Short Author's note:
Starting next week, I will be updating 1 chapter every saturday of the week. If I'm in a good mood, then I'll make it 2 chapters, maybe even 3 ;)
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Chris and I walked into the pool area. The oblong shaped pool was crystal clear. The water slides were dry, but we could turn it on if we wanted to.
We dipped our toes in the pool.
"I wish you'd swim with me." Chris said, his expression was sad.
I have aquaphobia. Fear of swimming in water. It was triggered by a traumatic experience 4 years ago.
"I want to but I can't." I replied.
Chris was still a little boy, he didn't understand why. Considering that I treated the water as my second home. But that was before the incident.
Just dipping my toes in the water almost brought tears in my eyes.
I've always loved the water. But I hated it for taking him away from me.
I took a deep breath. I tried to stop myself from crying.
"Cathy, are you okay?" Chris looked up to me, his eyes were full of worry.
"I'm fine." I smiled at him. "Im just gonna sit there." I gestured to one of the chairs near the pool.
He nods. I stood up and walked towards the chairs and sat down on one of them.
Suddenly, Chase walked in.
"Here you are." He smiled when he saw me.
I smiled back and tapped the chair beside me. He walked towards me and sat down.
He looked at my feet and frowned. "You went for a little splash?"
"Yeah." I replied.
"You know you don't have to force yourself. Take your time." He encouraged me.
I sighed. "I miss him. I thought that if I went for a splash, I might connect with him or something." I said sounding hopeful.
He wraps his arm around me and I placed my head on his shoulder.
"Instead, I remembered what happened. I only have myself to blame."
"Don't say that. If he heard you, he would feel sad." Chase said.
I felt the tears slowly trickle down. Chase just patted my head.
Jace and Vanessa suddenly entered. I quickly wiped my tears away.
Vanessa gaped at the pool. She quickly walked towards Chris and sat beside him. They laughed and dipped their toes together.
Jace walked towards us. Chase stood up and said, "I'll go get some drinks."
Jace arrived. He just stood there and stared at Vanessa and Chris.
"Sit down." I told him.
He sat down. He looked at me and asked, "You okay?"
"I'm fine. No need to worry." I replied.
Jace nods and he finally looked at me. "You missed practice today. Are you sure everything's fine?"
"I had a little headache." I replied and looked away.
I glanced at him and he didn't look convinced. Yet he didn't pry.
"You've been hanging out with Vanessa lately." I said.
"Yeah, she's been following me everywhere."
"Ohh." Was all the I could say.
"And you've been missing in action all the time. I also want to hang out with you." He said.
I felt a slight blush on my cheeks. "Tch."
He stood up and said, "Don't pressure yourself. It takes time." I gave him a confused look. He pointed at my feet, then I understood.
He walked towards where Chase and the others were. He suddenly carried Chris in his arms and tossed him into the pool.
Everybody laughed. Chris was furious. Jace tried to help him up. When Jace reached his hand out for Chris, he pulled Jace into the water.
They were now soaking wet. Chris walked over to me with big smile on his face. Jace followed him.
"That was an unexpected dip." Jace smiled a little.
"You knew that I was about to pull you down, yet you still played along." Chris told Jace.
"It would be more fun that way." He said and walked away.
Chris was soaking wet and he was shivering. Vanessa walked towards us and handed Chris a towel.
"Get changed. You might catch a cold." I told Chris.
"Okay." Chris said and walked inside, with Vanessa following behind him.
Chase and I were alone. He was dipping his toes in the water. I decided to walk towards him. I stood behind him, keeping my distance from the water.
"Wanna go enjoy the scenery?" He asked. It was almost sunset. I nod.
He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the water slides. We climbed up and sat on the entrance of the biggest slide. It was big enough for the two of us to fit.
"I have something to say. I want you to listen to me carefully." Chase said. His green eyes were very sincere and warm.
"Okay, I'm listening."
He started, "Catherine." He rarely called my Catherine. He usually calls me Cathy.
"When I first met you, you were frowning, you were in a very foul mood." He laughed.
"Jace just ignored you. He was already a cold man, even as a child. But me? Knowing my kind and friend personality,"
I coughed. Not a literal cough. A sarcastic cough.
"Seriously Cathy, I'm being serious here." He said and bumped my shoulder with his. "Lets continue with the story." I giggled a little and let him continue.
"Knowing my kind and friendly personality, I approached you. At first I didn't know what to do. You glared at me, and if looks could kill, I would be dead." He laughed again. I didn't interrupt him.
"I wanted to sit beside you, so I walked over and by some miracle, I tripped on my shoelace. You looked surprised at first, but then you laughed and smiled the most beautiful smile I ever saw." He said and smiled to himself.
"From that moment, I promised to protect that smile. To make you laugh even if I had to be the clown. To shield you from all pain."
"I dont know how, but it just happened. I fell in love with you. At first I thought, I must be imagining things. I'm a Casanova for heaven's sake! I dismissed the thought."
"But my feelings for you only grew deeper. I tried my best to act casual around you, but I couldn't suppress my feelings anymore. I almost kissed you at the yacht remember?"
"I love you Catherine." He said looking at me.
The sun was setting, painting the sky with a warm orange glow.
I was speechless. I was surprised. I was frozen in place.
"Chase, I-, I don't understand." I said and looked down.
He patted my head. "I'm not yet done." I looked up at him and I saw that he was smiling.
"I wanted to confess to you before. I almost killed myself for every night I regretted not telling you how I felt." He said and chuckled.
"But then, I saw how you looked at Jace. How your eyes sparkled when you talked to him. How your smiled looks so beautiful when your with him. You never looked at me like that."
"I realized, if I confessed to you sooner, I might have a chance. But it's too late." He sighed.
"Chase, I'm sorry." I said and hugged him.
He hugged back and said, "You don't have to apologize."
We hugged while the sun was setting.
Chase pulled out of the hug and said, "Confess to him while you still can. Make no regrets."
I smiled at him and nod.
It's time to stop denying my feelings. It's time to acknowledge them.
I love Jace Carter. And I am not willing to hand him over to anyone else.
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I absolutely enjoyed writing this chapter, I hope you also enjoyed reading it xD tell me what you think by voting or leaving comments ;)
I would also like to recommend these stories:
"I Love My BESTFRIEND" by Typewriterprincess (Tagalog)
"One Last Time" by StunningPalate (TagLish)
That's all, have a great day ahead :)