Lights Down Low ≫ tom holland

28

CHASE LOOKED OUT THE car window as he sat in the passenger seat of the car. matteo was driving them to school and chase was zoned out. spring break was over and everyone was returning to their old habits. by the time they arrived there was only a few minutes left until the bell rung because they had left the house late that morning due to chase not wanting to exactly get out of bed. 

"do you think you made the right decision?" matteo frowned as they sat in the parking lot. 

chase looked over at his brother and nodded. "i think it was for the best." 

"i don't." amara scoffed from the backseat. "you broke your own heart and you broke his. how do you think that makes either of you feel? you could've suffered through it, chase." 

the boy turned around and snapped. "shut up, amara, or you're walking home. i don't give a shit if i broke my own heart. it's what i thought was best, okay? not everyone can manage long distance relationships." 

"you still have three months until he leaves! that was plenty of time to figure shit out!" she retorted. 

chase grabbed his bag and whipped out of the car. he made his way towards the school ignoring his brother's calls and heard him arguing with amara. 

chase had made the tough decision to end things with tom after spring break was over. his heart couldn't handle thinking about him leaving everyday and it caused him a lot of mental pain. tom understood that and let the break up happen without trying to pick a fight. it was hurting him too, thinking about it.

spring break had ended nearly a month ago and chase hadn't seen the older boy since. alec had finally decided to move out and the family just seemed like it was beginning to fall apart (to chase, at least). 

amara fell in step with chase and sighed. "listen, i'm sorry, okay? i know it wasn't an easy decision for you to make and i'm sorry it happened the way it did. i hope you end up okay and everything goes good in the future." 

chase stopped in the hall and turned to the girl. "my life is a mess, amara. i can't maintain a boyfriend, my grades are shit so i have to stay back while all of my friends move up in the world, and i just feel sad 24/7 now. nothing good is going to happen for me."

"don't be so negative." amara frowned. "you're going to do amazing things, chase oxlem. i have faith in you." 

"thanks, mar." chase continued to walk as the bell rung and she nudged the boy. 

"that's a detention for you, mr. late." it caused the boy to laugh and he shook his head at the girl before racing her down the hall to their first period class. 

>>

tom's black car was in the driveway when chase and matteo got home. matteo gave chase a side glance before he cleared his throat. "do you want to go get pizza or something?" 

chase sighed, "no. i'm gonna have to face him someday, aren't i?" 

they made their way inside and heard ruckus in alec's old bedroom. "alec?" chase spoke up as he rounded the corner and tom's fit frame quickly stood from where he was crouched down. "oh, it's you." 

"wow," tom laughed. "don't sound so excited to see me."  

"sorry." chase mumbled. "what are you doing here?" 

"getting a few things for alec." tom answered, running his fingers through his hair. "i also kind of wanted to see you." 

"why?" the younger boy questioned and tom shrugged his shoulders. 

"i don't know. i-" he paused. "i miss you." chase sighed and practically ran into tom's arms, hugging the boy tight. tom pressed a kiss to chase's forehead and the younger boy felt like putty in his hands. "this is hard for me, chase."

"i know." chase whispered. "it's hard for me too." 

there was a silence between them and tom slowly let go of the boy. "there was another reason i wanted to see you...." he trailed off and it caused chase's heart to beat faster. "i'm not walking graduation. i'm leaving for maine early." 

"what? why?" chase frowned. 

"i got an internship there and it starts next month." he stated and chase did his best to not cry. 

"that's awesome, tom." he gave him a fake smile. "i'm happy for you." 

"i heard you have to repeat junior year." tom announced and it made chase's frown deepen. 

"yeah, i guess i didn't do as good as i thought i was doing." 

"it's okay. you can redo it better now." he gave him a reassuring smile and another silence fell between the two. "i love you, chase." he picked up the box alec had asked him to retrieve and gave chase a closed mouth smile. "good luck next year."

"you too." chase said quickly and he felt his heart soften a little. "i love you too, thomas." 

tom let out a small chuckle and headed out, leaving chase alone in alec's almost empty bedroom. he made his way to his room and matteo was sat on his bed. 

"you okay, bro?" 

"no." chase cried and fell into matteo's lap, letting all of his tears fall. 

[ authors note ]

okAY  i want to finish this story. there's only one more
 chapter left and then i'm thinking about making a sequel. i
don't know if anyone will read it since the book basically DIED 
but we'll see.