We all sit there awkwardly, avoiding each other's eyes.
"Where's Archer and Carter?" Rob ask the caramel haired boy who's name, I found out, is Jace.
"They're not hungry," he reply.
"Oh, this is Jace, my son. Melissa, Jace. Jace, Chloe," Rob introduce us.
"Your son?" I question. Why am I only finding out about this now?
"Yeah, didn't your mom tell you?"
I glance at mom and she sends me a sheepish smile.
"Of course I did! Chloe, you remember Jace, Rob's son, the one I told you about." Mom smile at me, trying to get me to play along with her.
I give in. "Right. I remember now."
"Okay. Let's eat," Rob announce. We all grab our utensils and start eating.
After we all finish eating, mom and Rob wanted to share something so Jace and I sit still in our seats waiting for them to speak.
Rob sends mom a knowing grin before they both announce out loud in sync, "We're getting married!"
I let out a sarcastic laugh, "You guys are hilarious."
They both look at me.
"Chloe. We're getting married. Rob proposed to me last week," mom explained.
My smile turned into a line as I stare at mom in disbelief.
Seconds past before I can finally register it into mind.
"B-but you can't. I can't," I tell mom in an angry tone. She stares at me in confusion.
"Jace?" Rob question him for an opinion since he's been quiet for a while now.
Jace looks at Rob with disbelief and hurt evident in his face.
Seconds pass before he finally spoke, "I can't believe you."
He suddenly gets up and walk out of the room in anger leaving everyone speechless.
Mom had mentioned to me before that Rob's late wife passed away due to cancer 10 years ago. That means Jace was 8 years old.
Even though dad passed away not too long ago, I can imagine what must be going through his mind - hurt, betrayal, and not being able to accept the fact that it's time to move on.
Silence fills the air.
"Chloe-" mom started but I cut her off by getting up from my seat and walking out of the room.
I can't do this. I can't just move on. It's only been two years. He was my dad. He's still my dad. I can't replace him. No one can replace my father.
She can't get married.
I know I'm being selfish but my dad will always be my dad.
I open the front door and close it behind me. I walk to the driveway, taking in the cool breeze. Tired of standing, I decided to sit down at the end of the driveway appreciating the stars.
The garage suddenly open behind me as bright lights shines through. I stand up and turn around to see the car driving out.
It beeps for me to move out of the way so I did. The car drives to my side and the driver's window open revealing Archer, fully dressed this time.
What a shame, I was just starting to enjoy looking at him shirtless.
"Wanna come with?" Archer ask me.
"To where?"
"Anywhere." He smirks.
I look at the passenger seat to see Jace then the backseat to see Carter smiling at me.
If I stay, I would have to go back inside and talk to mom and Rob. If I go, I have to deal with Archer.
I open the back door and get in the car deciding that dealing with Archer is better than dealing with mom.
"Welcome aboard, princess." Archer drives off into the night.
-
"Are you sure we're not going to get into trouble?" I ask for the trillionth time tonight.
Archer roll his eyes and groan at my nonstop worrying.
"Relax, Chloe. Who do you think owns this place?" Archer ask, knowing fully well the answer to that question.
"But-"
"Oh my god. Shut up," Archer begs. I sneer at him before shutting my mouth.
"Okay. It's done," Jace announce then open the door and get in. We all follow after him.
"Wow. It's huge." I look around the room in amaze.
"That's what she said," Archer comments with a grin. I roll my eyes at his childish remark. We make our way to the middle of the room.
"Take out the goodies, guys." Archer tells Jace and Carter. Carter nods his head and head to the other room.
Seconds later, he comes back out with two bottles of alcohol.
Wow and I thought it was candy.
"Yes. That's what I'm talking about," Jace comments and grab one bottle then open it while Carter opens the other one.
I watch as the boys share the bottles between them and cringe.
"You guys are pigs."
They all look at me.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want some?" Jace offer. I shake my head no in disgust.
He rolls his eyes at me in annoyance and gulp down the bottle. Geez, I can't believe he's going to be my brother.
I ignore them and turn to face the clear blue water in front of me. The school's pool is big. Well, I didn't expect anything less since the school is run by a multimillionaire.
Apart from the talking from the boys, I hear something from the distance. I listen closely to figure out what it is but can't since the boys are talking too loud.
"Guys, shut up. I hear something," I tell them in a low voice. They immediately stop talking and freeze.
I hear keys dangling from outside the pool. I also hear footsteps faintly.
My eyes open wide and so did the boys'.
"Fuck," the boys say in sync.
"What? I thought you say we weren't going to get into trouble," I question Archer.
"It's probably the night guard or the janitor. We'll go check it out," Carter says and walk out with Jace leaving Archer and I alone.
I knew I shouldn't have come with them. They're nothing but trouble. I shouldn't have believed them when they convinced me that it was alright to break into the school.
God dammit.
"Want some? It'll loosen you up a bit so you won't be so freaked out." Archer offer me a drink. I reject.
He shakes his head and scoff.
"Prude," Archer mutter under his breath just loud enough so I could purposely hear it.
"Asshole," I do the same.
"Says the girl who slapped me."
"I was saving-" Archer cut me off by putting his finger against my mouth. He signal for me to listen.
I hear footsteps just right outside the door. My eyes widen and I start to panic.
"What do we do? I can't get caught," I ask Archer.
He looks around the place, trying to think of something. I point to the other room that Carter went in earlier. Archer shakes his head no.
"There's a janitor's closet in there," he whispers. I start to panic again as I hear keys jiggling. Whoever's outside is probably looking for the key to open the door to get in here.
"We have to go into the pool," Archer tells me.
"What! Are you crazy?"
"We have to go into the pool and stay on the side of the wall so he can't see us," he explains. I shake my head no. He can't be serious.
"No-" he cut me off once again by pushing me down the pool. I emerge from the water followed by Archer.
"I'm going to kill you!" I whisper-yell at him while trying to stay afloat. He quickly grab my arm and pull me under with him just as the door opens. We stay close to the wall of the pool so whoever's looking down won't see us.
I try to hold my breath as long as I could but I'm running out for air. Archer continues to hold onto me. I shake my head no to tell him that I need to get out. He shakes his head no, refusing me to go.
Suddenly, a flashlight search around the pool indicating that there's someone on top of us.
I shake my head to tell archer I can't hold it in anymore. His grip on me tighten and soon enough, he pull me close and lock his lips with mine.
My eyes widen while his is close. The only thing running through my mind right now is: this can't be how I lose my first kiss.
•
a/n
I know this kind of things don't happen in real life but that's the thing about books. You can write it to however you want. There's a reason it's call teen fiction - not real.
Just to clarify again, JACE IS ROB'S ONLY SON. Archer and Carter are there because they're his best friends and they sometimes sleep over. Jace is the only one that's going to be Chloe's step brother. Not Archer and Carter - they are Jace's best friends.
Thanks for reading! It means a lot. :)