CHLOE BAKER'S LOST DATE

Chapter Thirty-Six: The End

"I certainly hope not, Chloe."

"I won't. I appreciate this more than I can say."

"I'll see you on Monday."

"Yes, thank you."

We hang up the call and I hold the phone to my chest in relief. I kept my job. Despite everything, I still have a place to work.

I want to tell Ben.

But instead, I text Kit.

I still have my job.

Oh, thank goodness.

You didn't want me living with you?

Not really!

Ha, I knew it.

Of course you could stay if you needed to.

I know.

I'm glad it worked out.

Me too.

Are you going to tell Ben?

Kit has always been able to see right into my brain. It's both annoying and sweet of her to make the effort. Why would I?

Since he helped you keep it.

Not sure if what he did could be considered help.

He tried.

He did.

Still on the fence, huh?

I don't know.

Sounds like the definition of being on the fence.

Okay, I'm on the fence.

What would bring you off the fence?

IDK.

Why don't you just talk to him?

It's hard.

You mean, you'd realize that you still wanted to be with him.

Get out of my head.

Just call him already.

I don't say anything, just throw the phone across the bed and pull the covers up again. I might as well catch up on sleep while I can. I'm going to have to put in some serious hours next week when I get back to work and I'll know that the stress and nerves of it all will affect my sleep patterns.

I settle my mind and start to countdown backward. Amazingly, it works and I'm on the edge of sleep when it happens.

My phone pings again. I assume it's Kit. But when I look I see that it's a Facebook notification.

Ben Hamilton has been tagged in a new photo.

Every fiber of my being tells me not to check. But I'm not strong enough.

I open the app and go to the tag. It's a picture that Rachel posted with her and Ben and Tyler and Tyler's moms. She has her arm around Ben's shoulder and looks like she's holding him possessively. And Ben's grinning as wide as can be. One of his genuine smiles which he only does when he's happy, which I know because I cataloged his smiles last week like I was learning him by heart.

So Ben and Rachel are back together.

Fuck.

###

I hide in my bed for the rest of the day, but I don't fall back asleep. Instead, I torture myself with the Facebook photo, searching for clues.