Not Alone Any More {Chase Elliott || Sequel to Only the Lonely} ✔️

ii.

"i can't believe he's okay." soft voices whispered around chase. "i thought he was gone."

"he sure had somebody watching out for him."

chase's eyes fluttered back open, wincing at the sunlight streaming in the window. he wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping but after all of the tests, he had been so exhausted that he fell asleep without meaning to. it was probably a side effect of the pain medicine but he had gotten a look at the deep purple bruises that covered big parts of his body and had decided that he'd take the drowsiness over whatever pain they were covering.

"chase baby," his mom leaned over, grabbing his hand. "how are you feeling?" her dark eyes were filled with concern that was desperately trying to mask fear.

"numb," he answered dryly. he was already tired of that question and it was only the beginning. he glanced around the room. "where is kathryn claire?" his heart started pounding at the thought of her leaving him, the thought of him never seeing her again.

"i'm right here," chase's eyes jerked up to the figure in the doorway, holding a coffee cup.

"hey." he felt a smile spreading across his face. she had stayed even though he could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted to run far away — run far away from him.

"we're going to get breakfast," his mom stood up, she and his dad communicating with their eyes as they walked out of the room.

kathryn claire didn't say anything, she sat down in the chair next to him. chase couldn't help but notice her puffy eyes rimmed in red and her jostled hair — like she had run her hand through it a few too many times. his heart sunk a little, he knew that he had caused her this pain. even though it was unintentional, he hated it.

"i'm glad you're okay." she finally said, her voice small.

chase held his hand out and she leaned over, slipping her hand in his. they stayed like that for a moment before she shifted nervously.

"i'm still mad at you." chase's eyes flew to the ceiling as the memories of what had happened. he knew he shouldn't have done it, he shouldn't have used i'm in love with you as his reason but he couldn't help it. he was impulsive -- he always had been. it was part of the reason why he had always been so good at racing, the impulsivity was essential but when it came to this? it was a shot in the foot.

"i'm sorry," he whispered, unsure of what else to say. he had no idea if he could say anything to make it better or if this was the beginning of an exit speech.

she shook her head, "i want to be mad at you, chase. i want to be so mad at you. you lied to me. i told you i didn't want your money and you told me that it was paid."

"i know —" kathryn claire cut him off with the wave of her hand and a pointed glare.

"it's really hard to be mad at somebody when you were pretty sure you had watched them die right in front of you." her eyes were blazing, intense as she stared at him. "i feel like i need to quit the internship."

chase shook his head. "don't do that, kathryn claire."

her eyes narrowed, "i can't be there knowing i didn't earn it."

chase's eyes widened, "you think i bribed rick? jesus, kathryn claire. all i did was put up the money so you could be paid. he hired you because you were qualified."

she nodded slowly, "okay." she finally murmured.

chase laid his head back on his pillow, closing his eyes -- suddenly tired. "it was impulsive. i wish i had some grand scheme, so you could make sense of it but it was spur of the moment and you were never supposed to know."

"did you mean what you said? about being in love with me?" the last part came out as a whisper.

chase opened his eyes, squeezing her hand, "of course i did."

kathryn claire nodded slowly, biting her lip for a moment, almost as if there was something she wanted to say but she was trying to stop herself.

"talk to me," chase finally pleaded. the silence was deafening and he needed to know what was going through her head.

she sighed, "i'm in love with you too."

they sat in an awkward silence for a moment as chase tried to digest what she had just said but the pain medication was making it so hard for him to think straight that he didn't feel the joy or elation that he knew he should be feeling.

"so what now?" she blurted out.

chase trained his eyes on her for a moment, "what do you mean?"

she shifted in her seat nervously. "i mean, what happens now between us?"

"oh." his brow furrowed for a moment. "can we talk about it later? my mind is kind of fuzzy and the pain medicine is making me so tired."

"right." kathryn claire frowned for a moment. he was hurt and it had been so selfish of her to bring it up. "i'll let you rest."

"stay." he murmured, "please." chase winced a little as he moved over. his liquid brown eyes looked up at her as he patted the space he had created. "please?"

kathryn claire nodded, fitting her body in the space. she laid her head on his chest, listening to the slow beating of his heart.