Let's Go Get Milkshakes

 

 

Chapter Four

 

The next few days went by smoothly, almost like a dream. When Bruce came home from work the day I found Chase, he looked surprised, startled, and then finally, he smiled and shook Chase’s hand.

“You must be Chase.” Bruce said, and when he looked at me I was grinning broadly. At that point, Chase had put on a shirt so as to make a good first impression. I got the feeling that Bruce wouldn’t care if Chase had a third eye, as long as I was happy. Which is exactly the kind of guy Bruce is: a good guy.

Bruce had welcomed Chase to stay in his beach house with us—in another guest room in their recently, ahem, renovated house. Not my fault, seriously. I didn’t mean to completely redecorate the place.

Chase had some stuff with him, things he’d thrown in an old duffel bag while trying to find me. He accepted Bruce’s offer and I helped him bring in his things into the house. That night Bruce, Chase, and I made dinner together while Maggie nervously set the table. She was still uncomfortable around Chase. Later that night, she snuck into my room and toyed nervously with the hem of her shirt. I hid a smile as she told me that Chase was basically, quite literally, the most attractive guy she’s ever laid eyes on and she knew she was going to turn into a mumbling mess around him. I told her she should just be herself around Chase, he wasn’t going to make fun of her like some of the well, immature kids at her school do.

For the last couple of days, Bruce has been at work and Maggie has been with her friends, so Chase and I have had time to ourselves. We’ve mostly just been going to the beach, swimming in the aqua colored ocean, and laying out on towels in the sand.

Everything has been amazing. There’ve been no worries, no problems, no anything. Other than, y’know, still refusing to kiss Chase. He’s been trying his best to win the bet, though, and it’s become a sort of game between the two of us. And we both play to win.

Yesterday, in fact, I went to go have a shower in the bathroom down the hall, the one that Chase, Maggie and I all share, and when I opened the door I was quite startled to see a half-naked Chase standing in front of the mirror, shaving.

A pale yellow towel was wrapped around his hips, showing off his muscles and causing my face to warm with a blush. Chase saw me in the mirror, saw my expression, and grinned. He rinsed his razor off and splashed his face with water, so that when he looked up at me his face was clean-shaven and smooth. I glared at him.

“I need to shower.” I had told him, avoiding looking at anywhere other than his eyes.

Chase chuckled. “Go ahead.” He said.

I glared at him again. “Just tell me when you’re finished in here.” I said, turning quickly. Chase grabbed my wrist and—because I have Persuaded myself that hand-to hand contact will not kill him—he thankfully didn’t die.

I whipped my head around as Chase pulled me closer to him. “What?” I snapped at him, tugging my wrist away. He chuckled lowly, sending little shivers down my back.

“Still think you’re going to win the bet?” He asked me lowly, his eyes dark and fiery. He leaned his head down, as if about to kiss me, hovering over my lips. I felt my breath slow until I was sure I wasn’t even breathing but still, I refused to move my head even a little, causing my lips to press again Chase’s. Instead, I stayed completely still until a smiling Chase pulled away from me, grabbing his clothes and walking out of the bathroom with a wink at me. I scrunched my nose, and stuck my tongue out at his back. Then I steadied myself and my rapidly thudding heart, and closed the bathroom door. He just may win this bet, I said to myself.

The few days Chase has been here, it’s been great. Maggie has warmed up to him, talking more and more each day. And Bruce? Bruce loves him. I get the feeling Chase is the son Bruce never had, the friend he never had. So when I wake up the next day, and something’s definitely wrong, I don’t know what happened.

 

 

Like I said, today things are different. I felt it when I woke up this morning, the feel good atmosphere in the house has disappeared. When the phone starts to ring, I race down the stairs, almost tripping and executing a graceful face plant. I pick up the phone, catching my breath. “Hello?” I answer.

I hear a sigh (of relief?) on the other end of the phone. “Skye?” The voice, a familiar voice, asks. I feel my heart lift slightly.

“Logan!?” I respond, grinning into the phone. I can hear the smile in his voice when Logan, my good friend and one of Chase’s brothers, responds.

