I'm so glad everyone likes this story and I'm really glad about all the wondering, nobody knows how it'll end and I'm happy you guys like Ruby.
Though a lot of you always ask after each chapter if the story is over and I promise you will know when it's over lol
PS: can you believe this was supposed to be a oneshot?
For this chapter I used Tyler Ward's version of Red instead of Taylor Swift's, you should definitely give it a listen
Chapter Seven - Red
Loving her is like driving your new Maserati down a dead end street
Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly
Loving her is like trying to change your mind
Once you're already flying through the free fall
Like the colors in autumn, so bright, before you lose it all
Being a guest in Beca and Ruby's house was, not surprisingly, even more painful than Chloe anticipated. She did manage to focus solely on her ankle, which was cutting in the way of her doing stuff. She was starting to get scared she might not be able to go back to New York.
Meanwhile, Beca and Ruby were spending the morning cuddled up, trying to get past the hangover, though it wasn't that hard, since they'd already had sex a few too many times and it wasn't even 10.
"Baby, baby, Chloe's right down the hall, she's gonna hear!" Beca said, but she was losing the willpower to actually stop her fiancée when Ruby started kissing her collarbones.
"She heard it all by now, probably," Ruby said.
Beca bit her lips.
"That's not any better," Beca said.
"Come on, I can gag you if you're not quiet," Ruby said.
Beca smiled and bit her lower lip, suppressing a moan.
"Alright," she finally gave in.
As soon as the couple decided that that was enough and they needed to get up to see if their guest was okay, Beca, despite being all sweaty and her hair being a complete mess, got up, put on a robe and tied up her hair in a bun, going down the hall and knocking on the door.
"Come in," Chloe said from inside.
"Hey, morning," Beca said.
"Morning," Chloe smiled.
"Did you just wake up?" Beca asked.
"No, two birds woke me up with their lovemaking," Chloe said with a sarcastic smile, which made Beca blush.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
"Don't be sorry for loving your fiancée," Chloe said. "But I am hungry."
"Yeah, yeah, I can make you breakfast," Beca said.
"Make sure to wash your hands first," Chloe said, making Beca blush again.
"Oh absolutely," she said with an awkward laugh. "Again, sorry."
Chloe waved in a sign of dismissal and moved the covers away.
"Dude, your ankle is swollen and starting to get black, you need to get that checked out now!" Beca said. "You could have a broken bone!"
"I'll check it out when I go back to New York, it'll still be broken then," Chloe said. "Now help me get up so I can pee."
Beca was quick to rush to her side. She picked her up bridal style and took her to the bathroom.
"Chlo, I'll go get breakfast started, I'll have Ruby take you downstairs," Beca said.
"Okay!"
Beca got changed, passed the message along to Ruby before going downstairs to start making breakfast. She got her phone and texted Aubrey about Chloe's ankle. She was actually worried, the girls were supposed to be here for a few more days, Chloe couldn't go by with an ankle like that. Aubrey agreed, they planned and the blonde would be taking Chloe to an orthopedics urgent care, which Beca figured wouldn't take as long as an emergency room visit would be.
"Alright, here we are," Ruby said, settling Chloe down on a chair.
"Alright, pancakes are almost done," Beca said, giving Ruby a plate full of pancakes. "Chlo, do you want coffee?"
"Yes, please," Chloe said.
Ruby made the coffee and the three sat down to eat. Beca ate a few pancakes with fruits, Ruby ate them with syrup and Chloe ate fewer than the two expected.
"That's all you're eating?" Beca asked.
"I can't eat more," Chloe said. "I feel full already."
Beca remembered their conversation and just eyed the redhead, without even thinking about it. She didn't want to, but she felt sorry for the girl, she didn't mean to cause all of this.
"Stop giving me that look," Chloe said.
"What?" Beca asked distractedly.
"That pity look," Chloe said. "I'm fine, I just can't, physically can't, eat anymore."
"Oh yeah, I know," Beca said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare."
Chloe eyed her and poured herself more coffee.
"By the way, I spoke to Aubrey, she's taking you to an orthopedics urgent care after lunch," Beca said.
"What? No, I don't need that, I'll just wait until I'm back in New York," Chloe said.
"Chlo, your ankle looks really bad," Beca said.
"She's right, it does look really bad," Ruby said. "Sometimes you can't wait on things like that."
