If I thought my reaction to seeing Jace covered in bandages was bad, it was nothing compared to Ms. Amy's reaction. Tears swelled in her blue eyes every time she looked at him. It was like she was mourning her son despite the fact he was alive and well on the couch. She didn't ask many questions though, not in front of me. It made me wonder if she knew about his secrets. The temptation to ask her was unbearable, but I kept my mind off of it by tending to Jace.

He tried to refuse the help, said he was fine. He was still trying to push me away, I could feel it in the guarded way he looked at me.

Maybe Jace was right. How much of him pulling away can I really handle? How long would it take before enough is enough?

I don't know, hell, I don't even fully understand this need to not give up. Especially after the other night outside of the club. I was ready to walk away then. The thought of Jace keeping things from me, of him not trusting me, it felt like too much. But the idea of him pushing me away out of some misguided sense of duty feels worse. The defeated look on his face is more than I can handle.

Maybe I wasn't ready to fight for us that night, but after seeing him beaten both physically and mentally, I can't just walk away. I can't prove him right and let him believe whatever horrible thoughts he has about himself. No matter what his secrets are, there's no way they're bad enough for him to look at himself in that kind of light.

Right?

Monday morning, Ms. Amy instructed Jace to stay home for the week. She said he needed to heal and I agreed. He wasn't happy about it but he didn't fight us either.

It's been a few days since then. A few days of Jace detaching himself from me. Of me trying not to lose hope. The one shred of light in all of this is Jace's birthday tomorrow. He says he doesn't want to celebrate but Ms. Amy isn't having any of it. Apparently, her sister isn't either. She's taken it upon herself to throw Jace a birthday dinner at her home. The whole family is going to be there, and after today, being around family could be just what he needs. I'm just not sure that includes me.

While I sit in the library for study hall, trying desperately to focus on my work, Jace and Ms. Amy are at the funeral of a family friend who passed away over the weekend. I don't know much about what happened but the sorrowful looks on their faces when I left this morning are enough. It makes me wonder how my mom and Carl are holding up with their own loss.

I should call Mom later, it's been a while. And if I'm being honest, I miss her.

With a deep sigh, I close my book, giving up on trying to cram the information for tomorrow's test in my head. What I need more than anything right now is to clear my mind. Just forget about everything.

I stuff my things in my bag and walk out of the library to aimlessly wander the halls. With Jace and everyone at the funeral, this is the first time my school's felt like it did before the merge, to me at least. It's crazy to think about everything that's happened since then. I was so sure the added tension of Westcounty joining would create issues with everyone. But I was wrong. There are still those that don't get a long but for the most part, everyone seems to be blending naturally.

I pass by classes and see kids who used to hate each other talking and laughing, annoying the hell out of their teachers. But they're doing it together and that alone speaks volumes. Even the PTA, who originally weren't happy about the idea, have noticed the comradery among everyone. Good thing too. Hell has no fury like pissed off parents.

Enjoying my solo tour of the school, I don't realize the path I've taken until I hear familiar voices around the corner.

"You're torturing yourself, A," Marcel's calm voice says in a hushed tone.

Someone sniffles. "I know, but I can't give up on him."

Ava.

Marcel sighs deeply. "It's not giving up. It's moving on. You know how he feels."

"But what if I can change that? What if I can get him to feel that way for me?" Ava's voice cracks, making my heart break for her.

I hate eavesdropping, and whatever is going on must be serious if Ava's crying about it. So with a deep breath, I walk around the corner, prepared to comfort my best friend.

Marcel's warm brown eyes find mine, a sad smile tipping his lips. But when Ava looks at me, all I see is pain reflected in her teary gaze.

"Hey." I wave awkwardly before seeing the true extent of Ava's heartache written on her face. My face pinches together, feeling her pain, as I step towards her. "What's wrong, A?"

Her lip trembles as she furiously wipes the wetness from her cheeks. "Don't worry about it. Not like you can help anyway."

