Aggro - CoraLee June Page 0,24
having Chase alone in my bedroom while Violet was…
“So, am I doing this right?” Chase asked.
“Doing what?”
“Sitting here. Were we just going to sit here all night in silence?”
I slowly lay back down with another wince, my side burning with pain. “It’s only been fifteen seconds, Chase. If you don’t like it, leave.”
Instead of doing that, Chase migrated beside me on the bed. He kept his nose just barely an inch from mine. Our air mixed. I breathed in his masculine scent of Old Spice and salt water.
“I’m sorry, Breeze. I didn’t mean to push. I’m just worried about you. I can’t lose you too. I’m not going anywhere. I’m perfectly happy to sit here with you all night and not say another word. Let me take care of you,” he whispered.
“Okay, but I’m not having sex with you. So don’t try anything,” I said bluntly, gesturing to the bandage covering my side. I don’t know what made me say that. Other than just being himself and exuding sex from his very being, he hadn’t said or done anything out of line. Maybe the kiss at Violet’s funeral had permanently ruined our dynamic.
“Hope to die,” Chase said stoically, drawing a cross over his heart.
His seriousness made me giggle, causing a fresh wave of pain to cascade down my side. But it was worth it. This was the first time I had laughed in weeks, and I felt the tension, harshness, and anger melt away. At this moment, I was just a girl sitting with her friend, and I didn’t want to let go of that.
“How about a movie?” I asked, wanting to hold on to the feeling of normalcy for a little longer. We could both use the brief distraction a movie would bring.
Chase nodded and went to the living room. My family didn’t watch much TV, we all preferred to be outdoors surfing or hiking. On the rare occasion we were all home and inside, we played board games. So all we had was an old school television set with a DVD player. Chase carried them both into my room at the same time and set them on top of my dresser. He plugged everything in, popped in the movie, and left my room again.
When Chase came back, he was carrying a bowl of popcorn sprinkled with peanut M&M’s. It was our favorite movie snack. I couldn’t remember which one of our parents started giving us popcorn like that, but after that, we had to have it every single time. He came around the bed to my good side and got in, setting the bowl between us.
We watched the rom-com he picked in easy silence. Chase had always claimed to like rom-coms because he said they helped improve his game. But I knew that, secretly, he liked grand gestures and finding love in unlikely places. He might have been a bit of a man whore, but he wanted more.
I wasn’t paying any attention to the characters on the screen. I was lost in my own thoughts, and I knew that Chase was feeling the same emptiness I was. But neither one of us wanted to break the spell of chocolaty popcorn and watching other people’s lives instead of actively participating in our own.
When the movie was over, I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. I let them fall freely. Chase slid his fingers into mine and gave my hand a squeeze.
“Why would someone do this?” I asked, not really specifically to Chase but more to the universe.
Chase sat quietly for a few moments. When he did finally speak, his voice was gloomy and full of emotion. “My parents left again. The morning after the funeral. They said they couldn’t bear to be in the house without Violet anymore. But the thing is, I can’t either. Especially not alone. I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin.”
“Me too,” I said. I had never seen Chase so vulnerable before. “I hate being alone, and I hate being around other people. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I can’t function. Every time I close my eyes, I see her mangled and alone. I feel guilty because she was only in the woods because she was looking for me. It’s my fault.”
“It’s not—”
“Don’t tell me it’s not my fault,” I snapped.
Chase squeezed my hand. “What we saw was traumatizing. It’s normal to struggle with coping. But don’t take it out on me. We’re struggling together. We will punish Kai together.”
At the