- Part 1 -
Arrhythmia
How will I know if you really love me?
I say a prayer with every heartbeat.
-Sam Smith
One day, Aubrey Posen is going to own a house in Jamaica Estates, New York. But not just any house. Its going to be two stories tall, with a pool in the backyard. The back will be gated for privacy, but the front will be open so Chloe can mingle with all of their neighbors (and invite them around back, much to Aubrey's dismay). It'll have three bedrooms, 'just in case' they decide to have kids, two and a half baths, and beautiful hardwood floors. Their garage will be big enough for both of their cars. Catsy Cline, who Aubrey will adamantly hate forever, will have giant windows to lounge in and a nice scratching post (which is the only thing he will ever destroy, if he knows what's good for him). And maybe Beca will play a role in there somewhere, or maybe she won't. But every moment before that, this one in particular, will feel so long gone that it'll be like this entire week never even happened.
And that's what Aubrey thinks about as Jesse swings open the freezer door.
Aubrey will be in charge of decorating their room – and it will match the beautiful king size quilt that Chloe's grandma made. Finally, they will have a bed big enough for it, even though Aubrey likes the way Chloe and her current bed look like they're drowning under it sometimes. She'll finally stop complaining about Chloe putting her stupid glowing stars on the ceiling and openly appreciate their familiarity when she can't sleep or wakes up in the middle of the night.
Jesse turns on the freezer light.
Aubrey stops thinking about the future pictures herself shutting the door and locking him inside.
"What is this?" he asks.
Beca locks eyes with Aubrey then is the first to follow him inside, followed by everyone except for her and Chloe – including the deputy.
Aubrey considers running, but the time it takes to wonder if she has enough time to grab Chloe's arm and drag her out the door wastes it all. They would have never made it anyway, because only seconds later, everyone starts to slowly file back into the kitchen. Their looks of shock and disgust are everything she thought they would be, and even if the disgust is directed at the pig itself, it still has something to do with her. She presses her thumbnail into the palm of her other hand as a distraction and decides to meet their stares head on, eyebrows raised, daring them to confront her with hopes her expression just scares them all into backing down into silence.
For a moment, no one says anything, and Aubrey thinks she's achieved her goal.
"Why wouldn't you tell anyone about that?" Jesse asks, his voice barely louder than a whisper, and crushes her hope that they can all just accept it and move on.
It's Chloe who answers. She steps in front of Aubrey and folds her arms. "Why would she think she could tell anything to any of you?" she asks.
Jesse ignores her. "What else are you keeping from us?"
Everyone looks confused. The Bellas look ready to cry. The deputy lifts his radio close to his mouth and asks, "Sheriff, do you copy?" but all he receives back is silence.
"Did you know this has something to do with her?" Jesse asks Beca.
"Uh, yeah." Beca nods and suddenly everyone is looking at her instead. Everyone except for Fat Amy, who continues to stare at Aubrey, appearing aggrieved by the secrecy. "I did, actually."
"And you didn't think to say anything after what happened to your dad?" he asks.
Beca lets out a distressed laugh. "You cannot blame my dad on Aubrey," she says and shakes her head.
"I'm not trying to place the blame here, Bec, but -"
Stacie cuts him off. "What else do you know?" she asks and looks at Aubrey again.
"Look, we know as much as you do," Beca says calmly.
"My daughter's life is at stake here," Stacie replies, already almost frantic, "And you two know something."
"If we knew anything, anything, about Sophia, we would tell you," Beca reassures her.
"Stacie, Aubrey loves Sophia," Chloe says, "If she knew anything, we would all know."
"Like we knew about that?" Stacie asks and points inside the cooler.
"What does that have to do with Sophia?" Beca asks.
"It has Aubrey's name carved all over it!" Stacie exclaims.
"As a threat," Beca says, "We're all just on edge here."
"If I knew anything about Sophia, I would have told you," Aubrey speaks for herself. No amount of pride is worth risking the safety of a toddler. None.
"We're all on the same side here," Chloe adds.
"Are we?" Luke asks, and Aubrey isn't quite sure what he's getting at, "How do we know it isn't one of us?"
"And which one of us would it be, pray tell?" Beca asks.