“Skye, are you still at the beach house in Chance?” Logan asks me. I feel my mood shift slightly, into what, I don’t know. Something’s wrong.

“How’d you know where I am?” I ask, suspiciously. A sigh.

“Chase called us to let us know you were okay. We’ve been worried.” Logan says, and an emotion in his voice, something like hurt, is evident. I swallow, but my mouth has gone dry.

“I’m sorry.” I whisper into the phone, feeling guilt once again for leaving the Davenports without saying goodbye.

“Skye, listen to me.” Logan says quickly, changing the subject. “You need to get out of the house today, okay? You need to go somewhere, by yourself and call me when you get there. Brody and I are ten minutes away.” Logan says, and his are words rushed.

I feel my brow furrow in confusion as I hear a crash from upstairs. I listen for a second or two, but I don’t hear anything else.

“What about Chase?” I ask Logan, confused. I trust Logan completely, so I’ll do what he says, I just can’t help but feel a little uh, confused?

“Leave him and whoever else you’re staying with a note saying you’ll be back later tonight. Skye, please. Listen to me.” Logan says, and I can hear a little bit of worry leak into his voice. I decide to trust him.

“Okay. Where do you want me to meet you?” I ask him, grabbing a pen and a piece of paper, writing down a quick note.

“I’ll find you.” Logan says vaguely, and I feel doubly confused, but listen to him anyway. “Skye? Leave right now.” He tells me.

“Okay, okay.” I mumble into the phone. “I’ll see you soon.” I say, and then hang up before Logan can confuse me even more.

I hear another crash from upstairs and tiptoe up carefully. All the doors are closed in the hallway—Bruce is at work; Maggie is at her friend’s house. I creep closer to the room where Chase is staying and knock tentatively. I know Logan said to leave right away, but I have morbid curiosity and the noise was coming from Chase’s room, so really. What does he expect?

When Chase doesn’t open the door, I gently twist the doorknob, peering into his room. “Chase?” I call out. I hear another crash—the sound of something breaking and I try to listen for anything else over the loud music Chase is blasting.

And then, I see him, hunched over a dresser, breathing heavily. The mirror above it is broken into pieces, glass everywhere. I gasp quietly and Chase’s head snaps up, his eyes wild. I walk over to him, feeling the tense atmosphere in the room. Something’s wrong. Something’s very wrong.

I pick up Chase’s bleeding hands in mine, not bothering to remind myself that I’m not going to kill him, I know deep-down, that I won’t.

As soon as I pick up his hands to look at injuries, Chase flinches away, ripping his hands out of my grasp. I stand still, stung, and then look, really look at Chase.

His hair is a mess, his eyes are bloodshot and wild-looking, and his jaw is clenched tightly. He looks like death.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him quietly, reaching again to look at his hands. There is glass sticking out of some skin, blood smeared and dripping. Chase, again, tears his hands away from me, taking a step back. His breathing is still heavy, as if he’s all worked up and he still doesn’t answer my question. “Let me see your hands.” I tell him seriously, frowning in concern. When Chase doesn’t answer, just looks at me with growing distaste, I throw my hands up in air. “Fine, whatever. Bleed to death.” I say, not meaning it, and turn away. Two small, dark words stop me dead in my tracks.

“Screw you.”

I turn around, slowly, my heart giving a hurtful clench. Chase is looking at me with such dislike that it’s starting to really hurt my feelings. What the hell is his problem?

“What?” I ask him, my voice barely a whisper. Chase has never acted like this before, and I don’t know whether to be concerned, hurt, or pissed.

“I said screw you.” Chase repeats, his breathing slowing, his eyes hooded. I feel something in my stomach twist. “You pretend to care…you pretend to love me. Would somebody that loves me leave without caring about who they hurt in the process?” Chase asks me, his eyes dark. I blink rapidly, willing away tears. Why is he saying this?

I hear a noise behind me and see Chase’s expression grow even more hateful. I turn around to see what he’s looking at with such distaste. Logan and Brody, looking tired and panicked, stare at the scene in front of them with growing concern.

