Chase's POV
Gray was gone, leaving Emma and I to ourselves. the one thing I had been looking forward to.
"What was that about?" I asked her.
She did not respond.
I found that fishy as fuck. And I knew for the next part of the night, I needed to be high.
I shoved the lip of the bottle in mine and threw the bottle away, caring less about the shattered shards of glass.
"I'm talking to you, Emma!" I screamed.
She startled and jumped involuntarily. I saw her breathe faster, and lick her lips.
"It's nothing." She replied weakly. "We were just, uh, talking." She lied.
"I miss the old you, Emma." I said, collapsing on a one seater.
"The one you embarrassed?" She asked, suddenly finding her voice. "Hell nah!"
"Matter of fact, I do not." I said, she looked up, confused. "I don't miss a girl with entanglements in another city." I said. "Emma, I remember mornings where my head didn't hurt, mornings that really felt good. It was not on those mornings I got texts like this." I fumbled while pulling out my phone.
Emma got a hold on me that I couldn't help. It felt like I was wrapped around her fingers. "Go on, take a look." I said, shoving it in her face.
"Everytime I get texts like this, Emma, the quicker my tears dry. I no longer feel angry that you, of all people, Emma, two-timed me. My tears dry quicker these days, my heart hurts less too."
"There's nothing as such!" She protested repeatedly, her voice kept intertwining with mine, it grew so loud I couldn't even hear myself.
"You're a whore!" I shouted what had been on my mind for ages.
"You didn't just call me that!" She said, grabbed her stuff and tore the door open.
I didn't want to go after her, but I found myself gravitating, my feet leading in that direction.
I ran after her and soon caught up with her.
"You don't get to walk out in the midst of it all." I said, as I pulled her back gently.
"Emma, I'm only hurting cause…" I started explaining myself. I had to soften things a bit. The air was chill, but we were sweating from so much tension.
"Cause you love me?" She asked. "Please tell me that's not what you're about to say." She added.
Emma was crying so hard, which was somewhat strange for someone who was seeing someone else, or had an unresolved relationship, whatever.
"Yes." I admitted.
"Please stay where you are, Chase. Don't come any closer." She cried. "It's cruel that you think I'd do that, Chase. I'm not you. You have just given me something to really think about." She said,
"Don't even try to act dumb, or gaslight me." I replied. I was tired of shelving my feelings while everyone else unloaded theirs.
"I'm trying to be brave, Chase." She said, and threw her stuff on the lawn. "Kevin was a fling. I never wanted someone like that. I get too attached to survive silly stuff like flings and one night stands. But guess what, he leaked my pictures, it became a police case, my mom was hell bent on that, and we left." She divulged, her eyes were swollen, and I could see the vein in her neck with all the force she spoke.
"I'm sorry." I felt like a fool. I really shouldn't have brought it up.
"Wanna talk about the money you sent Lily a while ago?" She asked. "You had many words just a minute back."
"I was getting to that." I replied to her. "Can we go back in?" Outside wasn't a place to iron our shit out.
"I have a curfew for ten, I'd very much like to be as near home as I can, and I'm not comfortable in strangers' homes." I caught all the subs she was throwing at me, all of it.
"Ouch!" I blurted, stalling. "That was for the club, the videos I mean. She blackmailed me into that." I admitted.
"Y'all are so shitty." She snapped.
"I'm sorry." I muttered.
"So you were comfortable with her keeping that from me?" She mused.
"Emma, we weren't even together." I clarified. She was beginning to paint me in such a bad light.
"I get it." She noted. "Just as we aren't now, and can't be, ever." Emma bent and picked all her stuff, instinctively, I grabbed her designer sunshades and held it to ransom.
"You've gotta forgive this, Emma." I said, holding on to her hand.
Her face looked swollen, and the dark circles around her eyes looked even darker with her washed make up.
She was still pretty, under the moonlight.
I took her other hand, and drew her closer to me.
Maybe our storm had passed and calm was about to set in.
"You've gotta let me go, Chase."She insisted, she wasn't pulling her hands or struggling though.
I really wanted to make things right with her.
"Please let's talk." I begged.
"We have. There's nothing more to say." She replied.
"You're still mad at me. I think there is." I said, pleading.
I was mad tired from the stress of the whole thing, and it really wouldn't have been a bad idea if we let sleeping dogs lie.
"Actually," She crooned her neck and looked at me. My heart leaped and I expected something good. "Does my mom know about this?" I asked him.
"Does she know what you did? Y'all seem to have a better relationship than I do with either of you." She observed. "Did you, Chase?" Emma asked again.
Her mom knew, but decided to play ignorant since Emma wasn't telling. I didn't think of any reason why that could be a problem, so I answered affirmatively.
"So she knew, huh?" She asked and snatched her hand away from mine.
"Emma, please let me drive you." I screamed after her.
She walked off angrily, paying me no mind.
I dashed into my car and raced wildly in her direction.
I bugged her so much she soon had no choice.
There was literally no way I could let her go on her own.
I had a really bad feeling about it.
We drove in silence as I raced past all the beautiful buildings that made up the County City landscape.
"You're going too fast for me." She admitted.
I smiled inwardly, at least she talked to me.
Emma was someone I knew would rather die in silence than have to talk to someone she didn't like. She was that shy and proud. Really silly combination, but it endeared her to me all the more.
"Can I take this?" I asked her. My phone had been buzzing non-stop. I turned the screen over so whoever it might be, as I didn't know myself, wouldn't not cause further bones for contention between us.
"Do whatever." She replied, non-committed.
"Hey man." Gray said on the other side.
"What's going on?" I asked. He sounded tense, and worse still, like he was driving.
"I think something's happened to Lily." He stammered.
"What's the…? Where are you right now?" I parked by the roadside, because I was getting a little tense myself. It felt like I was in the middle of a very ugly prank.
"I'm almost at her house." He replied on the other side of the line.
"We'll meet you there." I said and changed direction, Emma still didn't ask what was going on.
"Something's up with Lily." I offered.
I hadn't seen her head snap so fast in my direction for a very long time.
She said nothing more, but I heard her mutter all sorts under her breath. She was visibly shaking and even sweating.