BEASTLY || CHASE STEIN (EDITING)

chapter nine

Garfield and Chase never did get their chance to talk, after being frightened by a dinosaur and a weird green blob all they wanted to do was return to their respective homes. Garfield couldn't stop thinking about everything his brain was on overdrive.

The future was a blur to him, nothing was certain and every smudge couldn’t be wiped away with every decision he made. Sure track opened scholarships and opportunities, but that was only because he did it for fun not because he aspired to do it.  Garfield was always told at a young age to follow in his mothers footsteps and that he had a true gift to help others in a profession that lined up with something medical. However, he didn’t like all the expectations of being the best or being a replica of his mother. Another option would be  helping Wally in the shop, he also considered the idea of it as a career but wasn’t sure if he enjoyed it enough to do it for the rest of his life, which was annoying because it was something he found comfort in.

The young teen thought he was going to have a relaxing evening, have his dinner after a nice warm shower and then go get comfy in bed. He showered, changed into joggers and no top. Suddenly his tablet rang, which took him by surprise as Victor texted him saying he was with his grandmother who had no wifi.

Garfield hesitated to accept the WizTalk call, but after internally debating the pros and cons he placed on the side and accepted. On the screen were four little boxes, belonging to the teens he’d recently reunited with. Before he can say anything Nico’s face pops up in another screen who quickly asks in a monotone voice, “What are you doing?”

“Group WizTalk,” Alex replies from his seat on his bed.

“Wow, really? And here I thought we were at a houseparty,” Garfield sarcastically asks while heating up a griddle pan until it is hot and begins to add the chicken and marinade.

“I think your mom invented it,” Chase says jokingly from his bedroom as Garfield watches as he makes minor adjustments to something he was clearly working very hard on.

“What I mean was..why the hell are we doing it?” Nico retorted in annoyance, rolling her eyes, unable to believe that she’d wasted her time joining this call with her old friends when she could be continuing to look through Amy’s recently found diary that was stowed away in his mother’s office, clearly not meant for prying eyes.

“You haven’t seen the news, Nico?” Garfield asked hesitantly, not wanting to be the one to fill Nico in as he was trying to focus on cooking his fajitas. He quickly snuck a glance at Nico’s face on the screen seeing the visible confusion written all over the pale girl’s face.

“What news?” Nico blurted in confusion, tired of the other beating around the bush instead of just telling her.

“You haven’t heard yet?” “My God, about the beach?” “Have you been living under a rock all night?” All of the teens babble at the same time clearing nothing up for Nico.

“Yeah, that cleared nothing up,” Nico interrupted the teens’ chatter as Garfield hoped someone told her before he blurted out something insensitive.

“Destiny,” Karolina said flatly to Garfield’s own surprise, “They found her body.” Nico’s jaw dropped instantly as the other teens nodded somberly, falling silent the only thing that could be heard was Garfield's samba music in the background.

“Gotta say I called it,” Nico hesitantly lets out, shaking her head as she finds herself feeling pity for the innocent girl who died at the hands of her parents. Garfield bit his lips anxiously as Gert shook her head in disbelief, all the teens having mixed reactions to the news article, showing clearly that reality hadn’t quite sunk in yet.