"But Becaaaaa!" Her voice groaned into my shoulder when I plopped down on the blanket next to her. A soft giggle escaping my lips, brushing a long strand of red from her face I could feel the blood run to my cheeks. Undoubtedly causing my face to match the color of the beautiful woman's hair. "What?" Her eyes grew a little darker in the afternoon sun, searching my face for something. I just shook my head.
"You're so beautiful Chloe." My voice filled with shock and awe as I spilled this thought without hesitation. I bit my lip hard when I realized what I had just said. Chloe propped herself up on one elbow, leaning back slightly to get a better view of my face. Nervously I began biting the inside of my lip unsure of what to do or say as I watched the girl's expression change from casual to dangerous.
"Why is that Beca Mitchell?" Her voice was low and challenging. I felt like I couldn't breathe because of the growing lump in my throat. Instead of speaking I just settled on shaking my head. I turned back to watch the clouds, all the while I could still feel Chloe's sapphire gaze burning right through me. I was counting in my head to try and keep my breathing steady. Closing my eyes to try and focus better, I heard Chloe shift and snapped my eyes open just in time to see her throw her left leg across my body. "Answer my question Mitchell." Her voice was now a command and there was no trace of playfulness left in it. Her long hair falling in waterfall like curls over her shoulders, the sun hitting her already too blue eyes at an angle the made them impossibly blue. I opened my mouth to answer the woman who was straddling me but closed it quickly when I couldn't find my voice. "Do I make you nervous?" Her voice was barely audible as she bit her lip anxiously. My gaze stayed on her mouth for a moment longer than I knew was appropriate and then I nodded slowly. Afraid to make eye contact again. She leaned down with her hands planted on the ground on either side of my face. I forced my eyes not to stray down to the older woman's chest. Her face just mere inches from mine. "What about now?" Now her eyes were locked on my lips as I began to squirm. Yes, I thought Chloe Beale was hot enough to be a goddess and yes I wanted her in ways that didn't exactly fall under the 'just friends' category. I never said that though, I also tried extremely hard to respect her because if there was one thing I couldn't live without it was Chloe Beale. I didn't need people; I don't need anyone. Beca Mitchell is a lone wolf, it's always been that way and I'm not about to let that change now. Chloe Beale was impossible though, even if I didn't need anyone around I wantChloe here. I want to kiss Chloe and I want to be with her in ways I could never confess. I locked eyes with her and even though I didn't say any of this out loud I knew she could feel it and see it in the way I looked at her in that moment. Her lips crashed against mine in a mix of passion and aggression. I grabbed a handful of her hair as she pressed on my hip with one of her overly warm hands. In that moment I knew I was screwed but I didn't care.
"Shit." Escaped my lips as I realized the gravity of the situation when I pulled away reluctantly for air. But all common sense was out the window as I fell into Chloe's grasp on that blanket in the afternoon sun. Chloe Beale had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed and I had no idea what that meant at that very moment but I was sure I would find out.
"Mitchell?" I heard a familiar voice before blinking as my eyes focused on the tall lean blonde standing in front of me. When my eyes focused I knew the girl standing in front of me from somewhere but I wasn't sure where. Frustration flowed through me as I thought back to the dream I was having and I wasn't appreciative of the rude interruption. I cocked my head to one side when I tried to remember where I had seen her from. "Oh umm, I'm Aubrey. Aubrey Posen." She paused expectantly before adding, "We went to school together at Barden. I'm Chloe's best friend. Jesse texted me." She shifted awkwardly, staring in awe as I sat in silence.
"I thought you looked familiar, I'm sorry." My head was spinning, I felt like I knew her on a deeper level than just going to school together. It was the same feeling I got when Chloe walked in on me back in the loft. "My head is a little hazy right now." I admitted sadly. I noticed the look of sadness in the older girl's eyes as she looked at me, observing all the details about my appearance.
"When was the last time you got some real rest?" Aubrey's voice was worried as I inhaled deeply. I shook my head when I thought about it, not really knowing when the last time I got real sleep. "Well come on, let's get some food in you." She extended her hand and helped me to my feet after I took it reluctantly. We walked in silence back to the parking lot. She reached for her keys and I stopped in my tracks.
