Chapter 22
Leah
Spring semester started and our schedules soon became hectic again. We were still staying at Chases apartment even though Ally had came back right before classes started. I saw her just as much and we often rode over to campus together. Chase was kept busy with his classes, student teaching, and the performances that Teddy seemed to keep them fully booked up with. Caleb was slowly starting to get back into his old routine too with being in back in daycare which I think he missed.
I was finally getting my cast off and Remy was taking me to my appointment. Gino had already put me on the schedule as soon as I told him the good news and I would be going back to work the next day.
“So you ready to get that thing off,” Remy asks as she pulls into the parking lot of my doctors office. “Absolutely,” I reply opening my door and swinging my leg and crutches out as Remy scurried over to help me out.
“I love Chase and all but I am so ready to do things on my own. I’m ready to burn these too.” I gesture down to the crutches as I hobble towards the front entrance.
“Chase is such a sweetheart, he really would do anything for you. Mark complains that he’s always showing up late for practices or performances because he’s helping you out.”
“Oh trust me I know. Sometimes I have to literally push him out of the door to leave sometimes.”
Remy laughed as she pulls the doors open for me. One hour later I was walking on my own out the front doors. It was definitely going to take some getting used to without the cast and that leg was a little paler in comparison to my other one but I wasn’t complaining. Hopefully after a night of waitressing tomorrow I would be used to putting weight on my leg again.
“Thanks for taking me Rem, I’ll see you tomorrow night,” I say as she drops me off at the apartment. “Can’t wait I’ve missed working with you,” she calls out the open window.
I slowly make my way up the stairs and turn my key in the lock before the door swings back and Chase greets me.
“Hey what are you doing here so early? I didn’t see your truck parked out front, I thought you were going to pick up Caleb.”
He picks me up from the hallway and I wrap my legs around his waist. God I can’t believe how much I missed being able to do that. I cling around Chase’s body as he walks us back to the bedroom. He finally answers my question after setting me down on his bed.
“Teddy dropped me off. I figured I’d use your car and pick up Caleb at the usual time so I got home a little early hoping I could catch some alone time with you. I left my truck over at his place because we went over to this tattoo shop together. He’s going to pick me up in the morning so we can practice for most of the day before our gig tomorrow night.”
“Tattoo shop?” I raise a brow at him and realize that he’s just standing in front of me in nothing but a low slung pair of black pajama pants. How that delicious treat could have gotten past my sight is unknown as I lick my lips to wet them. I notice a wide white bandage taped over his ribs that I seemed to miss too. “So what did you get? Please tell me you did not get my name tattooed on your body.”
“No Leah,” he laughs out, “but that’s a good idea. Maybe next time. Let’s just say you inspired this one though,” he slowly peels off the bandage as he comes closer to the bed. There’s an elegant cursive quote written across his ribs. “One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life; that word is love.”
I lightly run my fingertips over the dried ink. “Wow that’s beautiful Chase, is it something you wrote?”
“Ha no I wish. Sophocles, a Greek poet. I’ve studied him for awhile, this quote earned a lot more meaning to me when I met you,” he says as he reapplies the bandage and drops down onto the bed next to me. I roll over and straddle his body with my legs. “I really like it, it’s beautiful. You’ll have to take me with you someday to get one.”
“I definitely will go with you. No one needs to be that intimate with this body expect for me.” He runs his hand up and down my uncovered leg. “I’m sure it’s nice having that cast off. Does this mean you’re going to move out now?”
“I don’t know,” I raise an eyebrow at him. The thought truthfully hasn’t even crossed my mind. Even though I felt guilty at first about invading Chase’s space it seemed like he liked having us here. “Are you in a hurry for me to leave? I wouldn’t be able to have my way with you anytime I wanted,” I say as I lean in to place light kisses across his chest and up to his neck slowly licking and sucking my way up until I reach his full lips that I can feel have broken into a smile against my lips.
“Not at all. Anytime you want your way with me Leah, I’ll be willing to play along.”
“Oh yeah,” I say as I wiggle my hips around bending my head down to meet his lips again. “Let’s see if you still agree at the end of the night. You might not be able to handle me.” I reach my hand down between our bodies and push down his pants. “We really need to catch up now that we don’t have my leg to work around.”
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The next day I had two classes to get to and was again thankful that the cast was gone, it was so much easier to get around campus without it and not have to depend on anyone. I think Caleb was happy it was gone too, we could finally play and chase each other around without anything in the way. I was looking forward to working tonight so I could slowly start to add to my savings account again. I could hear the familiar ringtone that meant Chase was calling as I headed to my next class.
“Hey handsome,” I answer. “Leah!” I hear him yell through the phone and just from that one word I could hear the excitement in his voice. “I got it baby, I got it.”
“Um what’s that,” I say scrunching my nose trying to think of what could be causing him so much excitement.
“The teaching job! I can’t believe it, I haven’t even graduated yet and I have a job all lined up for next school year.”
“That’s awesome Chase. Congratulations you totally earned it.”
The school that he had been doing his student teaching at and had hoped to get a job with didn’t have any openings but the principal really liked Chase and had recommended him to another school that had some positions open. He had went in for an interview last week and had been waiting to hear something back ever since.