"I know, but I don't wanna go," Chloe said. "I'll be fine."
"Chlo," Beca said.
"Stop 'Chlo'ing me, I don't want to go," Chloe said. "What, you think you can be out of my life for almost 2 years and all of a sudden think you know what's best for me?"
Beca was taken aback but she decided not to push it further.
"Sorry," Chloe said with a sigh. "The pain mixed with not taking my meds today makes me kind of a bitch."
"It's okay," Beca said.
"You haven't taken your meds?" Ruby asked.
"No, Aubrey's bringing them," Chloe said. "And these ones if I don't take them on the dot, I get worse. The rebound effect is very powerful."
"Whoa," Beca said.
"I'll get more painkillers for you," Ruby said, putting her fork down and going upstairs.
"Why don't you wanna go to urgent care?" Beca asked with a softer voice.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to go back to New York if I do," Chloe said. "I don't wanna be stuck here."
"I don't think that's how it works, but you don't have to worry, if you did get stuck here, you could stay with me and Ruby," Beca offered.
"I know, that's what I'm trying to avoid," Chloe said, much to Beca's surprise. "Sorry, I'm in a vulnerable place right now, it's going to be hard going back to how things were. I don't want you to disappear again, but I don't think I can be near you."
"I think I get it," Beca said, confused. "But we're gonna be okay, we can get back to being us, right?"
Chloe sighed.
"I don't know," Chloe said.
oO0Oo
Losing her was blue like I'd never known
Missing her was dark gray, all alone
Forgetting her is like trying to know
Somebody you never met
But loving her was red
Loving her was red
Lunch was again exciting and filled with laughter. This time, Ruby left to eat with friends and to give Beca some privacy to be with her own friends. The brunette was very grateful for it, she felt just like she did in the old days.
"Guys, guys, listen, because I'm someone who apparently can't wait, I wanted to share the last bit of news," Beca spoke after they'd finished eating.
The girls grew silent and looked at their host so she'd continue.
"Starting next week, I'm going to start a hormone treatment to extract and freeze a few eggs so in the hopefully near future, Ruby and I can start a family," Beca said.
"Oh my God!"
"That's great, you guys!"
"So soon!"
The Bellas, except for Chloe, shared their congratulations and even a hug. The brunette was radiant, clearly.
"You know, I used to think it was never going to get to this point. The point of actually wanting to start a family with someone else, because of the damage my dad caused when he left," Beca said. "But here I am. Ruby made it all possible."
"Is that a wedding speech before the wedding?" Stacie asked.
"Yeah, Becs, save some for the wedding!" Fat Amy said, which made Beca chuckle.
"There's plenty more where that came from," Beca said.
There was a moment of silence before the brunette got up and started picking up the plates.
"Let me help you," Jessica got up.
"Chlo, we should head to urgent care," Aubrey said to Chloe.
"Okay," Chloe said.
"Guys, we'll be back soon," Aubrey said.
"Okay," Beca said. "Let me know if you guys need anything."
"Thanks," Aubrey and Beca helped Chloe into a cab and they were off to urgent care.
A few hours later, they were brought in and seen. Chloe happened to have a lateral malleolus fracture, a fracture on her fibula, lucky for her it was a minor one which wouldn't require surgery and with the cast she was put on, she could put weight on her leg, which helped her immensely. She was required to visit her doctor in New York for regular x-rays to make sure the fragments of her fracture weren't going out of place.
When she was back to Beca's she was walking and feeling a lot less pain and a lot less useless.
"So, what happened? Is it broken?" Beca asked. The girls were still there, except for Cynthia Rose and they were drinking again and enjoying the pool. This time they were a lot quieter, some girls weren't even drinking.
"Yeah, but she can walk on it, she was lucky," Aubrey said, helping Chloe sit. "Any worse and she could need surgery."
"Whoa, how did you trip?" Beca asked, chuckling. "What were you looking at that you didn't see Jessica throw the ball at you?"
Chloe shrugged and put her foot up.
"Distracted," she answered simply.
Beca chuckled a bit more before she slowly stopped, realizing Chloe was most likely watching her. She looked down at her beer before looking up at Aubrey.
"You guys want something to drink?" she offered.
"Yeah, sure," Aubrey accepted.
Beca got up and came back with a beer for Aubrey. She offered one to Chloe but the redhead declined.