"Do you mind if we walk?" I asked as anxiety flooded my body, cars were beginning to make me uncomfortable. She nodded knowingly and fell in step next to me. "How is Jesse?" I asked breaking the silence after a few minutes. I shoved my hands in my pockets after she was silent for a moment.
"He's doing well. Worried about you." I dared a glance at Aubrey, realizing now how exhausted she looked. "I'm staying with him at his place for now. It's too weird being at Chloe's without her." She sat on a bench and looked at me. "Do you mind?" I sat down next to her as a picture of her and Chloe laughing next to each other in a dinner popped in my head. I noticed Aubrey staring across the street at a building when the realization that the dinner in my head was the one across the street hit me. An uneasy feeling settled over me as I struggled to figure out where that image had come from. "You know, when I met Chloe freshman year. I wasn't the same person I am today. She helped me work though a lot of anger and anxiety." She was digging through her purse for a moment before removing her wallet and taking a picture out. She stared at it for a moment before handing it to me. "That was the second semester of our freshman year." I smile twisted on her lips as she was obviously taking a walk down memory lane in her mind. "We had just got back from regionals with the Barden Bella's. The weekend was a nightmare. Our captains were the biggest bitches I've ever met." She sighed as I stared at the picture of the redhead kissing Aubrey on the cheek. Such a happy moment in time. "Chloe had this way of calming me down when I felt like I couldn't breathe." A small laugh escaped her lips as I passed the picture back. "She always made people feel safe, like they belong."
"I know the feeling." Tears stinging my eyes as I thought back to talking to Chloe outside at my brother's. "She's so confident and relaxing." Aubrey smiled and nodded. Mumbling about needing to eat as her eyes lingered on the dinner across the street. I took a chance on asking if she wanted to eat there before she responded that she wasn't sure it was a good idea because she had too many memories there. I stood up quickly, "I know this place. I go there a lot when I need a quiet place to escape." She followed me down a couple of streets before turning and opening the door to a dinner and allowing the blonde to step inside. She was right behind me as I sat at a table in the corner by the window. "Coffee?" I asked as she read over the menu. She nodded before the waitress walked over. "We need some coffee please," I glanced up to notice the waitress staring down at me.
"Can I get you anything else beautiful?" The brunette winked at me. Aubrey cleared her throat clearly not impressed while giving the waitress a death glare. The waitress blushed before rushing off to the kitchen.
"What was that?" The blonde asked flatly. I shrugged as I heard her mutter something about Chloe hating when women did that under hear breath. "Everything looks so good. I don't know what to order."
"Let me order for you." Watching the waitress return with our coffees. "Thank you, is Lenny working?" I questioned the girl without making eye contact.
"Yes he is." She responded professionally, probably afraid to anger Aubrey. I got a feeling that was a normal response to the blonde. Although I felt not so characteristically comfortable in her empowering presence.
"Let him know that Skylar is here. We need two of his specials." I smiled politely as she nodded and walked away. Aubrey raising and eyebrow at my order. "I told you I come here a lot." I stated calmly. She nodded again, falling into a comfortable silence while we sipped coffee and I relaxed for the first time in days. I cleared my throat not sure what to say to the not so strange stranger across from me. "Have you seen… her?" I couldn't bring myself to say Chloe's name out loud as overwhelming guilt flushed through my being. She set her cup down on the table staring into its contents for a moment.
"Yes, I went in and sat with her for a long while before a doctor told me she saw you walk down to the pond. I think her name was Yang or something?" I smiled knowing that there wasn't anything that happened at the hospital that she didn't know about. "She looked so peaceful." Aubrey offered sweetly, trying to ease the pain written in my eyes. "I talked to her for a little while also." Sadness found its way into her eyes now as I sat there and listened. "Can I ask you something?" Her voice dropped so low it was almost a whisper. Hesitantly I nodded at the older woman once again registering how tired she looked. "What happened?" Instinctively I stiffened, pulling on the frayed edges of the table cloth. I avoided eye contact before preparing to answer. Afraid of the judgement I was sure the redhead's best friend would pass.
