The House That Built Me (Strawberry Inn Book #3)

Chapter 23

CHAZ

“Pacing isn’t going to help anything, Chaz.”

I pause for a moment and glare at my sister, pointing my finger in her direction, “This is your fault, Ang. You’re the one that made me wait for the police to show up. She got hurt because of you.”

“Excuse me,” she stands up to defend herself, even though I’m still towering over her, “I didn’t want you getting hurt and you didn’t even realize he had a gun so don’t you dare blame me for caring about the safety of my brother who was ready to cosplay Rambo.”

“If I would have gone in that room by myself I could have taken him out before he had the chance to think about using his gun.”

“Jesus Christ, Chaz, you don’t know that! Yeah, it sucks that Kelsey got hurt but waiting for the cops and the SWAT team was the better option of the two. Don’t act like I’m happy about how this ended. Do you know how much I’m going to take a hit because of what happened?”

“I’m sorry for not thinking about your damn hotel when Kelsey is down that damn hall with a fucking bullet wound!”

“Okay, that is enough you two!” My mom finally steps in, physically moving between my sister and me. “Why don’t you head home, Angela? It has been a long night for you as well. I’m sure Indie would love to see her mama when she wakes up next.”

“I wanted to see her,” Ang responds. 

My mom places her hand gently on Angela’s forearm, “I know this, dear, but even if they’re finally ready to give us an update, they might not let anybody in the room because of the time of day. I promise we will update you if anything important happens.”

“Promise?” 

My mom nods her head, “I promise.”

She’s pissed at me and she’s worried about Kelsey, but Angela takes my mom’s advice and gathers her items. Even though she’s mad at me, she still hugs me before leaving. I pretend that I don’t see the pain in her eyes because I can’t handle anybody else’s emotions right now. I’m having a hard time working through mine, which is evident by the shouting match I just had with Angela. She’s right, although I refuse to ever admit it. I thought I can just barge through the door to the room Orem was staying in and rescue Kels. I wasn’t thinking about the consequences or potential weapons he might have on him.

I was blinded by my feelings for Kelsey and that led me to almost make a horrible decision. As much as I hated to see her covered in blood and scared out of her mind, I couldn’t help anybody if I was the one on the ground with the bullet wounds instead of Orem. The entire situation made me feel helpless. I promised Kelsey that I would protect her and I failed. This is exactly why I’m no good for her. Rather than paying attention to her safety, I was screwing around with her and letting into my own temptations. This wasn’t Angela’s fault, it was all mine.

“Do you want another coffee, Charles?” My mom had managed to get me to stop pacing at least for the meantime, but I was still on edge, tapping my foot, unable to stay still.

“You should go home too, Mom.”

“I think I might be needed here. Otherwise, you might find yourself storming down that hall to see your girl.”

My head turns quickly to meet her grinning face, “Kelsey isn’t my girl.”

My mom huffs out a laugh, “You were always the worst at lying.”

“Nothing to lie about, Mom. She’s just staying with us until she can get back on her feet. If you don’t recall, the reason she ended up at our place, to begin with, is you.”