**edited 14/01/2021**

Elle's POV

Wednesday 10th October 2018

        I unlocked the door to my dorm and threw it open, angrily answering the seventeenth call from Carson. "Stop fucking calling me," I spat down the phone before hanging up, throwing my phone onto my bed. "If he calls me again, I'm smashing that phone up!" I yelled at Delilah and Ace who were watching with wide eyes. 

 He had started calling halfway through my drive home, begging me to come back and saying what he said before was a mistake, he wanted me back. I hung up on him and he just continued to incessantly call, I nearly threw the phone our of the window at some point in the journey home.

 "What happened?" Delilah asked.

 I threw my bag onto my bed and then turned to them. "He was fucking some random girl, mere days after he punched me in the face. He's been fucking this girl since he got to college," I stressed, rubbing my hands over my face. "And then he has the nerve to say he wants me back?"

 "Calm down, Elle. Tell us what happened," Delilah took my hand and sat me down on my bed.

 I opened my mouth to say something but instead I began crying my eyes out, digging my face into my hands. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I sobbed into my hands before looking up at Delilah with teary eyes. "He's such an asshole, and I know that but for some reason I'm hurt. He's hurt me."

 "Of course you'll be hurt, he's a massive douchebag that's just ruined your trust. Nothing is wrong with you," she reassured me, rushing over to my side to wrap her arm around my shoulders.

 I nodded. "He is an asshole but for some weird reason I loved him, and I thought he loved me. I'm so pathetic," I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "I can't believe I ever trusted him."

 "Oh sweetheart," she cooed.

 I shrugged my shoulders and leaned my head on her shoulder. "I just thought he was different, he seemed like such a gentleman."

 I wiped my tears and pushed my messy hair back. "What can we do? What do you need?"

 "Honestly? I want to talk to my brothers, they always know what to do," I said, my heart aching as I thought about them. Whenever I was upset, they talked me down from that mood and I always appreciated them.

 "Do you wanna call them? It might make you feel better. Ace and I will give you some space," she offered and I nodded.

 "If that's okay?" I asked and she just smiled and kissed my forehead.

 "Call me when you're ready for me to come back," she said soothingly. "And for what it's worth I really hope one of your brothers flies over just to kick his ass," she said and I found myself laughing through the tears, shaking my head at her. "Come on you," she motioned for Ace to follow her.

 "Give me a minute," he said to her and she looked at me before nodding, walking out of the door. I watched as Ace got off of her bed and walked over to me. "Tell me if you need anything, Elle, I mean anything. You don't deserve how he's treated you," he forced a smile on his lips.

 "Thank you Ace," my voice was small but I meant every word. He shovelled his hands into his pockets before walking out of the door, he looked back like he was going to say something but just ended up walking out.

 I sighed and picked up my phone that was still being blown up by Carson, I hung up his latest call and then clicked on Sawyer's name. After three rings he picked up. "Hey baby sis!" He cheered as he picked up. "I'm at mom's, d'ya wanna say hi to everyone?"

 As soon as I heard his voice I began weeping, not knowing what had come over me. "Sawyer," I whimpered out.

 "What's happened? Elle are you okay?" His voice was panicked and I felt bad for worrying him. I hated when my brothers worried about me.

 "I'm sorry, I just needed to talk... Carson," I sniffled between my words. "He cheated on me," I forced out the last words. "He's been sleeping with this random girl since he got to college, he's been doing this for weeks."

 "He did what?" Sawyer seethed, he was used to being able to sort out any problems I had but this time it was up to me to sort out. He was miles and miles away, unable to beat the guy up or even wipe away my tears. "Harley! Carson fucking cheated on Elle," he shouted to Harley and I screwed my eyes shut, not wanting mom to hear. I knew she'd worry more, she always worried too much about me.

 "I'll kill him," Harley's voice responded.

 "Do we need to fly out? We can kick his ass together?" Sawyer half-joked and I chuckled, shaking my head before I realised they couldn't see me.

 "No. You know I'm not even sad about losing him, I'm just embarrassed that I wasn't even good enough for a scum bag like him. If I'm not even good enough for him, who am I good enough for?" As soon as the words came out of my mouth a few more tears rolled down my cheeks. "He's made me feel so small, so worthless. We were friends for years, was it all fake? Was any of it real on his part?"

 Sawyer and Harley fell silent for a few moments. "Do you need to come home, Elle?" Sawyer's voice was calm and low. 

 I shook my head, wiping the tears from my cheeks. I wouldn't be the girl who broke down and flew home over some stupid break-up with some asshole guy. "No, no. I'm fine, seriously."

 Sawyer sighed. "You're worrying us, we don't want it to be like before-"

 "It's nothing like before, I'm okay. I'm just a bit embarrassed and hurt is all," I shrugged and traced shapes with my finger onto my sheets. "I just needed to talk to you. You always know what to say."

 "We're always here, Elle," Harley added in the background.

. . .  

   Sawyer, Harley and I spoke for another hour or so until they had to go and I was getting tired. I called and told Delilah she could come back but she told me Maya had invited her around, she asked if I was okay and if I needed her home but I told her to stay out. She didn't need to be my babysitter.

 It was a few hours later and I was laying in darkness, watching The Vampire Diaries on my laptop with the only light coming from the moon outside. I had stopped crying a while ago and instead was just feeling rather empty, he had made me feel like I was nothing, like I was disposable and replaceable.

 The door swung open suddenly and I nearly jumped out of bed. "Jesus Delilah-" I said, thinking she had decided to come home but instead I saw Ace walk in. "Oh, hi," he looked over at me and his face softened.

 "Delilah told me you were here alone. Didn't feel right leaving you alone," he shrugged and I smiled, my heart warming.

 "Aw, did someone worry about me?" I teased with a wicked smirk on my face, Ace rolled his eyes and walked over to my bed.

 "Budge over, we can find a movie or something," he said. I sat up and moved over so he could sit next to me, he sat down and grabbed my laptop. "Identity Thief! I love this movie," he chuckled and clicked on it, pressing play.

 "Thank you," I whispered to Ace and he looked down at me, shrugging it off with a casual smile.

 "No problem. Now sh, you're making me miss it!" I watched him for a few moments as he looked at the screen and I smiled, he glanced down at me to see I was watching him and held his arm out. "C'mere," he said and my eyebrows shot up in surprise at the kind gesture.

 "What? You're never nice to me," I said with shock. "Don't go soft on me now Ace."

 A cheeky smile lifted on his lips. "Oh Princess, I'm never soft around you."

 I slapped his arm. "Perv."

 "Don't make it weird, you need comfort and I guess we're... friends," he said and I let out a soft laugh at how uncomfortable he looked, shuffling closer to him so he could wrap his arm around me and hold me to his side. 

 "I guess we are," I agreed quietly, although the feelings that he was igniting simply through his arm being wrapped around my body was telling me something different. I pushed those thoughts down though and nestled my head into his chest, training my eyes on the movie that was now playing on my laptop screen.