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“Hey.” Chase sighed, and I heard a car door slam. Ever since my brother deemed text messaging as the elite form of communication, he never called me.
“Is everything okay?” I said slowly.
“Not really.” His voice was shaky, and I heard another car door shut.
“What is it?” I demanded urgently. “Chase, what’s the matter?”
“I cheated on Trey”—he took a breath so he could finish his sentence—“and he just broke up with me.”
My mouth fell open, and I didn’t know how to respond. I knew that Chase wasn’t calling me for a lecture. He called me because he knew I would hold off on giving him one.
I inhaled through my nose to calm my initial reaction. “Are you okay? Where are you now?”
I heard the sound of another car door and the ding of Chase’s dashboard. He must’ve been leaving their condo.
“I’m not sure what I am, honestly.” He began to ramble. “But please don’t say the obvious. I just packed up my car, and I guess I’m headed to Columbus. But I don’t want to go back to Mom and Dad’s house—”
“Come stay with me for a little while,” I offered. “I’m sure Katie won’t care. You can take some time and process in a judgment-free zone.”
“Judgment free for how long?” Chase joked, but the sadness still laced his words.
“As long as you need.” I grinned, meaning every word. “Text me once you hit Ohio. I should be out of class and back at my place when you get close.”
“Okay.” He sighed, and his voice returned to normal. Having some sort of plan in place helped him calm down. “I’ll text you in a little bit. Thanks, Mace.”
“Take your time, and I love you. See you soon.” I hung up the phone, and Adele returned through my headphones.
As I listened to the words of the iconic anthem “Hello”, I processed the last few minutes and texted Katie that we would have a house guest for a few days. She was as shocked as I was to hear of the breakup, but she assured me that having Chase stay with us wouldn’t be a problem.
I brought my attention back to my laptop and revisited my blank document. I now had forty minutes to knock this essay out, and I only had half of my sources. It was only Thursday, and I desperately needed it to be the weekend. Really I just needed someone to finish this paper for me.
In the record time of twenty minutes, I was able to crank out two paragraphs using the sources that I had. At this point, I felt like settling for a crap grade. I hadn’t received anything lower than a B since the beginning of the course, so it wouldn’t be detrimental to my average. Maybe Dr. Knight would start the class with one of her case study videos, and I would have time to add more. I decided to take that chance.
Even underneath all of my layers, the hairs on my arms stood up once I caught a whiff of his cologne. Soon, the familiar black North Face jacket entered my peripheral.
Jaxon took the seat across from me and placed his hands clasped in front of him on the table. I slowly removed a headphone from my ear and had to double-check that my mouth wasn’t hanging open.
“Hi.” His dimple crept into the side of his mouth. A Carolina Panthers beanie covered his dark hair, and he had some stubble on his face. I had only seen him with facial hair once or twice before. I was definitely a fan.
“Hi.” I let out a shaky breath and paused Adele.
If I wasn’t still reeling from the phone call with Chase, I might’ve broken down right there in front of him. Sure, I was mad at him for giving us a break while he figured out his need for space, but not a day passed when I didn’t miss him. It was actually concerning how scared I was of losing him. At this point, this man could start the next World War, and I wouldn’t paint him any differently.
“I’m sorry, Mace,” he said. I could tell he was nervous by the way his eyes flicked from me to the table. “We haven’t had to do apologies before, but I’m sorry that I’ve been M.I.A.”
I shrugged and closed my laptop. “You were getting your space.”
“Yeah.” He grinned and let out a chuckle. “I was hoping to be done with that.”
I pretended to ponder his apology. It couldn’t really be this easy to move on from another setback, could it? Even after spending some time apart, having him in front of me made it seem like no time had passed. He was one of my best friends. Maybe it was supposed to feel this simple.
“Can I come to dinner tonight?” he asked. He was hopeful that I would say yes. I imagined he missed Katie’s cooking.
“How did you know I would be here?” I changed the subject.
His eyes narrowed. “We have very persuasive roommates.”
I returned the gesture. “I should’ve known. Katie doesn’t surprise me, but Connor, too, now?”
