CHAPTER 7: WAIT, CAN YOU TURN AROUND? CAN YOU TURN AROUND? JUST WAIT, CAN WE WORK THIS OUT?
Day Three
Beca stood at the counter cutting the pineapple into small bite size pieces. She'd already finished the kiwi and banana's and she glanced to her left at the strawberries that were draining in the colander. They were next. When she told Amy that she'd be okay returning to the mansion to cook, she thought it would be easy. But getting up that morning and actually stepping foot in that house was harder than she thought it would be which is why she was working quickly to make a simple greek yogurt with tandoori honey and fruit breakfast parfait to leave in the refrigerator for when everyone woke up. She froze when she felt a body crash into her from behind.
"Thank God your back."
Beca breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of Flo's think accent.
"After last night, the last thing I want to do is see Bumper's face." Flo said as she squeezed her friend tightly. "Please never leave again."
Beca smiled for the first time that morning. "I'll do my best." She mumbled as she continued her cutting.
"So what's going on?" Flo asked releasing her grip.
Beca's blood ran cold. Of course no one else knew about what happened yesterday with Chloe and she really didn't want anyone too either.
"Was this on their list?" Flo asked. "Do you have to get to the other houses? Is that why you're here so early?"
Beca breathed a sigh of relief. Flo didn't know, which meant the chances of no one else knowing were high. She knew she could trust Jesse and Amy to keep it to themselves but she wasn't sure if or who Chloe had told. "Yeah. Yogurt was something they all listed as a favorite on their questionnaire." Beca said quickly. "I'm just going to throw it together and leave it in the fridge for when they wake up."
"Okay." Flo replied. "I'll make sure they know. Amy asked me to host since Benji's going to be out for a few days."
"Yeah, she told me." Beca smiled as she wiped the knife of pineapple juice and grabbed a handful of strawberries. "Thanks for doing that. For taking over for Benji."
"No problem boss." Flo said happily.
"What's with the eucalyptus leaves?" Beca said as she looked at what Flo held in her hand.
"Oh" Flo said waiving them in the air gently. "I brought them for Miss. Chloe."
XxXxXx
Her eyes were heavy. She could tell they were swollen before she tried to open them. Was it from all the crying she'd done the previous day or from where Luke had smacked her, Chloe wasn't sure. She rolled onto her back slowly and worked to open them. Her face was sore as she blinked slowly. After a few minutes of silently laying looking up at the ceiling Chloe rolled over to the side of the bed and pushed herself up to sit on the edge. She reached down and wrapped the ends of Beca's flannel shirt around her tightly. When she got out of the shower the previous night she saw it laying on a chair in her bedroom where she'd placed it the night before. She didn't hesitate to put it on and wrap herself in Beca's smell. It was the only thing that helped ease her to sleep.
"That looks bad." Beca said softly from the chair behind the redhead. She'd been in that chair for a while waiting for Chloe to wake up. Ever since Flo had told her about the cut on her eye. Beca dropped what she was doing in the kitchen and ran upstairs in search of the room Chloe was staying in. She'd gotten a good look at it when the actress slept. Her first instinct was to leave her be, but as she walked back in the kitchen she took the eucalyptus from Flo and slowly walked back to Chloe's room. She quietly positioned the chair across from the foot of Chloe's bed and sat waiting for the redhead to wake up. She went over and over the short time she'd spent with Chloe. Over all the words they exchanged. All the glances. All the flirty gestures. The kiss on the beach. The fact that Chloe was asleep in her shirt. It was impossible to stop herself from thinking about it and equally as impossible to decipher what it all meant and if it in fact did mean anything … what did that mean? Beca sat with her thumb nail in between her teeth when Chloe rolled over. She waited but the redhead didn't see her so she spoke and now she was waiting for Chloe to respond.
Chloe wasn't sure if she was real. Maybe she was still asleep. No. She was awake. The pain that came from her face assured her she was awake and Beca was in her room. For the second time in two consecutive days, she was shocked. It was the last thing she expected when she went to sleep last night. To find Beca in her room.
Beca stood slowly and crossed the room coming to a stop in front of the redhead. She snapped the end of the leaf and spread a small amount of eucalyptus oil on her thumb. Beca placed the leaves down on the bedside table and turned back to Chloe.
