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When You're Around

Chapter 36

After leaving Randy's house in a rush, Chloe immediately went straight to her room where she cried face-down on her bed for hours. Jess had come in to see what the problem was and after she told her through the sobs, Jess had left the woman to be alone and called Rachel. Rachel was there in record time, along with two grocery bags full of ice cream.

"I wasn't sure what Ben and Jerry's flavor you wanted so I got them all." Rach said, causing Chloe to crack her first smile all day. Jess and Rach joined on her bed as they all dug into their ice cream and watched chick flicks.

After the fourth movie, Chloe forced herself to get up and get in the shower and put in an effort to make sure she didn't look like she'd been sobbing her eyes out all day. She slipped on a pair jeans and an old college sweatshirt and threw her hair into a ponytail before heading out the door to go to her parents house for their weekly dinner together.

She pulled up in front of their house and sat in her car for a couple seconds, trying to get herself to put on a smiling face so her parents didn't suspect she was upset. If she did, they would automatically assume it was Randy's fault, which it was, and demand she quit her new internship, which she had no intention of doing. So she pulled herself out of her car and put on the best act of her life as she pretended not to have a care in the world.

"How's your internship?" Her mom asked with a smile as the small family sat down at the table.

Chloe beamed. "It's so great. The people are extremely nice and Diana, the woman who is showing me the ropes, is really helpful."

Her dad smiled and patted her hand. "That's great dear. Your mother and I were a little worried about it at first, but hearing about how much your learning, it's a really great experience. I'm glad you decided to do it."

Chloe felt a big sigh of relief leave her lips. It was great to hear that her parents accepted her decisions. "Thanks dad,"

After dinner, Chloe headed home and couldn't wait to snuggle under her covers and put this day behind her.

After Randy put Lindsey to bed, he sat on the couch contemplating what to do. He felt like he needed to call Chloe and explain but he knew she wouldn't speak to him. But he knew he had to at least tell her that Sam was the one behind the school knowing about them. Chloe obviously had her suspicions about Sam being the one, but he had to tell her that they weren't just suspicions any more, it was fact. Her meeting was tomorrow, so he figured no matter what she had to know the truth. If she didn't pick up her cell, then he'd call her house and ask Jess to deliver the message.

With nervous fingers, he scrolled through his phone to Chloe's number and pressed send. He waited and waited for her to pick up. After the third ring he thought for sure she wasn't going to answer. Just as he was about to hang up and call her home phone, she picked up. "Hello?" She greeted with obvious trepidation.

He closed his eyes at the sound of her voice. "Chlo," On the other end, Chloe bit her lip but said nothing. He sighed when she stayed silent. "Listen, I really want to explain,"

"Randy, I really don't want to speak to you." She said.

"Ok. I understand you need some time and I will give that to you." He said then paused. "But there is something I need to tell you. About Sam."

Her eyes darkened at the name. "What about her?" She spat.

"After she dropped off Linds this morning, I asked her if she was the one that notified the school about us." He paused and her thoughts ran wild. "Chloe I'm really sorry I even stood up for her. You're right, she did it, she admitted it."

Chloe sneered. "So you celebrated her admission by making out with her?" She asked angrily.

"What?" Randy asked, surprised, not expecting that reaction. "No Chloe, no, that is not it at all."

She rolled her eyes. "Save it. I'm not ready to talk about this."

"Ok but you need to know it wasn't like that ok?" He said and waited for a response though there was none. "Listen Chlo, I'm sorry this happened to you, you didn't deserve it. I just wanted to let you know so you would know for sure that Sam was responsible for this during your meeting tomorrow. You deserve to know."

Chloe took a deep breath before replying. "Ok." She said simply before hanging up. He'd made out with another woman, no way was he worth a 'thanks' or even a 'bye'. She was definitely not in the mood to speak to him. She did, however, appreciate him letting her know about Sam. She was going to have to deal with that.

Jessica was sitting in her bed with her phone in one hand and John's number in the other. She was trying to figure out if she should call him. She really wanted to but she wasn't feeling very confident. Would he remember her? If he did remember, would he talk to her? Maybe he had just been nice to her because she was Chloe's friend.

She shook her head. That was nonsense. She quickly dialed the number and put her phone to her ear. After the third ring she thought, maybe he won't answer the ph-.

"Hello?" He greeted in the middle of her inner rant.

She froze. She wasn't actually expecting him to answer. She was hoping she would get his voicemail then she'd leave a nice message and the ball would be in his court. He could call back if he wanted and then she would know if he wanted to speak to her or not.

"Hello?" He said again.

"Uh, hi," Her voice croaked. She cleared her throat. "It's Jessica," She said and then added, "Chloe's friend?"

He chuckled a little. "I remember you Jess."

She resisted doing a happy dance. "I just figured you know with all the people you meet daily…"

"You're not just anybody." He said with a smirk. "So how have you been?"

She laid down on her bed and relaxed. "I've been good. I've mostly been working a lot this week but I've also had some time to think and I'm completely over that jerk what's-his-face." She said, for some reason feeling it necessary to let him know she wasn't hung up on her ex.

"That's great. Have you heard from him?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, he's tried calling a couple times but I told him I didn't want to speak to him. I'm ready to move on." She said with a laugh. It was nice talking to someone about the things going on in her life besides Rach and Chloe.

He smiled. Good to know, he thought. "That's great," He repeated. "Sounds like this week has been good for you."

She nodded. "Hey, John, I just wanted to thank you and apologize for how I acted last weekend. I feel terrible; you didn't come here to listen to my problems."

"Hey," He protested. "Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on every once in a while."

"I cried?" She asked horrified. She didn't remember crying.

He laughed. It sent a chill down her spine. She could only imagine what that laugh would do to her in person. "No, it's a figure of speech. If you ever need to talk to someone, you got my number." He paused. "Which by the way, how did you get?" He was curious.

"Chloe gave it to me," She said and thought it over. "Is that ok?"

He grinned. "Absolutely. I kinda wished I had given it to you last week." Her heart flipped. "I'm not surprise Chloe took action on that."

Jess laughed. "That's Chloe. Anyway, thanks again for listening to me rant. I owe you,"

John's eyes lit up. "How about next time I'm in town you take me out," He suggested nonchalantly though inside his heart was beating like crazy in anticipation of her response.

She held her breath for a second, wondering if he had really just said that. "Yeah, absolutely."

"Great. So tell me about yourself," He said as he recline in his chair.

"Me?" She asked stupidly. Obviously her, who else?

He chuckled. "Yeah, I mean we're going to be friends, we might as well get to know each other. Unless, you need to get off the phone?"

She smiled. "No, I've got nowhere to be. Ok, let's see, where do I begin…" She trailed off before launching into her life story.