My mouth hangs open, nearly brushing the floor as she storms off down the hall. As she struts around the corner and out of sight, I drag my attention to Marcel.

"What was that about?" I ask, waving my hand in the direction Ava went.

Another sigh falls from his mouth. "She's just going through some shit right now."

"Like?"

"It's not my place to say, Lex." He shrugs.

I scoff. "How am I supposed to help her if I don't even know what's going on?"

Marcel shakes his head and walks over to place a sturdy hand on my shoulder as he stares me directly in the eyes. "You can't help everyone, sis. Best thing you can do is wait for her to come to you and when she does, which I know she will cause fuck knows I'm shit at girl talk, then be there for her."

My stomach twists with guilt. Ava's hurting and I've been too wrapped up in my own things to be there for her. So much so that she chose to go to Marcel before talking to me. Some friend I am.

"Don't do that, Lex," Marcel orders in his I-mean-business voice.

Tears prick my eyes. "I'm a horrible friend."

Marcel wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a tight hug, tucking my head against his chest. "No you're not. You've just hand your hands full too. We've all been a little preoccupied lately but that's not on you. What we all need is a night of fun. We haven't done that in a while."

"Yeah, fucking ages." I nod in his embrace.

When he pulls away, a silly smile graces his face. "And I got the perfect idea."

I stare at him with a confused raise of my brow. If he thinks I know where this is going, he's dead wrong.

When I don't say anything, Marcel huffs and shakes his head. "Your birthday, Lex. I'm talking about your birthday."

"Shit," I mumble, mentally facepalming.

I must really be stressed out if I've forgotten my own birthday. Jace's is tomorrow which means mine's the day after, Friday. This is supposed to be one of the biggest birthdays of my life. I'll be an adult for crying out loud! How could I forget about that?

"Wow, Lexi." Marcel deadpanns before shaking off his own shock at my horrible memory. "Alright, don't stress it. We'll talk about it at lunch and get together a game plan. I'll make sure Ava and Caleb are there, too. Even if I gotta drag their asses to the caefeteria."

I lightly chuckle and nod. "Alright. I'll see you guys there."

Marcel kept his word.

Making my way to our usual table in the back of the cafeteria, I'm impressed to find all three of my best friends sitting down. Though to say they look like the usual bunch of wise-cracking, sweet, and happy people would be a lie. Ava stares down at her plate, lost in thought as she moves the food around with her fork. Caleb doesn't even have a plate of food, opting to shove his nose in a book instead.

Then there's Marcel stuck sitting between the two of them. He takes a large bite of his burger and chews silently as his eyes bounce back and forth from Ava to Caleb like he's waiting for them to say something. When he sees me approach, he breathes a sigh of relief and smiles with his cheeks full of food.

I set my tray on the table and take a seat across from Marcel. The weird tension in the air seems to grow stronger as Ava looks up from her food and Caleb slowly lowers his book.

"Hey," I say softly.

The two of them mumble incoherent replies of equal meaning. Except Marcel of course.

"What's up, party girl?" Marcel says loudly in an overly cheerful tone that doesn't fit with the scene around us.

Biting my lip, I shrug and stab at my food, already losing my appetite.

When did things get so awkward between all of us?

I try to resist the urge to blame myself again and force myself to take a bite of the bland school potatoes.

Marcel's smile slips. He cuts both Ava and Caleb stern looks before clearing his throat. "Alright, enough of the bullshit. Everyone needs to stop acting so fucking weird so we can move on." He turns to Caleb. "Brush that chip off your shoulder and cheer the fuck up. Lexi and Jace are cool. Deal with it and stop acting like an ass."

Caleb's eyes narrow, his jaw thumping with tension.

Marcel raises a brow at him. "Yeah, I know you've been ignoring her. She's not gonna say anything about it but I will. Her birthday is in two days. Our. Best friend's. Birthday, dude." He breaks down the last words for emphasis. "Grow up and celebrate with us."

Moving onto Ava, Marcel grabs her chair and spins it around easily, making her little frame face him.