Chloe's eye's closed slowly when she felt Beca's thumb gently brush over the cut on the corner of her left eye that Luke's ring had left. She reached up and grabbed Beca's wrist to keep her close.
"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Beca asked gently.
A tear escaped her eye as she shook her head and swallowed. "No." She responded softly and slowly opened her eyes. "I'm sorry." She apologized quickly. "I didn't know he was."
Beca back away from Chloe quickly forcing the redhead to release her wrist. "Chloe." Beca said firmly. "Please don't. You really don't have to explain." Beca said as she brushed the remaining oil on her pants.
"But I want to." Chloe countered.
"Really." Beca forced a smile. She thought she faked it pretty good. "It's not necessary. I just wanted to check on you." She held the smile for a minute too long before she started to feel creepy. "I got to go. But there's breakfast downstairs." She said as she clasped her hands in front of her. It was her go to professional stance. It was comfortable and she felt protected in this position.
"Beca, please." Chloe pleaded as she pushed herself from her bed and onto her feet.
"Since our other chef is out sick, I have to get to the other properties we have so I probably won't be back till dinner service but there is plenty of food in the house and Flo can manage in the kitchen if you all would like lunch." Beca said quickly. She was starting to lose her resolve and she knew she needed to keep their conversation on business and get out of that house as fast as possible because Chloe in her shirt and tiny shorts was doing something to her. Something she couldn't let happen again.
"Can I just talk to you for a second?" Chloe asked as she took as step towards the brunette.
Beca shook her head quickly. "I have to go." She said before turning and exiting the room. She passed Flo on the way out and told her she'd be in touch about dinner before she got in her jeep and left the mansion. She let out a breath of relief as she drove down the road away from the property. She glanced back into the rearview mirror, "Just a few more days." She said to herself. "You can make it a few more days." Her eyes said to herself in the mirror.
XxXxXx
"Oh shit" CR said to herself as she saw the email from her office. She clicked on the link and was instantly redirected to a TMZ article. Her eyes read the article quickly as she cursed under her breath. "Fuck." She looked up to see Chloe across from her in the pool with Aubrey. They looked like they were deep in conversation. It was the first time that day that anyone was able to get Chloe out of her room and CR hated to interrupt them but she needed to speak to Chloe about this quickly.
She got up and walked across the pool with her phone in her hand. "Hey Chloe" She said loudly.
Their conversation stopped and Chloe looked back to CR quickly.
"I need to talk to you." She didn't mean for it to come out as negative as it was but that's how it came out and Chloe and Aubrey immediately knew something was wrong.
Chloe took a deep breath and waded through the water towards CR. Once out of the pool she picked up the towel she'd left close by and followed CR to the shaded area. "What's wrong?" Chloe asked as she tucked the towel around her chest. She pulled her sunglasses off so she could see what her friend was holding out to her.
"I'm sorry." CR said as Chloe's eyes read the headline. "We need to get something out about this and I need to know what you want to say."
Her head immediately fell into her hands. "Unbelievable" She mumbled.
"What's wrong?" Aubrey asked sitting next to Chloe.
"Luke went public." CR replied looking from Chloe to Aubrey.
"What are you talking about?" Aubrey asked.
CR handed over her phone.
"Chloe Got Caught." Aubrey read aloud. She looked up at CR and then back down to the phone in her hands. "The actress was recently caught cheating, by boyfriend Luke Chambers of 'Hammersmith', while on vacation. Mr. Chambers told our reporters that he went to Cabo to surprise his girlfriend of five years, who was supposed to be vacationing with her friends, only to find out that she was seeing someone else. Other sources confirm that Ms. Beale is in Cabo San Lucas and has been since Tuesday. Mr. Chamber's had just returned from Cabo when our reporters stopped him in the airport and it seems he couldn't wait to tell us what kind of a person Chloe Beale really is. We've reached out to Ms. Beale's management and are awaiting a reply. Ms. Beale was nominated for an Academy Award last year for her leading role in the psychological thriller 'Separated' but in real life has portrayed herself as the girl next door. Perhaps she's the best actress in Hollywood, seems she had us all fooled."
Aubrey was fuming. She handed the phone back to CR and turned to Chloe.