"I met Chloe at my brother's party." I debating on whether I should explain how but decided it would be wise to leave that part out. "I'm not really sure who she came with or why she was there but we had a few drinks and we hung out for a few hours." I swallowed hard, trying to rid myself of the lump growing in my throat. "I had just gotten in a fight with Jesse and ended things." I gulped down some coffee before continuing. "Chloe was just so inviting; she was so interested in me." I paused again. "We had a few drinks, like I said. I-I probably had a lot more to drink than she had but I was so caught up in her vibe. One thing led to another and we were making out. Pretty intense." I averted my eyes from the blonde's face. She sat patiently as I fought back tears of guilt again. "Jesse walked in and told her to leave." This time I made eye contact, surprised by the understanding expression that was returned to me. "She ran out and I went after her, only difference was she was smart enough not to drive. I was scared and I felt horrible. I swear I didn't mean to." The headlights flashed through my head and the image of red hair went through my mind causing me to visibly cringe. "I was speeding around the corner when headlights suddenly appeared in front of me. I swerved trying to avoid a collision." My voice cracked before I added, "I didn't even see her. When I did it was too late. I tried to yank the wheel and I clipped her before smashing into a tree." Silence fell heavily over us before Aubrey reached out and took my head. Squeezing it gently.
"It's okay. I don't blame you." Her voice broke and she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to compose herself. "I know she doesn't either." She opened her eyes slowly as she stated that sternly. I nodded quickly, afraid of what she'd do or say if I tried to argue with her. Our food arrived and we ate slowly in silence. I still couldn't shake the feeling that I knew this woman sitting across from me on a deeper level than what she had provided. I grabbed the check and we walked back to the hospital exchanging ideas on music and traveling. "Maybe you should go talk to her for a while?" Aubrey said softly standing in the doorway, watching the redhead intently. By the time I turned to say something to the older woman she had slipped off into the traffic of the hospital hallway.
"Chloe, I feel like an idiot for talking to you because I don't know if you can hear me but I had this dream." I chuckled quietly while rolling my eyes at how stupid it was to tell her this. "You pinned me down and kissed me on a blanket in some meadow." I was spinning the ring on my thumb before dropping my head back on the chair. "It felt so real Chloe, like it had happened before. Damn, though I was so nervous. Butterflies and all that weird stuff. I'm Skylar Mitchell, I don't get shy around anyone." I stared at her face for a couple seconds before deciding to lay carefully next to her, which I hadn't done before. I placed an arm over her stomach lightly and propped my head up with an elbow. Pressing my lips into her hair I whispered, "Chloe, I swear that I've known you for years. There's this connection I just can't let it go, it's driving me insane." I shifted consciously afraid that I was causing her pain in some kind of way.
"Beca, please don't go." Chloe whispered. My body stiffened not fully being able to grasp that after weeks of silence Chloe had finally spoken. "I'm cold." She muttered as her eyes slowly fluttered open, blinking from the lights. She moved her head slightly towards me, shock written all over my face. "Beca, please don't go." She pleaded this time. I scooted closer on the bed, twisting my arm back around her waist trying to avoid the wires and tubes coming from her body. Tears filling her eyes before I had regained the ability to speak again.
"I won't Chloe. I won't. I'm right here I promise." My voice cracked as a million words filled my head but I couldn't utter anything else to come out of my mouth. I just stared wide eyed at the angel laying in front of me.
"You never left, you stayed the whole time." She whispered as her beautiful blue eyes slowly closed again. She pressed her face into my neck and inhaled deeply before a coughing fit took over. The same nurse that comment on my poem walked in to see what the coughing was all about, a huge smile twisting up on her mouth as she saw Chloe blink at the sound of footsteps. "Beca." Chloe's voice was timid and she sounded vulnerable as I glanced down at her. I grabbed her hand a squeezed lightly to reassure her.
"Welcome back Ms. Beale." The nurse walked over and pushed long strands of red hair from Chloe's face before checking the machines and taking some notes on the papers in her charts. "I'm going to go get Dr. Yang and tell her the good news." She paused in the doorway. "I knew it'd be you." She added while making eye contact with me. She turned and practically skipped out the door. I could hear her voice excitedly talking to the doctor just down the hall before the small woman appeared in the doorway. She raised her eyebrow at the sight of me next to Chloe on the bed. "Ms. Mitchell, I'm glad you're still here." I blushed and slid off the bed. Chloe looked a little panicked as I stood there awkwardly.