"I don't know." Luke locks eyes with Aubrey. "I'm just saying we shouldn't rule anyone out right now."
"Like you?" Aubrey asks.
Beca sighs and closes her eyes. "Aubrey…"
"I caught him talking to your dad," Aubrey says, not taking her eyes off Luke, "They were conspiring to keep you away from Chloe." There's was a rule Aubrey's father taught her after one of his war buddies who had been having an affair died, and while Aubrey doesn't remember it word for word like most of his sayings, it had to do with not disgracing the name of the dead. The wife never found out as far as Aubrey knows. And it seems like such an injustice. Because, despite her father explaining that people want to remember their loved ones in a good light, Aubrey would have wanted to fucking know. And that's the logic she uses now, because, according to Chloe, she shouldn't be her father. "I tried to record it, but they smashed my phone."
Beca looks at Luke in disbelief.
"Why would you and red be any of my bloody business?" Luke asks.
"Exactly." Beca takes a step back away from him.
"Isn't Aubrey the one who wants to keep you away from Chloe?" Jesse asks.
"You're going to believe him?" Beca replies.
"You're going to believe her?" Jesse retorts, "How do we know she doesn't have something to do with this and isn't trying to cover it up?"
Beca laughs like it's a joke and stares at him in disbelief. "Because when I picture Aubrey murdering someone," she says in all seriousness, despite her amused expression, "They never find my body and half the world reeks of bleach."
Aubrey swears to God she hears Chloe murmur, "Where's the lie?" under her breath.
Beca turns back to Luke. "Why would you talk to my dad about that?" she demands.
"Aubrey is clearly lying," Luke says, not batting an eyelash at the accusation.
"Why would she lie?" Beca asks.
"Why would I?" Luke asks back.
"I don't know," Beca answers, "You tell me."
"Are we not going to talk about the pig?!" Fat Amy exclaims.
"Which one?" Stacie asks and glances at the deputy, who looks around in confusion.
"The one with someone's," Fat Amy says it like they don't all know she's referencing Aubrey, "name on it."
"What about it?" Beca asks simply.
"Guys, I think we should just back to what we were doing," Chloe tries to interrupt.
"Did you not notice the knife in it?" Jesse asks.
"Kinda hard to miss." Beca gives him a sarcastic smile and a nod.
Aubrey feels like the conversation is happening faster than she can blink, and she doesn't have enough time to think to get a word in about the matter. She slides out from between Chloe and the counter behind her and walks around it to the other side, facing away from all of them, thinking maybe if she doesn't look at them, she'll feel like she has a moment to breathe. This wouldn't be happening if Jesse had just let it fucking go. She adjusts the back of her shirt to make sure it's still hiding the gun then wrings her hands.
Chloe steps around the counter, angling herself close to Aubrey but so she can see everyone else as well. "Are you sure you don't know who is doing this or why?" she whispers, "Because if you do, now is the time to tell me, Aubrey."
Her throat is so dry, she can barely swallow. "I told you I don't know, Chloe," she whispers back, voice hoarse. She draws in a shaky breath through her mouth, making the discomfort worse for herself. And then another. And another. Because oxygen feels limited. "I don't know." She sinks down against the counter until she's sitting on the floor, grateful no one even seems to notice her sudden disappearance. Her stomach cramps again, and the back of her throat tastes bitter and disgusting. She looks up at Chloe, who is just staring at her. "I do not know."
"You don't have any ideas, Aubrey?" Chloe kneels down beside her. "Absolutely none?"
Aubrey tries to think. It just makes her feel sicker. She tries to imagine Bumper doing this. Or Luke. They're still the closest she has to suspects. But what did she ever do to either of them to warrant this? Was winning the ICCAs really that important to Bumper? If Luke was helping Beca's dad, why would he kill him? Her head spins and takes her stomach on the ride with it. She can't throw up here in the kitchen where everyone is present. "Stop asking, Chloe," she says slowly through clenched teeth, not about to repeat herself again, "I. don't. know. Do I need to say it in a different language?"
Chloe sits back on her heels.
Aubrey scrubs at her eyes then rests her hands flat against her stomach and leans her head back against the counter.
