Chapter 11: – Chapter 11

Chase decided to stay while I showered. We fooled around for an hour. Our clothes stayed on and we decided it was best not to take it any further. Just yet. It felt amazing being in his arms. His phone ringing snapped us out of our bubble. Arden was getting impatient.

I left Chase downstairs while I showered. I decided that I’d wear something other than my pyjama’s. I can always come home to get changed later if I need to. Dad messaged earlier to say that he wasn’t going to be home tonight. He’s been asked to work an extra shift.

Which means we won’t see him tomorrow because he’ll sleep all day and then he works again tomorrow night. Millie and I have only seen him 3 times this week, each time just a brief encounter in the kitchen. It makes me angry that he hasn’t even tried.

I look at myself in the mirror. My eyes are bright, my cheeks are still flushed. I run my fingers along my lips, still feeling Chase’s lips on mine.

I’m wearing a burgundy fit and flare dress; it hugs my upper body and flares at my waist. It sits mid-thigh. I’ve left my hair down to air dry, adding just enough product to hopefully stop it from going to frizzy. I put my glasses on, grab a black cardigan from my wardrobe and head down the stairs.

Chase looks up from his phone, taking me in from head to toe. He’s up and in front of me before I can even blink.

“Wow pretty girl. You are beautiful in anything you wear, but that dress is just wow.” He pulls me close and starts running his hands over my hips.

Before his lips can touch mine, I pull away. I don’t want to, but if I don’t Arden will be beating my front door down, and we do not need Arden walking in on anything that may happen if I let Chase kiss me again. I’m not a freaking saint. I’m not against begging. I want Chase and he knows it.

“We need to go before Arden comes looking for us.” I say, trying to soften the blow of pulling away.

“I know, but I don’t want to share you, especially when you look like that.”

“We promised Arden and I can’t leave Millie over there. Come on it will be fun. I promise I’ll let you kiss me again later.” I whisper as I lean forward and press a soft kiss to his lips, letting him know I’m fully prepared to keep my promise.

“Tease.” He says playfully. I thread my fingers with his and head out the door and across the street.

The minute we walk through the door Arden is there.

“You are both in trouble.” He says in a stern voice with his hand on his hip.

“Uh why?” I say.

“Have you eaten since breakfast? Checked your sugar?” There’s concern in his eyes. Chase shifts awkwardly beside me. I glance at him and see the guilt on his face.

“Arden, it’s fine. I feel okay,” I say trying to placate him.

“It’s not fine, you need to be careful, take care of yourself.”

I give Chase’s hand a squeeze before letting go and walking past them both. As I walk away, I can feel them staring at me. They whisper to each other briefly before following me into the kitchen.

Millie and Mumma Nat are at the kitchen bench chopping up salad. Millie smiles at me. Mumma Nat looks at me with concern.

“I’m sorry,” I say to the room. My voice waivers. My hands start to shake slightly, I don’t know how to handle all of this concern and worry. It’s new to me. I sense Chase. He places his hand on my lower back and guides me to my chair from this morning.

Arden places some rolls and my monitor in front of us, and Millie brings over the juice. All eyes are on me as I prick my finger and wait for the result.

“4.5” I tell everyone. Mumma Nat and Millie continue whatever they are doing in the kitchen, while Arden sits across from us.

“That’s okay, but from what I saw yesterday, you can crash quickly. You need to snack Shorty, it’s the only way you will keep it stable,” Arden speaks and Chase listens to every word. No doubt learning everything he can from Arden.

I pick up a roll and start eating, to keep everyone in the room happy.

“I know. I’ll try to take better care of myself.” I say around a mouthful of food.

“That’s all I ask,” Arden responds and then instantly he changes back to playful Arden.

“Guess who I banged this morning?” Arden asks us. I almost choke on my food. Mumma Nat throws a kitchen towel at Arden.

“Arden Blakely! I do not need to be hearing this.”

Arden laughs. “Sorry Mumma Nat. But you knew there was a reason I was leaving at five a.m. this morning. I don’t get out of bed that early for just anyone.”

