Not edited (yet).
Chapter 20
Chance blasted the music in the car on the way to his place. He didn't say anything, and I was immensely grateful for that. He sang along to some of the songs, and bobbed his head up and down with the music. Chance's country house was located near the outskirts of the city. He lived on top of a secluded hill, and even the drive up to the house provided us with amazing scenery. I pulled my car into the drive way of an ivy cover house that looked like it belonged in the Renaissance era. The stone and brick building resembled more of a small castle than a house.
"Wow." I gasped out in amazement at the beautiful home as I stepped out of the car. There was a small pond in the side yard with a fountain right in the middle. The pond was surrounded by roses of ever color imaginable and stepping stones were artistically placed in decorative swirls. This place looked like it was something that was whipped out of a fairytale, there were even a few butterflies fluttering through the air.
"Don't say it. I know what it looks like." Chance said beside me pulling out my bag from the car. "I used to think I was Prince when I was younger." He shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that the romantic nature of this house is what made me gay." He added with a smirk.
I turned to face him and laughed. "If that was true then your brothers would be gay too." I followed behind him to the main door.
Chance chuckled and held the door open for me. "You're right."
I walked into the large open foyer and gasped again. The place really looked like it was from way back in the day; it had a very rustic but homely feeling at the same time. I walked slowly behind Chance taking in the beautiful paintings, and antique furniture. He led me up the stairs and down a wide hallway before turning into a room. It was a guest bedroom, I could tell that immediately by the lack of personal belongings in it. The room was much like the rest of the home, rustic and comforting. I walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open to look out at the view of the mountains in the distance.
"You want to talk about it?" Chance's voice came behind me and I shook my head knowing very well what he wanted to talk about.
"Come on, I'll show you my room." Chance announced after a small pause, and before I even turned he was out of the room.
I took a few quick steps to catch up with him and followed him to a large door at the end of the hallway. The minute Chance pushed open the door I was shocked. His room was completely out of tune with the house. He had bold abstract art on his walls, the frame of his bed was modern with sharp angles, and a clean design, but what really caught my eye was the gigantic TV on the wall, the humongous stereo, and various video consoles. Having those flashy electronics in a house like this almost seemed wrong. His furniture was also very sleek and efficient, rather than decorative. While the room didn't fit in with the rest of the house, it definitely screamed Chance.
"So what do you think?" Chance asked as he jumped onto his bed.
I shook my head at him and planted a teasing smile. "Only you would ruin an artistic house with your modern technology."
Chance scowled at me. "Could you see me in a room filled with antique vases, and hundred year old chairs?"
I tried to imagine Chance sitting on one of the chairs I saw downstairs and burst out laughing. "No, definitely not." I told him.
"Exactly." He announced and then rose to his feel. "Let's go meet my grandma." He said and swiftly slung his arm around me, leading me out of his room.
Chance was originally from the next state over, but since he wanted to go to school with us he had to move into this house. His parents were both too busy with work to watch over him so his grandma volunteered to do it. According to Chance, his grandma loved this house, and she simply used Chance as an excuse to come back and stay here.
"Grandma?" He called walking into the backyard. If I thought the front yard was beautiful the back yard was stunning. It must have been every bride's dream to get married in a place like this, I thought.
"Over here." A small voice called from behind a few rose bushes. It was almost seven in the evening but the sun still hasn't set.
Chance peered over the bush and scowled. "What are you doing down there?" He asked as he offered his hand to help an elegant woman to her feet.
The woman smoothed her woolen skirt once she was standing. "The roses on this bush aren't blooming so I was checking to see if the plant was okay." The woman turned to me with a smile. "I have a feeling you are Ana." She said and before I could say anything she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. She smelt like the roses in the garden, but also had a subtle peppermint smell to her.
"I am." I told her when she stepped back and turned to look at Chance curiously.
Chance smiled and threw his arms across the woman. "Ana meet my grandma Sophia. Grandma meets my best friend Ana."
I stared at the lady in front of me in shock. "You look so young!" I exclaimed without thinking, unable to believe that this woman could be Chance's grandmother.