"You're going to feel better when we get home," Chloe assures her with a sympathetic smile. It's weak. The smile, not the sympathy. Her expression fades back into a frown and she looks up as Beca casts a shadow over them. "Someone has to know something about this."
"You mean besides the person doing it?" Beca resumes her sandwich making like she's angry at the bread.
"I mean, how can whoever it is get by all of us without anyone noticing anything?" Chloe asks, "Maybe someone has seen something, but they just don't know they saw it."
"Yeah, I think someone would know they saw a legless deer being dragged down the road." Beca thrusts a sandwich in Chloe's direction. "Eat."
Chloe takes the sandwich. "I meant something smaller." She picks at the crust and shakes her head. "Forget it."
"Or maybe it's a ghost!" Bumper launches himself halfway over the counter, dangling above Aubrey's head, and starts making ghost noises.
Aubrey stares straight ahead, refusing to dignify his immaturity with any sort of response.
Chloe, however, peels a piece of crust off her bread and flicks it at his head. Whether or not she hits her target, Aubrey doesn't care to see.
Beca draws a steak knife out of its holder. "You wanna travel to the other side and check for us?" she asks, and Bumper slowly lowers himself off the countertop, away from them.
"Did you really have to do that?" Aubrey asks Chloe after he walks away.
Chloe shrugs.
"Dude, I made that sandwich. Eat." Beca places the knife back where it belongs and starts making another one.
Chloe frowns and takes a bite.
"Now might not be the time to joke about killing people," Jesse points out.
Beca ignores him and hands Aubrey a sandwich as well (or more like drops it, but Aubrey catches it before it hits her lap).
If anyone asks Aubrey, she'll lie, but the sandwich really needs mayonnaise. Or mustard. Or butter. Or something. She shares a look with Chloe, who looks equally disgusted by the meat and cheese on dry bread, and forces herself to take bites of it to appease her stomach. She's tempted to get up and see what happened with the cans of fruit, but she also doesn't want to see Jesse's face anymore right now. Or Luke's. They chew in silence as Beca passes out sandwiches to Fat Amy, Stacie, and Lilly, then eventually makes one for herself.
"What about us?" Bumper asks.
"What about you?" Beca asks and sits down on the floor next to Chloe.
xxxxx
Incoming Call: Beca Mitchell
Aubrey did a double take at her phone to make sure she hadn't accidentally grabbed Chloe's phone off the nightstand when she got out of bed. No, it was her phone – which made sense seeing at it was playing her ringtone. She placed her mug of coffee down next to her newspaper and tentatively picked it up. Maybe Beca had meant to call Chloe instead. She swiped answer on the screen anyway and pressed her phone to her ear. "Aubrey Posen speaking."
"You know it's me," Beca said, semi-amused, "You don't have to answer the phone like that."
Aubrey picked up the pencil she had been using to fill out the crossword in the newspaper and tapped the eraser against the table. "How would you prefer I answer the phone then?"
"Hi, Beca!" Beca exclaimed with too much enthusiasm, "So nice of you to call."
Over Aubrey's dead body. "What do you want?"
"Spring Break?" It sounded like a question, at least.
"Do I look like I rent out time machines to you?" Aubrey asked.
"Honestly?" Beca replied, "Every time you're around, it's like a blast to the past – only without anyone actually having a blast."
Aubrey dropped her pencil and got to her feet, picking up her coffee mug. "Get to the point, Beca," she demanded and walked to the counter, "I don't have all day."
"Chloe said you had off today," Beca said.
Aubrey refilled her mug then turned around and leaned back against the counter. "I was trying to be nice," she said, "I don't feel like talking to you all day. So what do you want?"
"Spring Break," Beca repeated, and Aubrey took a sip of her coffee, "I was thinking I could…go there? You know, hang out with Chloe, and, well, you."
Aubrey thought about it for a brief moment, mostly just to let Beca suffer in the silence. Summer hadn't been so bad. And Chloe would be ecstatic. "Fine," she said simply.
"Wait, seriously?" Beca asked, sounding completely taken aback by the decision.
"Do you want me to change my mind?" Aubrey asked.
"No," Beca answered.