“Wait, your last name is Blakely? Are you related to Julia?” Millie asks.

Arden swings around in his chair to look at Millie. “Yeah, she’s my sister, why?”

“No reason. She’s nice, I’ve been sitting with her in English and at lunch. She’s quiet, mentioned that she had an older brother but didn’t say who. You two are complete opposites. I wouldn’t have picked you to be related had it not been for your last name. Where is she? Is she coming tonight?” Millie asks a little hopeful. It’s nice she is making friends and if she is making friends with Arden’s sister that is good. Arden doesn’t talk much about her. I see Chase tense a little at Millie’s questions.

Arden doesn’t respond immediately.

“Julia talks to you?” Arden responds shocked.

“Yeah, why does she not speak to people?” Millie asks confused.

“No, she doesn’t. Julia doesn’t make friends. She has always struggled. She’s quiet and prefers to be on her own. Her health problems make it hard for her to fit in. She stays at home with our housekeeper Martha. I tried for years to get her to let me in and help, but she made it clear she didn’t want my help. She just locked herself away. Martha keeps me in the loop.” Hearing Arden talk about his sister hurts. It’s clear he loves her. But I know what it is like to be sick and to try to protect those you love from seeing it.

Millie walks over to him.

“She loves you, she talks about you all the time. She just never told me your name. I’m sorry she pushed you away.” Millie talks to Arden quietly. Chase relaxes and reaches over to hold my hand now that I have finished eating.

“What is it with you and your sister? You both have the ability to knock through people’s walls. I miss Julia. We tried to include her; she just never said yes.” Arden looks sad. Millie closes the gap, steps between his legs and hugs him.

“Do you mind if I ask her if she wants to come over?” Millie asks him.

“You can try Mills, just don’t hold your breath.”

Millie hugs Arden for a few minutes before she lets go and heads back over to help Mumma Nat.

Rhys and Ally walk in the front door arguing.

“You didn’t have to be such an ass. I told you I’d be ready at a certain time for a reason. I WAS BUSY! It’s not my fault you showed up early and let yourself in.” Ally screeches as she comes stomping into the kitchen.

“Woah! What’s going on?” I ask Ally. I glance at Chase and he just shrugs.

“Rhys just went all caveman and literally threw Justin with his pants down out of my house.” Ally huffs. “You had no right to barge in.” She stomps over to him and pokes him in the chest as she speaks.

“He’s using you Ally.” Rhys responds stepping around her to put the bags of drinks on the table.

“Did you stop to think I was using him? He’s just a penis. It’s not like I’m in love with him. A GIRL HAS NEEDS. I had an itch. He scratched it. Don’t take your shitty sex life out on me.”

Rhys doesn’t respond. He grabs a beer from the bag, walks into the kitchen, gives Mumma Nat a kiss on the cheek, ruffles Millie’s hair and walks out the back door.

Woah. I really need to get Ally alone to find out what else is going on there.

“Well that’s two of my kids that have told me more than I need to know about their sex life. Chase, want to make it three and tell me why it took over an hour for Yasmin to shower?” Mumma Nat says from the kitchen. My cheeks flush. Arden and Ally laugh.

“Sorry Mumma Nat.” They say together.

Luckily, Chase is on the ball.

“And that’s our cue to leave.” Chase says as he grabs the drinks off the table and leads me out the back. Arden and Ally follow behind us.

“What did I miss? Did you two bone?” Ally asks, taking a seat as far away from Rhys as she can. Neither Chase nor I say anything.

“They did something.” Arden says opening his beer and leaning back in his chair. Chase hands me a drink and sits beside me dragging his chair as close as he can. We are sitting on his back deck. The afternoon sun is nice. There’s a light breeze, making it a perfect spring afternoon.

“Nothing happened.” I say taking a sip of the ice-cold amber liquid. I’ve missed having a drink with Smalls.

“You ain’t fooling anyone Shorty.”

“So, who was your early morning booty call?” I ask Arden, changing the subject.

Arden starts to tell us all about Kandi with a ‘k’ and an ‘i’, and how flexible she is. I quickly regret asking, but am happy that we are no longer the topic of conversation.

