Two days after Ace's arrest, it was a moody Monday morning. Meaning I had to go to hell, aka school while Ace was put in prison for a long long time.

I was dreading it more than anything. I hadn't talked to Holly at all over the phone all weekend and never texted her. I knew it was her who told the police about Ace. I couldn't blame her, though. She did what was right, but couldn't she just hold it back just this once?

I thought I could've trusted her. She was my best friend after all. But I have to admit, I was pretty mad. I couldn't push all the blame on her. Anyway who wouldn't tell their parents about a stolen car?

I was the only one who knew about the money stashed in Ace's closet, and that was an extremely big risk. He told me after Holly had left the house in a hurry.

I sighed and rolled off the bed, shutting my eyes and hoping this would rid my headache. I really couldn't believe I was actually going to let Ace sleep in my bed. Holy crap, I couldn't believe I was going to kiss him. If the police didn't barge into the room, I would've kissed Ace Will.

However deep down inside me, I was very glad I didn't kiss him. After all, he was a bad boy. I was a good girl.

But none of that mattered at the moment. The more important thing was where the police were going to find the money-- if Ace hadn't told them already. And I knew where it was. I could be in trouble if I didn't tell the police.

I took a deep breath in.

After I finished my hot shower, I brushed my teeth and got dressed. I sat in front of my vanity and brushed on a little blusher and mascara to cover the eyebags underneath my eyes and the look of death. My feet were feeling itchy underneath the bandages, I felt like ripping them off.

"Hi Wicky."

I looked down to see Bob running towards me and clinging onto my leg. He had a dummy in his mouth. His nose was runny with snot and his dirty blonde hair was messed up. He was also in only his night-time nappies or diapers or whatever.

"Hey Bobby, why don't you go back to bed?" I asked, picking him up. Wow, he was getting heavier and heavier each day. I stood and up held him on my left hip, admiring him.

He gurgled something and pulled his dummy out of his mouth. "No." Then he put the dummy back in his mouth.

"I'm going to take you into your bedroom and then place you in your cot. Alright?"

Bob made a face with earned him a laugh from me as I carried him over the landing and into his small bedroom. His blue curtains were shut and his little cot lay in the corner of his blue bedroom. His wallpaper were tiny footballs everywhere and a glowering lamp stood next to the cot. His wardrobe was set next to the window and the dark blue carpet was covered in toys, and Legos.

I placed him into the cot and pulled the blankets over him. Then I tucked him in bed and then kissed him on his temple.

"Sleep tight," I whispered. I was about to say good night, but it was the morning so that would be quite strange. And also I didn't want to confuse Bob at all. Bobby nodded and closed his eyes. I carefully tiptoed out of his bedroom and closed the door quietly.

When I got downstairs, I saw my mum in the kitchen. Wasn't she like sick? She turned around when she saw me and frowned.

"Can you explain what happened last night?" she asked. I looked around for any scrunched up tissues, but the kitchen was completely free of them. I sighed and set my bag down on the counter. I jumped up and sat on the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Mum, please can I explain to you after school? I'm going to be late," I mumbled, looking around. I grabbed the nearest apple off the table and bit into it. "Are you still sick by the way?"

"No, actually. I'm getting better."

"Okay good. Can I go to school now?" I asked, taking another bite of my apple. She nodded.

"Just explain to me about it when you see me again, okay? The police didn't tell me anything."

I nodded. Grinning, I grabbed my bag off the counter, slipping out of the front door, thankful that I didn't have to explain. I shut the door quietly, careful not to wake Bobby up from his sleep. I looked around and reached into my bag for my car keys. I took it out and pressed the unlock button. The beep came from my Mercedes Benz.

***

I stepped out of the car and into school. My head was kept down the entire day. Word had spread through the school that Ace had been arrested whilst inside my bedroom, which was basically true. How they had found out, I honesty had no idea. Lots of people were whispering about me, but I just ignored them.

"Victoria?"

I ignored the voice. I knew it was Holly, but I didn't feel like talking to her just yet. After what she'd done, I didn't want to face her again. It was the right thing to do, but I just didn't feel like being close with her right now. I knew it was wrong for Ace to be stealing a car in the first place, but he had to, otherwise his sick mother would die.

"Victoria, look at me. I'm sorry, I had to," she said, a quiver evident in her shaky voice. I gritted my teeth and clutched my books to my chest. My ears could still hear her footsteps tracing after me when I reached my locker. Punching in my code, I tiredly shoved my very heavy books into my blue paint-peeled locker. I was going to visit Ace after school. Really, all I wanted to do was just to see him. I had already gotten my dad's consent.

He and I were talking about him the other day. My dad said he had links-- meaning there could be a way to shorten Ace's prison days.

Once I had shut my locker, I trudged to the canteen. The footsteps belonging to Holly were still following me. I took a deep breath in.

"Will you quit it?" I snapped, turning around. Holly looked taken back, she stopped walking and bit her lip anxiously. "Stop following me. I don't feel like doing this."

Holly's face saddened. "I'm sorry- look he really deserved it-"

"No. Please, Holly. I understand that your dad needs the car and it was the right thing to do, but now Ace is in prison for sacrificing himself for his mum," I exclaimed, looking at her with a scowl.

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it. Then her lips started to tremble and she looked like she was going to sob and bawl her fucking blue eyes out. Oh come on, I knew I was being harsh but there was no reason to be crying. She was old enough to take care of her own problems without crying.

"Victoria, I said I was sorry now can we just forget this?" she mumbled, looking at me in the eyes.

"Did you not hear me?" I said. Holly's eyes darkened. "I know this is none of your fault but I cant forget this, okay. He ne fucking money to help his mum be alive. She only had a few months left. She has cancer, Holly. Imagine your life, a disappointmemt. You couldn't get a job because every time you actually found a job, you got turned down for your reputation that you can't help. Therefore you couldn't earn any money. But you couldn't help it, because that was who you were. And your mum was sick with lung cancer and your dad was a stupid druggie who recently got fired from his work. What else can you do?"

I didn't agree with myself 100%. But at that moment, all I really cared about was Ace-- and anything that came out of my mouth was in the position of defending him.

Holly didn't reply to that one. "Exactly what I thought," I muttered, looking away. "Now he's in prison and his mother didn't even get to continue the chemotherapy because Ace is gone. Holly, do you understand what you've done? Ace's mum will die because of you."

"He's poor. He shouldn't be stealing
Stop it. Stop defending a thief!"

"Go away," I mumbled. I felt a little bad for saying those words to her. I would never, ever, imagine saying that to my best friend, Holly Hills and meaning it. She was always the sweet, caring girl who always agreed with me. "I need space."

Holly pursed her lips, her forehead pressed up. A few tears rolled down her puffy cheeks and she wiped them with her sleeves.

"If that's the way you think-- supporting a guy equal to a tramp. Fine, I'll leave you alone. I only earn from it," she spat, pulling her sleeves up to her eyes and wiping them.

She turned around and walked off, not in the direction of the canteen but the direction of the girls' toilets. Great, so she was going to cry herself off inside the bathroom in an empty cubicle and wait until someone saved her.

"What a wonderful day," I mumbled under my breath. My tongue was dripping with sarcasm like syrup on a sizzling brown pancake.