Falling For The Suspect ✔️

Chapter 22 ~ Chase

Chase's POV

My head thumps with adrenaline. My blood pumps around my body, creating a light humming feeling to course through my veins.

I need to focus.

I turn my adverted attention back onto the man in front of me. He throws his hands around in the air, causing the crowd to play into his actions and cheer louder as a result. He's cocky. He thinks he has already won the fight.

We begin to dance around the ring circling each other in the process. I doge his punches and kicks and he does the same. I take note of the fact that his attention often wavers, he gets distracted easily. This, I could use to my advantage. I send un unexpected punch his way and it makes a sickening thud as it connects with the side of his face, he frowns in reply and I smirk back.

Just as I set up to send a kick his way, my eyes unintentionally meet a certain pair of dark brown eyes, and my heart comes to a complete and utter stop.

I'm going to choke.

Scratch that I'm going to vomit.

This can't be happening.

I'm delusional. I have to be.

My blood runs cold and my hands become clammy. What the fuck was Brett doing here?

I don't notice until too late that my opponent has picked up on my adverted attention and sends a fist hurtling towards my face, and a kick to my side. They are certainly going to bruise, and as I notice the slight thump under my cheekbone I know that it already is.

I snap my attention back to him, reluctantly taking my eyes off Brett. I am afraid that if we break eye contact, he will leave, disappear into the shadows and become a figment of my imagination. And I couldn't let that happen.

I faintly hear Aaron screaming out my name in the distance, telling me to snap out of it, and focus. I can't. I've forgotten how to breathe. The guy in front of me has got me beat. And right now I can't bring myself to care. I must get out of this ring. I have to see Brett.

"Time Out," I recognise Aarons' voice. The fight is over. He is mad. Livid. This was an important fight for him, for his reputation, and I blew it.

"What the fuck was that?" He states silently seething at me as I jump out of the ring.

"I need to go, I'll be back," I state shoving past him.

Brett's head is now turned and heading towards the door. There is no chance in hell I am letting him leave without talking to him. And I sure as fuck aren't going to let Aaron stand in my way.

"Wait! Chase!" He yells after me. But it's too late, I'm already turned and running out the door after Brett.

I run through the door and almost smash into the person standing on the other side.

Brett, he was here, but he also isn't. He looks drained and tired. His brown eyes dark and guarded. He looks like a fragment of what he used to be. He has rough sadness to his features.

We both stand in silence. After all this time, I don't know what to say to him. His hooded eyes meet mine. I am completely rooted to the spot as if the cement has grown up from the ground and has grabbed my feet with a steel grasp.

He looks as if he has something to say, unlike me, who has suddenly become mute. I feel like I am seeing a ghost.

He notices my expression and a flash of guilt passes through his brown eyes, as he shifts his gaze.

"Look I can't be here, but I wanted, no needed to say sorry," He says.

Is he for real? A sudden rush of anger spikes deep within me causing a flame.

All the anger floods back into my body filling me from bottom to top.

"What the fuck?" I seethe as I stare him dead in the eyes. I was now wrathful. I reach my hands out and shove him. Hard. Making him rock on his feet to regain his balance.

"You left," I state my voice remaining stoic and emotionless.

"You don't understand! I had too," he says, pleading with me to understand. I understood, or at least I used to.

I take the time to notice how broken he truly looks, the bags under his eyes are dark and prominent. He didn't understand that when he up and left something inside me snapped. He was escaping his reality, but I would never be able to escape mine.

He has made my reality worse, to make his better.

He is drowning me in order to stay afloat.

And now I am seeing red.

How dare he leave and let everyone believe it is my fault.

"You screwed me over in order to save yourself, Brett," I say watching as he absorbs my words, hiding a wince.

"I'm sorry, did she tell you what I said?" He asks referring to Sage. He is pleading with me. Trying to gain my forgiveness.

"Leave her out of this," I snarl back at him.

"I'll make it right. I just need more time," he replies.

"You better be able to find a way to get me out of this shit, or so help you, Brett, I will come and find you and drag you back to Mapleville myself," I say.

"I can't go back!" he states. "I don't want to see them again, I can't continue to live like that," He says.

He had finally cracked.

His parents' pressure had finally broken him.

"Find a way to fix this," I growl out "Because soon I'm going to be behind bars for something that I never did."

I watch as recognition flickers across his face before he focuses on something behind me.

"I will make sure that doesn't happen," He says, his voice filled with a silent promise.

"Bye Brett," I say, not knowing what to say back to him, and I turn and make my way towards my car deciding that it is a better idea than returning inside to face Aaron's anger.

I also notice the bruise covering my cheek has grown and expanded along my face. Shit. There is no way I can go home like this. I need to clean up before I can possibly face my mum. So I start the car and head to one of the last places I would have ever thought about going a couple of weeks ago.

Sage's house.

I arrive there not long after being in the car and get out, heading towards the front door. Deciding against knocking, in case she is asleep, I decide to ring.

She picks up on the third ring.

"Chase?" She asks uncertainly.

"I'm outside sweetheart, so please hurry before I freeze to death," I say, smiling as I hear her response.

"What?" she all but yells through the line. "Why are you here at 12 in the middle of the fucking night!?" she demands.

I chuckle in response, and before I can respond the line goes dead, and I hear a small number of footsteps towards the door before it swings open revealing Sage, standing in small shorts and a large jumper, with her hair wrapped securely on the top of her head in a knot. I can't help but acknowledge that my heart stops a little upon seeing her.

I glance around, before meeting her eyes.

"So are you going to invite me in or..." I trail off watching as a blush coats her cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

✰ Please vote and comment ✰