16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Ivy

It had been four hours since Axel left me standing in the street. Hearing him tell me he loved me was the most powerful moment of my life. I wanted to tell him I loved him, too. To jump into his arms and show him how much I truly, deeply, and madly cared for him. But I couldn't. He had raced away leaving my heart behind in the dust.

He had chased me down when I was bound and broken. I had been done believing in love and giving myself to another person. But then, he showed up one day and made me break down all the walls I had built. Now, I feel so alive, but for how long? How can this last forever when Axel can just walk away so easily ?

After calling an Uber I went back to my apartment and waited for Lacy to get home. Her trip with Drake had unexpectedly been canceled due to the fire and she was upset. When Lacy arrived, we were both a mess. Our eyes were red from crying and our faces were smudged with makeup and snot.

We hugged and held one another on the couch as we waited anxiously for our phones to ring.

"Everything will be ok," Lacy tried to soothe me.

"I don't know," I cried. "You should have seen the anger in his eyes. He was so upset," I said, shuddering as I reflected back on how Axel looked when he left me.

"You don't think…" Lacy's words trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to say what we were both fearing.

We had fallen asleep sometime after midnight. Awaking the next morning only brought on more distress. Now we were both worried after not hearing from the guys. We tried to start our day, but our stomachs were too upset to eat and our nerves were too fried to go to class or study. After lunch, we finally got our first sign of relief.

I heard my phone ring and Lacy and I both jumped to answer it. Putting the call on speaker, I answered.

"Hello, Axel," I yelled.

"It's Blaze," I heard him say.

I felt defeated as my hopes spiraled down to the pit of my stomach.

"Where is Axel?" I asked.

"Where is Drake?" Lacy yelled over my shoulder .

"They are fine. We found Chuck and his guys at their local bar. Axel went after Chuck again and it was a pretty bad fight. Thankfully, the cops came and broke it up. Axel was arrested. Jagger and I just bailed him out and are now at Drake's apartment. It sustained some damage from the fire, but it is ok."

Hearing that the guys were ok, even if I didn't like the circumstances, sent relief washing through me. "I need to see Axel," I said.

"I will bring him over to see you soon. Let me get him home and cleaned up. It was a rough night," Blaze lightly chuckled.

I guess sometimes you just have to laugh when you can't cry anymore.

"What about Drake? Can I see him?" Lacy asked, his bottom lip shaking as tears threatened to spill again.

I could hear a commotion on the other line. "Lacy, baby. I'm here. Get here when you can, please," Drake said, his voice longing for comfort.

Crying, Lacy tore the phone from my hands. "I am on my way now. I will help with whatever you need," Lacy said before throwing the phone back to me.

She ran around the apartment and grabbed her keys and then left without so much as a goodbye to me. She didn't even change or put on fresh make-up. She must really love this guy.

"Lacy left. Bring Axel when he is ready. Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked.

Micha sighed. "Right now, we are just working with the police. They didn't arrest Chuck because they don't have any proof it was him who caught the bar on fire. We have to call the insurance company and see if it is possible to rebuild. Just your support would be huge. The guys and I only have one another," Blaze said and I heard his voice shake.

"You are wrong, you have us now," I said as I ended the call.

Not knowing when Axel would arrive, I took a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a red shirt. After fearing I had lost Axel, I knew that it was time to push myself and show Axel how much I truly loved him. I would just have to wait for him.