Riaz’s Point Of View
I stood up, unable to believe what my eyes was seeing.
“Riaz…”
My heart skipped a beat. It was real. He was real. My feet moved on their own towards Ace.
“What… are you doing here? How did you get here?”
He held my hand and I tightened my grip around his. I ran away from him. Because of him, I left my family to this strange land to find myself. Throughout my stay here, I prayed I wouldn’t run into him but seeing him standing here, my eyes just can’t help but water.
He might have rejected me. Hurt my feelings but he is a great part of my life. He was the first friend I made at the pack. The first person who smiled to me and showed me kindness. He took care of me and raised me to what I am today. Whenever I was sad, he was there. Whenever I was happy, he was there. When I threw tantrums and fits, he didn’t grow tired of me. Rather, he was patient and embraced me rather than pushing me away.
“Riaz, I…”
I jumped on him and he caught me by my waist. I held him tightly as I cried silently against his shoulder. His body trembled against mine. He was sobbing. I let go of him and wiped his tears with my palm.
“Do you… do you know how worried I was?” He said in-between sobs and I sniffled. I hugged him again and smiled against his chest. He brushed my hair with his fingers and I closed my eyes. I’ve missed this. His little pats on my head whenever he hug.
I let him go and held his head. “How come you’re here?” I asked him and he smiled out tears.
“Some old woman told me to come here.”
I frowned. “Namo?”
Ace tilted his head. “You know her?”
He nodded. “She said you’d be here in Red Orleans. She gave me no direction but somehow, I got here.”
“That means you’re needed here.” Dandelion chipped in. I turned to her and she smiled at me.
“So this was the guy you were talking about? The guy with white hair and blue eyes.” Dandelion said and Ace nodded.
“Wow, I thought you were out of your mind but turns out he really is real. White hair and blue eyes. Beautiful too.”
“Do you flirt with every guy you meet?” Ace asked and Dandelion shook her head.
“I’m only admiring his beauty. I’ve never met a man as beautiful as he is. I thought he was a girl at first.” She turned to Devan. “So this is why you’ve been pushing me away, huh?”
Devan looked away from her lazily and I turned to Ace who had his eyes on Devan.
“So you’ve known about Ace all this while?” I asked Clover and she giggled.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, I wanted to be sure if I could trust him. He kept to himself a lot so it was hard figuring what type of person he was. I wanted to be sure he was safe.” Clover said and I nodded.
“Since when did you get here?” I asked Ace.
“Two months ago.”
“Two months?” I exclaimed and he nodded.
“What did you do for two months?”
“I worked at Dandelion’s shop.”
“For two months?”
“It was hell.” He said tiredly and I chuckled. I glanced at Devan and realized he wasn’t paying attention to us. I took Ace’s hand and pulled him to Devan.
“How rude of me not to introduce you two. Devan, this is Ace. Ace, this is Devan. He’s been helping me since I got here.”
Ace stretched his hand and Devan took it.
“Hi.”
“Nice to meet you.” Devan replied. I glanced between both of them. Why do I feel some kind of tension all of a sudden. They let go of their hands and Ace faced me.
“We need to talk.” He said and I nodded.
“I know but first, let’s get you settled in. You must be tired.”
“I am. Dandelion never feeds me.”
I glared at Dandelion and she raised her hands in surrender. “I was only drilling him. No food for a lazy person.”
“Crazy boss.”
“Lazy employee.”
I glanced between the both of them. They seen quite close. I pulled Ace by his hand and took him inside.
“So this is your room?” He asked as we got in. I nodded.
“Warm during winter, cool during summer. It’s perfect.”
“How do you know that? You’ve only been here for a few months.”
“Well, Devan said that so…”
He pursed his lips, “Devan, huh? How did you meet him?”
“I almost got eaten by a bear but he saved me. He has been taking care of me since then.”
“I gotta thank him then.” He said and I raised my brow at him.
I went to the cabinet and took out a t-shirt. I stretched it to him and our fingers brushed as he collected it. “Why did you come here?” I asked him and he stared at me. He closed the distance between us, his eyes not leaving mine.
“Riaz, you suddenly left the pack. We thought something bad happened to you. Everyone was worried. I.. I was worried. I waited a whole week, hoping you would come back but you didn’t. I almost went crazy.” He sighed and held my hands. “I thought I would be okay without you in the pack but I just couldn’t do it. I had to find you. I was so disoriented without you. I couldn’t sleep. I felt empty and lost. You don’t… you don’t know what you mean to me, Riaz. Why… why did you disappear like that, huh?”
I opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out. I was rendered speechless. Since when did Ace tell people what he’s feeling inside.
“You were… worried?”
“Hell yes! Did you think I would have been happy with you gone? I couldn’t take it. I yearned for you. I yearned for your smile. I just couldn’t do anything. Do you know how happy I was when I saw you?”
“Ace…”
“Let’s go back.”
I frowned. “go where?”
“Back to Whitepeak Pack. Let’s go back.”
I took my hands off his and turned my back to face him. “No.”
“No?”
I turned to him. “Ace, do you even know why I left? I’m not going back there.”
“What do you mean? Whitepeak Pack is your pack. It’s your home, where else would you be? Do you want to be with those guys more than your family? They are not even important.”
I frowned. I felt offended. “Those guys were strangers at first but they are my family now and yes, they are important.”
“Riaz…”
“I am not going back, Ace, and that is final!”
He batted his lashes. His eyes held disbelief. He looked hurt. I looked away from him to not be affected. I’m done dancing to his tune. He can’t just show up and tell me what to do.