Howdy howdy, my lovelies! Life is still a bit rough but I will continue to update as much as possible! I'll be completely honest, this chapter kinda came out of nowhere because I had this next bit plotted out but Chase snuck up on me. Hopefully y'all enjoy! ~Shaymie

Chase

Chase looked down at Molly. Despite rushing to the bathroom just a little while ago to (presumably) puke her guts out, her caramel-blonde hair still looked fairly nice, framing her face perfectly. Or maybe he's just a sappy loser who'd think she looked good no matter what. God, what has she done to him? He almost hated how she affected him. Almost. It was... nice. He'd nearly written himself off as a cold, unfeeling bastard before she came into his life.

She was still holding his hand. Hadn't let go since they left the inn. He didn't know if she was even aware she was holding it. Would she let go if he said anything about it? Her hand's so soft... How'd she even manage that? Working on a farm should've made her hands as rough as her sister's, but Molly's hands were incredibly soft. It made him want to hold on as long as he could.

"I think fall might be one of my favorite seasons," she murmured, a small smile on her face as they headed towards her aunt's farm. He silently hoped that Delilah wasn't home right now. Angela was intimidating but in all honesty, Delilah might be even more terrifying than her. She probably wouldn't care about hurting Molly's feelings by telling him to stay away.

"One of them? There's not that many to choose from, Freckles." She was still holding his hand. That small fact was all Chase seemed to be able to focus on. Molly giggled, the sound giving him a warm feeling in his chest.

"True. But it's still a close second. I think I like winter more. The snow's so pretty and we can bring out the Christmas decorations, and we get to celebrate Angie and Kasey's birthday! They were born on Christmas Eve, you know. That makes it twice as special!"

He didn't know that, actually. Despite the amount of time he's been forced to spend with Angela, he didn't know... well, anything about her. She could talk about Molly for hours but she was tight-lipped on anything to do with herself. He supposed it made sense. They weren't exactly friends. Besides the cigarettes, the only thing they had in common was how much they cared for Molly.

He was hesitant to call his feelings for Molly love. It'd probably be insane to even claim that. No, he just... liked her? Was infatuated with her? God, he didn't even know. It couldn't just be because of her looks. If that was all he cared about, he would've made a move on Angela the day she moved to Castanet. Though the attraction would've faded the second she opened her mouth.

"Hey, Molly..." She looked up at him with that heart-melting smile. It was rare to see her without some level of joy on her face when she was around him. Her entire existence was bright. "Angela's friend called you Sunny, right? I've been meaning to ask where that came from."

"Hm? Oh... Well, I didn't really like strangers when I was younger but Kasey's friend Jack was an exception. Honestly he's like another brother to me. So I'd hang out with him a lot and he was one of the few people I trusted. He said that seeing me smile at him for the first time was like seeing a sunrise. So he started calling me Sunny and Angie's friends picked up on it. I guess the nickname also stuck around since I used to be really blonde as a kid."

He could vaguely remember seeing some of her baby pictures. Against his will, of course. Several years ago, Delilah was having a terrible start to her year: a storm wiped away most of her newly-planted crops, Fritz broke his arm, the medical bills draining her meager savings dry, and her husband was still nowhere to be found. The entire town pitied her, but she was too proud to accept any help.

Gramps was the only one able to break through her stubbornness. Like Angela, food was the way to her heart and she gladly accepted the free meal he offered her. Chase was unfortunate enough to be assigned to her table, and he had to listen to her ramble on about her "darling little nieces and nephew" and how she was worried that she'd miss the youngest one's birthday that year.

She spent nearly an hour showing him pictures of her family before Raeger finally stepped in to save him. He'd started tuning her out around ten minutes in, but now he wondered if he would have recognized Molly had he paid more attention to Delilah's drunken ramblings. Maybe he wouldn't have acted like such a dick to her when they first met. He still cringed when he thought about that. He's lucky she's so forgiving.

"Makes sense... You're..."

Molly had a way of making him let down his walls. Sometimes he forgot to watch himself around her. He didn't like the idea of someone knowing his innermost thoughts. That was part of the reason he'd broken up with Lillie. Not only was he too brash, but he didn't know how to open up and that was important in a relationship. At least, it was important to Lillie.

It was different with Molly. They could've spent months sitting on the beach in silence. She wouldn't have asked anything more of him. And he thought he'd always be satisfied with just that. Then time passed and stupidly, foolishly, he let himself get closer to her. Maybe he was doomed from the start. He glanced down at her.

Sunny was right. He needed her like he needed the sun. The days he didn't see her felt darker and gloomier. He didn't realize that he was so used to her presence in his life until she wasn't there anymore. Is this why Luke hung off of Angela like a desperate puppy?

Am I finally relating to Luke, of all people? The world's surely coming to an end.

"I don't know how else to describe it, but you're... warm. I feel lighter being around you."

"Everyone says stuff like that..." Molly squeezed his hand and looked away, a slight frown on her face. She nibbled at her lip and let out a breath before she continued speaking. "And I know it's because I act a certain way but... I'm only like this because of Dad. Because he liked when I acted like Mom. It was the only time I'd really see him happy so I decided to keep it up and now I have no clue if that's who I actually am."

Perfect little Molly Rose is nothing but a bulimic faker that's spent her whole life trying to be like her mother...

Chelsea's bitter words from the Summer Festival popped back into his head. He didn't think that they'd affected Molly this much, to the point where she was still worried about them months later.

"S-Sorry. Here I go again, bringing down the mood. Right after you said you felt lighter being around me..."