"Hey, it's okay Beale." I smiled reassuringly still holding onto her hand. "I'm going to go make a phone call, I promise I'll be right back okay?" Chloe nodded weakly in response and closed her eyes as the doctor tested some of her nerve and reflex functions. I walked down the white hallway to the parking lot before pulling the napkin with a phone number out of my pocket and dialing the digits on my screen. I held my breath as the dial tone started.
"Beca? Are you okay? Is Chloe okay? What's going on?" The blonde that seemed so confident in the café now sounded frail and broken. I let out the air I had been holding in my lungs as she continued to fire off question after question in the mere moments it took me to compose myself. My throat was dry as my chest tightened.
"She's awake Aubrey." The older woman was silent on the other end of the line. "She woke up. She's going to be okay." My voice was raspy as my knees began to shake and I collapsed to the ground. I reached up as the wind stung my face to realize that tears were falling in a river down my cheeks. "She's going to be okay." I let my voice trail off at the end of my sentence.
"I'll be right there." She said breathlessly. I stayed on the sidewalk ignoring all the sideways looks I was getting as strangers walked by. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders as I texted my sisters and told them the news. Sliding my phone back in my pocket I retraced my steps down the hallway back to Chloe's room, using the wall to steady my weak body. I turned into the room where Chloe was stationed and was stricken by an overwhelming feeling of horror when I saw that her eyes were closed again. I tripped in an attempt to run back to her bed.
"Chloe!" I tried to shout but it came out as a whisper. She cracked one eye open and faintly smiled as she saw me start crying.
"I'm still awake." Her voice sounded exhausted. I pulled the chair closer to the bed, still crying. She turned her pale face towards me, sliding her hand across the empty space on her bed. "Beca Mitchell, are you crying right now?" Another smile smirk twisting on her face. I wiped the tears away quickly with the back of my hand before clearing my throat and shaking my head.
"N-no. I-I don't cry." I stuttered in an attempt to defend my ego. She giggled slightly before coughing again. I grabbed her hand and kissed it softly. "I'm just glad you're okay Chloe." I pondered for a moment on what to say but settled for an innocent question. "Can I lay with you?" She nodded softly before slowly pulling back the thin blankets. I pulled out my phone and texted my sister asking her to stop by my apartment and grab the blankets I had stashed in my closet, I set my phone down on the table next to me with the headphones and the keys that were also in my pocket. I climbed into the bed next to Chloe and silently tucked her in. Placing my arm behind her head, she rolled onto her side with a sharp breath of pain and rested her head on my chest. Absent mindedly I played with her hair and closed my eyes.
"You're right Beca, you do know me better than your memories say you do. I know you can remember if you just let yourself. It's okay though, you didn't leave me. You promised not to leave me even when you weren't sure if I would wake up. So I promise I'll wait as long as I have to for your heart to wake up. I won't leave." I could hear Chloe whispering softly as sleep tugged me away, I desperately wanted to ask her what she meant but I was too far into the heavy grips of sleep to open my mouth. Maybe what she said was a part of a dream and I had just imagined it.
The pressure of something on my face jumped me awake, my breath catching in the deepest parts of my lungs before I blinked my eyes into focus to see Chloe's concerned face. "Hey are you okay?" Her hand warmer than it had been in weeks, I stared in disbelief. Realizing she was waiting for a response I nodded, pressing her hand into my face harder with my own cold hand. She eyed me suspiciously but left well enough alone. "Doc says I've got some physical therapy and a lot of follow up appointments to do but I should be okay to go home in a couple more days." Her eyes sparkled at the thought of getting out of this place. "Sleep in a real bed, in my own space and shower in my own apartment! I'm so excited." She smiled widely but the moment passed when she looked back at me. "Are you going to disappear now?" Her face solemn and her voice flat with disappointment. "Now that you don't have to feel guilty about me dying or something?" I didn't respond but just stared forward at the ceiling, still feeling waves of guilt rushing over me as I remembered that night. "Seriously Beca? You're just going to shut me out again? After everything we've been through this is what you're going to do?" Her voice cracked as tears fell from her soft baby blues. "I know you do this to protect yourself but you're killing me." I flinched at the brutality behind her words. I slid off the bed and put my shoes back on, standing in a slump and avoiding eye contact as she just stared with anger flaring in her eyes. Taking note at the fact that they looked ice blue when she was upset.
