Howdy gamers, it's a surprise Maisie chapter! Like many things, this wasn't planned but wouldn't leave me alone so I had to write it. Hope you lovelies enjoy! ~Shaymie

Maisie

"Did you know that your girlfriend used to be a famous ballet dancer?"

"She's not my girlfriend, and yes I did know." Chase set down a plate of delicious-looking breakfast and gave Maisie a tired scowl. One that reminded her of how Mom would look after a long night of drinking. She felt a bit bad for taking over his bed but in her defense, she offered to sleep on the couch. He's the idiot that gave his bed up. It's his house. She wouldn't blame him for insisting she sleep on the couch.

She wasn't really sure what she was expecting when she decided to visit. It was impossible to really tell what her brother's like simply over text. He didn't really give her anything to go off of. Most of his responses were boring and simple and he let her do most of the talking. She tried asking around Oak Tree but nobody really had anything to say about Chase. Raeger was the social one. The popular one.

Chase kept to himself. Apparently he's been a loner ever since he was a kid. He spent all his free time either reading or cooking. She never would have thought her brother was such a nerd.

"She's really cute," Maisie said, grabbing a fork to dig into her eggs. She looked up at her brother curiously, hoping to get a reaction out of him, but he'd already turned away to grab his own plate. Lame. She took a bite of her food and added, "You know, she has like... thousands of followers. I wonder why she decided to move here."

"That's none of your business." She raised an eyebrow at his quick response. Did he know about what happened to her? Raeger told her that Chase had no form of social media for her to snoop around on. Apparently he thought it was a waste of time. Molly Parker didn't think so. Her accounts were mostly old and abandoned but they still existed. Maisie spent hours last night scrolling through them out of sheer curiosity.

Molly seemed to be your stereotypical sweetheart. She'd post cheerful affirmations every morning and ask how her followers were doing, occasionally mixing it up with a photo or two of something she baked or a nice flower she happened to see on a walk. It was easy to see why so many people followed her. She was pretty, in that plain sort of way. Probably easy to get along with, too.

If Maisie didn't see the way he acted around her, she might have thought her brother was too mean for someone like Molly. He could clearly soften up when it came to her. No guy would dance like an idiot in front of a girl unless he was in love.

Maisie had about a million things she wanted to say but decided to hold off on them. She'd be spending the next month or so with her brother. She had plenty of time to see what happened. He used to date Lillie so clearly he knew something about women. Though, not much apparently, since they broke up. It seemed like Lillie still wasn't over it. Maisie would have asked more about it if Maurice didn't look like he was about to explode at just the mention of Chase.

They ate in silence while she pondered what she was going to do today. It didn't seem like there was really anything to do here. No malls, no movie theaters... Where the hell was she supposed to get her boba? Maybe she should have looked into this place before deciding to commit to staying for so long. Oh well. She supposed she could deal with not having boba if it meant spending time with her brother.

She was used to being an only child. Years ago, she'd begged her parents for a baby brother or sister. Promised to take care of them and play with them and everything. But her parents weren't a fan of the idea. Her dad went on some tangent on how expensive it was just dealing with her, while her mom said she was never getting pregnant again. So... there went that dream.

It's probably a good thing she didn't have a younger sibling. Mom and Dad were kinda sucky parents, as evidenced by their current situation. They were awful with money. The only reason she was even able to meet Chase was because they couldn't afford to take care of her while they worked to scrounge up enough money for a place to stay. They probably would have never mentioned him otherwise. At this point she wasn't sure if she even wanted to go back to them. The only issue would be having a place to go.

University might not be such a bad idea after all... At least they'd give me a room to stay in...

"Hey... Chase?" He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. She felt her cheeks flush. She wasn't expecting any sort of kindness from him. She was fully prepared for him to send her back to Raeger but all he really did was lecture her for traveling so far by herself. She's sixteen! She didn't need a babysitter anymore. "Thanks. You know, for not kicking me out or making me go back."

"...I'm not like them, Maisie. I won't abandon family."

She smiled. There wasn't a reason to be so scared of coming here after all. The only relation Chase had to their parents was through blood. He was lucky enough to have never been around them and their rotten personalities. He wasn't completely nice but he was a clear upgrade over them. He didn't act like her presence was some huge burden on him.

He didn't look at her with eyes full of hatred and regret.

Raeger told her that Chase hated Mom and Dad. She wished it could be that easy for her. They clearly didn't love her, so why couldn't she hate them? Why the hell did she work so hard to change their minds? The whole reason she studied so much to graduate early was because she wanted them to be proud of her. The only thing they cared about was not needing to drive her to school anymore.

Screw them... They're idiots anyway.

"So... If Molly's not your girlfriend, what is she?" Chase groaned at her sudden change of topic. She grinned. Did he really think she was going to let it go? Wasn't it a younger sister's job to be nosy?

"She's a friend. That's all there is to it."

"But you want it to be more, don't you? I saw how you were looking at her."

