My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 12 (•‿•)

      After my friends went home the next morning, I started doing the laundry. After I threw the laundry in the washer I turned my focus on the actual house. I started in the living room, where we slept last night, and moved onto the main level bathroom and then the kitchen. My ringtone started going off, and I ran to find it. After 30 seconds of frantically searching for it, I found it on the couch in the living room and answered it without looking at the caller ID.

      "Hello?" I asked out of breath. I collapsed onto the couch.

      "Hey, Emily, it's nice hearing your voice," Chase spoke softly into the phone. I smiled after I realized who it was. 

       "Hey, Chase, you got my text right?" I asked him. 

       "Yup, that's kind of why I'm calling. I was just wondering, do you wanna go out again?" He sounded kind of nervous. I mentally sighed. I really didn't want to go out with him again. I just started to figure out my life again and didn't want to worry about going on a date already. I was feeling so conflicted about this whole ordeal. I mean sure, before everything happened, I would have wanted this day to come. But after he died...I just don't even know. I know he wants me to be happy, but I don't know how I'll feel that without him anymore. The best I can do is ignore the pain in my heart and keep my head up.

      "Um, sure." 

     "Hesitation," he muttered. I blushed automatically, feeling terrible about that hesitation. I wish I hadn't done that. 

      "I'm sorry, Chase, I'm really just overcoming something," I told him, sadness showing through my words, "He-he passed away recently and I'm really just coming out of what happened. But really, I want to go with you."

      "Oh, I know. I heard about Ian," He said. It felt like a knife stabbed my heart when Chase said his name. Eric and I had an unmentioned argreement that we wouldn't speak his name since it caused those hard memories come back to surface. "Would you want to go out tonight? I know there's that new movie out at the movie theatre, and we could go to dinner or something," He babbled on. I bit my lip and contemplated it. I didn't want to make him feel bad.

      "Hm...I think I can. Yeah, I have nothing going on tonight," I told him. I picked up a pillow that fell when I sat down and set it where it belonged.

      "Good," He said, I could practically hear him smiling through the phone, "I'll pick you up at 5?"

     "Sounds good, I'll see you then, Chase," I told him. 

     "Can't wait." 

     We hung up, and I looked at the clock. It was already one o'clock. I had four hours before I was expecting Chase to get there. I took a shower and started sorting through clothes. I mentally agreed to apply for jobs the next day due to my lack of cute clothes and not wanting to ask Eric for money. I decided on some dark blue skinny jeans and a cute tank top. I straightened my hair once it was dry and checked the time. It was only three thirty already. I sighed and decided to actually look decent. I put on some mascara, and decided that was enough. I never went overboard with make-up. That was one of the things I hated; girls whose faces looked like a birthday cake without the candles. 

       Finally four-thirty came around and I checked myself in the mirror. I looked okay. I mean, I wish I could wear sweatpants, but I knew I shouldn't. I texted Eric, confused because he wasn't home yet. Normally he comes home right after school and then goes to work from here, but today he didn't. He texted about having to stop at Madelyne's house after school and then he just went straight from there to work. I rolled my eyes, not even wanting to know what he was doing there. I knew they were friends, but they always acted like nothing was going on between them, but it was so obvious that something was going on. I think they were both just oblivious to each other's feelings for one another. I just couldn't wait for the day when they'd come out and say how they liked each other to one another, and I could sit there and smile, saying I already knew it. That was bound to happen and I knew it.