"Say something." He pins her with a knowing look, trapping her in his stare.

Ava's lips press tightly into a thin line.

Marcel sighs, his eyes softening. He nods like he understands whatever it is she's silently telling him.

That makes one of us at least. I wish-for the second time today-that I knew what was going on with her. My heart aches to be her confidont, but I hold onto what Marcel said earlier. When she's ready, she'll talk to me.

"If you won't say something, then you have to move past is, A," Marcel tells her in a softer tone than what he used with Caleb. He smiles brightly at her. "And what better way to do that than with a party. You know we need you. No one can decorate their asses off like you."

A ghost of a smile tugs at her lips.

Using this chance to reach her, I nod in agreement. "He's right, A. No one can make my birthday as special as you can."

She looks over her shoulder at me with warm eyes. "Thanks, Lex...and sorry about earlier."

I push my food away and get up to wrap my arms around her. "No worries. We all lash out sometimes." I squeeze tight before whispering in her ear, "And I'm here if you need me."

She nods as I sit back down while Caleb watches all of us with confusion pulling at his brows.

"What's going on?" He looks at Ava. "You okay, A?"

Her eyes fall to the floor. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Marcel sighs but doesn't address the issue again, at least not that issue. He thumps his fist lightly on the table. "Okay, the party planning committee is now in session. Lex is going to be the second one of us to reach adulthood and we need to do this right."

I beam proudly, feeling the tension strip away from our little group.

Marcel turned eighteen shortly after the school year started, making him the first legit adult. We through a huge blow out on the beach, but with the weather changing, anything outside might be too cold now.

"First off," Ava cuts in, righting herself in her seat like she wasn't just feeling down and out. "We should do it on Saturday. I know Lexi's actual birthday is Friday, but Saturday gives us more time to set up instead of trying to rush after school. We'll also need smoke machines, enough lights to be seen from space, and lost of booze."

Marcel nods excitedly and pulls out a notebook from his backpack. He quickly scribbles down Ava's list.

"And cake!" Ava adds, pointg at Marcel's notebook. "A huge one. With pink and purple frosting." She shoots me a wink. "Gotta go with our girl's favorite colors."

I cover my heart with both hands. "Aww, you remembered."

Ava scoffs. "Of course. Just like I also know green is a favorite too but ,I'm sorry girl, green is going to clash with those colors. So we're not doing that."

"I have no complaints with that." I shake my head, smiling.

"I'll cover party food," Caleb speaks up.

The three of us shoot him approving looks, happy he's joining the conversation.

"Chips, dip, all that shit." He proudly nods.

Marcel nods. "Alright, and I'll take care of the music." He looks up from his notebook with a huge grin. "I'm gonna DJ the shit out of this party."

"Wait, where the hell are we doing this at?" Caleb looks at me with a frown. "Your mom's gonna flip if she comes home to a raging party."

And with that, my stomach sinks to the ground and hides under the table. I'm not the only one who feels the unspoken elephant in the room either. Marcel's writing hand stills and Ava's lips fold in to keep from saying anything.

This isn't how I wanted to tell him, but I don't really have a choice now.

Don't hate me, Caleb.

My eyes drift down to the table, starring at a chipped piece in the wood. "Um...no, she won't be mad." I shake my head and bite my lip. "She won't be back from New York until next week. So, we have time to clean."

I chance a small look at Caleb. His head jerks back as his eyes narrow.

"New York? Why did she go to New York?" He shakes his head. "When did this happen?"

"It's a long story but she and Carl had to go there for some family stuff. They've been gone almost two weeks now," I inform slowly.

"And you've just been on your own this whole time?" Caleb's soft green eyes swim with concern. "Lex, why didn't you say something? We could've been taking turns keeping you company or something."

Ava's expressive eyes widen before she turns her head to look away from the oncoming car crash. Even Marcel cringes in his seat.

Okay, Lex, you can do this. Just say it. Rip off the bandaid.

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves. "Uh...I haven't been alone."

