Zoey 101: You Must Of Had A Broken Heart ☑

Chapter 32

I drew my brow together. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because what she did was completely offensive. I was bothered by it, so I can’t believe that you weren’t.”

I shrugged slightly and dropped my eyes to the floor. “I’m really not sure what to expect.”

“You should never expect that,” he stated while taking hold of my hand and raising my chin with his other hand. I couldn’t breathe when I turned my eyes up at him. “Okay?”

“Sure,” I whispered, glancing away.

This was the strangest night of my life. I was in the most exquisite house I’d ever seen, surrounded by people who assumed they had the privilege to say anything they wanted, regardless of how distasteful, and Chase was talking and acting ten years older than he was. He was right - Lance’s party was going to be easy after this.

We were greeted and I was introduced to more people throughout the longest hour of my life. They’d ask Chase a question and cut him off to talk about themselves. Finally, as I was becoming cross-eyed to feign interest in another mind-numbing story, a bell chimed and Mr. Baez requested that everyone make their way into the dining room for dinner.

I found that after all of this stifling drama, I was starving. We entered a long dimly lit room with the same large arching windows framed in dark red drapes that showcased the back terrace. The top half of the walls were covered in antiqued glass mirrors up to the ceiling, while the bottom half duplicated the ivory wood casings in the previous room. Another impressive stone fireplace centered the wall opposite the windows.

A long dark wooden table divided the room, with the windows on one side and the fireplace on the other. Complimenting the grand table were tall, straight-back chairs – closer to forty chairs than the twenty Chase guestimated. The table was set with delicate china bordered with gold scrolling, along with a collection of elegant glassware and flatware. Small silver cups of colorful flowers and glowing crystal votives were intermittently dispersed along the center of the table. A stunning crystal chandelier was suspended over us, creating a soft ambience enhanced by a crackling fire.

Chase pulled out my chair for me to sit before sitting to my left. To my changing fortune, Dr. Ednan sat to my right. He was the only person I’d met who was not self righteous and rude, but then again, he didn’t say much at all. That was fine by me too.

However, keeping with the momentum of the evening, on Chase’s left was Carmen, who scooted her chair closer to him. She took a sip from an oversized wine glass and leaned towards him.

“What Chase, not drinking tonight?”

“I’m driving,” he explained.

“You don’t have to,” she whispered, still loud enough that I could hear her. My back straightened, and I tried to take a sip of water to distract me. I didn’t dare look over at them.

“Chase, I’ve missed you,” she breathed. I choked on the water, coughing mid-gulp. I couldn’t stop coughing. Everyone stared at me as I tried to contain my fit in my napkin.

“Sorry,” I whispered, looking around at the startled faces. My face was red, not only from choking, but also from the words I’d just overheard.

“Are you okay?” Chase asked, trying to turn his back to Carmen.

“Yes,” I replied apologetically. “I swallowed wrong, I’m sorry.”

A line of servers entered the room, holding shallow bowls in each of their hands. The bowls were set in front of every person simultaneously. It was very impressive to witness.