Three Words

Loving The Wrong Guy

I knocked on the door. "Chloe? Are you okay?"

The sound stopped. I heard the mattress creak as she got off the bed and the sound of her shoes hitting the floor as she walked towards the door. She opened it just enough for me to see her face. Her eyes were watery, and when she saw me, I could've sworn her face turned red.

"Chloe?" I repeated.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice thick, another indication that she had indeed been crying.

"No, you're not," I said. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at me, eyes refusing to focus. A tear slid down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. "Nothing."

"Don't say that," I snapped. "Where's Simon? And Tori? And Dad?"

"They're outside. Doing spell practice."

"Why didn't you go?"

"I didn't want to."

"Chloe," I said again. "What's wrong?"

* * *

Chloe's P.O.V.

I looked up at Derek, and all I wanted to do was fall into his arms. I felt guilty for feeling that way. After all, I was dating his brother. I don't think Simon would've liked knowing I'd rather have Derek be there to comfort me than him. That I'd rather be with Derek than him.

I shook off the thought and cleared my throat. "Nothing's wrong," I repeated, voice cracking.

Derek's gaze softened, but I could see pain behind it, like he was upset I didn't want to tell him. But I really couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him why I was crying.

When he turned to go, though, I snapped. I grabbed his arms, spun him back around, and collapsed against his chest, arms sliding around his torso. He jumped a little at first, and I was about to pull away, but he slid his arms around my waist and returned the hug. I made the same strangled hiccuping noise as before and more tears escaped, soaking into his T-shirt. But he didn't care, only held me tighter and whispered it was okay.

But it wasn't. It was no where near okay.

I was supposed to like Simon, not Derek.

I didn't tell him that, though, just pulled him as close as I could and cried until I finally regained myself enough to pull back, but not enough to look him in the eye. To my surprise, he didn't ask again what was bothering me. Instead, he waited for me to speak.

"Thank you," I said.

He smiled at me in response. I looked up at him, and I felt . . . okay. Like maybe everything was going to be alright. And as we stood there, smiling, other feelings started to overwhelm me. Want, love, need, every instinct telling me to go for it, just forget about Simon and Tori and Kit and Aunt Lauren, forget about the St. Clouds, forget about everything, and just lean up and kiss him, show him how much he means me to me.

I pushed myself up onto my toes, titling my head back a bit. I moved my hands to his shoulders, bringing him down to my level. He responded, his hands shifting to my hips, leaning closer towards me, and—

The front door banged open.

"We're home!" Simon called out.

We jumped apart. My cheeks heated, but I managed to fight back the blush as Simon approached us in the hall.

"What happened to your shirt?" he said, gesturing at Derek's soaked tee. "It's completely drenched."

"My hair," he rumbled. "Forgot to dry it."

That wasn't wrong, but most of the water from his hair had dripped down onto his back, but it was still believable, because of his bangs. When Simon shifted his gaze to me, my heart stuttered in panic. I could still feel tears stained on my cheeks, but just barely, so I prayed that the light didn't hit it at the right angle to reveal my mess of a face.

To my luck, Simon just smiled and said, "You might wanna change, then," gave me a quick kiss, and retreated back to the door.

Tori came in after him, lounging two large plastic bags filled with groceries. She heaved them onto the counter, releasing a whoosh of air.

"Damn," she said. "Those bags are heavy."

"You have two bags," Simon called, coming back in from outside. "I have four." He lifted both hands, showing off the two plastic bags on each one before dropping them onto the counter.

Tori mumbled something and went back outside to gather more groceries.

"We could use some help," Simon said, turning to us. "If you don't mind."

"Sure," I said. "Just give me a sec."

I retreated into the bathroom, locking the door shut behind me. I took in a few deep breaths and splashed some cold water on my face. Once I regained myself, I stepped outside and helped carry in the rest of the groceries from Aunt Lauren's car.

Sorry that this chapter was so short. I promise the next one will be longer! Let me know what you think, and I hope you look forward to the next one!

P.S. credit to seraphinagrayson on Deviant Art for the drawing! I think it was coloured by leelee2489 . . .

Published 01/27/19