"So I'll be back to my hotel since I can, you know, walk," Chloe said. "But thank you Beca and Ruby for the hospitality and I'm sorry about this morning."
"It's okay, you're still welcome to stay here if you want," Beca said.
"I'll go use the restroom," Chloe said and got up, so thankful she didn't need to be carried around like a child anymore.
Aubrey sighed and took the seat Chloe was previously occupying.
"She's not doing too great is she?" Beca asked knowingly.
"Nope," Aubrey said. "But believe me, she's doing great compared to a year ago."
"Yikes," Beca said. "I feel awful about this, I just want us to go back to how we used to be but.."
"I know," Aubrey said. "Don't blame yourself, you know I'd be the first to blame you but this isn't your fault."
"I just.. I wish I didn't feel so guilty for being happy," Beca said.
"You don't have to," Aubrey said.
"Hey Bee, I need to go to the studio, quick band emergency," Ruby said, coming from the backyard. "I'll see you later."
"You're taking an Uber right?" Beca asked, knowing she'd been drinking.
"Serenity is swinging by to pick me up, she'll drop me off," Ruby said.
"Okay," Beca said and the brunette bent down to place a soft kiss on her lips before she was off.
Beca had a soft smile on her face as she watched her fiancée leave before she turned her attention back to Aubrey with a sigh. The blonde was offering her a small smile of her own and things were quiet for a while, until Beca noticed her beer was empty so she got up to get another.
"Aubrey, can you promise me one thing?" Beca asked, making the blonde look up at her. "I don't know what will happen between me and Chloe for a while, can you promise me you'll take care of her?"
"Absolutely," Aubrey said. "Don't worry, I'll keep you posted."
"Thank you," Beca said with a thankful smile before getting up. "I should attend to the other guests."
Aubrey watched the brunette walk away and she was thankful she cared so much about Chloe. Maybe there would be a moment Aubrey would be furious at her and want her vocal cords ripped out by wolves but she'd grown to know the small brunette and she knew she never intended on hurting Chloe the way she did.
oO0Oo
Chloe was sitting alone, since Aubrey was talking to Stacie and Flo and she was glad to be left alone with her thoughts for a while, until she heard a presence sit next to her. She opened her eyes beneath her sunglasses and was met with interestingly the last and the only person she wanted to be with.
"How's your ankle?" Beca asked.
"Well, it's okay now," Chloe said.
"That's good," Beca said. "Listen, I know you guys are leaving the day after tomorrow, so- Chlo, can you please look at me?"
Chloe rolled her eyes but looked at the brunette anyway.
"Ruby is going to Vegas tomorrow for two days so I'll have the house for myself. I was wondering if you'd like to come over? We could.. You know, watch movies, listen to music, or just hang out like we used to?"
Chloe frowned at the offer.
"How come?"
"You and I used to be so close, I kinda miss that," Beca said. "I know you're not in the best place right now, but.."
"I'm not, you're the last person I want to see but the only person I want to talk to you at the same time," Chloe said before sighing. "It's confusing. Yes, I want to hang out but.."
"Then please let's hang out," Beca said. "It'll be your last night, then you don't have to see me anymore for a while."
Chloe sighed. The offer was tempting, but she decided to just let her heart have its ways for once. It'd been broken for far too long.
"Okay," Chloe said.
Beca grinned.
If Chloe was being honest with herself, she missed that grin.
oO0Oo
Touching her was like realizing all you ever wanted
Was right there in front of you
Memorizing her was as easy as knowing all the words
To your old favorite song
Fighting with her was like trying to solve a crossword
And realizing there's no right answer
Regretting her was wishing you never found out
That love could be that strong
Chloe was kicking herself, mentally and, if she could, physically too, for agreeing to hang out with Beca all by herself, but here she was, in the car Beca had ordered to pick her up, driven by the same driver as the van, on her way to Beca and Ruby's house.
When she got there, the brunette was wearing a loose white tank top, an open button up shirt, shorts and sandals. Her hair was up in a bun and she had a black headband and sunglasses.
"Hey! Javier, thank you so much for bringing her," Beca said, helping Chloe out of the car.
"You're welcome, Miss Beca," the Mexican driver smiled, bringing Chloe's luggage out of the trunk and to Beca's front porch before the brunette gave him a generous tip before he got back into the car and disappeared.
"I didn't have any meal planned, thought we'd be better off ordering something," Beca said.
