Chapter 7
Chloe watched Derek devour his sandwich not leaving a crumb or mess. He practically inhaled the poor sandwich! The funny thing is that it wasn't as gross as you would think, even if he consumed the sandwich a little faster than normal. He ate with a good manner, mouth closed, no noise, and a bit of grace. Which was hard to believe and that's what made Chloe find watching him amusing. She found herself wanting to buy him more food once he finished; but knowing he wouldn't appreciate her buying him more. She settled on giving him the rest of her own sandwich, having a small appetite of her own.
"So why is it called Lyle town?" he asked surprising her she almost dropped the sandwich she was handing him. This was the first time all day he initiated a real conversation.
"Well this town was bought by an old scientist named Marcel Davidoff; he had created some sort of government project called the Lyle project awhile back. It was to help troubled teens advance there problems through chemicals and medicine. The government after awhile shut down the project but he bought this land renamed it Lyle and continued until the group ran out of money and eventually stopped. The family that founded this project lives here under the name of Marcel Davidoff Jr. they own most of the drug stores here called "The Edison Group". Goodbye local pharmacy shops hello new and chemically 'improved' drugs." She took a sip of her smoothie and looked up towards Derek.
"They live here?" he asked, Chloe gave him a didn't I just say that face.
"Yeah they come and go, never usually staying here except for there adopted daughter and son. Rachelle Davidoff and…Liam Malloy, Liam wanted to keep his last name while his sister took on the name, proudly" Chloe explained.
"You don't seem to like this Rachelle very much" he looked amused with her distaste for Rachelle.
Chloe sighed "Me and Rachelle don't get a long very much, she's the queen bee of the school and throws her name around as a threat. Then there is me the type who doesn't follow around the crowd or bow down to the 'popular kids'. Plus she used to go out with Ray and hated that he was hanging around me, I was apparently her rival for his attention. So Ray dumped her and that made her hate me even more, it wasn't my fault me and Ray are close" chloe told him truthfully.
"I had thought you and Ray were dating" he said nonchalantly.
"No, Rays not my boyfriend, he's my best friend. We grew up together and helped each other through tough times. Sure I love him but it's more of a love towards a brother than a lover." Ray was someone who Chloe could turn to for boy advice and know that he'd stick by her side no matter what. Sure they had thought maybe they could eventually turn towards one another in a more intimate way. But sorely found out they weren't compatible and that a friendship was all they needed and wanted.
His eyes landed on her, during her moment of being lost in thought he had asked a question that struck a nerve.
"Then what about Liam?" it was asked casually but it still had an impact due to the fact that Liam was a touchy subject for her.
"Liam…We dated briefly he wasn't like the way he was before but something changed in-I mean changed him and we grew apart. That's it, a typical teenage romance that ended swiftly"absentmindedly rubbed her arm and she continued "Now enough about me Derek, it's your turn" and gave him a mischievous smirk.
"Tell me about your family?" she asked, Derek was caught off guard but slowly nodded, eying her hand on her arm.
"There's not much to say, my siblings are Tori and Simon and father Kit Bae" he wasn't much for small talk but he could ask a lot of questions, that wasn't fair.
"Yes but you and Tori have different last names from Kit" Chloe wasn't about to let him off that easily.
"Tori took her moms last name her and Simon are half siblings while I was adopted" he shrugged, she was about to ask him more questions when his phone rang.
"Its 2:55 we should probably head back" where had the time gone, she had thought they had enough time to talk but guess he really was off the hook.
She nodded and got up with him, heading to the car. Derek just stared out the window as they left and drove to school. She found this infuriating how come he got to ask all the questions? How had he turned the table around on her?
She parked in front of the school decided she's waiting for Ray here. Eyes on the road she felt a warm hand on the road.
"Um thanks for today, it was nice…and maybe I guess we could do it again?" he asked giving her a hesitant smile. Chloe's cheeks felt warm and gave her a smile of her own, nodding.
"Have a nice weekend Chloe and I'll see you on Monday" his smile had grown into a real dazzling one. She was sure her blush had escalated and as she he had gotten out of the car all she could whisper was a lame "yeah you too Derek". She was for sure in over her head.
