Hold Me or Leave Me
Chapter Seven
(Chloe P.O.V.)
"Bec? Did you hear me?" Beca's eyes are locked on the flowers in my hand when she doesn't respond I snap my fingers in front of her face. "Bec?" Beca's whole being jumps as she falls back into reality.
"What? Sorry. What did you say?" Confusion takes over my face as Beca's eyes dart across the flower shop seeming to avoid my gaze.
"I said can we head home? It's been a super long day and I want to get these beauties in some water." I raise an eyebrow as Beca pushes her way past me in the direction of the door.
"Yeah, let's go." Her voice is flat and worry rushes through my being. Just as she passes me I grab her by the elbow.
"Hey Bec?" Beca spins around and faces me. Still not meeting my gaze. "Are you okay?" Part of me feels stupid for asking but another part of me can't help but feel like something is wrong. A slight smile falls on Beca's lips and her cobalt blue eyes finally meet mine. I see some type of emotion floating around her eyes and I can't help but wonder what it is because it is one I very rarely see and I haven't been able to pin it yet.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She extends her arm and I hook mine with hers. As we walk out of the huge flower market towards Beca's Jeep I chance small glances in her direction. Her face is unreadable but I know something is warring in her head. Her eyes stay locked on the ground and her eyebrows are drawn in slight confusion. Did I do something wrong? We were ha- Beca's voice pulls me from my thoughts. "Those blue tulips match your eyes. I just realized that." Beca lets out a small laugh and I blush as I realize that Beca must've caught me staring at her.
"Thanks…" I meet Beca's eyes and see that same familiar glint in her eyes. The rest of the walk to the Jeep is quiet but not awkward. The side I saw from Beca today is unlike any I had ever seen. Each detail she has put into this makes my heart swell. In the past I could coax her into about anything but today she took lead and planned everything, no matter how cheesy it was. In what world would have Freshman Beca Mitchell planned out an entire day just for me. None. Exactly. I can't help but smile at Beca as she walks beside me. When we reach the Jeep she opens the passenger door for me. "Well, aren't you such a gentleman." My smile widens as a blush creeps across Beca's cheeks.
"Shut up Beale." Once I'm in Beca rounds the front of the Jeep and gets in on the driver's side. Beca starts the engine and we head out. The sun is down and I know for a fact that if it weren't for the city lights the stars here would be crazy. On the other hand, the city lights are still beautiful. The lamp posts lining the streets. I kick my shoes off on the floorboard and kick my feet up on the dash. Rolling my head back on the seat rest I close my eyes and think back on the amazing day I've had. The sights are amazing here. If I could I would move out here in an instant. The life here is so diverse. You never see the same type of people. I love it here. There is nothing else to it. Beca is lucky to be able to live here. She has so much its curls through the day. Her eyes are trained on the road ahead of us. And I could swear in this second, I have never seen anything more beautiful. This beautiful and amazing human being is my best friend. My eyes fall to Beca's phone as it lights up in the cup holder. I sneak a glance at it and see the name Zoe with a purple heart and a poop emoji beside it. My heart instantly falls. That must be the girl who went on that date with Beca. I watch as Beca looks down at her phone then pushes the sleep button to ignore the call. An eye brow raises in confusion.
"You can answer it Bec. It's okay." Beca shoots me a sideways glance.
"No, it's okay. It's not that important." After sending me a small smile she looks back to the road. The rest of the way back to Beca's nothing else is said but the silence is not awkward. Beca is the first out of the Jeep and heading towards the house. After slipping my feet back into my shoes I grab the flowers Beca gave me from the back seat and I follow behind her into the house. Beca heads in the direction of the steps and turns around at the bottom to look back at me. "I'm going to go change, there's some take out menus in the kitchen you can order something if you want." I nod in agreement and Beca heads up the steps in the direction of her room. I make my way into the kitchen and start my search for said menus. After searching through a few drawers, I find the menus and end up ordering shrimp tempura sushi and mu shu shrimp for Beca. Assuming that is still her favorite. I walk over to the fridge and pull out a bottle of wine then grab a glass from the rack above the kitchen island. After pouring a glass I make my way over to one of the bar stools. I sit down with a huff. My eyes wander around the kitchen and fall on the flowers on the counter. A small smile forms on my lips. Today has been amazing. Perfect even. I take a sip of my wine and think back on it. My smile slightly falters when the memory passes through my head from this morning at brunch. After taking another substantial sip of wine I lay my head down on the counter. Beca kept things from me for the first time in years. She found new people to confide in. A sharp pain hits my heart as that thought crosses my mind. "Hey if you're tired we can call it a night if you want." The pain that hit my heart expands just a bit when I feel Beca wrap her arms around my waist pulling me tightly into her. She doesn't need me as much as I think. As much as I just wanted to call it a night I pull on my best smile and turn around to face Beca.