Caleb looks twice as confused as he looks at our friends for some help before turning that silent request to me.

"I haven't been staying at home, actually," I add, and return to moving the food on my plate around with my fork. "I...um...I've been staying with Jace."

Just that fast, it feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. Even the sounds of the other kids in the cafeteria seem to drownout.

When I look up at Caleb, I'm struck with a sharp pain in my chest.

His emerald eyes have turned hard and angry. Gritting his teeth, he stares down at the table like he's looking into the abis. "And everyone knew but me."

It's not a question. He can tell from our friends' silence that they knew about this.

Jerking his head to the side, his vision zeroes in on me. "Why?"

"Why what?" I ask cautiously.

"Why stay with him? Why wait to tell me?" Caleb's clipped voice answers with more questions.

Unable to hold his gaze, I look down. "My mom and his mom are friends. They made the arrangements."

It's a copout and not completely true. I know that and instantly feel guilty.

Shaking my head, I try for honesty. "I mean it was Jace's idea but our moms are friends, and it was a last minute thing. Mom and Carl needed to leave right away and the offer was there, so..." I shrug, struggling to find the right words. "And I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react this way. You aren't exactly Jace's biggest fan."

"Even so, you still could've told me, Lex," he says with an undertone of hurt feelings mixing in with his anger.

"Not really." I shake my head. "Like Marcel said, you haven't really been around. Hell, this is the first time I've seen you in the cafeteria in weeks."

Caleb hangs his head and runs his hands over his head with a sigh. "Yeah...I've been a shitty friend."

"I didn't say that. You've just...been taking some personal time, and I didn't want to ruin that. You've been mad enough at me as it is."

"I'm not mad at you, Lex." He drops his hands on the table with a thump as he looks up at me. "I'm mad at that asshole. I don't like him, and I don't like how he is with you."

This time it's my turn to look confused as my head yanks back. "How do you know how he is with me? You take off any time he's around."

"I don't need to be around to see it," Caleb grumbles. "Jace wants you back. I'd have to be stupid not to know that."

"So what if he does? Is that really a bad thing?" I wince the second the words leave my mouth.

Caleb's whole body stiffens. "I knew this was gonna happen."

"What?" I ask, not understanding if he's talking to me or himself.

But he doesn't answer. Instead he get's up from his seat, knocking his chair to the ground.

"Just, fucking forget it." He grabs his bag off the floor. "I'll see you guys at the party."

I watch as he storms out of the cafeteria, a bit more confused than I was before.

What in the hell is going on with him?

"Well, that was some fun party planning," Marcel remarks, attempting to cut the newly formed tension as the school bell rings.

When the last bell rings for the day, I make quick work of getting to my car. Besides stressing about Caleb's bahvaior from lunch, I've been worried about Jace and Ms. Amy. All I want is to get to their place and help however I can, even if there's a strong possibility Jace will shut me out again. But what I find in the parking lot makes me pause in my tracks.

Kade, Wilder, Travis, and Josie are leaning against their bikes, parked next to my car. Their attention falls on me as I resume walking. Kade pushes off his bike, exhaustion etched into his face and stubble shading his jaw like he hasn't shaved in days. But the look in his eyes seems hopeful as I get closer.

"What's going on?" I cautiously ask.

"We want to talk to you...without Jace around."

"Okay," I answer slowly before opening my car door to throw my bag in. When I turn back around, I lean against my Lexus and cross my arms. "So, what's up?"

Travis and Josie both look at Kade who seems to be mauling over his words.

Wilder, on the other hand, lets out a frustrated huff before blurting out, "We need your help with Jace's surprise party."

Surprise party? Last I heard he was just going to a family dinner at his aunt's. Not much of a surprise or a party there.

As if reading my thoughts, Kade shakes his head. "Not the family dinner. That's separate. We normally throw a party for birthdays..."

"Yeah, like huge fucking ravers," Wilder cuts in with an excited smile despite everyone's solem moods.