Sophia laughed gracefully and a warm smile crept up on her face. "You are a dear. That's exactly what woman my age what to hear." She said proudly and patted Chance on his back. "I think it's time for dinner don't you?" She asked.
Chance nodded his head. "Come on Ana, let's go see what our cook made for us today."
Dinner with Chance's grandmother was lovely. She was a highly intelligent woman who paid attention to the world around her. She was very in tune with not just the politics but also celebrity gossip. The way she held herself was so regal, that I hadn't known better I would have thought she was a queen.
The food itself was fantastic as well, but I couldn't get myself to finish anything. Sophia asked me multiple times if I would prefer to eat something else, but I simply shook my head and told her that I just wasn't hungry. After dinner Sophia went out for a walk and Chance and I decided to watch a movie. We were fifteen minutes into the movie when Chance paused it and turned to me.
"I wasn't going to push you, but I can't sit here like this. Not when you barely eat, and don't even laugh at your favorite movie." Chance's hand landed on mine. "What happened?" He asked gently.
I could feel my shoulders slump, and the haze in my head grew filling my whole body. I looked down at my sock cover feet and shrugged. "I slapped Seb." I told him quietly. I still couldn't believe that I had done that, and for the second time since I've been home. He deserved it, I knew that, but I still couldn't comprehend what came over me. I wasn't a violent person, at least not usually.
I didn't look at Chance, but I could feel his eyes widen. "What?" He spat out in disbelief.
I shrugged my shoulder again and this time looked at my lap. "I slapped Seb." I repeated a little louder this time.
Chance's hand tightened on mine, and he shifted so he was completely facing me now. "You slapped Seb?" His voice didn't hide is incredulity. "Why?" He added softly.
I finally looked up at him steadily. "He kissed me." I told him searching his face. Chance's eyes widened, his lips parted and the look of bewilderment was very evident on his face.
"Sebastian kissed you?" He asked, as if he wasn't sure he had heard me right.
I nodded my head at him and looked back down. If he was so surprised to learn that Seb kissed me tonight, I wonder what he would think if I told him that it wasn't the first time.
Chance was quiet for a long time, and I didn't blame him. "Seb kissed you so you slapped him? He asked me speaking each word slowly.
I started to nod my head again, but I realized that doing that would be a lie. I hadn't just slapped Seb because of the kiss, there was more to it than that.
Shaking my head I turned to Chance again. "It wasn't just because of the kiss, it was the what happened before and after the kiss." I told him.
Chance's eyes were filled with confusion. "What happened before and after the kiss?" He questioned curiously.
I bit the inside of my cheek and felt the metallic taste of blood. "It doesn't matter. I just don't know how to face him now." The blood stopped oozing and the pain in my cheek subsided, but I still felt tears in my eyes.
Chance nodded his head and stroked my hand with his thumb. That little gesture was enough for my tears to come falling. The wetness dripped from my cheeks onto my neck. I could feel those tears seeping into my light shirt.
"I don't know why I'm crying." I told Chance pathetically. There was no reason for these tears, they made no sense.
Chance's arms went around me and he pulled me tightly towards him. His hand went to my hair and he patted me there like I was a dog. "I think I know why you're crying Ana." He whispered softly on the top of my head.
I pulled back from him and wiped my cheeks. "Why?" I asked him curiously. How could he possibly know why these ridiculous tears were falling down my face, when I didn't even know?
Chance looked down at me and waited, as if he was trying to decide whether he should tell me whatever he thought or not. I almost thought he wasn't going to say anything, but then he smiled down at me. "I think you are crying because seeing Seb with Julie earlier upset you. I think you are crying because even though you slapped him, that kiss you shared with him meant something to you." Chance reached his hand over and gently swiped away some stray tears. "Ana, I think you are crying because you are in love with Seb." Chance finished softly.
I pulled away from Chance and gapped at him with my mouth wide open. "I am not in love with Seb!" I denied. "How could I love someone who has been so horrible to me?" I exclaimed, appalled that he would come to such a conclusion. "If anything right at this moment I would probably say that what I feel towards Seb is pure hatred."
