I thought he did it because I’m the only chick in his program and he was afraid I’d get run off. But now I see there’s much more to it than that…
Chase tells me to, “Stay right here.”
Releasing my arm, he starts to turn away from me and I panic. Reaching out, it’s my turn to grab him by the arm to stop him. Chase pauses, glancing back at me.
“Chase, please…” I say quietly.
Chase shakes his head and turns away from me.
Fuck. This is a nightmare that will never end.
It’s the guy in front of Chase that stops him. Saying, “Remember, Chase, he’s only a kid.”
“Fuck!” Chase roars out, and I take a stumbling step back.
I can’t deal with this anymore. There’s so much testosterone pumping around here I feel like I’m drowning in it.
All I want to do is go home now, to escape this scene and pretend it never happened.
I start pushing through the guys, trying to make my way to Alex. I hear him arguing with someone but it sounds like he’s calmed down a bit.
“Where are you going?” Chase asks behind me.
I don’t even glance back when I tell him, “I’m going with Alex.”
“The fuck you are,” he says and grabs me by the arm again.
“What the fuck, Chase?” I ask, glaring angrily at him and yanking my arm back.
Releasing my arm, some of the red fades from his face and he scowls as he says, “I’ll give you a ride home if you need it.”
Grabbing the strap of my backpack, I pull it back up until it’s resting on my shoulder again and take a deep breath, wishing I didn’t have to say it where everyone can hear it. “I’m staying with Alex.”
Chase blinks slowly and for a moment I hope he’s not going to be pissed. The moment is short-lived. “What?!”
I don’t know where I get the courage from but I take another breath and repeat slowly. “I said I’m staying with Alex.”
Chase sets his jaw and says, “No.”
“No?” I repeat, incredulous. “What do you mean no?”
“I said no. You’re not staying with him.”
I close my eyes for a couple of seconds, trying to keep my shit together. I can feel everyone’s eyes on us, and I’m not sure if my pride can take any more hits. I didn’t want it to come out like this.
It’s embarrassing as fuck.
“I’m already staying with him,” I say, dropping my voice. “And I have nowhere else to go.”
“You can stay with Avery and me,” he says easily, like he doesn’t even have to think about it.
I shake my head. “I want to stay with Alex.”
Chase looks so angry and confused that I feel a little sorry for him. “He’s too old for you.”
“I’m not a kid anymore, Chase,” I explain. “I just turned eighteen…”
“You’re still a baby,” he says, and that’s it. I tried to keep myself from getting too pissed at him but I’m tired of being treated like a fucking kid.
“I’m not a fucking a baby, and I’m not a little girl. Stop treating me like a fucking kid,” I say, turning angrily away from him.
He has the nerve to grab me by the arm and stop me again.
Oh, if it was anyone but him…
“Christy,” he starts and I don’t let him finish.
“What part of ‘I want to stay with Alex’ are you not getting?” I ask.
“But he’s…”
“He’s not too old!” I nearly scream now. “How much older are you than Avery? Ten years? Twelve?”
“That’s different,” he says defensively, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that I’ve dinged him.
“And now you sound just like everyone else,” I mutter, turning away and pushing past the guy in front of me.
“How’s that?” he asks, following on my heels.
“Like a fucking hypocrite!”
“Fine!” Chase bellows but I don’t stop.
Finally, after stepping around one last guy, I reach Alex. I’m so fucking happy to see him I could throw my arms around him and kiss him.
Alex looks up from the guy he’s talking to and his eyes alight as they land on me. He looks just as happy to see me as I am to see him.
“Get the fuck out of here, both of you!” Chase says with some disgust, and he couldn’t have hurt me more if he’d punched me in the heart with his massive fist.
Alex’s already dark eyes blacken with anger but I step in front of him to stop him.
“Can we please get out of here?” I ask softly, unable to keep my voice from cracking. If we don’t get out of here soon, I’m afraid I’m going to start crying. If I start crying in front of all these guys, I’ll never be able to show my face here again.
Alex shoots me a look of alarm, his eyes scanning over my face, and it only takes him a moment to make his choice.