She heard how he laughed with her. They might not know each other that well yet, but Maisie wanted nothing more than for her brother to be happy. And he was clearly happy with Molly. His eyes shone as he watched her. There was the tiniest of smiles on his face as he listened to her excitedly ramble about a pie recipe she's been working on. His voice even sounded softer when he talked to her.

"What I want doesn't matter. There's better guys out there for her." Maisie nearly choked on her milk. She never would have thought Chase was the kind of guy who'd give up without even trying. And... is he blind? Did he not see how smitten Molly was with him? She started blushing and stumbling over her words whenever he so much as looked at her.

I thought adults were supposed to be smart...

"I didn't know Mr. Chase had a sister..." Molly's niece was staring at her with wide hazel eyes. Maisie chuckled nervously. She's never been good with kids. They were hard for her to talk to, and most of the ones back home were scared of her parents so they naturally avoided her. It was just her luck that Molly would happen to be babysitting when she came over to the farm. The kids' dad was outside with Angela's boyfriend, working on a treehouse for them. Chase is coming by later to help Molly with the final preparations for their birthday party.

Maisie had been hoping to ask Molly about her relationship with her brother but it'd probably be impossible to get information with two kids running around.

"You shouldn't stare at people, Rosie," Molly gently scolded her niece as she set a tray of Halloween-themed sugar cookies along with a few glasses of milk on the coffee table. Her cat trotted over to her and sniffed her, probably expecting a few treats of his own. Angela had warned Maisie about the cat before she left, saying that he didn't like most people who visited and took Molly's attention from him. He especially disliked Chase. Sure enough, the tabby gave her a stink-eye the second he smelled her brother's scent.

The little girl gave Maisie a shy apology and settled down on the couch next to her brother. There was a small, warm smile on Molly's face as she watched the kids dig into their snack. Huh. What do you know? Maisie had assumed that Molly's sweetness was fake. Something she just did online to get more followers. It wouldn't have surprised her in the slightest, and it would make her crush on Chase make a bit more sense.

How does someone so sweet fall for a prickly jerk like him? They're related but Maisie could tell he was keeping her an arms length away. He didn't seem like the type to open ip easily. He dodged all her questions about Raeger and what their grandfather had been like. He wouldn't even tell her why he chose to move here instead of staying with his brother! Shouldn't family be more open with each other?

"Sorry about Rosie," Molly apologized with a laugh. She joined Maisie at the dining table and took a seat. With the house's open floor plan, it was easy for her to keep an eye on the kids. It was hard to believe that two people lived in such a small house. Did they have any privacy at all? At least there were two bedrooms so that's... something.

"No worries. I know I kinda came out of nowhere," Maisie shrugged. She's been getting all sorts of curious looks and questions since she showed up. It was a bit nerve-wracking going from being ignored at home to suddenly having dozens of eyes on her. "I nearly gave Chase a heart attack this morning because he forgot I was here. I didn't know his voice could get that high!"

Molly's laugh was one of the purest things Maisie had ever heard, high and clear and practically melodic. One of Maisie's teachers once told her that you could tell a lot about a person from their laugh. Her parents' laughs always sounded bitter. She couldn't remember a single time they were actually happy. They hated everything and everyone. She's pretty sure they even hated each other.

She'd never understand why they stayed together. It clearly wasn't for her sake.

"Angie would have loved to see that. She likes to mess with him a lot." Yeah, that made sense. Angela didn't hesitate to pull out her phone to record Chase's dancing. She seemed almost giddy. Maisie wondered if she had any other embarrassing videos of Chase. It'd be a nice reminder that it was possible for him to loosen up, and maybe she'd be a little less nervous around him. He's already shown that he's nothing like Mom and Dad so he shouldn't make her nervous at all, but...

It's not his fault Mom and Dad fucked me up...

"Are you and Angela good friends with him?" she asked curiously. It was a simple question, she thought. So why did it have Molly blushing like she'd asked about some dirty secret?

"Angie and Chase mess with each other a lot, but I'd like to think they're friends. They don't really hang out that much though." Molly's blush deepened. "And he's one of my closest friends. Everyone thinks he's a mean jerk. I think even he thinks that. But he's actually really nice. He's just bad at showing it."

How the hell could Chase not know that Molly liked him? Maisie's just met her and even she could see it clear as day. When they were together she had the classic look of a woman in love, starry-eyed and locked onto his every word. He smiled whenever she spoke but she smiled just being around him. She seemed like the type of person that wore her heart on her sleeve. She was as transparent as glass.

Maisie's always thought that people like Molly were interesting. How was it not embarrassing to have every emotion on full display? What was it like to not feel the need to hide away? Maisie wasn't an emotionless monster or anything, but she's learned to not really express her feelings. It would just be a waste of effort with her parents. She was so tired of being angry or disappointed with them.

"I hope it wouldn't be strange to say that I hope we can get along as well," Molly said, a small smile on her face. God, Maisie desperately hoped Chase didn't end up ruining things with her.