One Last Prayer

Part 14

My alarm goes off and I jump up reaching for my phone to shut it off before it wakes Chase. I look over at him, sleeping on the floor as I set the phone down. Despite the events of the previous night, Chase still made a nest on the floor so that I could sleep alone in the bed, and I appreciated him for it. Though I won't admit it, I am feeling a little more guilty that I thought I would. Regardless of how I'm feeling about wanting to change into this new person, Chase isn't my boyfriend and probably never will be. He makes a sound, rolling over, pulling his blanket over his head. I walk to the closet pulling out a white crop top with a large black tree of life printed on the front of it, and my new black ripped skinny jeans along with my underwear, walking out of the room.

On my way to the bathroom the scent of French toast fills the air. I walk to the kitchen to see if Janie is awake but it's empty. The breakfast sits on the counter with a clear wrap over it. I look around again before continuing my journey to the bathroom. While I rinse the soap off in the shower I make a mental note to run by my dad's after school to grab my toiletries. I thought that I would be overwhelmed with schoolwork this year, but if I can't patch things up with my dad I'm going to have to get a job and feel the actual truth of being overwhelmed.

I step out of the shower and dry off quickly. I look through the cabinets, Chase's mom must have a blow dryer somewhere. I frown when I don't find one and realize she most likely has her own private bathroom in the master of the house. I settle for grabbing the wide tooth comb and putting my hair into a quick braid to keep it from dripping all over my shoulders. I let loose a few strands near the front and open the drawer to put the comb away when I see a blue bottle of cologne. With Chase's grandpa suffering from Alzheimer's, I know automatically whose it is. I pick it up to read the label. Chrome. I open it to take a sniff and sure enough, it's the scent that drives me crazy. It's missing something, but that's probably just the odor of Chase's skin mixed with it. I put it back and close the drawer, getting dressed quickly.

I walk to the room to grab my doc martins and see Chase still sleeping. I use my foot to shake him, in turn receiving a grunt. I kick at him before shaking again. "Are you going to school, or what?"

He rubs his face and looks around. "What time is it?"

I look down at my phone before shoving it into my back pocket. "Seven twenty."

"We don't have to be there for almost half an hour."

I raise an eyebrow. "You don't need to brush your teeth? Wash your face? Change, maybe?" I laugh and pull my boots on before looking around for my books.

"What, are you leaving right now? It's a five minute walk if that." He sounds exasperated.

I grab the binder and textbooks that I didn't touch all weekend and step over him to leave the room. "No, but I'm going to eat all the food your mom made and then leave so I have time to run by my locker."

He grabs my foot as I try to walk away causing me to fall. He laughs and I kick at his hand before piling up my books I dropped. "Don't eat all the food!"

I stand again, picking up a pillow on my way up, throwing it as hard as I can with one hand at his face. "You should've gotten up on time and maybe you would be able to eat!" I fight back my smile as I walk quickly out of the room, hearing another annoyed groan from him.

I'm standing at the counter drinking coffee and looking through my schoolwork when Chase comes in. His hair is messy, and what a surprise, he's in black jeans that hug him perfectly, not too tight and not loose, either. He's in a black shirt with an image with the words "Suicide Silence" above it, a black zip up hoodie, and some converse. "So dark and dreary." I say under my breath before taking another drink of my coffee.