"It's fine, Freckles." She glanced up at him. Shit. Her eyes were... too pretty. Far, far too pretty. Molly was cute but her eyes were gorgeous. They're probably the most striking thing about her. They're not brown like Angela and Kasey's. Not hazel like Delilah's. They were in a category all their own. Honey. Butterscotch. Hell, literal sunshine. The setting sun on her face certainly added to their beauty.

"There's my little rosebud!" a familiar voice boomed. Damn it all. They'd almost made it past Delilah's farm. His gaze drifted down to their hands. Should he pull away so Delilah didn't get the wrong idea? He didn't really want to let go, though. Her hand was a perfect fit in his. Delilah leaned against the fence and grinned at them. "And Ollie! Long time no see! I didn't know you were so... close to my niece."

She was smiling but he could see the warning in her eyes: hurt her and I'll kill you. Chase swallowed nervously. Delilah probably still saw him as the asshole who broke Lillie's heart. He's explained that it was a mutual break-up but there were still rumors that he just dumped her. It didn't help that he moved away shortly after that.

"W-We're just friends," Molly stammered out. Delilah hummed and raised an eyebrow. Molly blushed. "Really, Aunt Dee. We're friends. That's it."

"You sure lover boy here knows that? With how he was looking at you, I'd assume..."

"Careful lover boy, she might catch on to your little crush," Angela had teased him only a few months ago, an infuriating smirk on her face. God, she knew before he did. She knew that his feelings for Molly went beyond friendship. And now Delilah's saying the same thing? Was it really that obvious?

"I'm feeling a serious case of deja vu," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. Molly was looking up at him with a curious look on her face. Her family could see right through him but could she? She couldn't even tell when that guy was flirting with her on her birthday. There's no way she'd know anything about his feelings.

Unless she does know and she's just playing with me... Why else would she grab my hand like that? He looked into her eyes, so wide and earnest. Sometimes it felt like they were giving him a peek into her soul. She... wouldn't do that, would she? She's not Angela. No, there's definitely no way in hell that she knew.

"Just because he's less grumpy around me doesn't mean that he likes me!" Molly said as she turned away. Chase let out a sigh of relief. That's Molly, alright. Good old reliable Molly. She'll probably never find out about his crush if he doesn't tell her.

God. Crush. He hated that word. It made him feel like he was back in elementary school again.

"Y-Yeah! There's no way I'd like Freckles!" Chase snorted, trying to make his voice sound nonchalant. A look of disappointment flashed across her face, but it was gone nearly as soon as it came. Shit. Did she take that as an insult? He frowned as she let go of his hand and walked over to her aunt. Great. Way to run your fat fucking mouth, Chase.

Molly spoke to Delilah for a few moments, but whatever she said to her aunt was muttered too quietly for him to hear. It did earn him a glare from Delilah when Molly wasn't looking. He shuddered. Angela threatened to turn him into compost a lot but he doubted she'd actually go through with it. Delilah would make good on her promise without a single hesitation. He hasn't done anything to get her to like him yet.

"I'll come by tomorrow, okay?" Molly gave her aunt a hug. Delilah rested a hand on her head and sighed as she brushed some hair behind her ear.

"Okay, sweetheart. But before you go, would you mind if I borrowed Chase for a few minutes? It's been ages since I've seen him and I'd like to catch up a bit."

Alarm bells went off in his head. What could Delilah possibly want with him? Molly even looked skeptical, but all it took was Delilah offering to let her take a peek at her Thanksgiving plans and she was sold. The smile fell from Delilah's face the moment the door to the house closed behind Molly. He took a step back as the woman hopped the fence and marched over to him.

"Tell me the truth, Chase. Do you have feelings for my niece?"

He knew there was no bullshitting Delilah. Not when she was standing right in front of him, hazel eyes boring into his.

"Yeah. I d—"

"Then why the hell did you say that to her face?! Are you trying to push her away?"

He wasn't trying to, but it'd be a hell of a lot better for both of them if he did. He didn't want to hurt her but they were in too deep now. They were friends. It'd crush her if he suddenly cut her off for no reason. But he worried that he'd break her heart if she ended up falling for him. He wasn't good for her.

"I'll admit, you're not the first person I'd choose for her," Delilah murmured, twirling a bit of hair around her finger. The action reminded him of Molly. If he didn't already know they were related, he wasn't sure if he'd have ever been able to tell. "Hell, you're not even the second or third person I'd pick. But she likes you so I just have to deal with it. God, at least Angie picked a good guy..."

Okay... Ouch. He wasn't expecting to have Delilah's approval or anything, but her liking Luke more than him was a hit to his pride. Even if it did make sense. Luke was entirely devoted to Angela. It wouldn't come as a surprise to anybody if they eloped, that's how in love they were. Luke wasn't afraid of rejection. He probably told Angela he loved her at least ten times a day. Molly deserved someone who could do the same for her.

Delilah glared at him when he told her as much.

"I know it's not my place to comment on my niece's lives, especially since I haven't been around anywhere near as much as I'd like, but let me just say one thing. You need to make up your mind. Your actions don't match your words. You're just going to confuse her. She's..."

"An airhead?" Chase offered. Delilah scoffed, but he could see a flicker of a smile on her lips.

"Dense. She gets it from her mother." She took another step forward, arms crossed over her chest. "I couldn't protect Amber or Angela, but I'll be damned if I fail to protect Molly. You hurt her and I swear to god I'll hurt you so bad you'll never cook again. Got it?"

"G-Got it..."

Why the hell are the women in this family so terrifying?!