One Summer

Chapter 13

Madison Wilson pulled apart from the boy who was wrapped around her and looked at me. The smile never left her face.

"What are you doing in my house?" I repeated.

"It was an open invite," she shrugged.

"An open invite that wasn't extended to you."

"Well," she said, standing up and straightening her dress. "You should've made that clear, shouldn't you?"

"I'm making it clear now," I hissed. "Get out of my house."

Madison held both her hands up in surrender. "No need to be so defensive."

Madison's eyes flicked to something behind me, and her smile somehow got even bigger.

"Oh look, your knight in shining armour is here to save you," she taunted.

I turned to see Chase stood behind me. His eyes were hard as he stared at Madison.

"Why are you here?" He asked bluntly.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm just leaving."

She reached down and grabbed the hand of the guy who had been sat, silently watching, throughout our exchange, and pulled him up.

"You know," Madison stopped just as she walked past me. "Chase is just as much to blame for what happened as I am. Why isn't he being kicked out of your house?"

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing would come out. All I could do is glare at her. She gave me what I think was a sympathetic look, and stalked past me. I stayed standing in the doorway of the dining room staring at the space Madison had occupied. The feeling of Chase's hand on my arm jerked me back to reality.

"Don't," I snapped, turning away from him and going back into the kitchen. I grabbed one of the cups of vodka I'd abandoned and knocked it back. I could hear the others laughing in the lounge but I was no longer in the party mood. I gripped onto the edge of the island and tucked my chin towards my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

"I don't understand why you're so angry."

I snapped my head up and glared at Chase, who was now sat on a stool on the other side of the island.

I barked out a harsh laugh. "Of course, you don't."

"I don't understand because you don't tell me!"

"Excuse me?" I gaped. "When have you ever tried to discuss what happened? You took the easy option and decided to leave. I wanted to talk, and you left me."

Chase looked uneasy. "I get why you're angry at me. I don't understand why you're angry at Madison."

"Fucking hell! I'm not angry at her!" I yelled, pushing back from the island. "I'm angry at myself."

"I-What?"

"I'm so fucking embarrassed. I'm embarrassed by how I've handled this whole situation, but mostly I'm embarrassed by you. You fucking humiliated me and I stood back and let you."

"I humiliated you? How humiliated do you think I was? I told you I loved you, something I'd been trying to do for years, and you just stood there. I poured my heart out to you, and you couldn't have given less of a shit."

"Aw, was your ego hurt?" I mocked. "Is that really your defence for what you did? I bruised your ego? You can do better than that Chase."

Chase abruptly stood up knocking over the stool he'd been sat on. "Yes, you bruised my ego, but you also broke my heart. I was so sure you loved me back, I don't know how I could've misread the signals. I don't know how I could've got it so wrong."

My heart was thudding so loudly in my chest, I was sure Chase could hear it. Had he really spent the last year thinking I didn't love him? I swallowed the sob that was threatening to erupt.

"You're crazy if you think I haven't spent the last god knows how many years loving you."

I watched as Chase's face crumpled. He dropped his head into his hands.

"You love me?"

His question was muffled but I heard him. Just.

"I loved you," I quietly corrected.

He hands fell to his sides and the tortured look on his face almost made me take back what I'd just said.

"I loved you for the longest time," I told him. "But how could I love you now, after what you did?"

"You don't just stop lo-"

I cut him off. "I want you to leave."

"No." His voiced hardened. "You wanted to talk about this, so let's talk. Let's sort this out right now."

"I want you to leave," I repeated.

Chase inched closer to me.

"And I want to sort this out. You've been whining since we got here about how I'm such a shit person, so let's get everything out in the open."

He stopped right in front of me, and for the first time ever, being this close to him made me uneasy. I placed my hand on his chest and pushed him back. I took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eyes.

"The time for talking was on the beach last summer. The time for talking was those few days before you ran off. The time for talking was this past year and all I got from you was radio silence. You had your chance to make amends, and you didn't. You-" I prodded his chest, "-chose not to, so don't you dare stand there and tell me that you want to sort this out now."

"You think you're the only one who's embarrassed? You have no idea-"

"What's going on in here?"

"Nothing," Chase and I snapped simultaneously, neither of us breaking eye contact.

"Chase is just leaving," I added, as I pulled my gaze away from Chase to see Chris standing at the end of the island. He was silent as his eyes flicked between me and Chase. His gaze finally settled on me and he scanned my face.

"I think you should leave, Chase."

His tone left no room for arguments. Chase sighed, shook his head slightly and left through the back door, letting it slam shut behind him. I leant back against the counter and closed my eyes. I heard someone enter the kitchen and ask who had left, but I paid no attention to them. I kept my eyes closed and focused on my breathing. All I could hear buzzing and I couldn't tell if it was the music that was still playing, or all the thoughts that were shooting around my head. I suddenly felt hot, too hot, and I needed air. Ignoring the questions from Chris, I slipped out the back door, into the warm night. I kicked my heels off and left them on the veranda, before heading down to the beach. I just needed a minute to breathe.