"Why don't you want to stay with your dad or Jesse?" Aubrey asked curiously. She swirled her mug, watching the coffee spin in circles.
"I guess I just don't want to stay with him?" Beca answered.
"Which one?" Aubrey asked.
"I don't know," Beca said, "Neither of them?"
Aubrey was about to ask why when Chloe walked into the kitchen.
"Who's on the phone?" Chloe asked and grabbed her keys off the kitchen table.
"No one," Aubrey answered just to annoy Beca.
"Okay?" Chloe gave her a confused look and folded her arms, leaning against the table, "Well, are you almost done talking to them?" She gave Aubrey an expectant look that made Aubrey realize Chloe had always chosen the answer to her question.
"I have to go," Aubrey told Beca.
"Alright. I'll, uh, see you in a few weeks?" Beca asked.
"Mhm," Aubrey hummed, watching Chloe fiddle with her keys.
"Great," Beca said.
Aubrey hung up on her. She placed her phone and coffee mug on the counter. "What do you want?" she asked.
Chloe pushed herself away from the table, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "Who said I want something?" she asked as she approached Aubrey and slid her arms around Aubrey's waist, pulling her in close.
Aubrey gave her a knowing look.
"Lunch?" Chloe asked, smiling sweetly, "Please?"
Aubrey rolled her eyes. "There's a cafeteria for a reason," she said, fighting back a smirk.
"Okay, ew," Chloe's smile faded to disgust, "Do you even know what they serve in there?"
"Let me guess." Aubrey paused to pretend to think. "Food?"
"No, it's like moldy bread and rainwater," Chloe corrected her, "Yesterday, they served something grey. What foods do you know that are grey?"
"Mushrooms," Aubrey answered without missing a beat, "Sardines. Oysters."
Chloe paused mid-breath like she had to take a moment to reconsider her entire morning up until this point. "Okay, you know what, Aubrey?"
Aubrey raised her brows.
"Shut up," Chloe said, "Just come pick me up."
"After you just told me to shut up?" Aubrey asked, "No, thank you."
"Whatever, I know you're coming to pick me up." Chloe grinned at her. "My kids have specials right after lunch, so I can sneak out for an entire hour, and we don't have to go through a drive-thru." She moved her arms from around Aubrey's waist to around her neck, their faces centimeters apart. "Have fun on your day off. Try to get in some trouble, okay?"
Aubrey just stared at her.
"Okay." Chloe pecked her lips. "I'll see you in a few hours." She took a few steps back. "Just don't get in too much trouble without me."
Aubrey gave her a lopsided frown. "I'll have to try not to," she deadpanned and watched Chloe walk backward toward the door. She decided she might as well tell Chloe about Beca then – save the kids from if Beca decided to text her and tell her while she was at work. "Beca is coming for Spring Break, by the way. She just called."
Chloe froze mid-step. "Say that again."
Aubrey sighed. "Beca is -"
"Oh my gosh." Chloe spun in a full circle, her smile taking up the entirety of her face. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
For serious? Aubrey grabbed her mug and carried it back to the kitchen table. "I did tell you – just now." She took a seat and looked back down at the crossword. "Go to work before you're late."
Chloe looked confused for a moment before she looked at the clock. "Oh, shit." She spun around and swung open the door. "See you later. I love you."
"Chloe!" Aubrey called after her.
Chloe poked her head back in just as she was about to shut the door.
"Your shoes," Aubrey reminded her.
Chloe glanced down at her bare feet then gave Aubrey a sheepish grin. "Right. I knew that," she said and bounded back inside to put her shoes on.
There were moments, like this one, that made Aubrey wonder how Chloe managed to survive this long. At least she was wearing the rest of her clothes. Aubrey took a long swallow of coffee, watching Chloe fuss with her shoes.
"Okay." Chloe grinned and stood up. "Bye." She blew Aubrey a kiss then rushed out the door.
xxxxx
"Tell me about my dad and Luke." Beca holds her sandwich just above her lap, either oblivious to the crumbs that land on her jeans or just unstirred by them. They bother Aubrey. Make it hard to concentrate. "What all did they say?"
They are surrounded by people – one of those people being Luke himself. This is neither the time nor place.