"Good idea," Chloe said.
Beca allowed Chloe to get in. It was mid afternoon, they'd had lunch with the Bellas, so Beca still had alcohol in her system, she just gave Chloe time to gather her stuff.
Beca brought the redhead's luggage to the same room she'd occupied a few nights before and the two went to the living room, Chloe had already made herself comfortable on the couch.
"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Beca asked.
"You know, I think I need a drink," Chloe said.
The brunette tilted her head in confusion. She'd denied alcohol the past couple days, since she went to urgent care, which led Beca to think she couldn't mix alcohol with whatever medication she was taking for her ankle.
"Are you sure? Are you allowed to drink?" Beca asked.
"Yeah, I just chose not to," Chloe shrugged.
"Sure, I'll just confirm that with Aubrey real quick," Beca fished her phone out of her back pocket. "And that's the last time I'll be a pain tonight."
"It better be," Chloe spoke but Beca was already in the kitchen.
The quick reply from Aubrey confirming that Chloe could drink came quickly and Beca felt more at ease grabbing three cans of Two Chicks, two sparkling citrus margaritas and one sparkling aroma. She got back, handing Chloe a can, taking off her shoes, opening her can.
"So what do you wanna do?" she asked.
Chloe was drinking quite fast, which surprised Beca, but she said nothing. She promised she wouldn't be a pain anymore. Chloe was such a lightweight, she'd get stupid drunk if she kept this up.
"I'll put on some music," Beca grabbed her phone and connected the bluetooth to the sound system and pressed play. Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You) by Enrique Iglesias came on and the brunette chuckled, not knowing she had such an old song in her playlist.
"Jesus, that song is so old," Chloe said, taking another long sip. "It almost hurts to hear it."
"I can change it," Beca grabbed her phone.
"No, don't, it's okay," Chloe said. "It's still a good song."
"Yeah," Beca sipped her can while Chloe finished hers. "Whoa, please don't throw up on my couch."
"I'm still older than you, I can handle my liquor," Chloe said with a small wink.
"Want another one?" Beca asked.
"No, I'll just take this one," Chloe grabbed the other can Beca had intended to be for herself but she allowed Chloe to take it, a small smile appearing in her face. Probably the alcohol resurfacing.
"It's like old times, you taking my stuff without asking and me not even caring, 'cause it's you," Beca said, sipping the drink, trying to ignore the way she probably hurt Chloe. And that's when it hit her, "sorry."
"Don't be, I like to hear how things were when you used to like me," Chloe said. "Now that your girlfriend's not here."
"Fiancée," Beca corrected her once she'd swallowed.
"Yeah," Chloe said with a slight shrug that Beca took it to be dismissal.
Beca decided to ignore that, focusing instead on her own cocktail, which was also over.
"Damn, these things have almost nothing," Beca said.
Chloe smirked while looking at her can.
"Don't throw up on your couch," the redhead teased.
"Yeah, yeah," Beca said. "I'll go get us more."
"When you get back, can we play a game?" Chloe asked.
"Sure,"
Beca was nervous but she blamed the alcohol as she retrieved four cans this time, hoping she'd save some time.
"What game do you wanna play?" Beca asked, both girls opened their cans.
"Well I was thinking of playing Truth or Dare without the dares," Chloe said. "Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, sort of," Beca said. "Alright, you start."
Chloe looked deep in thought for a while.
"Did you ever have any sexy dreams about me?" Chloe asked.
Beca choked on her drink and it took some coughing before she was able to answer. Her cheeks were burning, probably bright red.
"Excuse me?" she had to make sure she heard it right. Certainly Chloe didn't just ask about Beca's dreams about her?
"Did you ever have sexy dreams about me? Sex dreams?" Chloe asked as if she was talking about the weather.
Beca scratched the back of her head before taking a rather big swig of her drink. To be honest she hadn't thought about Chloe like that for a long time, since she started dating Ruby.
"Umm yeah?" she sounded uncertain, she wasn't sure she should even answer that, given the state Chloe was currently in. "Listen, I don't wanna answer any of these questions if it'll make you feel worse."
"I'll be fine," Chloe said with a wave of dismissal before finishing yet another can. "All gone."
As Chloe reached for her third can, Beca simply eyed her and got hit with a wave of nostalgia. Only Chloe was about 20lbs thinner, still got some dark circles under her eyes and there was no sparkle in her eyes, like those baby blues had turned gray.
