Belong To Me (Bechloe)

twenty.

Chloe's POV

Sitting on a plane booked hurriedly and without second-guessing, it's only now, being both sleep-deprived and emotionally worn down, I start to, well, second-guess myself.

Would this count as running away from the problem? Probably. Can I fix said problem? Probably not.

I vow to myself to stop thinking about everything - thinking about her - for the rest of the journey, which is only about 3 more hours. But it's enough.

I'll brush aside the fact it's near impossible to shake the look on Beca's face as she pushed me off. It physically hurts, stabbing me in the stomach. We'll never be more than just friends.

I don't think we're even that at the moment.

~~~

"Chloe, hey!" Aubrey runs over to me as she catches sight of me in the airport lounge. "I'm so sorry," she whispers as she brings me into a hug.
I sigh, hugging her back.
"It's fine, we don't have to talk about it-"
"Oh, so you'd rather focus on yourself and finding your own voice alone." Aubrey nods as she leads me out of the airport and over to a jeep. "That's a good plan."
"That's not really what I-"
"My dad always said: 'The one who braves it alone is the one who can bring it all home'. You can be your own person, Chloe."
"You don't have to coach m-"
"I'm here as a friend and your guide. The Lodge at Fallen Leaves can help you realign your journey."
"Okay, I get it's your job but you don't need to do all this. I just wanted to escape and get a chance to see you."

Aubrey's smile seems to falter a little as she drives along.

"I do have to do all this. I'm still technically working," she says quietly.
"But don't you still run the whole place? Like, aren't you your own boss?"
"Hmm," Aubrey replies, turning left at the junction I recognise from last time I came here. It's probably been a few years now, but I have to say, a lot still looks the same. She stops the car in the staff car park before turning to face me.

"As much as I'd love to spend loads of time with you, I've got a group I've been designated to organise this afternoon."
"By who-"
"But I'm guessing you're jet lagged enough to want to sleep anyway, so I'll show you to my cabin."

Aubrey leads me across the camp to a collection of log cabins. She never told us these were here when we first came - though I'm hardly complaining because it meant I had to be close to Beca and that's something I'll never turn down. Though I guess I'd have to now. Beca probably hates me and thinks I'm some sort of gay creep - when in fact I'm just an over-keen, curious bisexual girl - surely there's nothing repulsive about that?

Aubrey presses a code into one of the doors and it unlocks, letting us both inside.

"The code is 310792, by the way," she informs me as she bustles in.
"Is that...?"
Aubrey turns around and raises an eyebrow at me.
"Okay, nothing," I add instantly, but we both know I know July 31st 1992 is Stacie's birthday. And Aubrey has clearly always had a soft spot for her.
"I'll leave you to it," Aubrey says suddenly, looking away. "Perhaps later we could talk about what happened? I think we need to talk about what happened."
"Do we though? You know it'll just end in tears." I point out.
"Chloe, that's fine. My dad always said-"
"That you need to stop quoting him all the time? It would make sense," I tease, squeezing Aubrey's hand. "You go coach some office workers as much as you would coach babies, given the chance," I say, referencing her career plans from half a year ago. Aubrey nods before walking back outside, leaving me in her cabin, alone again.

-

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days, I got my GCSE results a few days ago and I've been so busy since, but hopefully I'll be back to updating regularly ASAP ☺️

Also, according to my stats, more people have read chapter 19 than chapter 18, so if you haven't read chapter 18, you might want to because it'll make the story make more sense!