Those Worse Off Than You

I walked down the hall with the paper in my hand and snuck open the door to Ace's room, only to see a familiar slump of blankets.

"Ace," I called quietly. "Are you awake?"

He pulled down the covers to reveal a pale, almost sick looking face. "You shouldn't be here," he remarked. "I might try to kill you too."

I shifted my eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean? Don't be silly. What happened to your eye?"

"I got in a fight. And I almost killed Alex- he set me off and I just started... suffocating him like a madman. I wasn't even thinking... I just saw my dad when I looked at him."

"Well the important thing is that you didn't kill him," I stated, trying to find the bright side of the situation. "Hey Ace- did you see the news lately?"

"No- I started watching it, but I didn't get the chance to finish."

"Did you know that you dad was in a car accident?"

"Yea," he mumbled. "I knew that when I saw the wreck last night. He killed someone else."

"Yea Ace- he did," I said and brainlessly lifted the paper to show him the front page, feeling slightly apathetic. "Himself."

He opened his mouth, and in almost a gasp, he muttered, "Shit," before turning deathly white.

Ignoring how sick he looked, I continued. "What kind of other accidents has he been in?"

He looked up blankly to meet my eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "I... uh.... a couple." He looked down with shame.

I groaned, "Ace! It says 'over five'!"

"Okay- a lot," he confessed.

"God damn, Ace- if what I'm thinking is true.... so help me God- I will never speak to you again," I shouted in fear and anger.

"No- Jayde, you don't understand," he looked up and his eyes began to water.

God no... please....