"How many things do you know that you aren't telling us, Aubrey?" Beca whispers.
A lot, apparently. Aubrey cringes at what she's about to do. Ignoring Beca's questions, she leans forward and brushes the crumbs off Beca's lap onto the floor where she can sweep them up later. "You're going to attract ants," she informs her matter-of-factly.
"That's the pressing matter to you here?" Beca asks.
"No one is here to take care of them," Aubrey answers and sits up straight, "Everyone is dead."
"Aubrey..." Chloe shakes her head.
Beca just stares at her for a moment before she looks at Chloe. "I want to know about my dad and Luke," she demands, sounding almost desperate for answers.
"I wasn't there, Becs," Chloe tells her softly, "I'm sorry."
"You were the first time," Aubrey corrects her, "You were just drunk and passed out on my back." They both stare at her, making her feel put on the spot.
"The first time?" Beca finally asks.
Aubrey nods. It's impossible to stop thinking about the crumbs on the floor. She fights the urge to stand up and locate a broom. "After the bonfire, after Chloe and I took Nikki home."
"So right before I dropped off your stuff?" Beca asks, "Dude, why the hell didn't you say anything? We walked all the way to the clinic and back, and you didn't think that might have been important to bring up?"
"Would you have believed me?" Aubrey shoots back.
"Guys," Chloe says and scoots almost in between them, "It's too late to change what happened that night. We're all on the same side now, okay?" She looks at Beca. "Aubrey is trying here, Beca."
"And I'm not?" Beca asks.
"No, you are." Chloe places her sandwich on her lap, intensifying the crumb situation. "I'm just saying that maybe you should give each other a break about however anything went down before today. Capiche?"
Aubrey doesn't say anything.
"Yeah," Beca agrees finally, her voice little more than a breathy whisper, "Whatever."
"Aubrey?" Chloe asks.
Aubrey just looks at her.
"Capiche?"
It isn't as though Aubrey can say no. She nods.
"Out loud, Aubrey." The request is more demanding than Aubrey is used to from Chloe. "Capiche?"
The corners of Aubrey's lips twitch. "Capache." She gives Chloe an 'are you happy now?' look then turns to Beca. "I heard your dad on the phone with someone," she says, keeping her voice low, "He said he wanted Chloe and I off the island, away from you." That was the general gist of the conversation, before he took the flashlight and walked away.
"And you're sure he was talking to Luke?" Beca asks.
Aubrey nods. Who else would it have been?
"How?"
"Because of this morning." Aubrey grits her teeth. It feels less like she's explaining the events and more like she's being interrogated. It should be Dr. Mitchell under the spotlight. But he's dead. "They were talking outside." She knows better than to think the conversation will end here, but she tries to give Beca a convincing nod to move on anyway.
Beca lets the back of her head hit the cupboard behind her. She closes her eyes and squeezes the bridge of her nose, and Aubrey can't tell if she's laughing or crying. "He lived to disapprove," she says, not bothering to lower her voice at all, "I guess it's fitting he die the same way." She sniffles and lowers her hand, her eyes watering and lips smiling at the same time.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Chloe asks quietly.
"Is that not what we're doing?" Beca asks.
"I mean talk about your dad," Chloe pauses, "dying."
Aubrey shifts into a more comfortable position as Beca goes silent and just stares at Chloe. Even as Chloe says the word, 'dying', it still doesn't really sink in or feel real. But, then again, Aubrey half expects to stand up and find Cynthia-Rose behind them, eating a sandwich and staring at Stacie. She picks at her bread and looks at Beca, staying quiet. She can't even comprehend how she would feel if her own father died – and it's a feeling she's had a lot of time to dwell on, every time he's been stationed overseas. She wishes she could have stopped it from happening. Maybe if things had gone differently outside the inn...
Beca finally exhales a breath, and Aubrey still can't decipher if it's tinged with laughter or a sob. "You know what I want to talk about?" she asks and finally turns her voice into a whisper. "Getting those guns, and getting you and Aubrey the hell out of here."
xxxxx
Aubrey didn't remember that much about being a kid, but she did know that she was never as loud as the children she heard shrieking from the moment she pulled into the school parking lot. She also knew that if she ever had children, that probably meant she would have to be their biological mother. God only knew what someone like Chloe's children would act like. She could see one on the playground sitting in the sandbox with a bucket on its head, allowing another child to play it like a drum with a tiny plastic shovel, while yet another child directed them like an orchestra. Probably like the bucket head kid. The passenger's side door swung open, and she looked over as Chloe climbed into the car.