“S**t,” I hear Brody say under his breath. I am so concerned with what’s wrong with Chase that I don’t throw my arms around Logan and Brody like I would normally. It’s so great to see them and all…but under these circumstances I can’t fully be happy. And, really, what the hell is going on?

Logan looks at Chase frowning, and then looks at me, seeing the hurt on my face. He walks forward; about to grab my hand but Chase’s voice stops him.

“Don’t touch her! You don’t know what she is.” He spits. I feel my heartbeat quicken, the way it always does when I’m offended. Logan pauses, looking at me, confused. Brody sighs.

“Chase, enough.” Brody says, as if he’s been through this before. But...through what exactly?

Chase glares with hate at Brody. “You two don’t understand. You never did understand. What it was like….when he was…when he…” Chase doesn’t finish his sentence, he’s so worked up. I look, confused, from Brody to Chase. Logan reaches for my hand again.

“I said don’t touch her!” Chase yells. Logan stops, again, turning with narrowed eyes to look at Chase.

“We’re leaving now, Chase.” Logan says in a calm, controlled voice. Chase barks out a mean laugh.

“Of course Skye is leaving. She always leaves, doesn’t she?” Chase asks, glaring at me. I take a breath, shooting a nervous look at Logan. He presses his lips together.

“Eight years ago today, Chase saw our father murdered.” Logan whispers to me. Of course, I already knew this. I just didn’t know the exact date his father was…murdered. It’s no wonder Chase is acting like an a*****e. I, of all people, can understand that. But it hurts nonetheless.

“Chase…I get it, okay? I get that it hurts.” I tell him, my voice quiet. He looks at me, quietly, and for a second he looks calm, but then the anger returns to his eyes.

Logan and Brody stand, cautiously, waiting to intervene if need be. “You don’t get it, though. When things get rough, you break down. Your not strong, Skye.” Chase says. I take a sharp intake of breath, my lungs stinging.

“That’s enough, Chase.” Brody snaps. Chase ignores him and I keep my eyes glued to him, everything hurting.

“You never had to stay strong for your family, Skye. You don’t have a damn family.” Chase says.

I step back, shocked and hurt, and feel tears well up in my eyes.

Chase sees the tears falling down my face and for another second, his eyes soften, his face looses the angry expression and he looks disgusted with himself. But then the anger returns, once again.

Logan is about to grab my arm to take me away from Chase, I assume, but I step forward out of his reach, towards Chase. I feel hurt naked on my face and know that Chase can see it, but he doesn’t let it show. I take another couple of steps, getting closer to him. I look up at him, and through all the hurt, I find anger.

“Did you forget that my parents were murdered too, Chase? Did you forget that I left you not only because I didn’t want to hurt you or your family but because I realized I had no family? You were right when you said that Chase. I’m an orphan. I don’t have parents, or siblings, like you do. And I didn’t have to stay strong for anybody, like you did. Only…the difference between you and me is, I do things to avoid hurting the people I love. And you? You’re hurting them on purpose.” I pause, taking a breath, glaring up in hurt at Chase, whose eyes are hooded, guarded. “Look at yourself, Chase.” I say quietly, motioning at the blood on his knuckles, the broken glass. “What the hell happened to you?” I ask him, more tears falling slowly down my cheeks. Chase reaches a hand up as if to brush them away, but then lets his hand drop to his side.

I turn on my heel, walking past Logan and Brody, and walking down the stairs, grabbing my keys from the corner. I walk out the front door and see Logan’s blue convertible parked behind me and sigh, hearing another crash from upstairs. A minute later, Chase stalks out of the house, completely calm. I watch him sadly, and then in shock as Chase’s tall, muscular body turns into a man, short and slender. I blink, confused.

The man doesn’t see me standing there and walks down the beach, towards the main (and probably only) street in Chance, California.

I blink, confused, and then race back into the house, running up the stairs and into Chase’s room. Brody is sitting on the floor, Chase lying in his arms. Logan appears, seeing me and nods toward Brody and Chase. “That wasn’t Chase.” He says, and noting my confused expression, explains. “Before…yelling at you…that wasn’t Chase.” Logan tells me.