“It’s about a two hour commute roundtrip everyday from here but I figure that won’t be too bad since you only have about a semester worth of credits left.”
I felt my heart drop a little bit as his words sank in. We barely had much time together as it was with school and work and now Chase would spend most of our free time driving. We hadn’t talked about our future much together, we just knew we loved each other and I really couldn’t see myself being without him.
I try to push any kind of sadness out of my voice swallowing over the lump that had bubbled up in my throat. “We’ll worry about that when the time comes babe,” I say happily. “Are you excited for your performance tonight?”
“Yeah Teddy says it’s our biggest one yet. You know how he is, always trying to get us a bigger venue. You sure you up for work tonight?”
I roll my eyes at him even though I know he can’t see me through the phone. He’s always worried about me pushing myself. “Definitely I’m good. I’ll let Gino know if I need a break but I think it’ll do my leg some good. Calebs gonna hang out with Ally for the night.”
“That’s good I know he’s missed his alone time with her. Well I’ll see ya tonight it’ll probably be pretty late by the time I get home. Gotta go get back to practice, the guys are bitching about this five minute phone call. I love you.”
“I love you too, good luck tonight.” I hang up the phone and toss it back into my purse before heading to my last class with a smile pasted on my face after talking to Chase.
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“Leah! I’m so excited to have you back and you even beat me here!” A winded Remy says as she walks through the en
trance of Ginos.
“Well yeah my class ended early and Allys grabbing Caleb for me so I figured I would just hop the bus and get started since I’ll probably be lagging behind a little bit tonight.” I scoop up the salt and pepper shakers that I was filling and begin to set them out at the mostly empty tables.
“Mine was the opposite; I got out late and rushed over here. Do you need help with anything?” Remy asks as she ties on apron on and ties her red hair up into a high ponytail.
“Nope I think I’m good right now, should be pretty busy in here tonight with the start of the weekend.”
She nods her head in agreement with me as she follows me around the dining area, “I know I wish you could have started back on a slower night. Just let me know if you need any help with carrying things or whatever, doesn’t matter I’ll be there.”
“Thanks Rem.”
The night picked up pretty quickly and my leg got a good work out. I managed to dodge the wandering hands that often came on my late nights after a few pitchers of beer are finished up at the tables of the many college guys that came in to normally start the drinking nights off with some pizza.
“Hey kid, how ya doing?” Gino comes up behind me while I’m putting in an order and places a meaty hand on my shoulder. “I’m doing good Gino, definitely busy but I’m easing my way back into things.”
“Good, good,” he says as his eyes scan the jam packed restaurant. “Let me know if ya need anything kiddo, I’m gonna jump on to the pizza line.”
“’Kay thanks Gino,” I yell over my shoulder as I grab a pizza from the window and head out to the table it belongs to.
“Phew that was probably our busiest night since I’ve worked here.” I collapse in the booth across from Remy. “I know right? We were so swamped. My pockets are extra full tonight from the tips though so I don’t mind that one bit.” I pull out the wad I have stuffed in my pockets and begin to count it out. “Looks like I did pretty well too. Do you mind giving me a ride home?”
Remy nods her head at me as she continues to count out her change. She slides it all back into a change purse when she’s finished. “I planned on it girly. I know Mark and Chase are busy tonight, did you want to head over there with me?”
I look down at my watch and rub by eyes. It’s already well past midnight and I can feel the wear of the long day. I’m sure Ally has other plans for the night besides sitting with a sleeping Caleb. “No if you don’t mind can you just drop me off? They shouldn’t be too much longer and I know Chase will understand. I’ll make the next one.”
“Not a problem L. Let me just grab my coat and we’ll hit the road.”
Remy and I lock up the doors behind us being the last to leave and we head towards the almost completely empty parking lot. After a short drive and a wave from Remy, I manage to drag myself up the stairs and kick Ally out of the apartment who insists she just wants to have some girl time. Not tonight I’m freakin’ beat. She leaves to meet up with some friends and after checking on a sleeping Caleb, I pull on a shirt of Chases and collapse into bed.
I’m startled awake when I hear the front door slam shut and something crash to the floor. My heart instantly begins to race and I nudge my elbow into Chase to check out the intruder when I realize his spot is empty. I flick my eyes over to the clock on the nightstand and see that it’s a little past four in the morning.
“Hey b-abby,” I hear from the darkened hallway and recognize Chases familiar husky voice even though its coming out a little slurred. He stumbles over to the bed and crawls up towards me and I’m instantly assaulted from the alcohol seeping out of his pours
My nose instantly scrunches up at the smell. Chase isn’t much of a drinker and if he does he normally has a limit of five before stopping. “Chase I swear to god if you wake up Caleb I will beat the shit out of you,” I hiss at him.
“Shhhh. I miffffed you so much my Leah beah. Come ‘ere sexy,” he slurs out as he stumbles up my body and plants a wet sloppy kiss on my mouth and gropes his hand up under the hem of my shirt onto my bare stomach. “Eww Chase.” I slightly push back on his chest and he rolls over into his empty spot. Now I know he must be SUPER drunk if I can shove him over with one push of my small hands. “You know I hate that smell, how much did you have to drink?”
