EVERYTHING WAS GREEN. This was noted by my hungover brain as my eyes finally pried open and I took in my surroundings. I was on the damp ground, still in my clothes from yesterday sans shoes and my head was resting on a frying pan as if it was a pillow.
I was in a motherfucking bush.
How I ended up in said bush, I have no clue. But I do remember that we arrived yesterday, settled into our rooms and then Spencer and Vera—who had arrived a day earlier—encouraged us to play numerous drinking games. The last thing I do recall is being dared to down an entire bag of Doritos in less than a minute. I completed the dare of course.
But now I was here, lying down in a bush.
The sound of a car door slamming has me jumping to my feet. A couple twigs cut the skin of my arms and my legs as I stand—slightly too fast for my hungover as fuck brain to handle and up stumbling.
"Ohhhh shit..." I groan, grabbing my head with my hand.
After the wave of dizziness passes, my eyes slowly raise from the soft green of the bush and noticed that I was indeed in one of the trimmed bushes that line David's driveway. In the middle of said driveway was David's Range Rover and standing in front of it was David, Levi and Chase who were all staring at me.
My eyes lock with those gorgeous pools of hazel and I instantly freeze.
"OH SHIT!" I shout before I propel my body from the clutches of the bush, across the paved driveway and up porch stairs, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..."
I throw throw the front door open, force myself inside before shutting the wooden slab and pressing my back to it. So fucking much for trying to appear as if I went through the ultimate glow-up since our break up. You had one job, Hayden. One damn job.
I was breathing heavily as I glance across the open downstairs area of the beach house and into the kitchen where everyone stood, watching me with wide eyes.
"Good morning." Noah says, raising the mug clasped in one hand while sitting at the kitchen island block in Penn's floral silk robe. I push off the door and slowly walk towards the kitchen where everyone was having a grand ol' time enjoying their breakfast.
I take a deep, calming breath before pointing behind me, "Why the hell did I just wake up in bush?"
"Well, during our second round of drunk jenga, you excused yourself to go to the bathroom and you never came back." Spencer explains before taking a sip of his mimosa. Of course he's not hungover, I swear my cousin in in a perpetual state of drunkness. And yet I wouldn't want him any other way.
"And you didn't think to come looking for me?" I question with a frown as I stop at the end of the island block and place my hands flat on the countertop.
"We could see you from the stairwell window, Hayden." My mother explains from where she sat in the breakfast nook, "You looked comfortable."
Noah then exclaims, "I brought you a pillow!"
"You bought me a frying pan, N." I sigh as I fold my arms, "But thank you for the effort."
Noah beams a smile at me while Vera comes to a stop beside me, offers me a cup of steaming coffee and places a smooch to my temple. I missed her kind heart and coffee. Vera could put any barrister on this planet to shame with her coffee-making skills.
"We weren't expecting to see you until noon." She hums with a slight giggle and I take a sip, the taste instantly pulling me out of the shameful drunkness haze I just love getting myself into. Drunk Hayden isn't just an alter ego she's a whole other damn person.
"Well, Chase and Levi arriving woke me up." I scoff just as I hear the door open from behind me and instantly feel my shoulders tense up. "Speaking of which."
"Guess who I found on the side of the road." David jokes as everyone turns around except me. Noah quickly zooms across the room to greet his friends while Vera grabs onto my arms and turns me. She begins to pluck the leaves and sticks from my hair, a pointless attempt to make me look better.
"Hey everyone." Chase says, his voice making my stomach plummet. Vera gives me a supportive look before I turn around, a smile stretched slightly too far across my face.
"Hey..." I join in with everyone else as they all stand from their chairs.
"Chasey!" Noah greets before throwing his arms around his best friend and hugging him tightly. David pushes their bags to the side and closes the door before making his way over towards us.
"How was the flight?" Vera asks, making conversation and I slowly realised I hadn't looked away from Chase yet. Fuck, had I even blinked at all? He looked the same, but also he didn't. His hair was a little longer, still short on the side yet the ends of his hair curled slightly.
He of course looked godamn heaven sent while I was over here looking like a freshly harvest potato. His black denim jacket fit him perfectly as did his ripped jeans that hugged those long leg and muscular thighs. Obviously he had visted the gym a lot more in the past six months; the abs under his tight grey shirt were a clear indication.
"Great," Chase explains as he and Levi follow after David, "And thanks to this one, I now know how Rhinos give birth."
"You're welcome." Levi says in his all serious tone and everyone giggles at him. Penn gets up from her chair and hugs Chase in greeting as does my mother. Dear god, you're still staring Hayden. "Don't a get a hug?"
