You'd made it through the weekend and even though you'd spent most of it alone, things had been peaceful. You'd done a convincing job of making sure Emma didn't feel bad leaving you alone while she spent the night with Bryce. You still didn't know where Nessa had gone off to, but you really hoped she wasn't using this time apart from Josh to get closer to him herself. She had been the one to tell you to just give it a little space because he still loved you but what if it was all a part of her game?
It was now Sunday afternoon and you had already managed to finish all of your laundry and dishes. You'd even watched 3 movies before finally breaking down and deciding to reach out to your mom. She'd sent you several messages the last few days and really seemed to be trying to not push so you finally responded.
You got to the house and things were going really smoothly, at first. You had a lovely lunch and she'd even agreed to let you take your bedroom furniture if you still wanted it. You hadn't gotten around to buying new after everything that happened with Josh a few days ago, so that was a relief. You sent Chase a quick message asking for help.
You decided to finally open up to your mom about your impending court date. She seemed to not take it personally that you hadn't really opened up about it. And even though she knew the backstory with Noah, it had gone surprisingly trauma-free trying to bring her up to date on the safe version of what had gone down the day the backyard was destroyed. That changed when she asked:
"Is Josh going to be there?"
You really weren't sure you were ready to open up to her about that but your emotional overflow had different plans as you teared up and told her everything. She already knew a lot of the circumstances from previous times you'd asked for advice, so it wasn't much of a shock.
Mom: "Honey, I wish I had the answers this time, but I think that Nessa girl had the right idea. Just give it a little time. But in the meanwhile, I would really love to come support you at the trial if that's okay."
You agreed but looked down at your phone and realized the time:
"I should probably go. I had fun, Mom but I don't really want to be here when Dad gets home."
Mom: "Um- Sweetie, your dad actually moved out."
You: "Oh my God. Mom!! Are you okay?"
Mom: "It's just for right now but yeah... I think I'm okay. All I know for sure is I'm not letting him back until he makes some big changes."
You hugged her goodbye and praised her:
"I'm really proud of you, Mom."
*JOSH'S POV*
The last few days had been the worst he'd felt in a long time. Losing Nessa and Noah hadn't even come close to how he was feeling at the thought of losing her. He just couldn't bring himself to set his pride aside and call her. The last time this happened, she'd shown up on his doorstep just as he was about to break and call her. It'd been almost a week and she still hadn't come but he knew that was his own fault. He just needed to find a way to stop being so mad first.
He'd been sulking the last week, so when someone knocked at his door, he had every intention of ignoring it. After the 4th series of knocks, he accepted they weren't going away and climbed off the couch to answer. He opened the door, expecting someone at the wrong door but instead saw Chase standing there. He tried to slam the door in his face, but Chase stuck his foot out to stop it as Josh walked away. He plopped down on the couch, kicking his feet up on the table and trying to seem unphased:
"Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested."
Chase walked over and kicked Josh's feet off to push past him:
"You're a fucking idiot."
Josh: "You're really gonna come up into my house, starting shit after what you did?"
Chase: "Bro. Quit acting like you're the victim in all of this. You left her, remember?"
Josh: "Yeah, because she slept with you and lied about it!"
Chase: "I meant before. You left her in the driveway alone on New Year's Eve. She was broken, dude. Then when Noah got to her the next day, I was the one there to save her. Where tf were you, bro?"
Josh completely lost it and knocked everything off the table in a rage:
"You don't already think I know that what happened with Noah was my fault? That creep would have never been able to get her alone if I had just stayed and brought her home with me that night like I'd planned."
Chase: "Woah. Woah. Woah. You don't blame yourself for her attack do you?"
Josh completely broke down as he wept in front of a shocked Chase.
"What Noah did was all on him. Not you. Not me. And definitely not her. But the fact that you keep leaving her just because she's not perfect and doesn't always do the perfect thing. That's not love, bro."
Josh tried to argue back but quickly shut down, crossing his arms and sitting back down. He already knew he was messing things up but didn't know how to fix it. He was so scared of losing her the way he'd lost the last girl he loved, that the moment he heard about her and Chase, he just panicked.
*END JOSH'S POV*
*CHASE'S POV*
Chase took the silence as an opportunity to sit down across from Josh and try again:
"Look, I'm not here to play games or start a fight."
Josh mumbled:
"Could have fooled me."
Chase finally relented:
"I love her. I'm probably even still in love with her if we're being honest."
Josh's chest tightened hearing that even though it was obvious to everyone already how Chase felt about her. Even Jaden knew there was a part of Chase that would always be in love with her but part of them exploring this new world of same-sex romance together required a lot of space and acceptance for all the parts of each other that were confused. In fact, everyone could see it except for the two of them but it didn't change the fact that all she wanted was Josh.
Chase continued:
"But that doesn't matter. She chose YOU."
Josh challenged back:
"Then why did she sleep with you?"
Chase could hear Josh's breathing quicken and was really trying to get out of this situation without a physical altercation, but the more Josh thought about the two of them together, the more heated he got. Josh got up and started to pace the room while taking short rapid breaths to try to calm his amped surge of fury. Chase knew better than to stand up and risk challenging his already wounded ego, but something had to get through to Josh. It hurt to admit, but Chase knew it was true so he put his pride aside and got in Josh's face, raising his tone:
"I only even stood a chance because you left her that night. Let's be real. She got lost for one night with me and still wasn't enough for her to stop wanting you."
Josh sat back down in shock:
"You really believe that?"
Chase: "I got her for one night. You have the chance to have her forever and you're blowing it."
Josh didn't know how to respond. As he sat there in silence, Chase finally stood up and tossed a piece of paper in Josh's lap:
"What is this?"
Chase: "That's the address of the courthouse. Noah's pre-trial starts tomorrow. If you love her like I think you do, you'll be there."
Chase walked out and climbed into the car. Jaden was waiting in the driver's seat with a smile:
"All done?"
Chase: "Yeah, let's go."
Jaden: "Are you sure everything's okay?"
Chase: "I just needed to set something right and I think I did that. I hope. Now I'm ready to just move on."
Jaden didn't want to press too much but needed a little reassurance, so he asked:
"We're okay, right?"
Chase leaned over and kissed him before promising:
"It's all in the past. You're my future. I promise."
*END CHASE'S POV*
I NEED NAMES OF 2 OTHER TIKTOK GIRLS WE'VE YET TO INTRODUCE TO BE INVOLVED IN THE TRIAL