Only The Goode Spy Forever

Chapter 50: Trust

  Of course we were on time. I was a Gallagher Girl at heart. I was never late. Mr. Solomon stood at his podium. Zach sat on the stool at the front of his room. I sat behind his desk. I smiled at the family pictures he had put up.
  "Have a seat, Ms. Morrison," he said. Bree walked to her seat next to Chase. They made eye contact. They were staring at each other so intently that for a second I thought that Chase could read her mind. I'd seen Zach look at me that way more times than I could count.
  "Why do we go on joint missions?" Joe asked. He looked around the room. A hand shot up. "Yes, Ms. Chang?"
  "To keep our cover or to gain strength in numbers," she said. Joe nodded.
  "What is important in a partner mission?" He continued.
  "Trust," Bree said. She was staring directly at Chase. He kept his eyes glued to the front.
  "Very good, Ms. Morrison. And how do we know we can trust someone?" Bree went silent. I pursed my lips.
  "Sometimes, you don't," Chase finally answered. He returned Bree's glance. She frowned.
  "Agents," Solomon said, turning to me and Zach. "You have gone on countless partner missions. How did you ever trust each other?"
   "In the beginning we didn't," I replied. "If you trust someone right from the start you're just asking to be killed. I trusted Zach fully when he sacrificed himself for me. He almost died to make sure that I would be safe."
   "Sacrifice," Mr. Solomon said. "That is not the only way to trust."
   "Trust your instincts. Sometimes there are tells that will show you if a person is lying. Your instincts will be your deciding factor if someone is trustworthy or not," Zach said. Joe nodded.
  "Mr. Goode," Joe said, turning to Chase. "Who do you trust with your life?"
   "My family," Chase said without missing a beat.
  "Why?"
  "Because I really know them. Not just their covers. I trust them with my life because I know that they can trust me with theirs." Joe nodded.
  "Who trusts you with their life, Ms. Morrison?" Joe asked. Bree froze. I knew what Solomon was doing, he was taking her back to that night. This question did have a right answer in his eyes.
  "Caroline," she said.
  "Why?"
  "Because I was willing to take a bullet for her. She will always trust me with her life. Like Mrs. Goode said, sacrifice can earn trust," she answered. Joe nodded his approval.
  "Your homework is to listen to your gut. Trust people," Solomon said. He dismissed the class. I knew that this was the hardest assignment the kids had ever received.
*                                      *                                              *
  Dinner that night was a bit awkward. Zach slid between Bree and Chase on the bench. He put his arms around both of them and pulled them close.
  "Good evening, love birds," he said with a grin. "How's the whole trust thing going?"
  "Zach," I warned. He sighed and got up. He took his seat next to me.
  "Sorry, the misses doesn't want me to embarrass you," he said with a wink.
  "The man that questioned me was your grandpa," Bree said to Chase. He shrugged. "You never told me that you had any relatives on your dad's side."
  "You didn't ask," Chase said with another shrug. Bree frowned.
   "What about all of the times I asked you to be honest? What about all the times I asked you to tell me something about yourself? What about when I told you all about my messed up family and you didn't even mention yours?" Bree said. I could tell she was frustrated. The tension between her and Chase was almost unbearable.
  "Some things are need-to-know, Gallagher Girl. Guess what? You don't need to know," Chase said. At that moment I could have sworn that he and Zach were the same person. Bree glared at him.
  "Then you don't need to know that Grayson asked me out," Bree said calmly. A wicked smile spread to her face. Chase stopped chewing his food and looked her in the eye with his eyebrow cocked.
  "That's not funny, Gallagher Girl," he replied.
  "Good," Bree tested. "It's not a joke." Chase looked angry.
  "Well isn't this romantic," Zach said with a laugh. I smacked his arm to shut him up. He cringed like he always did.
  "What did you say?" Chase asked, ignoring Zach. I held my breath.
  "I don't need to tell you anything, Chase. It's need-to-know," Bree mimicked. Adalind and Amelia both looked like they were enjoying the show.
  "Gallagher Girl," he started. She ignored him. "Bree, what did you say?" I felt the air change. Chase's voice was softer now.
  "Hm, I don't know," Bree began. "I might say yes. Unless you can give me a reason to say no?" She was asking. I could tell that her eyes were pleading.
  "Seriously, can I get some popcorn over here?" Zach asked. I smacked his arm again. He cringed. "You're really going to hurt me sometime."
  "Good," I hissed.
  "I'll give you 3 good reasons," Chase began. "Numero uno: he's a player. Numero dos: he's a jerk. And numero tres: he gets way into the training we do at Blackthorne. He actually enjoys it."
  "And what training is that, Chase?" Bree asked. Chase froze. I knew that he hadn't told her. She caught his mistake. "Because I don't think that it's bad to enjoy spy training."
  "Who said we trained to be spies?" Chase asked softly. "This isn't what you want."
  "I don't think you get to decide that," Bree snapped. The air changed again and Chase had a pleading look in his eyes. He grabbed her hands and forced her to face him.
  "Remember our assignment, Gallagher Girl," he begged. "Trust me." I watched Bree's shoulders sag. She was defeated.
"Only if you trust me with your secrets," she whispered. I watched as Chase's face fell. He looked physically pained as he stared at her.
"I can't," he said sadly. For a minute I thought that he could cry. Bree nodded slowly. I watched tears fill her eyes as she got up and left. I turned to Zach. He didn't find things funny anymore. It was only when Bree was out the door that Chase spoke. My heart broke as he whispered, "I can't lose you."