I blink and realise that Levi was now standing in front of me. I laugh as I shake off my daze and open my arms, "Of course."
Levi smiles softly as I perk up on my toes and wrap my arms around his shoulders. He places a quick kiss to my cheek before hugging me back.
"I missed you, you beautiful weirdo." I mutter into his ear as he chuckles softly and I settle back onto my heels, still smiling up at him, "It still creeps me out to see you smiling."
"I know. It makes me sick." Levi says in monotone and I laugh at his seriousness.
"Well, I think it's adorable." Vera comments as Levi turns to her and they wrap their arms around each other.
"Why are you in a sweater? If it gets any hotter you'll combust." Levi comments as they step back from their embrace and he points at her, "You need to tell me when it's going to happen. I can't miss it."
"Don't worry, you'll be the first person I call." Vera giggles as she pats his shoulder before rolling her eyes at me. Even though I was laughing, Levi was right. Vera was dressed in a chunky cable-knit sweater and leggings. She was wearing similiar baggy clothing yesterday.
It was odd because last summer Vera basically lived in a bikini and absolutely despised putting on regular clothing.
My eyes move from the pair in front of me and across the kitchen to where my cousin was strutting his stuff towards Chase, a third mimosa clutched in his hand.
"I shouldn't have invited you because you did break my cousins heart...but this face is too cute to hate." Spencer chuckles as he grabs Chase's chin and squishes his cheek together. Spencer glances over his shoulder at me and winks, "Sorry not sorry, cousin."
"Spencer." I groan as I cover my face with my hands, shaking my head. Vera laughs as she places her hand on my shoulder to console me. Levi steps away and goes to greet Penn and my mother and sure enough, Chase was making his way over to us.
"Hey Chase." Vera greets before I inevitably embarrass myself and steps towards him. "How's LA treating you?"
"Eh, not the same as Seattle but it's good enough." Chase shrugs it off as they hug each other, "What about New York?"
Vera scoffs, "Lonely as fuck."
As they step back, I could hear my heart beat grow louder and louder. And when Chase's hazel eyes locked with mine, it stopped. Everything in time froze and I realised that this is the closest we had been in six months. Chill, Hayden. There's no need for this to be weird.
"Sup Everette."
Nailed it.
"Hey Jones." Chase chuckles, exhaling deeply as I step towards him and hug him quickly, briefly, so fast that I even doubted we had hugged at all. When I stepped back from his warm embrace, I instantly felt cold again. God dammit, it's been six months and he still has so much effect on me.
I glance around the room to see everyone dead silent and watching us.
"Uh hello?" I question as they all quickly look away and continue their conversations and breakfast eating. I laugh at them and shake my head, trying to avoid Chase's stare that I could feel burning my very skin. He was too close. Too close.
"You guys hungry? I'll cook up some more bacon." David claps his hands, thankfully easing the awkward tension in the air and I use that as an excuse to slip past Chase and towards the breakfast nook. I take a seat next to my mother and grab her glass of orange juice, sculling it back in one go.
"I just have one question," Levi says over the sound of soft chatter and David's cooking. We all look at him and I feared for the worse. I glance at Chase to see that he had a similiar terrified expression as I did. We hadn't told anyone why we broke up. Levi swallows a piece of bacon as he points at me, "Why were you in a bush?"
I laugh as I drop my head, a breath of release passing my lips.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
I narrow my eyes on the bathroom floor, wondering if my self dignity had depleted enough to smother the tiles in sunscreen and then roll around it in. I take a deep breath in and shake off the idea. Not yet.
I guess I'll just have to ask Vera to help out.
Turning around, I grab the handle to the bathroom door, pull it open and step out. And of course, knowing me and my bullshit luck, their was someone standing right outside it. I scream. And he does too.
"Fuck, you scared me." Chase says as he takes a step back.
"I scared you? You're the one lurking outside of a bathroom like a fucking creep." I exclaim as I place my hand to my heart as I stumble backwards into the bathroom. My eyes narrow on him.
"I wasn't lurking." He folds his arms in defence, "I need to use the bathroom."
I scoff, "There's a thing called knocking, Everett."
"Well I was going before you almost ripped the door off it's fucking hinges, Jones." Chase exclaims as he gestures to the door. Silence falls around us as we stare at each other. His hazel eyes will forever keep me frozen whenever I look into them.
Then, we start laughing.
It's honestly crazy how easily we fell back into old habits of arguing with each other over the most stupidest things. I miss that. I miss him.
