Touching the Heart of Ace
Chapter 29

??So, we have finished the last semester??s question paper. Many of these are frequently asked; please note down question numbers 6, 19 and 23. Though the values given are different, the questions were repeated for three consecutive exams.??

I went through the marked questions and explained the same, over and over again with half of the students bored out of their minds, but I was sure some idiot in the bunch was going to skip the important questions on the exam day.

??Any doubts???

A chorus of tired ??no?? reached my ears.

??Alright then, class dismissed.??

I smirked when the majority the students rushed out of the door, thanking Jesus. I wondered if my Big Baby was throwing a tantrum; most likely.

??Aww, is that a healthy glow I see, Mr. Scott???

I snorted. ??I feel powerful.?? I answered truthfully to Julian and he laughed.

??The kids were cussing at you in the back, they think you are punishing them for not doing your homework.?? I thought his boyfriend hated me, Henry, was his name?

??Not cussing really, the exams are postponed and they thought, you would cut the practice tests off. I appreciate it though.??

??Thanks, Julian. Here is the book you requested. There are my personal notes on the sides, please ignore them. That is more for research and I would suggest your sticking to the exercises for the time being.??

??Thanks. I have this amazing idea for project, will you help me???

??With pleasure, you know my office hours. You have the permission slip???

??Yes. Mr. Scott, that is very kind of you. We thought you will be absent today, but I am glad you could come. We missed...??

??Baby we have to leave now, or we will be late.?? Henry cleared his throat.

??Oh, right. See you later, Mr. Scott. It is good to see you happy. We were worried about you, byeeee...?? His boyfriend dragged him to the door. Julian was a silent guy only when he was not used to new people. I shook my head.

What would be my Big Baby doing right now? He had the press conference today and the thought made me sigh. Was I too harsh? I was, wasn??t I? How would he handle the invasive questions? Stupid, Ace! Why did I do that?

I was waiting for his call. I could not wait for him to pout and whine and me. I chuckled. Would he come and spank me like he threatened? Or would we do what we did that day? I could not describe the feeling of his kisses on my forehead, his kind and sweet talks along with a tight slap on my...

Thank God! There were more than one uses for wearing an oversized sweater.

??Told you he is in love!??

??Fuck! I thought that man was a robot.??

??Well, he is not. And heard that he is only 14.??

??Oh! Shut it! There I thought you stopped your conspiracy theories.??

??I am telling you he is fourteen, and NASA was experimenting on him...??

WHAT THE!!!

That girl had one or two screws loose. She was better at writing mystery slash fiction stories than engineering. Hmmmm... I could help with that. I meant, I helped one kid drop out of this college. He was always busy drawing these amazing abstract art on every surface he could touch on. He was bullied for that for whole his life, for having an amazing talent. I could not draw to save my life and someone was bullied for it. Anyways, long story short, I let him draw anything he wanted as long as he did silently in a corner. Students around him always got distracted by his drawing, he was that good. We had a nice talk, when he flunked another one of my tests. He got in Cali, but his parents disowned him. He was under ??Education for Everyone scheme?? if he kept up with the grades.

I sometimes felt, I was truly an Angel.

Yeah, and I put the person who called me that in a very uncomfortable situation. You are no Angel, Ace. I pouted.

Why was he not calling me yet? Was he not missing me? Did he forget about me?

I was being ridiculous, he had the press conference. But, it was in the morning. Why had he not call me yet? I checked my phone every five minutes even during my dance practise. I was glad, Hell was busy with the new dance competition or she would grill me in a BBQ. That lady was a terror.

It was evening and the call had not reached me. Was he with her? Was that why he forgot about me? Anger was blinding my eyes. Where was he? Did he forget about me that easy? Was he done having fun? HE WAS SUPPOSED TO CALL ME!

Deep breaths!

I meant, I certainly did not want him to call me. It was not like I was interested in him that way anymore. I could do better. But he could at least call me, given the way he begged me not to go. Was that all acting? Of course, it was. He had a new family.

I threw something in my hand to the wall. The loud crack did nothing to silence my internal screaming.

A glass of water.

He was supposed to be miserable without me. He was supposed to be missing me like crazy. Was he with his pregnant wife? Were they having fun? Was he hugging her the way he hugged me? I hated that! I HATED THAT.

I lied down on my stomach biting the pillow hard, so I would not scream.

Ace, Ace, Ace, everything is fine!

WHERE THE FUCK WAS HE!!!

Was he fuckin...

??NO!??

I screamed to the empty room. I scrambled off the sofa, nearly falling down and punched the number.

??Where is he???

??Oh, hello, Davidson. I am alive, thank you so much for worrying. I am doing good with the internship and mom is healthy and happy too.??

Deep breaths. You love Jason so much to see him cry, Ace!

??Jace, babe, where is he??? Do not shout, do not sound so desperate.

??Man! You are so desperate!??

??THEN FUCKING TELL ME WHERE HE IS!!!??

??Jeez! Stop hurting my ears. Shit! Is it bleeding? Wait...??

He took a solid five minutes to come back and informed me that he was not bleeding and thanked me again for ??caring??.

I loved Jace, I really did, didn??t I? I would not kill him, no matter what, would I?

Oh well I could always replace another best friend and mom would be happy with that guy too. She did not need Jason, exactly.

??Mom needs me exactly; she is not going to love any of your other ??best friends?? like she does to me.??

??She will learn.??

Silence.

??I hate you sometimes, Davidson, I hate you a lot.??

??Oh, honey, the feeling is mutual. Nice catching up. On a completely irrelevant topic, not the reason why I called you in the first place, where is he??? Silence again.

