand, and I respected that. I just wish it didn't affect me as much as it did.

More like, I just wish I didn't like him as much as I did.

I had a date with myself at the MET today since I've always loved museums. And as I was walking through the art gallery, someone tapped on my shoulder and took me by surprise.

"West."

Jace called me that. It couldn't be...

And it wasn't.

"Greyson?" Jace's cousin, the one who hated Jace. What was he doing in New York on Christmas Eve...? Shouldn't he be with his and Jace's family right now?

"Merry Christmas Eve, Avery." He chuckled softly and we continued to walk through the gallery. "What are you doing here on Christmas Eve?"

"Merry Christmas Eve to you, too, Greyson. And I can say the same to you. Shouldn't you be back in California?"

"Family holidays with all the adults together stopped being my thing two years ago." He smiled, but it was a sad one. It was a similar one to the one I saw on Jace when he was telling me about his presumed future as the heir.

For two guys who were living the life many dreamt of, they were awfully pitiful in this sense.

After we finished with the gallery, we both started heading outside before Greyson suggested coffee from the cart outside the center. It was freezing outside, not to mention the forecast had been saying it was going to start snowing today. White Christmas was always my favorite thing about winters in New York.