"Shit, I'm sorry." Chase laughs as he nervously scratches the back of his neck.
"Old habits die hard, huh?" I smile as Chase nods, his hazel eyes penetrating my very spirit. Slowly, those eyes move from my face and down my body. In that very moment I become hyper-aware of my clothing or lack thereof. I was only in a small, maroon and white striped bikini and nothing else.
It was definetly weird, considering Chase was used to seeing me naked everyday. I mean, we showered together to save water at my apartment and his. And yet even though he was use to my body, even though it's been six months since and even though I was in a bikini, his eyes still held the same lustful gaze.
I press my legs together and fold my arms. Yeah, as if that's going to help at all you fucking idiot.
Chase awkwardly clears his throat and averts his eyes from my body, with it taking the scorching heat.
"Well, it's free now." I say as I sweep my arm behind me as a gesture towards the now empty bathroom. I then skirt around him and head towards my bedroom. Nice, skrt skrt before I get hurt hurt.
I feel a hand on my arm and instantly stop.
"Actually I was wanting to talk to you..." Chase mumbles as I glance over my shoulder at him, "Without everyone listening in."
"You mean my mother, Spencer and Vera?" I scoff at the gossiping, tea-thirsty trio as I fully turn to face him, "Okay, sure, what did you want to chat about, Everett?"
"If you're uncomfortable with me being here, I can leave and go stay in a hotel or something." Chase explains softly, his hand leaving mine to join his others as he nervously plays with his fingers.
"I'm not uncomfortable," I lie as Chase's eyes meet mine one more time and I have to focus on my breathing before I pass out from suffocation, "We're adults right? This doesn't have to be weird between us. We can be mature."
Chase nods as the corner of his lip rises, "Right. Mature."
"Yup, the other week I bought a capsicum." I retell my awesome adulting story as Chase's eyebrows raise in disbelief, "I mean, when tried to slice it I almost cut my finger off but moral of the story is that I bought it. I didn't even have to ask the store clerk."
"Well done." Chase chuckles at me and I beam a smile at him.
"I'm the one who wanted a break. So if anything, I should be asking if you're alright with this." I shrug as bring up the whole reason behind our break up. It was me. I was the one who broke us up. I only did it because I felt selfish for keeping Chase all to myself when we lived across the country in completely different timezones.
He's sacrificed too much for me, I wasn't going to let him sacrifice his life.
He was visiting me almost every weekend. He would stay up and face time me even when he had an early start in the morning. If I had a nightmare or I was having a panic attack he would drop everything and fly home to me. Yes, I loved it, but it also terrified me to think what he would do for me.
I broke it up. But it also hurt as fuck to know that he wanted to break up too. He said there was a girl he was talking too and even though I was smiling on the outside, my heart was shattering on the inside. I was fucking stupid because I didn't mean it.
I was just doing what I thought was the right thing to do. Or at least, what someone told me was the right thing to do.
"It's not me who I care about in this situation, Jones." Chase explains softly and I swallow while staring into his hazel pools with big eyes. How is it so easy for him to say shit like this and then expect me to be able to physically, mentally and spiritually function. Fuck you, Everett.
"Everyone clear the area I need to take a shit!" Noah screams as he throws open his bedroom door and sprints down the hallway, "That coffee went straight through me and it ain't fucking stopping for anything!"
Noah, in his mad haze, pushes through the small space between Chase and I, and I stumble back. Noah slams the bathroom door behind him. I stare at the wooden slab, laughing slightly at the fact that Noah blatantly ignores the fact that he's lactose intolerant and still wonders why shit like this happens.
When I turn back to Chase, still laughing, I notice that he's staring at me again. Always staring, always thinking yet never showing. I wish I had his emotionless face. It would make life so much easier.
"Well, we're heading down to the beach if you want to join us." I grin cheekily up at him and raise my hand, tapping him lightly on the cheek, "You need some color on those cheeks, Everett."
Chase scoff as his leans back against the wall, "You sound like my grandfather."
I swallow heavily. Shit, his grandfather.
"Ha, yeah..." I mutter before turning and heading towards the stairs, feeling his stare scorching my back.
I doubt even a sunburn will ever match the temperature of his stare.
so i guess that was a vague outline of why our otp broke up. it'll become a little clearer in future chapters....i hope.
speaking of sunburn, ya girl fell asleep on the beach yesterday and now she's a little crispy. everything fucking hurts to move and i am the color of a tomato.
we love summer.
anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? obviously it's unedited and messy as fuck but then again, when is my writing not?
leave your thoughts my lovely readers!