When I Met You

Chapter 14 - Chelsea's POV

I was trying to decide between a serial killer documentary or a comedic movie, when Harper's phone chimed twice. I didn't think much of it until it chimed twice again. Who the fuck is trying to get a hold of Harper at this hour?

I wasn't worried at first, because I thought maybe it was Will Anderson drunk harassing Harper again. Or maybe something's wrong?

My mind started shifting through all the possible reasons her phone could be going off. Was her grandma okay? Harper's grandma has been in a nursing home for years now with rapidly declining health. Or maybe it was something else. Did her parents get into a car wreck? Is her dog sick? Was a long lost relative trying to reach out to her? Is she waiting for test results? Is one of her friends pregnant? Maybe it could be a guy? Is she crushing on someone? It had to be urgent, right? Who messages someone 4 times at this time? Or maybe it wasn't all from the same person? Could it be two, three, four people messaging her?

Then, it started shrilling at a very loud volume. Were they calling now?

I reached over to her nightstand where her phone was plugged in, thinking if it wasn't important I wouldn't want her to miss it. Standing up, I unplugged the phone and slowly started walking towards the bathroom, until I realized who was calling. My feet planted themselves as my heart sank to my stomach. This isn't real.

My palms were sweaty. I couldn't stop shaking. The panic was near as my breathing became irregular and rapid. The phone stopped ringing as 4 unread messages popped up on the screen from the caller.

Hey, what are you doing?

Are you busy?

Is Chels still with you?

So do you wanna fuck or not?

My whole world was spinning and falling apart in a matter of seconds. A new voicemail notification appeared on the screen. I clicked on it, only to be even more disappointed. It was his voice loud and clear.

'Hey-uh, I'm not sure why you're ignoring me, but if you don't come over within the next 15 minutes, you best believe I have other options, bitch. Did you think you're special because you're my girlfriend's bestie? Next time, message me back, slut.'

I don't want to believe my ears. I wanted to cry or punch something, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. My body ached and I needed to puke. I think all those fucking slushies were making there way back up. Fuck.

I heard her walk into the room. As I looked up I saw the face of the only person I've ever fully trusted with my heart. It was like she ripped it right out of my chest and squashed it into a million pieces, just for me to watch. How could she betray me like that?

"Chels." I heard her say. "Please, it's not what it looks like."

It meant nothing to me. I didn't want to hear anything she had to say. I never wanted to see her face again. I just needed to get the fuck out of this room, before the walls caved in on me. As I walked past her, I shoved her phone into her chest, indicating for her to grab it before I stormed off.

I slammed my door shut and threw some clothes into a bag. I nearly trashed my room grabbing and pulling specific items that I'd need for a few days. When I opened the door, she was standing there with puppy dog eyes, begging me not to go.

"Get the fuck out of my way." I grumbled.

She immediately followed my command, but soon followed behind me as I headed toward the exit. She was questioning me like the fucking paparazzi. "Where are you going? Don't you think we should talk? Let's talk about this before you do something irrational. Can you at least tell me where you're going? Please, Chels. Just one minute. I can explain everything. I don't understand why you are overreacting. Can you calm down?"

Inches away from the door I snapped, turning to face her. "Shut the fuck up, Harp! You don't have the right to ask me questions or tell me I'm overreacting when you slept with my boyfriend. Multiple times! Don't tell me I'm being irrational, because every normal fucking planet would act this way when their bestfriend fucked their boyfriend. We are far past talking, Harper. You had the chance to tell me multiple times, but you didn't! Instead, you chose to continue fucking my boyfriend, and let me find out through a booty call! So please, Harper. Leave me the fuck alone!" I turned back around, walked out the door, and slammed it in her face all in a matter of seconds.

I sat in my car balling my eyes out until about 3 am. After just two hours of continuous tears and snot rolling down my face, I was tired. I laid in the reclined driver seat and fell asleep for longer than I anticipated. Not that I anticipated any of this in the first place.

I woke to the sun piercing through my windshields. I had work later on today, but I didn't think that I could make it. I needed to recover for a while.

Since it was finally a decent hour in the morning, I decided to call Nick. He picked up on the first ring. His voice sounded both surprised and concerned. "Chelsea."

"Yeah." I sat in silence, because I knew this was an awkward conversation to have.

"Are you okay, Chelsea?" He asked.

"No, not really. I'm not okay." I sighed into the speaker.

"Well, uh-what's wrong, love?" How could a complete stranger be more considerate of my feelings than Harper?

"Well. I-You see. I am uh-sitting in my apartment complex parking lot. It's a long story, but I was hoping that you'd still have an available bedroom?" I paused. "I'll even pay half the rent. I just need a place to stay at the moment."

He cleared his throat. "Umm-uh yeah, it's still available, but no payment necessary."

"Nick."

"No arguing Chelsea. My apartment, my rules. I will not have you paying me money. That's nonsense. Like I told you before, it's open if you ever need it."

"Okay. Well, thank you very much, Nick."

"Anytime, Chelsea." I could almost picture his smile on the other end of the phone.