"I'm sorry Chloe, I just… I-I can't." I tried to vacate the lump in my throat after I spoke but it was to no prevail. She laughed harshly and I looked up just in time to lock eyes with her.
"Just run away Beca Mitchell. Just like last time. Just get the hell out of here. If you don't want to stay I won't force you to." My jaw dropped and my bones began to ache as I stood there completely mortified. "Go!" She shouted after a long moment. I walked out the door but as I turned I heard her shaking voice softly plead. "Please don't leave me." My heart began to break as I took off in a sprint down the hall, suddenly feeling as if all of the walls were about to collapse on me. My head got that familiar fuzzy feeling and all I could think about was the bar that just opened for the day three blocks up the street. I stopped running when I hit the edge of the parking lot. Walking and trying to compose myself before strutting into the bar and plopping down on a barstool.
"Can I get two shots of whiskey and a beer?" I mumbled staring down at the bar. The bar tender did as I asked when she returned I handed her my card. "Keep the tab open, please?" I threw back both shots before she returned. Sliding both glasses back towards her, motioning for two more.
"Hun it's not even noon yet. Shouldn't you be taking it easy?" She asked with genuine concern in her voice. I looked up for the first time blinking back tears as my hand shook picking up my beer.
"If you knew what the last month of my life had been like, you'd just hand me a bottle." I admitted with a hint of disappointment in my voice. She gave me a once over and looked around the bar quickly.
"Tell me about it, yeah?" She looked sweet but I wasn't even sure where to begin or why I even felt the need to talk about it especially to a stranger. As these thoughts crossed my mind I took another drink and fiddled with the label on my beer as I set it down.
"I-I don't know where to start." I admitted with embarrassment.
"From the beginning. I'm all ears hun." She smiled reassuringly standing there tall and straight, brown hair pulled back in a messy bun.
"A month ago, I met this girl." I paused to take a drink and heard the bartender chuckle softly. My heart ached when I realized she probably thought this was a typical break up story. "I met her at a party, the events led to me getting smashed. Us fooling around a bit and me fucking it up. I tried to follow her so I could fix it. I was drunk and didn't see the oncoming car speeding around the corner and when I tried to swerve it and avoid a collision I hit her as she was walking down the side of the road." I glanced at her waiting for judgment when I found none I continued. "She was in a coma for a month and woke up yesterday."
"That's good though right?" She asked while drying some glasses and stacking them in her respected places.
"She needed me and I ran out. Just now. She asked me if I was going to leave and I just stared at her and watched her break down into tears. I stood there and she told me to run away just like I always did." I bit my lip in confusion, letting her words sink in. "I met her at the party, I don't know what she means when she says always. But I do know that the more I'm around her the more I feel like there's something missing. Something in my head. Like some memories or something have been locked away and I can't let them out. I feel like I know her like really know her. Like I've known her for years. I keep having these weird dreams about her and I." I looked up when I felt her eyes on my face and I could feel the heat rush to my face when I began to blush. She smiled knowingly. "They feel like memories and not like dreams. Then there's her best friend Aubrey. She's scary as hell. But I feel like there's- or was a connection between her and I. Like we had been great friends once upon a time. I'm comfortable around her." Now the bartender was pouring four shots. She pushed two of them toward me.
"This one is to you marching back to that hospital room and being there to clean up whatever mess you caused. Not only by helping her physically get better but to mend her heart." I hesitated before clinking the glass against her own and shot the liquid back. Welcoming the familiar burn. "This one," she smiled broadly before raising the second glass. "To following your heart and quieting your mind. Whatever answers you're looking for hun, they're already inside of your heart. You just have to find a way to hear them." We shot those drinks back quickly and she poured me another one before walking away to get a gentleman at the other end of the bar a drink. "Can I ask her name?" She asked returning to cleaning glasses in front of me.
"Chloe." I smiled sadly thinking of the beautiful young woman lying in the hospital just up the road from me. "What's your name?" I asked curiosly, overwhelmed by a sudden sense of déjà vu.
