Face off

Enough

    The next morning, Chase awoke earlier than me for a change, leaving me to wake up to an empty bed. I fell asleep hoping I would feel better today but was sadly disappointed. As soon as my eyes were open I felt the weight of the last few days bare down on me once more. I couldn't wait for all of this to be over. I haven't felt a moment of peace since Will texted me that picture of Robin. Once this was all over and Chase started acting like himself again I could go back to normal.

      I sighed, forcing myself to get out of bed and get dressed. I put on a pair of grey yoga pants and a black sweater before I brushed my teeth, then my hair and gave my face a quick wash and made my way downstairs. Chase was standing at the stove with a spatula in his hands. It smelled like bacon and cinnamon, the scent making my stomach growl. He had on navy blue trackpants and a faded T-shirt. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around him.

     "Morning,". I sighed. Although he acted like he didn't want to be near me last night he let me do this so I took it as a good sign. I was still berating myself for my ridiculous crying last night. I was hurting my own feelings, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

     "Morning, " He placed one of his hands over my arm gently before returning it to the pan. I peeked around him to see he was making a mountain of French toast. When he finished flipping, I set my hands on his hips to turn him towards me so I could look up at him. I was trying to set my bad mood aside, but it was hard. The bags under his eyes matched mine, meaning he had slept just as well as I did. I lost count of how many times I woke up meaning it was too many. I leaned forward and kissed him gently.

     "You look tired, ". I stated, reaching up to touch his cheek.

     "So do you,", He gave a half smile, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

     "No. A real one,". I demanded. He snorted and leaned in for a quick peck but I wrapped my arms around his neck to keep him there. We went from almost-sex to barely a kiss and I was starting to feel it. My emotions were all over the place and although I wasn't looking for anything sexual, it would be nice to have some kind of intimacy. I needed it. Maybe if I could take the edge off one cause of the tension I could start to feel normal.

     Which apparently wasn't happening either. He gave me about three seconds before he tried to pull away. Like a child I whined to cover my hurt feelings, pulling on him. His eyes met mine and I saw irritation. He was tensed, his jaw clenched. He dropped his eyes between us and a fresh wave of rejection washed through me as my face started heating up. I let go immediately, turning away before he could see. Maybe I wasn't just hurting my own feelings after all. I felt pretty correct right now, and it hurt.

     Instead of sitting at the island to hang out with him I went and sat in the living room, flopping down on the couch. I could feel his eyes burning a hole in the back of my head but I refused to look at him. I could tell the tips of my ears were red, whuch was giving me away due to the ponytail in my hair, but he couldn't see the tears welling. I stared at the screen though none of what was being said absorbing into my brain. I just needed something else to focus my eyes on so they would stop. I was worried about over staying my welcome after the first night, and apparently we reached that point.

     I heard several sets of footsteps coming down the stairs, meaning at least two of our room mates were awake.

"Just in time, breakfast is ready,". I heard Chase say

      I rose to my feet, swiping discreetly at my eyes before anyone noticed me and trudged into the kitchen behind Callum, Miles, and Olivia who had started loading their plates. O fell into line behind them, suddenly not feeling very hungry, but not wanting to be a baby about it. I grabbed two pieces of French toast and two strips of bacon then walked past the available island seat next to Chase down to the end of the island. Callum took the seat behind him and Olivia next to him, neither of them picking up on the tension between us. Chase's gaze flickered down to me then back to his plate.