Agony

9

"Why didn't you knock on the door like a normal person?" Ace grumbled.

"I doubt that Cher would've allowed me in." Dallas pointed out matter-of-factly.

He had a point.

All of us moved to the living room.

That was when Dallas noticed me and Hayley.

I knew he was going to make the same mistake as Ace.

But, Dallas didn't hesitate.

He walked up to me. Not Hayley.

"What?" He smirked down at me, taking his bottom lip between his teeth, noticing the shock in my eyes. "You think a little hair dye," He twisted a strand of dark hair between two fingers. "New piercings." He brushed a finger over my left ear. "Will make it hard for me to identify you?"

"Your brother couldn't tell us apart." I snapped, stepping away from him.

"Half." Both of them corrected simultaneously.

I rolled my eyes.

"In my defence, I didn't see the two of you together." Ace spoke out, looking less asleep.

Dallas leaned forward to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. His hair had grown a bit and he looked tanner than I remembered. "You got these little freckles on your neck, and you chew the inside of your cheek when you're thinking or worried about something."

I abruptly stopped chewing my cheek and created some distance between us.

"Not to mention, only you wear such cute pyjamas." He grinned down at my satin tank and shorts.

I folded my arms feeling deeply exposed under his scrutiny.

"Get a room," Hayley muttered from the couch. She'd listened to Ace and stayed out of the way.

I blushed a deep shade of red.

"Oh, how could I forget? You also turn into a cherry when you blush." Dallas grinned.

I stopped feeling flustered when I remembered what he'd done.

"Get out." I snapped.

His smile dropped. "What? We were just having a bonding moment--"

"--Get out of my apartment. I can't stand you being here." I crossed my arms.

"And you're going to let Ace stay? How so?" He protested, a hint of hurt in his tone.

"He's not the reason that I moved. He's not the reason..." My voice cracked. "He's not the reason my best friend is in a coma right now. He's not the reason I don't know if I'll ever see her again."

"Cher." He reached forward.

I jumped away, my back hitting the wall. "Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me. You knew! You knew Ellie had cancer and that her body was weak. But you still scared her. You scared her so badly she got a cardiac arrest and now...Now I don't know if I'll ever hear her voice again. If I'll ever hear her laugh."

I started to tear up. Stupid tear ducts, I'm not sad, I'm angry!

"Cher please, let me explain." Dallas implored.

"How?" I burst out. "How the hell can you explain what you did on the rooftop?"

He raised his hands up in surrender. "If you'd just sit down, and relax for one moment, I'll tell you everything."

"Relax?" I hissed. "You want me to relax?"

Ace grabbed me from behind before I could lunge for Dallas.