"People are going to be crawling all over Cabo to try to get a picture of you." CR said with a sigh. She knew a shit storm of unwanted media was coming Chloe's way. It was unavoidable now and it was just a matter of time before they figured out where the redhead was vacationing.
Chloe looked up and took a steadying breath. "He doesn't know it was Beca." She said softly. She was grateful for that. She knew her job choice came with certain drawbacks. People saying things about you, true of false, and putting them on the internet was one of the major drawbacks. But Beca did not sign up for that so as she sat listening to Aubrey and CR discuss options she could only be thankful that Beca was safe from the media's prying eye.
"I'm gonna call Amy and try to get a handle on security and what we can do to intercept as much of this as possible." Aubrey said as she stood to retrieve her phone from inside.
"What's going on?" Stacie asked as she and Jessica returned from their walk along the beach.
XxXxXx
Beca walked into the guest house and immediately shed her chef's coat. She was exhausted. She'd been on her feet all day going from house to house to grocery store to house. Cooking, serving, cleaning, whatever she had to do to help out. She dropped the coat on the floor by the couch and fell back into it. She heard the front door open and close and then saw Tuck stop by her chef's coat on the floor, his nose glued to it. She felt the couch sag next to her as Jesse sat in a similar fashion.
"When did you get here?" He asked his eyes never leaving the ceiling as his head lay back on the edge of the sofa.
"Literally just now." Beca mumbled. "Thanks picking up Tuck."
"No problem." Jesse replied. "Now is one of those times when I wish we could just order pizza and sit on the fucking couch all night."
"Maybe we can." Beca said turning her head to him. "Wicked pizza delivers."
"Yeah but not this far out." He mumbled in return. "I'd have to go get it and I'm seriously tired of driving all over the place."
She slapped her hand on his leg a couple of times before standing up. "Call 'em. Pizza sounds so fucking good right now. I'll pay whatever it costs." Beca said as she bent over to pick up her jacket.
"And they say money can't buy happiness" Jesse teased.
"No" Beca said standing up. "It's the things money will buy that can make you happy." She smirked.
"Where are you going?" He asked following her with his eyes.
"See what's going on over there" She said hitching a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the other house, "for dinner." She opened a side door and tossed her jacket into the pile of dirty clothes. It was dirty and smelly and she wasn't wearing it. Her jeans and t-shirt were going to have to be formal enough. She was tired and just didn't give a fuck anymore.
"Want me to come with you?" Jesse offered.
"No. I'm too tired for any drama. I'm going to throw something together and get the fuck out of there as soon as possible." She slowly walked towards the door and called over her shoulder, "My wallet's on the counter. There's money in there. Get a bunch. I don't want to have to cook any more than necessary for the next few days. I want the Hawaiian."
"You got it." Jesse said loudly after the door slammed shut. He doubt she heard him but he wasn't going to get up anytime soon to follow after her. He turned to the dog seated on the floor looking up at him. He raised his eyebrow hopping that 4 years of training would finally pay off. "Tuck" He said in a commanding voice. The dog's ear's perked slightly. "Get the wallet." He said pointing towards the counter behind him. The dog didn't move usually only following Beca's commands. "Get the wallet Tuck." Jesse said authoritatively. He watched the dog disappear around the couch. Heard his paws scrape against the counyter and seconds later, Beca's wallet was dropped in his lap. "Good boy" he said rubbing the dogs head affectionately. "What kind of pizza do you want?" He asked Tuck. "Meat lovers? Me too." Jesse smiled at the white dog while reaching into his pocket, retrieving his phone and pulling up the number for the pizza place in town ready to beg them to deliver at least 20 minutes away, no matter what the cost.
Beca pushed the doors to the mansion open and made her way swiftly to the kitchen to see what she could pull together for the party of five. "Hey" Flo said joining her, "I thought I heard the door open."
"Hey" Beca mumbled.
"Long day?" Flo asked.
Beca nodded as she moved to the fridge to look inside.
"Here too." Flo whispered. "So much drama."
"Oh yeah?" Beca replied not really listening. She was on a mission to make dinner and get out of there.
"Yeah, apparently Chloe's boyfriend." Flo glanced around her to make sure they were still alone, "well, ex-boyfriend now was here yesterday at some point and they broke up because, get this, Chloe's cheating on him with somebody here."