"No, it's fine. Dinner should be here any minute." A smile tugs on Beca's lips. My eyes fall on the loose curl hanging from her messy bun at the nape of her neck and I have to stop myself from twirling it around my finger. "I ordered Chinese." I watch Beca as she lets me go and walks over to the fridge.
"Mu Shu Shrimp?" Beca grabs a beer from the fridge and comes to sit back down beside me.
"Of course." I watch out of the corner of my eye as Beca sits down and twists the top off of her beer. I take in a deep breath and turn to face Beca. "Bec…" She answers me with a hum as she takes a swig of beer. "Were you going to tell me about you and Brody…?" I can see Beca physically tense up at my words. I can't help but asking. The question has been rattling around in my brain all day. My eyes follow the glass bottle back down to the counter as Beca puts her beer down then they run back up to her face. Her eyebrows are drawn together and her eyes are set on her fingers that are still wrapped around the base of her beer.
"Yeah, of course." Beca finally meets my gaze and I can see her thoughts running through her eyes as she tries to piece all of the words together the right way. I keep quiet waiting for Beca to open up. "It's just that he was my first relationship after Jesse. You know how I was when he ended things. When I first told you about Brody you seemed genuinely happy for me. It made me feel good. Then he cheated on me. You had to help me pick up the pieces once before. I couldn't ask you to do that again. You were on the other side of the country. You have a life Chlo… you were in the middle of that big position transfer. I couldn't put my drama on you when you had so much going on." Beca's eyes fall back on to the bottle and her fingers absentmindedly start toying with the label. I take a few seconds to think back on when this must've happened. There was a period of time where Beca didn't really talk to me. She texted me. But it was rare for about two weeks. I mentally face palm myself.
"Becs… I should've known. I'm your best friend. I should've known." I take hold of Beca's hand that is laying flat on the table causing her gaze to meet mine once again. Her normal cobalt eyes are now a dark denim color and they're glazed over with unshed tears.
"It's not your job to always know. You have your own life to worry about. You have more important things than m-" I hold my hand up interrupting Beca.
"Rebecca Mitchell, you are one of the most important things in my life. Your problems are my problems too." I give her hand a squeeze and a small smile. Beca's eyes fall on to the granite counter top.
"…I thought I could've loved him Chlo…" My heart plummets at her words but I don't show that her words stung just a bit. I look Beca in the eyes and widen my smile just a bit.
"Well, now you're one step closer to the person you're supposed to be with." A sad smile graces Beca's lips. "I'm just a call away Beca. You can still come to me. I'd drop and do anything for you." My heart constricts at the true meaning of my words but I know Beca won't see it. When Beca opens her mouth to say something a knock on the front door catches both of our attentions. "That must be dinner. I'll get it." Before Beca can object. I make my way out of the kitchen and to the front door. Grabbing my purse, I fumble around for money to pay for the food with while I make my way to the door. When I open the door, my eyebrows draw in confusion. Instead of being met with someone in uniform delivering food I'm met with a tall gorgeous blonde looking much like if Blake Lively and Melissa Benoist had a love child. I can't stop my eyes from raking her up and down. Shaking my head, I bring myself back to the present. "Hi sorry, can I help you?" The woman at the door raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
"You must be Chloe, right?" I nod my head as confusion sets in. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Beca's girlfriend, Zoe." When Zoe extends her hand waiting for me to shake it my world stops spinning and a small gasp works its way from my lips.
AN: Hey guys Sorry this one was so short. I'm going to be slacking on this one for the next few weeks. I have finals coming up and I need to focus on that but I will be back. To those of you who are still reading, thanks for sticking around. It means so much to me.