“A man….he was Chase and then he…transformed into someone else?” I stutter, confused. Logan nods.

“He works for the Company. He’s an Adapter, so he can change into anybody he wants.” Logan explains.

I blink, confused, kneeling down beside the real, Chase as he lay unconscious.

“But why did he change into Chase?” I ask, still not getting it. I press my hand to Chase’s temple. “You’re not unconscious, Chase.” I Persuade. On cue, Chase’s eyes flutter open and he coughs, gasping for breath. Brody and Logan stare at me, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

“We have a lot to discuss.” I tell them both, and then turn to Chase. “Are you okay?” I ask him, trying to act normal. Inside, I’m still hurting. The things he said…not him, but the other man…they stung.

Chase sees me, stops coughing, and his eyes light up with a grin. “I’m fine, now.” He says, and pulls me towards him on the floor. He presses his lips to mine, kissing me gently, before pulling away and looking up at his brothers. “Brody, Logan! Hey!” He says, grinning. They smile, and Brody rolls his eyes.

“You’re a real a*****e, you know that?” He says, joking. I send Brody a death glare but he doesn’t seem to notice.

“What’d I do now?” Chase asks, looking at me. I squirm out of his arms and get up, holding out a hand to help him to his feet. I avoid looking at him. “Skye…what happened?” He asks me, his voice more serious. I ignore the question because, what am I supposed to say? You—well, not you…but yeah, you—made me feel like I was a worthless, despicable person who didn’t deserve to have a family.

Yeah, so not happening.

Brody speaks for me. “A guy from the Company came and I guess he knocked you out…you don’t remember that?”

Chase shakes his head and Brody nods as if expecting this, and then continues. “Well, the guy was an Adapter, and he took your shape. So, basically, he looked identical to you…only, we couldn’t tell Skye that it wasn’t you…so this guy bitched out our Skye here and Skye totally—“

“Brody!” I shriek. “Ix-nay on the story-ay.”

Logan gives me a sympathetic smile and Brody looks confused, as does Chase.

“What am I missing?” Chase asks out loud, not asking anybody in general. I shrug nonchalantly.

“Nothing. It’s not a big deal.” I mumble, still avoiding looking at Chase.

I can feel his eyes on me but I ignore him. I clap my hands together loudly. “I feel like a milkshake! Let’s go for milkshakes!” I say enthusiastically. I get three pairs of eyes staring back at me wordlessly. I groan. “Okay, Chase. The guy that I thought was you said some stuff and it made me feel really…um, worthless for want of a better word. And so, yeah. That’s that. Now can we please go get milkshakes?” I ask, still not looking at Chase.

“What did he say?” Chase asks me, his voice low, and eyes still on me.

I sigh dramatically. “He said my haircut was ugly.” I joke, trying to lighten the mood. Logan and Brody roll their eyes at me but Chase looks dead serious. He takes a step closer to me, which I can see from my peripherals, as I’m still not looking directly at him.

“Skye…” He says, and with that one word, consequentially my name, his voice is filled with such concern that I basically have to answer him. I throw my hands up in frustration.

“Okay, okay. He just said some stuff about…me, um, not understanding about your father’s death…” I pause, my nose crinkling in confusion. “Is today really his…” I trail off, not sure how to say it.

Logan fills in for me. “No, it’s not. I just said that so maybe you wouldn’t be so hurt when the Adapter…y’know…yelled at you.”

I nod. “Oh okay. Anyway…yeah. And he wouldn’t let Logan touch me…he started screaming about Logan um, not knowing what I am. And um…he said things about me pretending to care about you because someone that cared about you wouldn’t leave…and there was some stuff about me not being strong…and that I didn’t have a family, and um,” my voice cracked on family, but I continued, “that’s basically the gist of it.” I pause. “Maybe you had to be there…” I try joking. I hear Logan and Brody shuffle out the door, leaving Chase and I alone in his room.

I sigh, still not looking at him. “So…want to go get milkshakes?” I ask hopefully.

I hear Chase breathing slow, measured breaths.

“Skye…” He starts. I scratch behind my ear.