??I do not appreciate your sarcasm.??

Jesus and his all little carpenter friends growing up like little mushrooms. I fisted my palm, and thought of everything holy.

??I appreciated yours so much, because you started it.?? Do not shout, do not shout. ??WHERE THE FUCKING HELL IS HE???

Ooops!

??Awww... Jeez, calm the fuck down, the investors are killing him in the conference room, four hours thirty-nine minutes and running. He is not coming out alive. You watched the press conference, right???

??Nooo...??

??Huh!??

??What huh!??

??I thought he was talking about you, guess not.??

??Who was he talking about then???

Was he talking about her? Did he announce about his fatherhood? Did he tell how much he loved her? Did he...

??...d, you there? Dave? Hello.??

??I am here, Jace.??

??I have sent you a copy of the press meet. Watch it, yeah? He is still in conference. I will tell him that you call...??

??NO!!! Don??t?? I did not want him to call, I was just curious. Like anyone would be, there was no need for him to know. It was not like he was talking about me in the press conference.

??Will you be okay, Dave???

?? ??am?? okay, Jace.??

?? Just come home, Dave if it becomes too much. We are here for you.??

??I know Jason, I love you, I do not tell you enough.??

??I love you too. Just... just... let me help you.??

No one could help me. Whatever the twilight zone, I was in, there was no escaping. I loved this pain; I loved this suffering too much.

I laughed because what else could I do? That was better than crying.

?? Talk to you later, kiss mama for me.?? I hung up before he could say anything else.

As expected, they reporters focused mainly on his business. Did none know about his pregnant wife? They should ask him about that too, right?

One of the go-big-or-go-home reporter asked him about the hacking incident in a very invasive way.

??... the investors are heard to be very worried about your no-investigation stance, Mr. Brantley. Why are you remaining silent and non-cooperative towards an investigation? Are there any underlying threats, that you are personally handling???

Damn! That was a loaded question.

I thought Robbie was going to snap her neck, but he suddenly remembered something. Who said he had a poker face; I could read him like a book!

??Who said there is no investigation???

Absolute chaos and I saw Robbie smiling, no, a slight upturn of his lips. So, a smirk. Chaos was Robbie??s favourite, he was going to win and he knew it.

The limelight was taken away from the question and everyone focused on his answers, like he wanted.

My man was a force! And I loved how everyone bowed before him.

He waited until the reporters calmed down and gave him their complete attention, like they should be.

??There is an investigation going on; thoroughly sweeping in and out. I am only against going to F.B.I or any Government agencies. This is not a big issue for me or my company. The malware is contained and is not progressing to any of my active business. The firm that is corrupted is in complete lockdown. I have approached someone who I trust with my life and secrets and I have absolute faith that this issue will be remedied soon. Government agencies have their hands full of other responsibilities. With the replaceing of military grade arms in the basement of a school, F.B.I need all their agents focusing on the lives of innocents rather than this minor huddle. If this remains unresolved, though I have no reason to believe so, I would rather suffer a loss of few millions than taking their precious time away from the most important dilemmas our country is facing now. And Miss. Reporter of Mission Channel, there are no investors in that venture, please do some research before questioning.??

The reporters went hectic and the rest of questions were focusing on his awards, his inspirations, he named my mom as his role-model in business and it warmed my heart.

The streets dogs bared their necks to the Alpha wolf and pride filled my being as he walked out.

Winning against everyone who was giving him a hard time. But who did he trust the most, with his life, his secrets? Was that his wife. But she was a high school dropout, how was she going to do an investigation?

He was in the conference and that was why he was not calling. I would wait.

Ding.

He is out. Looks like a rabid dog- From his Steno. My dick is going to fall off the way, I sell myself for you.

I smiled.

Anytime now, he would call me.

Why was he not calling me? I glared at the annoying phone for not ringing.

Why was he not here, right away? I stared at the door expectantly. He should be here, shouldn??t the?

He said he loved being in my warmth. Why was he not here then?

With his wife? Was he with his wife for comfort. I... I...

Thirty-seven minutes after the conference. Not a text or call.

Forty-eight minutes.

Fifty-two minutes.

Sixty minutes.

Seventy-three minutes.

By the time I was on the verge of crying one hundred twenty-four minutes had passed.

Ring!!!

Please be Robbie... Please be Robbie... Please... Please...

My Jerk calling...

I giggled in happiness.

Robbie!!!

I waited a few rings not to look so desperate. I calmed my racing heart. But before I could answer the call, the phone stopped ringing abruptly

What? Did he give up so easy? No... Why did...

Ring!!!

I jumped and attended the call right away.

??H... Hello???

??A...Angel...!??

My baby, where was he? I wanted him on me, I wanted to hug him and press kisses all over and...

??Why??? You run!!! You ran!!! I hate you run... Why?????

??Robbie, where are you???

??Why do you care? You don??t care. You don??t care about me. You ran away from me.??

I shook my head. He was so adorably stupid. My Big Baby.

??YOU CANNOT RUN.??

Was he drunk? There was no slur in his voice but Robbie was behaving like he was drunk. Cheap alcohol, four or five shots perhaps? No, he might have passed eight at least.

??Robbie, are you drunk???

??NO!??

Definitely drunk.

??Robbie, where are you??? I softened my voice, so he would answer me truthfully.

??Nooo...??

??Yes, tell me. I am worried.?? I was... Where was he anyways? The press conference was only ten miles from here.

??No, you don??t. You went away.?? My heart was breaking.

??Robbiee...??

??Jack and Daniel??

??That is close from here.??

??Yes. I am always close to you.??☐☐☐☐☐