BEASTLY || CHASE STEIN (EDITING)

chapter five

Once they recovered from putting on a show for Alex's parents they all got into a circle as they started to discuss what they had seen once again. It didn't take long for the discussion to turn to chaos. Each of them coming to terms with what they had witnessed. They were in denial.

"There's no way in hell my parents would kill someone, all right, especially some innocent girl," Alex retorts once they had filled him in on some plausible theories. "Come on guys, our parents fight for people like her! They run a non-profit charity for God's sake! There is no way they'd do that!" Alex tried to reason with them as Garfield looked down, unsure whether they'd want to know truly what he thought.

"Yeah, so does mine," Karolina continued, "And Destiny loves her. She asked for my number. She wants to hang out. She can't be dead."

From across the room, Garfield made eye contact with Nico both simultaneously rolled their eyes at the blonde's comments.

"Here's an idea," Nico interrupted bluntly, obviously sick of them sitting around doing nothing, "Why don't we just march down there and ask them? 'Cause finding out my mom is evil would actually be the least surprising explanation."

Garfield, fed up with the conversation, lays his head on the armrest where Chase just so happened to be sitting on. It was as if it was second nature for Chase to automatically play with his curls, "I agree with Nico, I want to know why they did it." Garfield supports.

Gert didn't seem too fond of the idea of confronting their parents."But the rest of our parents were down there, too." She protested.

"You're trying to suggest..they're all psychopaths? Absolutely no way, my mother is not a homicidal killer!" Karolina says indignantly, unable to think that her mother could ever inflict harm upon others, let alone be a psychopathic, merciless killer. Which she is as we all literally watched are parents murder someone for fuck sake.

"Actually, describes my dad pretty well," Chase whispered under his breath, looking up when he felt everyone's eyes on him as he bit his lip, obviously he hadn't realised he said that loud enough for everyone to hear. As the others looked away from Chase in silence, Garfield found himself turning his head to look up at Chase anxiously as he offered a feeble smile that he half-heartedly returned.

Your going to hurt yourself more if you keep squirming, won't you just stay still, The voice of his younger self echoes through his memories, seeping to the forefront of his mind as he remembers Chase climbing into his bedroom through the window with a bloodied face and shirt when he'd been beaten by his father. He remembered his heart beating widely from the jumpscare Chase had caused when his knuckles banged on the glass window as he knelt on the roof, waiting for him to open it.

He recalled applying the antiseptic cream his mother kept in the cupboard for emergencies dabbing it gingerly on the boys face as he winced in pain, instinctively grabbing eight-year old Garfield's hand as he smiled in reassurance, letting him squeeze his hand as he'd bandaged up his chest wound. The first of many, leaving the window unlatched as a precaution.

You could be a really good doctor someday just like your mom you're great at it. I would know. He could hear Chase's younger voice in his head as he could picture the younger version lounging on his bed, smiling cockily as usual in that boyish way as Garfield rolled his eyes in amusement, drying off the blood from a deep cut on his cheek.

He was sworn to secrecy of course, never to tell the others of what happened behind the closed doors of the Stein residence. Back then Chase often found himself pedalling over when his father hit too hard, sucking up the pain until he reached Garfield's comforting hands.