Aggro - CoraLee June Page 0,26
of pots and pans downstairs made me slowly sit up. Chase joined me, and we stared awkwardly at one another. Chase and Violet had been coming over since they were old enough to ride their bikes alone, but I wasn’t sure how my parents would feel about him spending the night. In my bed, nonetheless.
Before I could ask him to sneak out the window, my bedroom door swung open, and my mother strolled inside, wearing yoga pants and a white V-neck. She looked tired from her long shift at the hospital. “Good morning, you two,” she greeted with one eyebrow raised, dragging me back out of my morbid thoughts. I blushed profusely, but we did nothing wrong. Not really.
“I made breakfast, but I need to get some sleep. Your father had an early morning at the surf shop. Thanks for monitoring Breeze last night, Chase.”
Chase reached up and ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Yeah. Any time, Mrs. Shirley.”
Mom sat on the edge of the bed, and I wanted the world to swallow me whole. “I know your parents are out of town again, Chase. And I’m sure it’s hard staying in that house all by yourself. You can stay here whenever, okay? The spare bedroom downstairs is yours.”
I didn’t miss the implication in her words but didn’t comment on it either. My parents trusted me, but they weren’t stupid, either.
“Thank you,” Chase murmured.
“Breakfast is ready. Chase, would you mind driving Breeze to school? She shouldn’t be riding her bike with her injury. I don’t want her stitches to open, and I need to sleep. I’m working another double later.”
“Absolutely. And thank you for making breakfast,” Chase replied with a bright smile. I stared at my mother and him incredulously. It seemed this unfamiliar world of pain and loss had no rules. Before Violet’s death, my parents would have skinned me alive for letting a boy sleep over. I guess they were just desperate to help.
Mom went to bed without eating, so Chase and I endured a pancake breakfast alone in awkwardness. I didn’t know what we were doing. I’d known Chase my entire life. He’d teased me about my training bra in middle school. He’d tugged my pig tails in elementary. We were close friends that developed into something more. I didn’t want to define it. I was too raw and felt too guilty to even comprehend that, but I also felt like we were on the verge of something new. Something terrifying and inevitable that I couldn’t quite process.
Violet had always been the bright ribbon that tied us together, and that still rang true now that she was gone. But without her, Chase wasn’t being dragged to hang out with me. He wasn’t politely inviting me along because he knew it would make her happy. We were hanging out because we chose to.
“How’s the surf shop doing?” Chase asked, breaking the silence.
I let out a sigh. This conversation I could handle. Normal. I loved normal. “Not very well. The new shop is taking a lot of business. Mom and Dad don’t like to talk about money with me, but I’ve seen the numbers on Dad’s desk. Mom’s working a lot of extra shifts to make the mortgage payment, and Dad is trying all these new marketing tactics to bring in new business and tourists. I think he is searching for a new investor.”
“Shit,” Chase replied. His family might not have known much about financial struggles, but his empathy meant a lot. “If I can do anything, let me know.”
“Tell your friends?” I offered. “It’s what Violet used to do.” At the mention of Violet, we both went silent. Shit. It was hard not bringing her up.
“Will do,” Chase choked out.
The doorbell rang, and Chase dropped his fork. “I’ll get it.” He shot up out of his seat and practically sprinted toward the front door. I guess he was feeling as awkward as I was. I took a bite of eggs, then paused when I heard the front door open.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I heard Chase shout.
“None of your fucking business,” Kai’s grumbling voice replied.
I ran to the door, ignoring the sharp pain in my side. I took in the sight of Kai. He wore his signature slate gray board shorts, and his hair was damp, as if he’d spent all morning surfing. His tan skin glistened under the sun. “Hey,” I greeted politely while slowly trying to guide Chase out of the way. Naturally,