"Hey!" Chloe grinned and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I knew you'd pick me up." She shut the door and buckled up. "Wendy's?"
Aubrey turned slowly in her seat to look at her. "You said no fast food, because you have an hour."
"No, I didn't." Chloe leaned forward to fiddle with the radio. "I just said we don't have to go through the drive-thru, because I have an hour, which I'm not going to have if you don't start driving."
Aubrey smacked Chloe's fingers away from that god-awful 'seek' button. "Fine," she agreed and changed the radio back to the news. "But you're buying and I want a frosty for my fries." She shifted the car into gear.
"Deal." Chloe hit the button on the radio again like the last few seconds didn't just happen at all. The problem was that Chloe never chose a song when it came to the radio. She would just keep pushing the damn button until they arrived at their destination – which made absolutely no sense. Did her fingers not get tired? …Aubrey knew the answer to that question.
"Pick something." Aubrey handed her the aux cord so she could plug in her phone and just play a damn song.
"Thanks." Chloe plugged it in and settled on the first song that came on shuffle.
Aubrey rolled her eyes then glanced over at her.
"What?" Chloe asked, grinning ear to ear.
It was impossible to decide between telling her she was the most irritating person on earth or how Aubrey wouldn't trade her for the world, so she settled for, "How is work?"
"Honestly, I'm kind of really tired today," Chloe answered. It didn't show. "We're talking about community and about how all of these little pieces come together to make a whole. Do you realize how big New York City is, Aubrey?"
Aubrey nodded.
"I always just imagined it as only being Manhattan," Chloe went on, "I never thought about Brooklyn or The Bronx or Staten Island or Queens. I mean, I thought about them, we live in one of them, but never as pieces of New York City. Who says they're going to New York City when actually they're going to Staten Island? Everyone just assumes you mean Manhattan."
"Chloe?" Aubrey dared to ask.
Chloe arched her brows.
"Do you teach first grade or are you one of them?" Aubrey asked.
There was a moment of silence before Chloe finally spoke up again. "Whatever," she easily brushed off the comment, "Anyway. Queens is a borough of New York City and yet it still has all of these neighborhoods inside of it too."
Aubrey hummed in interest. "You know New York City is only 302.6 square miles in a state that is 54,556 square miles, right? New York City does not even make up 1% of New York."
"Why do you know that?" Chloe asked.
"Why don't you?" Aubrey smirked.
"Did you do this to your teachers in school?"
Aubrey glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. "Do what?" The look she received back told her that the question was rhetorical and she was supposed to already know the answer. "For serious, Chloe, do what?"
"The thing you always do when someone tries to tell you something." Chloe folded her arms.
It took a moment for Aubrey to catch onto what Chloe was getting at. She smirked harder and leaned her head in Chloe's direction. "You mean that thing where I know more than them?"
"No," Chloe answered in a huff, "That thing where you just start spouting out facts back like your brain is some kind of encyclopedia."
"It's called conversation," Aubrey told her.
"It's called flaunting."
"Aren't you the person who always says, 'if you've got it, flaunt it'?" Aubrey asked. She had to look over again when she didn't receive any sort of response.
"Okay, touché." Chloe settled back in her seat, smiling, "Can I finish telling you about our community lesson now?"
Aubrey nodded again, biting back any and all facts as she let Chloe talk her ear off about the amount of people in the city and their 'contributions' to the community until they reached Wendy's. New York City did seem so much bigger than it actually was. It was almost a little overwhelming to think about – such a large population in such a small space of land. She parked when they got there then turned in her seat and waited for Chloe to finish talking, listening more to the sound of her voice than whatever was coming out of her mouth. She could listen to the sound of Chloe's voice forever – her words, not always so long.
"You could at least pretend to care," Chloe commented.
Aubrey raised her eyebrows high on her forehead.