Beca put on a sympathetic look and reached for Chloe's hand, which clearly surprised her, because she turned to look at Beca with a confused look on her face.
"I missed hanging out with you," she said, offering the redhead a small smile. "But you have to try and find a way to move on, you're not the same Chloe I remembered."
"Beca, how long were you in love with me?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know.." Beca had to stop to think. "I think about 7 years. At least 7 years."
"How long did it take to get over me?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah but that's different, I.."
"I'm not like you, Beca! I didn't know where you were for a year and a half, it's not exactly like I got closure," Chloe said. "I found out that I loved you the same time you disappeared to get over me!"
Beca sighed.
"I know, I know," she said. "I don't wanna get into an argument and ruin our night."
"Yeah, because it's absolutely not awkward so far," Chloe said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"What I'm trying to say is please don't lose sight of who you are! I miss the old Chloe, always happy, sparkling, always smiling, always positive," Beca said.
"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you but I was only like that because of you," Chloe said.
Beca was quiet for a while.
"I don't think this was the best idea," she said quietly.
"Nope," Chloe said, taking another swig.
"I just missed you, I wanted to hang out," Beca said before sighing.
After a moment of silence, Give Me Everything came on and Beca had to bite back a smile. All the memories of making the arrangement for their finals, then rehearsing it came rushing back and she looked up to see Chloe smiling too while she played with the can.
"Your playlist is full of old songs," Chloe said.
"Yeah, apparently," Beca chuckled. "I can change it."
"No, leave it, it's good, brings back so many memories," Chloe said with a sigh.
"Yeah," Beca chuckled. "Remember how drunk we got after finals?"
"Yeah," Chloe said with a chuckle, playing with the can. "I remember that was the first time I saw you throw up."
"Worst hangover in history," Beca said with a chuckle. "I remember you telling me you switched with Amy so you could stay and take care of me."
"Yeah, I did. You weren't the easiest drunk to care for," Chloe chuckled.
"What do you mean?" Beca asked.
"Well, you were stubborn as hell! I tried to get you to drink some water but you only wanted more alcohol, then I tried to get you to take a shower but you could barely stand, so I decided to leave you be," Chloe said. "Of course, getting you dressed for bed was a struggle on its own, so I had to let you sleep in your underwear."
"Oh jeez," Beca said, chuckling. "Wait, why did I wake up without my bra?"
"Oh, you asked me to remove it in the middle of the night," Chloe said. "And you asked, more like demanded, to cuddle which I had to deny because you smelled like vomit."
"You denied cuddles?! Chloe Beale denied me cuddles?!" Beca asked, relieved Chloe was smiling and laughing.
"You were only in your panties, I didn't want to get in trouble with you boyfriend. And you actually stunk," Chloe said.
"Oh that's right, I got together with Jesse after that," Beca said, thinking about that, which made Chloe giggle. "I forgot I had my straight phase."
Chloe laughed and shook her head. She was actually looking at Beca now, rather than her can. The two shared a comfortable silence before Beca smiled.
"I guess tonight's not so bad after all," Beca said.
"Yeah," Chloe said. "I missed you, Bec."
Beca smiled and Chloe smiled back, tugging her hair behind her ear.
"Aw, come on," Beca sat closer and wrapped her arms around Chloe in a hug. The redhead's first instinct was to push her away, but as she felt the smell of the woman she missed and loved, she felt herself relax and allowed herself to be hugged. It took awhile but she wrapped her arms around the brunette, closing her eyes. She'd waited for this moment for almost 2 years, she'd never been apart from Beca for so long after they met.
Chloe took in the brunette's perfume, squeezing her tighter before she let go and the two girls pulled apart. Beca still smiled as she looked at Chloe, seeing the hint of a sparkle back in her baby blue eyes, something she found herself not being able to pull away from. As much as she'd tried to deny it, she missed those baby blue eyes. Never in her life had Beca been able to find someone with eyes as blue as Chloe's, they were gorgeous.
Beca felt a blush creep up her cheeks once she realized she'd probably been looking into Chloe's eyes for a moment too long, both standing way too close. The brunette just cleared her throat and looked down at her phone.
"How about we order a pizza?"
"Sounds good," Chloe said.
Beca didn't take her eyes off of her phone while she ordered the pizza, something Chloe noticed, but didn't say anything.