Rolling over, suddenly, I’m falling. Waking up face-to-face with a rug that’s all too familiar, I jump up off the floor, alarmed. I realise I’m standing in Nan’s cottage.
What am I doing here? What happened last night?
All I remember is having drinks with Chance, and drowning my sorrows. For some reason, I have a vivid memory of saying something hurtful to Chloe. Something I didn’t mean to say, I was trying to push her away, to protect her from more pain.
My stomach twists with dread. What did I do? Did the alcohol become my friend a little too much again?
Groaning, I push myself up off the floor. The sun shines brightly through the open curtain. Where’s Chloe?
“Chloe!” I call out, my voice husky and my throat dry. Going to the kitchen, the sound of the shower running lets me know Chloe’s awake. I get myself a bottle of water to moisten my dry throat, and as I finish, a phone begins to ring.
Checking my phone, I realise the noise doesn’t come from it. There’s another phone on the counter. I know I shouldn’t look, but I can’t help it. Nosey me glances at the screen. Ryan is calling.
Who’s Ryan?
Something overcomes me. Hesitantly, I pick up the phone and slide my finger to answer it. Deep down I know what I’m doing is breaking all the rules. All the hard work I’ve put in so she would trust me is about to come crashing down.
“Hello?”
“Finally . . . Thank you for answering, Chloe . . . Wait, who is this?” A male voice comes through the phone. He sounds like a snooty pompous dick. Who responds to a hello with finally? He doesn’t sound relieved her phone was answered.
“Who’s this?” I return the question.
“I’m Ryan, Chloe’s boyfriend.” How could she not tell me she has a boyfriend? Am I just some plaything, or a rebound from this fella on the other end of the phone? I did sense a hesitancy in his voice at the word ‘boyfriend.’ Is this who she is running from? She mentioned something about forgiveness the other night; did he do something to her or was it someone else?
“Boyfriend, huh? She hasn’t mentioned you.”
“Well, I am her boyfriend.”
“If you say so.”
“Can I talk to her?” he asks, with an arrogance to his tone.
“No.” I don’t allow him to reply, and hang up on the douche.
A million questions I want to ask Chloe are on the tip of my tongue. Will she tell me the truth?
It’s then I realise the shower has stopped. Looking up, I’m meet a pair of furious eyes, her phone still in my hand. Busted . . .
“Chloe, I—”
“How dare you? How could you answer my phone? It’s my phone. Would you like me to answer yours when another chick rings you? You should be ashamed of yourself.” Her voice is cold and hurt.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, you should be. Get out, Seth.”
My stomach twists with pain and embarrassment. I know what I did was wrong. How stupid could I be? “Chloe please, let’s talk about this.”
“No. I’ve got nothing more to say to you. Last night, you told me I’m just another pretty girl you like helping.” Dread washes over me like a bucket of cold water being tossed in my face. Those were the words I said to her. How can I fix this? I didn’t mean it.
“No, plea—”
“Get out,” is all she says, and I’m a broken man. Why did I drink and show up at her door wasted? See, nothing good comes from me . . . I only hurt those I care about.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean what I said last night—I was drunk.”
“Apparently, people speak the truth when they’re drunk. Didn’t you know that?” she seethes, standing before me with her towel wrapped around her naked body. I can’t even enjoy the thought of her being naked under it, like I would normally.
I care so much for this girl, it’s frightening. I want to beg her to forgive me, but I think she’s been hurt too much to realise my apology is sincere.
“You’re just like every other douche I’ve met. Maybe I’m destined to be single because every guy I date turns into a complete jerk, and I’m the one left scraping my heart off the floor to put it back together.” Her words are raw, and my heart shatters when I see the tears begin to well in her eyes. I’ve broken her trust.
“Who’s Ryan?” I ask before my slow filter can stop me. I wanted to know, but right now isn’t the best time to ask. She’s angry and I’ve upset her. Basically, I’ve damaged the friendship we had.
She straightens her back before responding. “Another dick who broke my heart. Now get out. I won’t ask again.”
I feel like an even bigger jerk. If one was to look up the definition of jerk in the dictionary, they’d find my picture right there with my head hanging in disgrace.
I brush past her. Her vanilla scent envelops me and a part of me wants to grab her and devour those lips. This isn’t the time for that. I need to restore her trust in me. I can only hope I don’t blow it. Nan will know what to do. She’ll also scold me for being so disrespectful of Chloe’s private life. “Oh, crap. I need to ring Nan.”
“Don’t worry. She knows you were here last night. I rang her.”
What else did Nan tell her, I can’t help but wonder. “It seems we both have secrets we’re not willing to talk about. Perhaps one day you’ll see fit to trust me again.” I know there’s more she’s not telling me. After overhearing her conversation with her dad the other day, I know things aren’t great in her home, either. I hope she’ll talk to me again and we can help each other one day. Grabbing my phone from the coffee table, I walk out, a devastated man.