Zoey 101: All Or Nothing ☑

Chapter 8

Zoey POV Continued.....

I wished Chase could’ve met my mom. She would’ve loved him.

“She …” I began, but felt the sting behind my eyes.

“It’s okay,” Chase said. “You don’t have to if it’s too hard.”

“I want to.”

“Can I start?” he asked. “Um, Mrs. Brooks, I’m Chase. I’m sure Zoey has told you all about me. And, well, none of it’s true, unless she told you I’m awesome.”

A small, grateful laugh escaped my throat.

“Yeah, I met her on the first day of school and you should know how nice she was to me. I’ve seen pictures of you at the house, so I know where she got her looks. And, um, she’s a ridiculous student. It’s kinda annoying really.” He looked worriedly at me. “Is this okay?”

I liked that he was having a conversation with Mom as he would if she were here. “Yeah, it’s great.”

“Okay, so, like, when I first met her, I thought she hated me. You see, I had this long hair and I’m pretty sure she thought I was a hippie or something. But then she found out that I also liked this show, Buggy and Floyd.” He looked up from the ground. “Does she know what I’m talking about?”

I nodded. It made me happy that he used the present tense with Mom.

“Yeah, and from there we just kinda clicked. She’s really the only person who’s gone out of her way to make me feel at home. So thank you, Mrs. Brooks, for raising your daughter the way you did. She’s awesome and I know that’s because of you. I wish I could’ve met you, but I guess I have in a way. Because of Zoey. And just so you know, I’ll do my best to protect her. And be there for her. Even if she does have the worst taste in football teams.”

“Hey!” I swatted at him. “Mom’s a huge Packers fan. He’s only teasing, Mom.”

He wrapped his gloved hand around mine. “It’s okay that I joked?”

“Yes, she always jokes around.”

“What else does she like?”

And that was all it took. For the next hour, I told Chase all about my mom. All I could remember. I laughed at so many of the memories. And not once did another tear fall. I still ached for her, but talking about her was keeping her alive inside of me.

I had no doubt that Mom was looking down at us and smiling.

Everything changed after that.

Maybe change wasn’t the best word. But Chase and I were closer than ever.

Between my breakdown at the mall and the visit with Mom, Chase went above and beyond to make sure we spent time together.

It wasn’t as if Chase put Lola aside for me. He knew he didn’t have to make that kind of choice. He became more aware of how he was acting. The decisions he made. Whom he chose to spend time with.

Even though we constantly texted, he would call me at least once a day while he was in California during the holidays.

“I know how happy this is going to make you,” Chase said during his call on New Year’s Eve. “Everybody here is complaining about how much I’m talking about back home.”

“Do we think you have a case of the grass is always greener?” I asked.

He laughed. “Probably. But mostly the guys want to see more pictures of the coolest chick alive.”