"I'm Stacie." She said confidently, her eyes full of sadness as her mind wandered somewhere in a far off place for a moment. "Don't worry about your tab. Here's one more shot then you need to get back to that girl, okay?" I began to protest about the bill but she just hushed me and gave me a look that made me laugh. I waved her off and took the shot before heading back to the hospital. I marched right into Chloe's room, ignoring the look of frustration on her face when she saw me.
"Chloe Beale. I don't know who the hell you are." I was trying to remain assertive but my heart melted as I watched her laying there silently, waiting. I clinched my fists as I fumbled in my head for the words to accurately explain the battle going on in my mind about this overwhelming sense of connection to this near stranger. "I don't want to go. I don't know who you are, where you came from or any of that. But I feel like I've stood before you many times. I feel like I've seen all different places beside and I've loved the same people you have. I feel like I loved you. I feel like I've known you for years and I've kissed you in beautiful medows. I feel like I've- I don't know. I'm so confused. I feel like there's this black box in my head. Like something important is locked away in there but I can't remember what it is. Looking in your eyes is driving me freaking insane because it makes my head race like I'm grasping into a dark room for something but I can't see what it is." Tears were streaming down my face. I finally made eye contact and realized she was sitting there, understanding every messy word that tumbled from my mouth.
"Beca, it's okay, Please, don't cry." Her eyes softened and I dropped my head in defeat. "Beca Mitchell you listen to me. You understand? Whatever is going on inside your tiny head? It's okay. Just please don't leave me." I stumbled over to the chair next to her bed. "Are you drunk?" She snapped as I slumped down in the chair and nodded. "Seriously Beca, did you drive?" Her voice filling with panic. I shook my head violently. A sigh of relief escaped Chloe's thin lips.
"Drinking and driving is what got us here in the first place Chloe." My voice was weak as the tears fell harder. I slipped off the chair onto my knees. "I'm so sorry for hurting you Chloe. I didn't mean to do this to you! You didn't deserve it and I-" Chloe cut me off.
"You didn't leave. You kept your promise. So stop and listen for two seconds. I'm angry that you are drunk right now but the rest of it? Stop blaming yourself. I knew better." My head snapped up at the end of her sentence.
"You knew better? How was this your fault?" I was thoroughly confused at this point. Chloe lifted my chin with her finger.
"I need to tell you something." Sadness filled her deep blue eyes.
"I'm so glad you're okay Chloe." Megan said rushing through the door with Alex hot on her heels. Chloe's eyes narrowed and she dropped her hand onto the bed. "We brought snacks." Megan smiled, eyeing Chloe which looked to me like a warning. I shot a look back and forth between Megan and Chloe for a moment before settling back onto the chair. "We brought blankets earlier but you were both asleep so we just left. I figured y'all needed rest after all of this and I wasn't sure when the last time Beca had gotten any sleep was." She added thoughtfully. Alex's phone rang and she smiled apologetically as she stepped out into the hallway to take the call. I shifted awkwardly from the unsettling vibes I was getting between my sister and the redhead. "By the way Skylar, I put the key under the mat." I nodded thinking about how stupid it was to hide my spare there but I had been doing it forever so I just let the thought pass without much fret. Alex summoned Megan into the hall after a long moment.
"What did you want to tell me?" I asked hopefully as soon as she had stepped all the way out of the room.
"Nevermind." Chloe sounded disappointed but quickly composed herself back to a happier mood and added, "I'm just glad you came back." She rubbed the back of my forearm lightly before staring at the ceiling. I could hear Megan and Alex arguing in hushed voices in the hallway.
"Dad called the judge Megan! The same one as last ime." Alex spat at her younger sister.
"Okay, well what's the problem? He let her off last time." Megan had always been the more composed logical of the two and situtions like these reminded me why our family hadn't fallen apart years ago when mom died and dad buried himself in his work. Megan had been the rock.
"He isn't giving her jail time." The silence between the two was disturbingly still as I strained to hear what they were saying. "She has to do community service though and a lot of it."
"That's not so bad considering what she could have been charged with." Megan added cheerfully.
"Her community service is helping Chloe with rehab and taking her to all of her appointments until the doctor clears her with a clean bill of health." Alex stated with panic creeping into her voice.