To think they were all at a funeral before deciding to come here, warms my heart. They all really care about Jace. He's a lucky guy to have people who are so worried about cheering him up even when they're feeling the same loss he is.

Kade shoots him an annoyed look before continuing, "Yeah, like those. But Jace keeps saying he doesn't want a party this year..."

"Which is bullshit," Josie cuts in this time.

"Can I talk?" Kade throws his hands in the air, glaring at Jo with exasperation.

She sticks out her tongue at him before waving her hands. "Fine, go on, Mr. Attitude."

Kade sighs but pauses and looks at everyone as if waiting for them to add anything else. When no one does, he nods. "Alright, yes, we think he's full of shit. Jace never turns down a party. So, we thought we should surprise him with one. Once he gets there, we all know he's gonna unwind and have fun but with everything going on this week we haven't had a chance to plan anything."

"And now we have to do this last minute," Travis adds.

Kade's eyes narrow but he doesn't say anything about being interrupted for a third time. "So we gotta whip up something quick, and need someone to bring him to the party under false pretenses."

"Like you." Wilder points at me. "You can seduce him into following you anywhere, he won't even fucking question it."

Josie snorts at that one.

"Gee, thanks, Wild." I pretend to act offended. "What am? Just bait in heels and a skirt?"

Wilder shrugs. "Your words, not mine."

I roll my eyes and smile. "Okay, fine, I can do that. But do you guys need help with anything else?"

"Well." Kade tilts his head back and forth. "Do you know where we can throw a party last minute?"

"What about your dad's barn?" I ask and everyone freezes like I've just brought up a taboo subject. "What? I thought you guys party there."

Josie nods. "We do, but having an entire high school's worth of drunk kids at the barn is a bad idea."

"Right," Kade agrees.

Hmm, so they need a place to throw a party and I'm already throwing one.

Could this be any more perfect?"

"I got an idea." I smile wide. "I'm having my birthday party this Saturday at my place. Why don't we make it a joint party?"

"Now that's a good fucking idea!" Travis points at me before clapping his hands. "No party planning needed. That's what I'm talking about."

Josie shoves his shoulder lightly. "If we do that, we're still going to help, asshole."

Kade rolls his eyes at them. "Alright, sounds cool. But you sure, Lex?"

"Yeah." I nod. "I just gotta talk to Marcel and Ava. They're doing most of the planning."

"Okay, send them both mine and Jo's numbers. If they're down, they can text us and we'll handle it from there," Kade says as he pulls his phone from his pocket.

Wilder frowns from behind him. "But how are you gonna get him there? He's not gonna believe you want to seduce him in front of a room full of people?"

I chuckle and shrug. "I'll just tell him we're going to my party, then you guys can surprise him."

"Oh!" Josie jumps excitedly. "I have the perfect idea for this!"

I laugh at her enthusiastic energy, already feeling my mood getting better.

Now, if I can just brighten Jace's mood next. 

💋____________________________________💋

Hey lovelies! Sorry this chapter is a little short and doesn't have a lot going on. I had to revisit some other plotlines and set up this awesome party. But I hope you all still enjoyed it!

So, what do you think about Jace pulling away from Lexi? Any ideas on ways she can fix that? What do you think is going on with Ava? What's your thoughts on Caleb's reaction to finally finding out about Lexi living with Jace? Think there's any way she can salvage their friendship? And what about this joint party? You excited for it? Any predictions for it? What about the family dinner coming up?

One more big question, with this story getting further along, I'm starting to think there will be a book 2 to Jace and Lexi's story before I start the spinoffs. But I'm debating on creating a separate book for it or just having the second book being added to this one on WP. What are your thoughts on that? Would you continue in a new book? And do you think you'll read the spinoffs?

Okay so that was three more questions, sorry. 🤷 lol 

Let me know what you think in the comments and if you like what you read, please hit that star button!

Also, 15K reads!!!!! 

As usual, the teaser for chapter 29 will be posted on my Twitter and Instagram in the next day or two!