Hey all! It's been too long! Thanks for waiting it out. Love all the reviews! Please keep them coming! I love receiving them and looking at who's reading. Thanks so much! This chapter took a while because it was so monumental. If you like it feel free to comment or give it a follow! follow me on tumblr at ezrajclarke.
We Need to Talk
Present Day -
The front door of the lodge opened with a creak and shut just as quickly. Chloe had to pull the handle up to fit it back into its frame. The sound of it shutting echoed through the emptiness. Chloe slammed her back into the door as it shut and gazed around at the dark lobby before her. From the ground floor, living room, a flickering light dimly lit the floor beneath her as a path that led inward. Chloe took a deep breath before making her way into the next room. Her hands began to shake and her palms grew clammy.
The fire light burned bright in the living room as Beca sat on the leather couch, reading a book with a title Chloe couldn't quite make out. Before entering, Chloe leaned on the edge of the door frame, watching her ex fiancee, "You shouldn't be reading with a concussion," Beca only noticed her when she spoke up, "and you really shouldn't be reading in this light." Chloe's voice was soft spoken in careful attention to what she expected to be Beca's headache.
Beca swallowed and sat up, folding her book and placing it on the coffee table. As she did, the blanket wrapped around her waist slipped down and clung to her knees. Her hair was tied loosely into a bun and her outfit had not changed form a pair of sweats and a beat up Ramones tee shirt, "What're you doing back so early?" Beca tried to keep an ambiguous look, her lips staying uncurled.
Chloe looked at the mahogany floor, nearly black without light. Through the flames her hair was more ginger than it had been in years. Their pale skin reflected white, "Knowing you, I suppose." The redhead stumbled her way to the couch and gestured to the opposite corner, "May I?"
Beca nodded and Chloe slouched into its folds. Beca didn't speak at first. Chloe looked over and their eyes met. Beca quickly looked down to her fidgeting hands, "Earlier, in my room, I should've thanked you for being there for me." Beca cleared her throat. "I know I don't deserve it."
Chloe licked her lips and took a moment to think, "You know, when you left -" Chloe paused and Beca repositioned, noticeably uncomfortable. Chloe took a deep breath in, "I didn't know how to handle it, I, um." She glanced at Beca, who held her head in shame, "The only way I could handle it, was by hating you and resenting everything you did. I wanted to hate you and at the same time protect myself from ever feeling that way again. I thought that hating you would help me get on with my life and at the time I guess it did, but when I saw you again.. All that I could think about is everything I wanted to say to you three years ago." Beca's eyebrows furrowed in apology. "I think what I'm trying to say, is that I shouldn't have blown up on you the other night."
Beca nodded and pushed herself to a reasonable distance from her ex, "I don't think you have anything to apologize for. I was the one who did this in the first place and, I think I deserve it. And I know this can't make up for anything, but I'm so sorry, Chloe. I never wanted to hurt you the way I did."
The girls instantly faded back to silence. Chloe stared at the glowing fire and Beca stared at Chloe. "Beca, why did you leave?"
Two Years Prior -
The room was brightening slowly with the rising sun. A bleak Seattle sun peaked through the clouds of the early morning and pierced through the glass walls of Beca's penthouse. The hour was young for even Beca to be awake on a Saturday morning. Her room was a disaster area of blankets and clothes thrown off each side. Two empty bottles of rum sat on each night stand, with a shot glass next to each one. A constant vibration shook Beca awake and continued to irritated her already pounding headache.
Beca pushed herself to raise her head and peer around her impersonal room. As she did, she found a naked somebody on one side and a work phone on the other. Beca closed her eyes and sighed at the sight of whoever the hell was next to her. She rolled her eyes and hastily got out of bed, trying her best not to wake the sleeping noname next to her. As she did, she slipped on a pair of shorts from the floor and ripped her work phone from the night stand. She then exited the room to the balcony, where she proceeded to answer the call.
"What's up?" She groaned, rubbing her forehead with her other hand.
"Beca?" Jesse asked. "Why do you sound like you just got hit by a bus?"
Beca rolled her eyes and watched the city below come to life, "It was, uh, rough night."
Jesse sighed, "Oh, right, Yesterday was your anniversary wasn't it."
Beca licked her lips and rolled her eyes, "What did you want, Swanson?"