"Oh." Megan choked out. Another long moment of silence happened before they entered the room again. "We're going to head home for a few hours and shower and stuff. Do you need anything?" Her gaze was fixed on me and I responded with something about being okay and asking them to drive safely. Alex stopped in the door way and smiled sadly as she looked back at Chloe.
"I truly am glad that you're okay." A look of sympathy was passed between the two of them, I noticed that it didn't just come from Alex but Chloe returned it. The silence seemed to be a mute agreement of mutual understanding and Alex turned and disappeared into the busy hallway.
"You ready to go home?" I questioned trying to contain the smile on my face. Aubrey had taken shift while I slept at my brother's. Spending a good portion of my time being grilled with ridiculous questions by my sisters. Jared just shrugging his shoulders and throwing his hands up as I shot him a pleading look. Aubrey informed me that she was going to go get some food with Jesse and handed me a bag with some clothes for Chloe and ducked out the door quickly. I stood staring after her with a look of confusion written on my face. I turned back to Chloe with a questioning look on my face.
"I don't know but if she's not smothering me with physical therapy and her overwhelming need to protect me from everything then I am won't complain for even a fraction of a second." The sound of her laugh filled the room and made my heart feel light.
"Touché, good point." I agreed quickly remember just how intimidating the tall blonde could be as a memory of a moment from a week ago passed through my mind. The older woman nearly ripped my head off for letting Chloe walk herself from the bed to the door without hovering over her. "Here, I think these are clean clothes for you to wear home." I handed the bag to Chloe and turned to step into the hallway to give her some privacy.
"Wait! Ummm I still can't raise my arms too high. My ribs still hurt pretty bad. Would you mind helping me with my shirt?" Chloe spoke softly. "If you're uncomfortable I can totes as a nurse to help."
"No no, do you need help with anything else?" I asked cautiously. She blushed and locked eyes with me nervously. I closed the door so she could change and then walked slowly towards the taller woman. I stopped when I saw her standing with her back to me, hooking the back of her bra. She turned around slowly, deliberately stepping closer. I stood as still as I could, holding my breath with her lips just inches from mine. Her eyes dropped to my lips and hesitated for a moment before they darted back to my eyes. She pressed her hands against my stomach, dropping her pants and shirt to the ground. My eyes fell to her lips, she began to lean in when my heart started racing and I pulled away. Her eyes darker than I had ever seen them followed my movements as I bent down to pick up the loose clothing. "Here," I motioned to her legs and she slowly lifted one at a time before I pulled them all the way up. Kneeling down I buttoned them and pulled the zipper up. My eyes caught sight of an elegant tattoo across Chloe's collarbone that I hadn't noticed before. I read it out loud, "I believe in you." My face turned red as I raised my wrist up so I could read the writing.
"I believe in what you did for me." Chloe read the words that my eyes were focused on. I connected my eyes with her eyes as I tried to chalk it up to some crazy accident. A memory flashing through my mind. A tall redhead with a heart winning smile sitting in the tattoo chair to my right. She was grinning like a fool and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I focused my eyes back on Chloe, reaching out and touching her tattoo.
"You were there at the tattoo shop when I was getting my wrist done. It was a week before graduation." Chloe nodded patiently waiting. "You wouldn't stop smiling at me. Why didn't I remember that before?" Confusion struck me hard as I struggled with the idea of not remembering this when I saw the girl at the party or any of the other hundreds of times I'd sat staring at her in the last month. "I don't get it." I mumbled under my breath. I shook my head as if it would clear the thoughts out and carefully placed the shirt over Chloe's head and continued to help her put her shoes on. "I'm going to go get the doctor and see if we can get your release paperwork started. I'm sure you're eager to get out of here. Plus, I could use some real food and I'm sure you're sick of hospital mush." She kissed my lips ever so softly and held my gaze for a moment. Something felt so right about that moment. I couldn't help but smile and nodded in approval. Chloe grimaced as she took a few steps forward, pushing me away as I reached out to help. "Chloe." My voice pleaded pathetically. The glare she gave me, let me know that I wasn't welcome in her efforts to prove that she was fine without me. I sighed heavily as the realization of the road ahead now seemed crystal clear that it would be a long and frustrating one.