We run things things don't run we, don't take nothing from nobody.

Chloe woke up early the next morning, alone for the first time in two weeks. It felt lonely waking up without Beca, and it was hard to remember how she did it before- but she pulled herself out of bed anyway, and took a quick shower. It was six am and she had a flight to get at ten thirty, so things might be slightly rushed. Chloe didn't bother dressing up and just put on jeans and a blue sweater, before throwing a load of clothes and the presents for her family in a suitcase and pouring a quick coffee before heading out.

She drove along the road out of Atlanta towards the airport, trying hard not to text Beca. She missed her already and it'd barely been ten hours since they'd been together. And since Beca said she loved her. That had been nice. Really nice.

Somehow, Chloe found herself in the queue to board the plane to Jacksonville an hour later, no more awake than she had been before. She took her phone from her pocket and saw a missed call from her mom, and pressed dial with a sigh.

"Hey honey!" Angie Beale's bright voice came from the other side of the phone.

"Hi mom," Chloe managed to say in a light a voice as possible, moving forwards slowly towards the terminal doors.

"How you doing?" the question was light but Chloe could tell she meant was she eating, how did she feel about Tom, how was her job, was she looking for a place of her own and all of the many questions Chloe did not feel like answering.

"I'm good, I'm just about to board the plane," Chloe said, signifying that she was in no state to talk.

"Great! I can't wait to see you."

"Yeah me too," Chloe tried to sound convincing but missing Beca felt like a hole in her heart. "Mom, I have to go."

The queue was speeding along now and Chloe got her boarding pass to hand.

"Okay, see you this afternoon."

"Yeah. Bye!"

Chloe hung up and gave the stewardess her ticket, following others out and walking across the tarmac to the plane, ready to leave Atlanta behind.

Beca didn't get out of bed until twelve. Kimmy Jin had already left to go home and Chloe would be already be on the plane to Florida, so she didn't really have much reason to get up at all. She felt empty and just prayed that the two weeks would go quickly. Because living without Chloe hurt.

Hey, you still here? Beca got a text from Stacie.

Normally, Beca might've deleted it, but...today?

Yeah, are you?

She sat up, pushing hair from her eyes and waiting for a reply.

Yeah, seems like we're the only ones. You wanna hang tonight, hit the clubs?

Beca thought it over. Getting wasted might really help.

Sure, what time?

She quickly tapped into her phone.

I'll swing by around seven Stacie replied quickly.

Beca wasn't too excited but was happy to be filling painful time with meaningless frivolity in the shape of Stacie and alcohol. The night would probably end up Beca getting wasted and staggering home by herself because Stacie had left with someone else. But. It couldn't hurt.

Cool :)

Chloe left Jacksonville airport an hour and a half later and met her taxi driver in the arrivals lounge. They chatted in the taxi about Chloe's job, Atlanta, whether the driver knew her family or not. It was mind-numbing.

The familiar sights of her neighbourhood in Jacksonville was comforting and she felt home again, and her house looked smaller and older when they arrived outside, but then it always did every time she came home.

Chloe thanked and paid the cabbie and dragged her suitcase up to the front door, ringing the bell, and taking a big breath in anticipation of the next two weeks.

"Chloe!" she was immediately pulled into a bear hug from her mom, always just as quick to answer the door.

"Hi," she was slightly winded, from the hug. "Dad, hi!"

"Baby," Hamish Beale hugged Chloe too.

Chloe followed her parents through the threshold and into her old house. Chloe's mom Angie looked a lot like her but in her prime she was, in Chloe's mind, taller, thinner, more interesting and generally more attractive. Chloe wasn't much like her mom; Angie was a saleswoman for a furniture shop. She was grounded, with a good husband and a plan buttt Chloe was a daydreamer, she liked books. Her sister Leah was more like Angie.

Hamish Beale was a mechanic, he made a steady wage. He had auburn hair that was receding. He was kind of dumb but he loved Chloe, even if he wasn't sure how to talk to her a lot of the time. Sometimes it frustrated Chloe that he couldn't man up and be strong. But he was better than her mom she figured.

They went into the front room and sat down, switching on the TV and flopping back on the sofas.

"So, how've you been?" Chloe's mom asked.

Chloe avoided eye contact, not wanting to go into the gory details of her life.

"Good," she lied simply.

"You know what I mean."

Chloe's eyes flicked to the photo of Leah on the mantlepiece and her heart tightened horribly.

Leah was Chloe's big sister. She was smart, popular, pretty, head of the cheerleaders. And she died in a car crash when she was sixteen. Chloe was fourteen at the time- Chloe, Leah and the oldest Beale sibling, Josh, were driving home from a party late one night. Josh was seventeen, and he'd Chloe called him telling him to pick them up because Leah was a wreck, and she couldn't drive. Josh turned up to drive them home, Leah was so wasted, she was yelling and Josh swerved the car. Leah was on the side that smashed into the tree and she died instantly. After that Josh left for college and Chloe felt so guilty that it wasn't her who died. She was convinced that it should've been her and started to hate herself pretty badly. Her parents were grieving so much that they didn't even notice she'd stopped eating, but she lost three stone. Eventually they took notice, and she went to rehab in summer vacation before senior year, but...it was a rough time.

"I've been good. Honestly. When's Josh coming?" Chloe asked, changing the subject.

"He should be here any minute," Hamish thankfully jumped in. Chloe's dad was pretty awkward about the past. He held in everything about Leah so didn't like getting into big conversations about it, even though Angie did.

"Great."

Beca got a knock on the door of her dorm. It was eight o clock now, and she was ready to go, wearing a short black dress. She felt kinda stupid but it couldn't really hurt could it?

"Hey Stacie," she opened the door to the tall girl wearing a red dress showing off her long legs and pretty much everything else.

"Becaa!" Stacie pulled her into a tight hug, and Beca pushed her off.

She smelt of alcohol already.

"Yeah, no hugging," Beca said definitely.

"Why, you taken?" Stacie asked, leaning on the door and purposely looking at Beca with big puppy eyes.

"Uh, no but," Beca shook her head

"Come on, let's go," Stacie grabbed Beca's arm and pulled her out the door.

"Are you seriously drunk already?"

"Don't be borrrrrrinnnnng."

Beca sighed.

"Why did I agree to this?"

"Hey everyone!"

Chloe finally exhaled as her older brother Josh came in, followed by his wife Rachel. It would be a lot easier now he was here; he knew how to handle Chloe's mom. Ever since Leah died Josh had stepped up to be the strongest member of the family, and he was the only person that fully understood Chloe.

They all hugged and caught up, it was nice but Chloe could feel the familiar pain inside, thinking about who Leah would've turned out to be, wondering what job she would've had, who she would've ended up with. She'd been gone a long time but the Beale family had never and would never be the same.

They had dinner then stayed up late drinking and chatting before turning in late. Chloe shut her eyes but couldn't sleep. If only Beca was there with her.

sorry guys, if I don't post this now I might lose motivation to ever finish the chapter. sorry it's short, buttt expect more soon i promise please review, thankyou for reading xxxxxxx