Chase squeezes my hand getting my attention. I turn to look at him. He smirks at me before removing his hand from mine and moving it to my exposed thigh. He starts rubbing small circles with his thumb, slowly driving me insane.

Millie and Mumma Nat come out to join us. They place platters of snacks on the table. Millie stops to wrap her arms around Arden’s neck and whispers something in his ear. His expression goes from shock to appreciation as he takes in what Millie is saying, she squeezes him tight before taking her seat.

Everyone falls into easy conversations. Ally and Rhys are still staring daggers at each other when they think no one is looking, but they quickly advert their gazes. Something is definitely going on with these two.

Chase leans forward to whisper in my ear, “I’ll be right back.” He kisses me on the cheek and heads into the house.

While he is gone, GW comes over from the garden and takes Chase’s seat beside me.

“Thank you, Yasmin,” GW speaks softly so that I’m the only person to hear him.

“What for?”

“I haven’t seen Chase and Natalie smile this much in years; she was worried this morning when Arden told her about you. She was positive she’d never get to see you again. It broke her heart when your dad took you away.”

“Oh,” I respond unsure what else to say. I still haven’t processed all the information I learnt earlier. I know I need to talk to dad. I just don’t know when that’ll happen. It feels like he has been avoiding us even more since the move. This is out of the ordinary for me. I can’t help it though. Being here with Chase makes me feel safe. It feels more like home than anywhere we have lived in the past fifteen years.

“It changed Chase when you left as well. He missed you every day. He was sad all the time, and he looked for you everywhere. When he started school and met Arden and Ally it helped. But they weren’t you. I’m happy fate has brought you back to us.”

“I don’t know if you could call it fate that brought us back. I am, however, happy to be here. It’s hard to explain, but being here feels right.”

Chase comes back outside, and my eyes track him across the deck. He looks good in his dark denim jeans and black graphic tee. His hair is hidden under his hat. He looks between his grandfather and I, a slight smile on his lips.

“Gee Gramps you move quick. I’ve been gone 10 minutes and you’re already trying to steal my girl?” Chase jokes.

GW laughs at his grandson.

“Your girl?” I ask. Kind of surprised he chooses now to lay his claim. I know we aren’t fooling his friends. They kind of knew it was inevitable and I guess his family knows as well. I can’t help but smile.

Chase lifts me from my chair and places me on his lap as he takes my seat. He hands me my glucose monitor and I catch Arden nod from across the table.

Mr Hawk Eyes.

“Yep, is that okay with you?” he tentatively asks.

“Of course, it’s okay with her.” GW says from beside us.

“Who am I to argue with GW?” I laugh. I set up the monitor and check my sugar levels. I show Chase the screen. Arden’s phone vibrates on the table. He checks it.

“Eat Shorty, or no more beer.” Arden says.

“Wow, stalker much? You connected your phone to the machine?” It’s endearing in a kind of stalkerish way. But Arden likes to be in control. If this helps put him at ease, I won’t kick up a fuss. If he starts showing up at my classes with food, we might have a problem.

“Actually, we all have the app on our phone.” Chase says.

“You guys don’t have to do that.”

“We want to.” Rhys says. I think that’s the third time he has directly spoken to me this week. He’s kept his distance; I don’t know why. I don’t want to get between him and his friends.

“Thank you.” I don’t know what else to say. My throat thick with emotion. I try to blink back the tears. Chase senses my change and starts to rub my back.

Millie pushes the platter closer to me. I grab some cheese and crackers and make myself comfortable on Chase’s lap.

Millie’s phone starts ringing. I look over to her, confused. Her smile is bright again as she answers before the second ring.

“I’m coming out now,” She says into the speaker as she starts for the door. “Julia is here,” She says excitedly making her way into the house. Arden straightens in his seat.

“Julia is here?” Ally questions.

“Yeah, her and Millie are friends. Millie invited her over,” Arden replies.

“And she said yes?” Rhys cuts in.