Chance shook his head and reached for my hand, but I kept it away from him. "There is a very fine line between love and hate Ana." He told me with his eyes boring into mine. "And Seb might not have treated you fairly, but we both know that everything he has done has been to protect you. It's not so hard to love someone who is always looking out for you." Chance reasoned.
I frowned at him and started to argue with him but something in his eyes stopped me. His eyes looked revealing, they looked enlightened and suddenly I found new tears running down my face. I refused to let my mind think, I didn't want to think. Thinking caused problems, thinking led to unnecessarily revelations, and thinking was a very dangerous friend to have. Even as I warned myself not to think I could almost hear the gears turn in my head. I saw flashes of moments run in my mind. Memories from when I was a child, memories from the past few months, and memories from today. All those memories revolved around one person and I felt my heart race. Suddenly the pit in my stomach and the emptiness I had been feeling made sense.
I widened my eyes at Chance and felt more tears tumble down. "I am so stupid!" I cried shaking my head. "So stupid!" I repeated more to myself than to Chance.
Chance's arms surrounded me and enveloped me into his warmth. "You aren't stupid Ana. In fact I would have been surprised if you didn't fall for him. He is not only gorgeous and powerful but he is also caring and given the number of hours you spend with him I would say it was inevitable." Chance's voice was so warm and I instantly felt a little better because he wasn't making fun of me.
"What am I going to do?" I asked against his shoulder. "How am I going to get over this feeling?"
Chance pulled me back a little and looked at my face. "Why do you need to get over this feeling?" He inquired curiously.
I frowned at him. "Because I can't be in love with Seb, that's ridiculous. What could possibly come out of that except heartbreak?" Didn't Chance understand how horrible this was? Seb didn't do relationships and he definitely didn't do love. Hadn't he told me that plainly enough? And yet my stupid heart didn't heed that warning. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Chance matched my frown with his own down turn of the lips. "You don't know that Ana. Something great could come out of it." He told me probably trying to cheer me up but failing miserably.
I shook my head and walked away from him. I went to the window and looked at the darkness that now covered the beautiful backyard. It was really amazing how something can seem so beautiful in one light, and seem like nothing in another.
"Nothing good can come of this." I told him and turned to face him. "I am going to get over this one way or another." I spoke with determination.
Chance observed me for a while. His stance was casual but his face was rigid. "If that's what you really want, then I'll help you." He said and then grinned. "We will start project LGAOS." He stated with a smirk.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "LG what?" I asked him. I could even remember the rest of what he said.
Chance rolled his eyes at me. "Project LGAOS." He said and grinned again. "Let's get Ana over Seb."
I scowled at him but couldn't help as my lips curl up a little at the look on his face. "LGAOS huh?" I asked him appreciating his support.
Chance nodded his head and sat down on the couch and then he patted next to him indicating for me to sit. I walked over and slid next to him. Chance grabbed the remote and found the play button but before he pushed it he turned to me with an amused smirk. "So is Seb a good kisser?" He asked and I immediately blushed and punched him hard in the shoulder.
"Ouch!" He complained with a wide grin as he pressed play.
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NOTE: Sorry this look longer than usual to update. Truth is I have been busy, but I have also been a little in the slumps. Lately I've gotten a lot of messages and comments about how terrible of a writer I am and how I don't deserve to have as many readers as I do.
Now I wish I could say I was perfect and that those kind of messages don't bother me but the fact is they do. I could get hundreds of wonderful messages and just one awful one and that awful one will ruin my day. I realize how insecure that makes me sound and it's something I am working on I promise.
I don't mind constructive criticism (in fact I love getting comments on how I can improve my self as long as they are reasonable) or even angry comments about how I haven't updates in a while, what I do mind is when someone tells me that I am completely wasting my time, and that I should learn how to speak English. These kind of comments and messages make me rethink what I'm doing on this site.
I want to give a special thanks to my readers who have reached out to check in with me and provided me with moral support, you guys know who you are and I wanted to let you know that you are FANTASTIC!
Sorry that was long!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and as always thanks for reading, and please VOTE if you enjoyed this chapter. Also COMMENT below.
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