His Punishment Her Dread

Ray's P.o.v

I jumped in surprise glaring at Ace. "dammit Ace you scared the hell out of me."

"Calm down shortie." he laughed sitting down next to me blowing out the smoke from his cigarette.

I looked around quickly and grabbed one from his pack sighing as i lit up and blew out instantly relaxed.

"Holy hell girl that was fucking ninja." Ace smirked

"Ya well... shut up your ruining my peace." I shot smiling sweetly.

"So what's your deal?" I asked slowly getting annoyed with the silence.

"What do you mean?" Ace answered.

"You know family, secrets, dark past? Come on spill." I laughed sitting up straiter and looking him in the eyes.

Ace rolled his eyes but answered slowly. "Kayla is my family, secrets... well lets just say you don't wanna know. As for the dark past its something I can't escape, but hell that's life."

He seemed to sink as he spoke his eyes lightening, almost as if he was letting down a guard.

We sat in silence for a while until he broke it. "What about you? You can't be as perfect as they make you seem."

Ace's p.o.v

"Um well... my parents sent me away when I turned 12. Ace threw a huge fit but nothing worked. Away I went." she whispered, refusing to meet my eyes.

What the hell? that was the last thing i expected to come from her mouth. The so called perfect child? Was it all a show?

"Why did they send you off?" I found myself whispering almost as if to keep the peace of the night that fell on our shoulders like a blanket.

She pulled her knees to her chest and with a deep breath she continued. Her arms wrapped around her legs seemed to be the only thing keeping her together.

"I had a 'self mutilation problem' as the doctors put it." she laughed a hard bitter laugh, one that seemed so out of place in her soft voice.

This made me mad. she was so tiny, so frail already how could she hurt herself? How could she justify that?

"Why?" I found myself growling out harsher than I meant.

" Because it was the only think I could control. It was my freedom, my escape... my choice." she whispered looking me in the eyes.

With out thinking I grabbed her pulling her towards me glancing down at her arms noticing the scars. They were so feint you wouldn't notice if you didn't look.

She just watched me. In pure silence. Some part of me was angry with her, beyond any extreme of anger I felt before. But I understood.

"You stopped. Why?" I whispered looking up at her again.

She smiled a small innocent smile that brightened her whole face and blew my mind.

"Carter. and Kayla. They showed me that no matter what there could be happiness in the world. Just by there relationship they showed me that it was worth it. I could see it in my brothers eyes every-time he looked at Kayla. I couldn't do that to him."

She leaned against my chest with a sigh closing her eyes content with the world around her.

"Ray?!" her mother screamed from inside shattering the perfection that surrounded us and her. She was perfection and I was damned if it would be ruined by anyone.