Zoey 101: You Must Of Had A Broken Heart ☑

Chapter 11

Rebbeca stepped back, keeping her hands on the back of his neck. “We were just going inside to get another drink. Join us.” Her eyes met mine, then traced along my arm. Her eyes tightened when she realized that my hand ended in his.

“Oh,” she said, quickly dropping her hands from his neck. “I didn’t know you were here with someone.” She eyed me up and down cynically.

“Sorry, Rebecca,” Chase said sympathetically, “we were just heading down to the fire pit.” He pulled me a little closer, wrapping his arm around me. My breathing stopped as I remained immobilized by his side.

“I guess I’ll see you later then,” Rebbeca almost sulked. She flipped back her hair before strutting into the house, followed by the two aghast girls who’d been standing next to her.

Chase turned to face me, his hand still on my back, drawing me in so we could talk as people squeezed by us. It remained difficult to breathe while looking up at him, with my heart continuing to pound through my sweater.

“Still want to go to the fire pit?”

I nodded with wide eyes.

As he turned to head down the stairs, I missed his hand, and we were separated. In that brief second, I was aggressively pulled in the opposite direction, with the exclamation, "Zoey Brooks! I heard you were here.” The tug dragged me right into the large frame of Logan Resse.

“I can’t believe you came to my party. This is the best night ever,” he declared in slurred speech. Perfect - he wasn’t just drunk, he was obliterated.

“Thanks for having me, Logan” I tried to step back from his strangling embrace. “It’s a great party.”

He peered down at me with his half closed eyes and breathed heavily in my face. “Would you go out with me?”

“Um… that’s really nice of you.” I struggled to find the words while pushing him away with a little more force. “But…” The panic rose in my stomach and spread into my chest. I started breathing faster as I remained trapped against him. I needed to get away from him, but he didn’t show any signs of releasing me.

“Hey, Logan” Chase greeted Logan with an overly emphatic pat on the back. “This is a great party.”

“Thanks, Chase,” he slurred. “Chase, this is Zoey Brooks.” Logan captured me against his body with one arm. I had no idea he was so strong, for that matter. I almost fit entirely under his arm. I looked up at Chase in despair, trying to squirm away - I wasn’t making much headway.

“Yeah, I know,” Chase began.

“Zoey and I are going to go to homecoming together,” Logan declared, interrupting Chase. “Right, Zoey?”

I was finally able to back my way out from under his arm. My face was bright red, and my hair clung to my cheeks. He lifted his arm in confusion, searching for me.

Chase took my shaking hand and gently guided me next to him. I tried to regain my breath, overcome with the sudden need to sit down.

“Zoey, I think Lola’s looking for you.” Chase scanned my face in concern. “Logan, we’ll be right back.”

Before Logan could respond, Chase held my hand tightly and led me down the stairs. My knees buckled slightly, but I recovered and kept my feet moving beneath me. We went around the corner, and I collapsed on the stone wall under the deck.

Chase crouched in front of me and looked up, trying to meet my eyes. “Are you okay? That was crazy. I’m sorry I lost you.”

I took a deep breath and tried to will my hands to stop shaking. I couldn’t understand why I was so worked up. Chase gingerly took my hands in his and looked at me intently, trying to get me to focus on him. I stared straight ahead, desperately needing to pull myself together. I barely noticed he was there.