"You're the worst student." Chloe unbuckled herself, leaned over and pecked Aubrey's lips, then opened her car door.
Aubrey's features fell immediately. "Aca-scuse me?" She frowned as Chloe exited the car. "I was the best student."
"Top of your class does not always mean best student." Chloe shut her door. In the time it took Aubrey to unbuckle her seatbelt and process Chloe's words, she was already on Aubrey's side of the car, opening the door for her.
"That is exactly what it means." Aubrey stepped out of the car and shut the door behind her.
Chloe looked far too entertained. "Okay." She squeezed Aubrey's upper arm. "Come on; I'm starving."
"It does." Aubrey allowed herself to be dragged by the hand across the parking lot and into Wendy's.
"And I said okay." Chloe pulled open the door and held it open for her. She smirked, dropped Aubrey's hand, and lightly pinched Aubrey's rear end as she walked by – turning Aubrey's cheeks redder than the glowing Wendy's sign outside.
"For serious, Chloe?" Aubrey hissed at her.
Chloe clasped her hands behind her back and shrugged. "What?" she asked with an innocent smile, strolling past her to the counter.
Aubrey clenched her teeth, hard, and drew in a slow, grounding breath as her body began to feel impossibly hot. She stopped behind Chloe in front of the counter and stared up at the menu, barely able to concentrate on her options, because she could feel the guy at the register giving her a peculiar look. It was tempting to pinch Chloe back, but not for the same reasons she pinched Aubrey. Fortunately, Chloe was quick to order, and she didn't cause an awkward silence in the moment it took her to fully compose herself and decide what she wanted to eat. She ordered immediately after Chloe was finished talking – a salad, fries, and a frosty. The look she gave Chloe dared her to make a comment that fries and a frosty cancelled out having a salad so Aubrey could remind her that she ate salad because she enjoyed it. But Chloe simply pulled out some cash and paid for their meal.
"I'm going to find us a seat," Chloe said as she tucked her change into her pocket then picked up both of their cups, "What do you want to drink?"
"Just water," Aubrey answered. She turned and watched Chloe go fill up their drinks at the soda fountain then tuck herself into a corner table on the far side of the room – away from other people. It was the last table Aubrey would have expected her to pick, not even near one of the windows. Before she could dwell on it, someone was shoving a tray of food into her hands. She thanked them then made her way over to the empty seat across from Chloe.
Chloe checked her watch then pulled her burger and fries off the tray to places in the table in front of her.
Aubrey sat down. She pulled the entire tray closer to her, since Chloe had taken her food off of it, and adjusted her meal so her salad was directly in front of her and her fried and frosty were behind it. The sudden silence as Chloe unwrapped her burger rubbed Aubrey the wrong way, and she just sat there holding her fork for a moment, watching Chloe, thinking maybe she had said something wrong. But Chloe didn't look angry. Quite the opposite, really. And Aubrey decided that maybe she was just really hungry. She poked her salad and tried to focus on eating.
Chloe took a giant bite of her burger and tapped her fingers on the table as she chewed, looking down at her fries.
"You could tell me more about community, if you want," Aubrey suggested, trying to sound interested, before taking a bite of her food.
Chloe swallowed and sat in a very still silence for a few seconds before finally speaking up. "Actually," she said quietly and shifted in her seat, "I kind of wanted to talk you about something else."
Aubrey leaned back in her seat and twisted her fork around in her lettuce. "Oh."
"I was thinking after you said Beca was coming," Chloe said, speaking slowly, hyper-focused on staring at her food, "You know, about what happened last time."
Aubrey wasn't quite sure what she was getting at. "A lot happened over the summer, Chloe," she reminded her. Beca had helped them move in. They spent a lot of time exploring Queens and Manhattan. They drank quite a bit more than Aubrey was used to. Went out and frequented a few of the clubs. By Autumn, Aubrey was completely exhausted. If Chloe was trying to tell her she wanted to slow down over Spring Break, Aubrey one hundred percent agreed. But that didn't seem to be what Chloe was trying to tell her.
"I mean about what happened during truth or dare," Chloe said.