“Too soon?” I ask rhetorically. Chase sighs.

“You thought that…the Adapter was me, right?” He rubs his eyes tiredly. “That must’ve been awful. Why did…you believe I’d say those things to you?” Chase asks me, his voice a little strained. “Why did you think I would hurt you like that?”

I pause, avoiding Chase’s eyes. “Because some of it was true…” I say quietly.

“Like the stuff about me not being strong.” I whisper.

Chase takes a few steps so that he’s standing right in front of me. He touches the side of my face lightly. “Skye, look at me.” He says, his voice low. I try to lift my eyes, but when I do I’m hit with the recent memories of that Adapter yelling those things at me…thinking it was Chase.

“Skye.” Chase says, his voice forceful. I can’t help it, I look up. And when my eyes lock on his, I can’t pry them away. This always freaking happens!

His hands cup my face, and my heart is thumping quite painfully in my chest, releasing those feelings reserved only for love. I’m so overcome with love that I’m not even worried about my Talent as an Extinguisher. Which, let’s face it, totally makes me sound like a firefighter?

But deep down, something finally clicks, and I find that I know I could never kill Chase. So instead of Persuading myself that I’m not going to hurt Chase, I feel my Extinguisher kind of…slip away, reacting to maybe the feelings in my heart.

Which is probably just as cheesy at it sounds.

Chase’s hands are gentle on my face. “You are the strongest person I have ever met.” He says to me quietly, and I feel my eyes smart with tears. Really, now? Crying?

“Would a strong person cry?” I ask, laughing at myself. Chase smiles softly.

“Yes.” He tells me, his thumbs running back and forth across my cheekbones.

“You never cry.” I inform him, frowning slightly. Chase bites back a smile.

“Maybe I’m not that strong.” Chase says. I stare pointedly at his swelling biceps and he laughs. “Okay, so maybe it’s because I have nothing to cry about.” He tells me, his eyes staying locked on mine. “I have everything that I could ever want right here.” He looks at me with adoration and then his gaze wanders down to my lips. I remember our bet. I feel my heart, stomach and head screaming a stream of curses at the stupid bet.

Before Chase can move, I kiss him—pressing my lips to his, long overdue. Chase grins against my lips, and then his hands tangle themselves in my long hair. I pull away a few minutes later, my cheeks warm.

“I lost,” I say, without need. Chase smiles.

“And as the winner, what is my prize?” He asks me, his eyes glinting. I roll my eyes.

“Funny…I don’t remember.” I say, pretending to think. Chase grins even wider.

“I believe it was something along the lines of me getting to kiss you whenever I want.” Chase says, eyes lighting up with humor.

“Which is so much different from how things are already.” I say sarcastically. Chase laughs.

“Well now you can’t complain.” He says, tilting his head towards me.

“Honestly Chase…why would I complain?” I ask him from under his lips. I grin, gently pressing my lips to a spot right under the corner of his jaw. He sighs happily.

“Come on,” he says to me suddenly. I blink, confused. He kisses me lightly on the lips. “Let’s go get milkshakes.”

And with that, we race each other down the stairs, finding Brody and Logan on the way. The four of us race each other down the mains street, laughing the whole way, until we reach a small, run-down place that has a sign saying “Best Milkshakes in Chance!”

I bite back a remark about them being the only milkshakes in Chance and ask for a large vanilla, extra whipped cream. While we wait for our milkshakes, I catch up with Brody and Logan, my hand finding its ways into Chase’s. He catches my eye and gives me a private smile, meant only for me. I give his hand a slight squeeze and turn my attention back to Logan and Brody.

Well, okay, most of my attention.

Reviews

[Rusty]

keep up the great work, I really like the turns you've put into it.

[Anya]

awwww, it's so sweet :)
I had to read the adapter part a couple times though, it confuzzled me slightly :D hehe
I love it so much! You're a very talented writer!
Awesome stuffs :)

[Aimee]

Awh, the Adapter part made me angry.
:/

I'm glad it really wasn't Chase, though, in the end. [:

Another great chapter.
:D

Can't wait to read more.