“Yep. It seems Millie has the same superpower as her sister and is able to get people to do things they wouldn’t normally do without even trying.”

Before anyone has a chance to respond, Millie and a cute blonde girl with glasses come outside.

Arden jumps up and gives her a hug. I watch as her stiff spine relaxes into him. She wraps her arms around him, and I see the single tear run down her cheek. She really does miss him.

Arden pulls away and offers her his chair so she can sit next to Millie.

“Julia, you know everyone here, except for Yasmin.” Arden says.

“It’s nice to meet you Yasmin. Millie has told me all about you.” Julia speaks softly.

“Hopefully all good things. It’s nice to meet you Julia. Thank you for coming to keep Millie company.”

“That’s okay. Millie made me realise it was time to step out of my comfort zone. She couldn’t stop talking about girl’s night and how much fun it was.” She looks over at her brother who is watching her closely. “Reminded me of what I was missing out on.”

“Well I for one am happy that the girls now outnumber the boys,” Mumma Nat says.

“Ashley is on her way; she’s picking up Hayden. Mum and Dad had to go to New Hope and after the mess he made last time they left him home alone, they told me I had to babysit. I hope that’s okay Mumma Nat.” Rhys says.

Ally tenses at the mention of Ashley. Ashley’s been away this week. She was on an extended holiday, so I haven’t met her yet. I’m interested in seeing the girl that Rhys is dating.

“Of course, that’s fine. Hayden is always welcome, just as you all are,” she says while looking at all of us. “I should probably start getting everything sorted for dinner does anyone want to help?” she asks.

Millie jumps up and grabs Julia’s hand. “We will.”

“Ally and I’ll help too.” I say.

“We will?” Ally asks.

“Are you forgetting Ally isn’t allowed in the kitchen?” Rhys mutters.

“She’ll be fine. Come on Ally, let’s go.”

She reluctantly follows me inside. “This is a bad idea,” she mumbles behind me.

“It’s fine, we aren’t cooking. You’re going to tell me what is going on between you and Rhys. I want to know what really happened.” We bypass the kitchen and get comfortable on the couch.

“Spill Ally, what’s going on?”

“Nothing is going on. Rhys is just in a mood. He’ll snap out of it after he sees his bimbo.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Ally tries to hide her feelings but they’re all over her face. “Believe it, there is nothing going on. He runs hot and cold at the best of times. He gives me whiplash. I have no idea what he wants from me,” she says, letting out her frustrations. Millie brings us in fresh beers.

“Nat thought you could use another drink,” she says, handing them over to us.

“Thanks Mills.”

Millie retreats to the kitchen.

“Do you want him to want something from you?” I ask dubiously. I haven’t been a part of the group for long. I don’t know if this is a new thing or something that has been happening for years.

“Yes… No… I don’t know. This can’t happen. He made that perfectly clear the night he stuck his dick in Ashley for the first time. I just wish he wouldn’t be such an ass.”

“Why can’t it happen?” I ask, genuinely unsure why her and Rhys can’t be together.

“Because he doesn’t like me. He likes the idea of me. I’m the girl he can’t have because I may as well be his sister. Not to mention Chase and Arden made it clear from the start. They’d castrate him if he touched me. Yes, they made the threat in eighth grade. But I think Rhys took it seriously.”

“Have you spoken to him about this?”

“I tried. He told me he loves Ashley and we left it at that. Everything was fine. Until today. But Ashley is back, so he’ll get laid and leave me alone.” She picks at the label on her beer bottle.

“It will be okay Ally. You have me now. As much as Rhys scares me, I won’t let him upset you. I have your back.”

She looks up at me. “Are you sure? Chase won’t like that.”

“What won’t I like?” Chase asks from the doorway startling both of us.

“If I have Ally’s back.”

“Ally you deserve to have someone else having your back. You already have us and now you have Yasmin.”

“You have no idea what you just agreed to.” Ally mumbles again.

Chase looks over at me, and I mouth “Later” I won’t tell him everything, Ally doesn’t need that. Just enough for him to not get in my way if I have to go head to head with Rhys.

There’s a knock at the door that distracts us.