“MMMarrrhh,” he muffles into the pillow and I soon hear the light sound of his snoring. I roll my eyes and turn over onto my side away from him so I don’t smell the stench of alcohol coming from him before going back to sleep.
I wake up later in the morning around 7:30 when I hear a constant chirping coming from the floor next to Chases side of the bed. I shove at Chase trying to wake him up but he doesn’t even budge an inch as I crawl over him to get out of bed.
I step on something as soon as my feet hit the floor. He must have stripped his coat off at least last night and I pick it up off the floor to hang it up for him. Just as I scoop it up something falls out of the pocket and hits the floor. I bend down to see what it was and loop my finger through some see through material of a red lacey thong. Now I know THOSE don’t belong to me.
The chirping sound goes off again and I discover its coming from Chase’s phone that was tucked in the same pocket. I unlock the screen and see that he has about four missed calls and ten text messages from someone named Missy. My radar of course instantly perked up when I found a slutty pair of panties in his pocket that clearly weren’t mine and now it’s in full force as I see the name Missy pop up on the screen. Isn’t that like a guaranteed stripper name?
I scroll through the messages which are all from Missy.
You looked so fuckin’ sexy tonight Chase, wanna come over to my place now so we can continue the party? I need to feel your hands all over my body again.
Again? His hands were on her in the first place? My pulse begins to quicken as I keep going through the messages which have now turned into pictures. How classy.
The first of her barely clothed body in a tight red dress that barely covers any of the goods. Yup definitely a stripper. I glance over at Chase who is still passed out before turning my attention to the next one. This one looks to be sans bra and is a close up of her obviously fake massive boobs with a message attached: I know you liked these the most .That bitchy girlfriend you complain about all the time doesn’t even have half of what I got. We can do a repeat of what we had tonight. Meet me tomorrow when you said she had to work. The message is followed by her address and a time to meet.
My hands tremble as I throw the phone and panties onto the empty spot next to Chase. Bitchy girlfriend that he complains about? And apparently something most of happened last night that this girl wants a repeat of.
I can feel a lump growing in my throat and tears begin to spill down my cheeks as I back out of the room and snatch up my purse. I tiptoe towards Calebs door and peek in to see he’s still asleep so I scoop him up in my arms as carefully as I can without waking him.
I knew Chase had plenty of girls throwing themselves at him but he never seemed to return any of the feelings besides brushing them aside. I guess when I wasn’t around that wasn’t the case. I’m sure the alcohol that he had basically bathed in hadn’t helped the situation if this girl was basically throwing herself at him but I was definitely not the type of person to use that excuse on.
I fish my keys out of my purse and go across the hall, trying to shakily slip my key into the lock. “Ally?” I croak out. “In here honey,” she shouts from her bedroom down the hall. “Hey whats wrong?” she asks as I come in with a sleeping Caleb and lay him down next to her where she’s curled up in bed.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now but can you watch Caleb please? I don’t want to push him off on you again but I need some time alone.” She looks back at me with a concerned look before covering Caleb up with her comforter. “Of course sweetie pie. You know I don’t mind.”
I shut and lock my bedroom door behind me as I throw myself down onto my bed and the sobs begin. This is what I get for giving
my whole heart to someone. I knew this is how it would end but I let myself get hurt anyways. And worst of all Calebs involved in this too. I thought Chase cared about the both of us.
I wake up a couple hours later with a raw throat and puffy eyes. “Leah,” I hear a soft knock on the door. “Are you okay doll?” Allys muffled voice comes through my door. “I went over to Chase’s but he was playing dumb about the whole thing and now he’s camped out in the hallway looking like he got ran over by a mac truck. He looks like pure dog shit. What’s going on?” She pauses waiting for my answer but I just lay my head back down. I’m really not in the mood for talking and getting the third degree from Ally right now. “I didn’t let him in though. Obviously if you’re in here, he must have messed up pretty bad.
“Good,” I reply. I hope he’s a freakin’ mess. It’s not my fault he apparently can’t control his actions when he drinks. “Um ‘kay Leah. Just let me know when you’re ready to talk. Don’t worry about Caleb, I think we’re gonna go grab some lunch.”
At least I know Calebs in good hands as long as he’s not affected by this as much as possible I think I can make it through this. I know it’ll take awhile to put all of the pieces of my heart back together after it was shattered apart but I’ll get by for Calebs sake. As for men, maybe I would become a nun or something, who needs ‘em anyways?
Chapter 23
Chase
What the fuck did I do last night? I keep trying to remember but only get small flashbacks here and there. The guys got me totally smashed after I told them about my new job and insisted we needed to celebrate. Everyone started calling me Mr. O’Neil for the rest of the night and of course Teddy had to ride me about what an old fuck I’m getting to be with a real job and a wife and kid. Pretty sure he’s just jealous of all that, he knows he won’t be able to do the whole rock band scene for the rest of his life and he wishes Leah was his. Really anyone would be crazy not to have that wish.
Chasing Leah (Journey Series) Page 18