Beca froze and not because her head was inside the refrigerator. "What?" She asked as she closed her eyes.
"Yeah. They've been on like damage control all day and Amy's out there with Lily and like all the security guys cuz they think Cabo is about to be bombarded with paparazzi trying to get a picture of Chloe and this dude." Flo dished clueless that it was actually Beca.
Beca stood up quickly and closed the door to the fridge. She looked back to the deck to see Amy, Lily and a bunch of guys surrounding what she thought was their house guests. She made her way out to the deck quickly.
Chloe sat up a little straighter when she saw Beca approached them. She bit her lip in anticipation of seeing the brunette for the first time since their brief encounter that morning and also the best nerves of having to tell her what was going on.
"What's going on?" Beca asked.
"Hey Becs." Amy said greeting her friend. "We're just strategizing here."
"Strategizing what?" Beca asked.
Chloe stood. "Can we talk?" She asked. "In private?"
Beca's eyes met hers quickly. She nodded and followed the redhead who weaved through the group and down towards the steps that lead to the beach. Chloe didn't stop walking until her toes hit the water. She pulled Beca's shirt around her tightly.
Beca groaned as she followed the actress all the way down the beach to the water. She was too tired for this. "What's going on?" She huffed as she finally made it to where Chloe was standing.
Chloe turned towards the chef. "I'm sorry about yesterday." Were the first words out of her mouth.
Beca rolled her eyes. "What's going on Chloe?" She asked again. She didn't come down here just to hear Chloe apologize again.
"His name is Luke Cham" Chloe began.
"I know who he is." Beca said quickly. "I really too tired for this Chloe so if this just going to be more apologizing then I'm gonna go back up to the house." Beca said quickly.
Chloe was determined to get everything out. So she continued dispite Beca's interruption. "He was my boyfriend. As of yesterday he's my ex-boyfriend."
Beca shrugged as if she didn't care in response.
"We've been having some trouble recently. Well, not recently. More like the last year has pretty much been horrible. We had a huge fight before I came here and I didn't expect him to follow me. And I know" Chloe said before Beca could interrupt her, "that's no excuse for not being honest with you from the beginning. I should have and I know that. It's just that when I'm with you … he doesn't exist." Chloe turned from Beca's dark eyes and towards the ocean. She was determined not to cry again. She swallowed down all the emotions and continued, "I should have told you and I'm sorry but I am not sorry for any" she turned back to Beca and said again, "any of the time I spent with you. I really like you. Like a lot. It's kind of frightening how much actually." She admitted.
Beca stood her ground, determined to not give Chloe an inch.
"Yesterday when I told him that there was someone else." Chloe sighed, "This happened." She motioned towards her face. "And he's back in LA and he already spoke to the press like the first chance he got. Told them that I was cheating on him while I was here." Chloe looked back up at the house momentarily. "It's just a matter of time before the press figures out where I am."
Beca's wheels were spinning with so many thoughts. Everything that happened yesterday floated through her mind like a dream as she pieced the puzzle together. "When did he leave?" She asked.
Chloe shrugged her shoulders quickly. "I called Amy right after our fight. Right after I told him. And that was like 20 minutes after you left." Chloe said thinking back. "She had someone named Donald pick him up because I didn't want Jesse to be involved in this mess more than he already was or is. Luke knows the name of the charter and Jesse gave him a ride so it's only a matter of time before he tells them if he already hasn't. CR thinks he probably did."
"No. That can't be right." Beca said turning back towards the house as her feet began moving.
"Beca wait. Where are you going?" Chloe called after her.
"Amy had someone flown out yesterday." Beca said over her shoulder.
"Yeah, I know. Aubrey asked her to get him out of here as soon as possible." Chloe said as she trudged through the sand after Beca.
"That was my plane." Beca said coming to a stop.
"What?" Chloe asked stopping right before she bumped into the brunette.
"That was my plane. Amy said it was an emergency. I didn't ask who it was for." Beca said quickly.
"Lux Cabo's plane?" Chloe asked.
"No. My plane. In my name. Just like this house." Beca replied. "It's only a matter of time before they figure out you're here." Beca turned back quickly and ran towards the house and up the stairs the overwhelming need to protect Chloe overtaking her own feelings.