"I was going to tell you about this band I really want to sign, but it can wait till you get a cup of coffee." Jesse laughed.
Beca turned around and watched the stranger getting dressed in her room, "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."
Present Day -
"I can't tell you how many times I've thought about that question." Beca answered, her legs curling up to her chest, "I hate it, but I don't know. I was an dumb, or scared, and the biggest fucking idiot, but I -" She rubbed the tired from her eyes and then looked into Chloe's, "I want to tell you that it was because I didn't want what happened to my parents to happen to us and I know the day I left that's what I believed, but every single day since I've regretted it." Chloe didn't have a response and Beca could see that her answer did not cure what Chloe had longed for. "Chloe, I want you to tell me everything you've wanted to for the past three years. I want you to get mad at me and scream at me. I deserve it."
Two Years Prior -
The restaurant was dimly lit with oil lanterns, which hung from the wood cross beams on the ceiling. The light shadowed on the carpeted floors and lit the faces of guests in a similar way that a campfire would. The tiny, city diner was filled to the max with customers, but it was somehow still quiet from booth to booth. Servers rushed back and forth from kitchen to table with plates covering their arms on both journeys. In all the rush, Aubrey, Chloe, Stacie and Tom tucked themselves in a corner booth at the back of the restaurant; They were just inches away from the kitchen doors which flew open as if they were revolving.
They had been out for just under an hour and were waiting on a dinner order they'd put in thirty minutes ago. The discussion circulated mostly around Aubrey and Stacie, who tried to continuously include the other two. Aubrey tried to ask questions which included both, but Chloe rarely answered. Instead, she slouched her shoulders and stared at the sugar packets on the center of the table. Her eyes fixated and her eyebrows curved downward. She hadn't smiled all night, other than to greet Tom and give him a hug for old times sake. Her words were little and few and answering questions directly, though muttered. She was more beautiful than anyone in the crowd. Her hair was straightened and recently dyed. She wore a black slim dress, which brought highlighted her bright hair. Still, her eyes weakly stayed open and the dark circles under them hadn't left for days.
"Chloe actually thought about being a vet after college, didn't you Chlo?" Aubrey smiled brightly at the redhead, who had practically become a zombie as the day ended and the moon rose. "Chlo?" Aubrey shook on Chloe's hand on the table and Chloe abruptly stared back.
"What?" Chloe asked, swallowing when she noticed the three pairs of eyes staring back.
"You wanted to be a vet, right?" Aubrey restated, raising an eyebrow at her best friend.
Chloe shook her head and she rubbed her temples, "I can't do this" She mumbled.
"What?" Tom asked, unable to hear his date for the evening.
Chloe shook her head and pulled away when Tom put his arm on her shoulder. Chloe immediately got up from booth and stared at her best friend. She mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' before running to the door. Tears struck the bottom of her eyelids and she burst out of the diner for a breath of fresh air. When she got out to the streets, she leaned against a brick wall and forced herself to take a breath. Aubrey quickly followed behind her.
"Chlo? Are you okay?" The blonde asked, putting a hand on Chloe's back.
Chloe caught her breath and then looked up. "I'm sorry," her voice crumbled with guilt. "I know I should be over her and I know it's been so long but it's our anniversary today and -" Chloe tried to breath, but found herself dry heaving before she could finish.
Aubrey rubbed the redheads back and reassured her, "It's okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forced you to come out tonight. I thought it would be better to get your mind off things and that you had fun with Tom in college so.." Aubrey trailed of and Chloe wiped the tears off her face. "You know what, lets just get you home Chlo, it's okay."
Present Day -
"Last year, I would've taken you up on that offer. I would've screamed at you until my voice was gone." Chloe admitted, twiddling her thumbs and staring into the fire.
Beca gulped, staring at the coffee table nearby. "So, what's changed?"
Chloe looked up and turned her shoulders inward to face Beca, "Seeing you, being here this week, it reminded me that I didn't just lose us when you left, but I lost my best friend. And I missed that so much. I had already forgotten what it was like to be friends with Beca Mitchell and as much as every bone in my body hurt to think about forgiving you, I missed being your friend more. It'll take more and I'm sure we both know that, but I want to be your friend Beca."
Beca couldn't help but feet her lips curl upward as her cheeks formed dimples. "I would really like that."