Ace

Ache

"You really scared me!" I smacked his arm again , jokingly .

He had a big grin across his face . His eyes light up when he laughs and his body becomes loose and is no longer tense . I think it was the alcohol that was making him happy but either way I was okay with it . As long as he had a smile on his face , that's all I cared about .

He ripped off his white shirt and put on a jersey . I watched him change , not afraid to show him I was looking at his body . "Sofia , my eyes are up here" he pointed to his forehead . "That's your forehead" I replied cheekily. "I meant that general area" he rolled his eyes with a smirk . He pulled down his suit trousers with ease and grabbed a pair of his basketball shorts .

He hopped up on the bed beside me . We lay in silence for awhile , both of us lying on our backs . "Why are you here ?" I turned over to face him . "I could ask you the same thing" he retorted . "I never wanted to go downstairs in the first place" I played with my hands to distract myself from the guilt I was feeling . "Why do you feel guilty?" He looked confused.

Why did I feel guilty ? . Maybe it's because everywhere I go , I cause some sort of problem . I'm a burden to everyone and everything . It's like anywhere I go , someone dies or gets hurt and I have no control over it . Just being alive makes me worried for Ace . I feel like I'm cursed or something. Sofia the Curse . I almost giggled to myself after thinking that but it really wasn't funny . I just found it coincidental because it was true .

"I don't know" I sighed shortly . His hands cupped the back of his neck and his elbows pointing away from his head. His head rested on the soft pillow . "I don't know that much about you" he uttered , out of the blue . "Neither do I" I raised my eyebrows.

I never really had time to think about what I liked or enjoyed doing . My father limited my activities and the only ones he would let me do , is the ones I could use as an excuse for my bruises . I was forced to do things like boxing with my brothers and different stuff. My least favourite was definitely football . I got tackled so many times that no one would second guess my bruises . It gave my father more freedom to beat me .

"Tell me about the things you like?" I questioned , trying to dodge what he had asked me . "I like you , you and oh did I say you" his placid expression turned into a big grin while speaking . "What do you really like?" .

"I like fighting" he shrugged with a blank expression. His face didn't light up when he said it . Isn't your face supposed to light up when you talk about something you love? . "Why fighting" I asked with a confused tone but I think I knew the answer already . "Because I get to hit people I don't like" he snickered evilly , earning a smile from me . Yep , I knew it .

"Okay , let me ask the question again, what makes you happy" I mumbled quietly . He stayed silent for awhile . He had to think about this one. "Honestly, I didn't have anything that made me happy...." he looked upset . "Didn't?" I questioned his past tense. "Until I met you" he finished his sentence . I felt my heart melt and the butterflies going crazy in my stomach .

He wasn't even touching me and he drove me insane. Ace was watching my reaction to his words closely . He liked seeing the effect he had on me . But I think it's really sad that his father also stripped him of finding out what he liked . I've heard that he had a really strict schedule as a child and that he didn't go to school . Ace had to excel at everything because he had no other choice .

"So I make you happy?" I chirped . My face probably lit up because I seen him smile ever so slightly . "Yeah" he admitted , sounding kind of embarrassed now . "We should figure out what we like to do together" I suggested . "I want to try archery" Ace muttered , giving us something to start with. "Oooh me too" I agreed .

"And maybe football" he shrugged , not making up his mind just yet . "I'll pass on that one" I grumbled , the idea making me want to curl up into a ball . "Why?" . "Because my father used to force me to play football so that he had an excuse for the bruises when I went to school" I stared at the ceiling , trying to suppress the memories of my aching body being repeatedly tackled and shoved by boys who were twice the size of me.

Football was after school so I'd have time to heal for a few hours if I had gotten beaten the night before . My body got used to healing so fast that if I broke a bone , I probably wouldn't have to go to the hospital because it could heal itself . But I'd still go to the hospital because I don't want the bone to heal wrong.

"Okay , looks like football is a no then" he mentally ticked that one off . "No , I want you to try it though" I encouraged him to do it . I feel like he should do more 'teenager' things . He is only 18 after all but he likes to act as if he's 30 with kids and a bad temper . Except the bad temper part is true .

"I don't want to do football if it will upset you" he groaned as he stretched on the bed . "It won't , plus I'll get to wear your jersey's" I smiled cheerily into the blankets . "Ok ok" he sounded reluctant but it was progress. I'm excited for the day where I can beat Ace in a sport . I will be better at a sport than him .... eventually. I am determined.