Chloe followed behind Beca and reached the group just after she did.
"It was Luke." Chloe heard Beca say to Amy.
"What?" Amy asked.
"That you flew out on my plane. That's who it was. Right?" Beca asked.
"Yeah Beca it was." Amy replied slowly. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you."
"No, I'm not mad. I'm glad you got him out of here." Beca said quickly. "After what he did to Chloe, he doesn't need to be anywhere near her." Beca added. She didn't mean to let it slip out of her mouth but it did. She shook it off and continued. "The press will eventually find out how he flew back to LA. And they will find out that I own that plane. And then they'll find out that I own this house."
Amy caught on. "And then they will know exactly where to start looking for you and they will find her." Amy said quickly pointing between Beca and Chloe.
"Exactly." Beca agreed. She felt the body heat next to her but she didn't need to turn around to know that Chloe was standing close to her.
"The house is too wide open. A long camera lens could get a photo of you guys." Lily said quietly. Almost a whisper.
"Huh?" Beca asked as everyone around the group instinctively leaned forward. The head of security rolled her eyes and repeated herself.
"All the other properties are rented." Amy said trying to think of a solution. "And if they find you, they will eventually find all the Lux Cabo employee's. So our apartments are out."
"The guest house." Lily said a little louder so everyone could hear her the first time.
"She's right" Beca agreed. "It only has a few windows and people would have a hard time getting a good photo. But it's small. Only three small bedrooms and one bathroom."
"Okay, so" CR joined the conversation. "Chloe moves over to the guest house for the next couple of days until we can get out of here and back to LA without getting anyone else involved in this mess." She made eye contact with Beca.
"The property does have a boundary fence so it should keep people off the property. They'd have to come through the gate to get in and we're not expecting anyone else." Lily added.
"Shit" Beca said loudly. She pushed through the crowd and back through the house and out the front door. She ran over to the guesthouse and busted through to see Jesse still sitting on the couch.
"Hey. Pizza should be here soon." Jesse said looking over his shoulder at his best friend. "Because of my sweet talking it only cost you a 100 buck delivery fee."
"Go meet them as far down the road as you can." Beca ordered.
"What? Why?" Jesse asked. "They can come to the gate."
"No. Go meet them right now." Beca said loudly. "Just do it Jesse please."
"Geez. Okay." Jesse groaned as he slowly stood from the couch.
"And bring it back to the mansion when you come back!" She called out as he climbed into the SUV. He gave her a thumbs up as he climbed inside. She watched him exit the property and watched the gate swing closed before she walked back into the house and out by the pool where eyes were on her waiting for an explanation. "Jesse ordered pizza so I had him go down the road to meet the delivery person." She explained.
"No one will deliver this far out Shawshank." Amy said.
"It's a long story." Beca said quickly ignoring the questioning eyes of the group at the mention of one of Amy's many nicknames for her. "I think Chloe and someone else should stay at the guest house. It's comfortable with two people but all five of you will be too tight of a fit. Everyone else can move over here."
"That's a good idea." Amy agreed.
"And we can figure out a way to get out of here without all of the press knowing." Aubrey added. "But I don't think we should go to LA. It will be too crazy and you'll hate it. You don't really have anything until you have to be in New Zealand so you can just kind of disappear for a while." The blonde suggested.
"Will you stay with me?" Chloe asked softly.
All of the heads in the group looked to see that she was looking directly at Beca.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Beca said quickly shooting down Chloe's idea.
"Why not?" Chloe asked.
"Actually, it's a great idea." Amy said quickly. All the head's snapped in her direction. "When they get your name, they will know where your apartment is. They'll know you DJ at Mas. They will know where all the properties are. This is the only one that's gated and the guest house is the only relatively private location. They will be looking for you to get to her so you might as well hide in the same place."
"She's right" Lily agreed.
"What's going on?" Jesse asked as he walked out onto the pool deck carrying five boxes of pizza.
"Beca. Please?" Chloe asked again.
AN: Hmmmm... what do you think Beca should do? What should happen next? Thanks for all the love for this fic, I'm really enjoying writing it. Please keep sending your reviews and comments.
Song Title Cred: Maroon 5, Wait