Oh. That. Aubrey swallowed. "That's what you think about while you're working with six year olds, Chloe?" she asked, almost subconsciously trying to change the subject.
Chloe shrugged sheepishly. "I was just thinking maybe we could try it again."
Aubrey stilled her fork. Chloe wanted her to kiss Beca again? No, of course she didn't. She could read exactly what Chloe wanted like it was written all over her face in ink. She wanted to kiss Beca. She propped her fork against the edge of the bowl and slowly lowered her hands to her lap, her stomach sinking down with them. The word 'no' stuck firmly to the tip of her tongue, but at the same time, she didn't know what to say. She did know, however, that her appetite was gone.
"Couples do this all the time," Chloe continued, still not looking at her, "Threesomes are a completely normal part of sex, Bree."
Sex. Not just an insignificant drunk kiss. Sex. Like with their clothes off. Or, with Chloe's and Beca's clothes off, at least. Aubrey's throat felt dry and tasted sour. "Are you bored?" she asked thickly.
"What?" Chloe finally looked at her, looking completely taken aback by the question. "No."
"Are you," Aubrey suddenly felt like she was going to cry, "Unhappy?" She should have listened more intently to Chloe in the car.
"Aubrey, no." Chloe got up and dragged her chair closer to Aubrey's. "God, no. Not at all."
"Then what, Chloe?" Aubrey snapped at her, keeping her voice down low, "Hm?"
"I just…" Chloe shrugged. "Thought it would be fun."
Aubrey drew a deep breath in through her nose and released it through her mouth, because they were in the middle of a God damn Wendy's. Chloe was lying, and Aubrey could see it in the way she fiddled with the hem of her dress, refusing to look Aubrey in the eye. Whatever reason Chloe had, the one that came out of her mouth wasn't it.
"Forget it." Chloe scooted her chair back, the legs dragging across the tiled floor, "It's stupid." It looked like the reality of her words caught up to her and she froze once she was back on her side of the table.
Aubrey pushed her food back, ready to stand up and leave and let Chloe fend for herself with an Uber. A cold, sharp emotion that didn't have a name felt like an icy knife cutting through her chest. Chloe had to be tired of her; that was the only good explanation. She realized her chin was beginning to tremble on its own accord and quickly grabbed a fry, dripped it in her frosty, then shoved it in her mouth so it looked like she was just chewing. It made her feel sick to her stomach.
"Aubrey…" Chloe actually sounded guilty.
Aubrey focused her attention on breathing and not causing a scene by storming out. She should have never answered the phone when she saw it was Beca who was calling. No, because then Beca would have texted Chloe, who would have begged, and Aubrey would have looked like a dick if she said no to Beca coming. She forced herself to swallow down the fry and chocolate ice cream.
"Can we forget it, Aubrey? I'm sorry. It was just a thought after what happened between the two of you last time."
The way Chloe said it made it seem like it had been Aubrey's choice to kiss Beca. Like the whole plan hadn't been concocted up by Chloe herself. Like Aubrey had just woke up that morning and randomly thought, 'Hey, maybe I'll get drunk later and kiss Beca Mitchell.' And then, for a moment, she thought that maybe Chloe might have been jealous. Because Aubrey, who hated Beca with every cell in her body, was the one who eventually got to experience being kissed by her, while Chloe simply sat there and watched. Chloe liked Beca, more than just liked her, and Aubrey's denial was slowly wearing off right at that moment.
"Can we go to the car?" Chloe asked, and Aubrey finally looked at her. She was starting to get teary-eyed, looked scared, like of they didn't go to the car together, Aubrey would take off without her. It was becoming more tempting.
Aubrey didn't budge as another question sat on the tip of her tongue. She pressed her thumb against her palm, digging her nail into her skin. "Do you not love me?" she whispered, leaving out the rest: Do you not love me like you love her? If it was possible to get homesick only a few miles away from home, Aubrey suddenly felt that. She wanted to go to bed.
Chloe stared at her, shocked. She picked her jaw up off the floor and swallowed hard. "How could you ask that?"
How could she not? "Because you want to have sex with Beca," Aubrey hissed. That was enough. She stood up, grabbed her tray, and threw all of her food in the trash on the way to the door. "Call a taxi."