Chase
I walked through the garden gate of Maddie's old house. I had hoped she had still lived here otherwise I'd be trespassing, but luckily I had gotten the right address.
As I entered the garden, I saw that there were two girls sat on the sun loungers in the dark as I approached them. They were talking quietly, but it wasn't long until they noticed me.
"Are you Taylor?" I asked as I looked at the other girl that was sat besides Maddie. I think she was at the party last weekend with Khloe as I recognised her slightly.
"Yeah." She replied.
That was when I noticed my sister was between the two of them, lying down. She had her head on Maddie's lap and looked like she had completely passed out.
Shit.
"What happened?" I asked them as I came over to them and crouched down in front of Khloe, putting my hand to her cheek. It was freezing.
"T-that's the thing, we're not sure." Taylor replied, biting her lip.
"What do you mean you're not sure? Can you not explain to me how my sister ended up like this?!" I growled.
"Alright, big guy." Maddie said, attitude lacing her words. "We were drinking and then we went for a swim. When we jumped in, Khloe didn't swim up to the surface like we did. When we realised she wasn't moving, we pulled her up and brought her out of the pool. She's been passed out ever since."
"And that's all? No drugs or anything?" I asked as I brought my fingers to her neck to double check her pulse. She was still breathing, thank god. I wouldn't have put it past these two girls to incorrectly check her pulse.
Stupid kids.
"No. Just alcohol." Maddie replied.
"Do you know what happened?" Taylor asked, obviously confused at the state of my sister.
I looked at Maddie. "She happened. This is what happens apparently when Khloe hangs out with her." I growled.
Maddie rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.
"Oh fuck off, Chase. I don't care whether you think Maddie is a bad influence or anything. I don't give a shit about that. I'm asking, why she's passed out. She didn't have that much to drink. Shouldn't we be worried?" Taylor asked.
I narrowed my eyes, but shook my head. "No. My sister is afraid of the water and can't swim. Whilst drinking she probably felt fearless and then only when she jumped into the water did she freeze." I explained.
It was the only thing that made sense. When you get drunk you feel like you can do anything. She probably thought that she could swim and it would be funny. Then only when she was in the water was she reminded of why she never jumps into a pool.
"Poor girl." Taylor sighed, shaking her head.
"Look, she's freezing. I'm going to take her home." I said and pulled off my football jacket as Maddie supported Khloe up right.
I put the jacket around her and put one of her arms through one sleeve whilst Taylor put the other in the other sleeve. Then I grabbed her legs and picked her up bridle style and then turned back to the two girls.
"Taylor, do you need a ride home or anything?" I asked her. I did sort of owe the girl for calling me. After all, my family had no idea where Khloe had gotten off to.
"No, it's okay. I'll get my older sister to pick me up." She told me.
"Sister?" I asked.
"Stacy." Taylor sighed and I felt a smirk tug on my lips.
"Ah, Stacy. Best girl I was ever with." I grinned. "Anyway, I've got to get Khlo home. Thanks for calling me." That was when my eyes locked on the bottle of vodka that was placed by Maddie's feet. "Maybe you girls should call it a night on the drinking? It's a school night after all." I told them and they nodded with an amused smile on their faces.
"Oh, But Chase." Maddie called after me as I began walking back to my car.
I turned around and looked at her. "Yes?"
"Be good to her. She needs you." Maddie replied and I nodded and turned around and headed back to my car.
As I opened the back door, I placed Khloe in the back seat where Jake was waiting for me. I had dragged him along when I thought something was wrong.
Jake looked at me with wide eyes as he pulled her head onto his lap. He looked down at her and I could see his lip tremble.
"W-what happened?" He asked.
"She was drinking and went for a swim. I think it's a combination of the fear and alcohol." I replied. "She should come round in a minute."
"what are we going to do?" Jake sighed as he looked down at her and moved her wet hair out of her face.
"I don't know. But we're not going home. Not just yet." I replied.
"Why not?" Jake asked, looking up at me.
"Well, seeing as though Tommy and Charlie have had a fight And Charlie's acting like a dickhead. We don't need all that right now." I sighed.
"So what do you propose we do?" Jake asked me.
"She hasn't eaten anything and had a lot to drink. I think we should take her to get a burger or something and sober up. Then we can figure out what all of this is about." I replied and Jake nodded.
I climbed in the front seat and I started the car. It didn't take us long to find a random burger joint and luckily Khloe seemed to be coming out of it.
"What.... what's going on?" She asked, looking up at Jake.
Me and Jake locked eyes with relief.
"Are you okay?" I asked her and that was when she registered that I was also sat in the front seat of the car. She looked at me confused, but sighed.
"I think so? What happened?" She asked.
"You were at Maddie's." Jake told her.
"I think you had too much to drink and went for a swim." I added.
"I went for a swim? Yeah... right." Khloe laughed.
"Nope. It's true." I told her.
That was when realisation hit her as
If she remembered. "Shit I am wearing clothes, aren't I?" She jumped up and looked down at what she had on. She registered my football jacket with confusion and the clothes under it. "Fuck. You didn't see me... you know?" She asked.
Jake smirked a little. "See you what, Khlo?"
"Naked." Khloe said with a sigh.
"No." I replied, trying not to laugh. "And why exactly are you scared that we would have seen you naked?" I asked.
Khloe huffed and bit her lip. "Because I was.... skinny dipping."
Me and Jake looked to each other half amused and half angry.
"You were skinny dipping?" I repeated and she nodded. I sighed. "We'll talk about this inside. Come on, we're going to have a talk." I said and got out of the car.
Jake emerged out of the car first and turned to see Khloe. He gave her a small smile and put his arm around her as she continued to shiver. Then the three of us headed up to the front doors and headed inside.
We grabbed a table and sat down. Khloe and Jake sat opposite me and I sat down across from them.
We had a quick look at the menu and then we all order a cheese burger, fries and a chocolate shake. Then it didn't take long for them to arrive.
"Are you going to keep playing with your food?" Jake asked Khloe as she twiddled around with a chip in her hand. She was looking at it with a peculiar sense of curiosity. It was weird.
"I'm not that hungry." Khloe shrugged and sat back in her seat.
I sighed. "You have to eat. We already had dinner at home. Plus, it will help with the alcohol." I told her.
Khloe looked at me for a moment and then turned to Jake. "You remember that time when I asked whether I looked like any of you? Well, I get it now. Me, you and Chase practically have the same face."
Was she trying to change the subject?
Jake looked at me confused for a moment, but a small smile came to his lips. "And Charlie." He added.
Khloe's eyebrows furrowed together. "Right...and Charlie." She whispered.
My sister was acting weird. I don't know if it was because of the alcohol or because of something else, but something was going on.
"Why'd you say Charlie's name like that?" I asked her. It was weird how they were both acting so different tonight.
"Like what?" Khloe said quietly.
"You're acting like you want to pretend he doesn't exist." Jake pointed out.
Khloe huffed. "Can we go back to you taking an interest in my food rather than our brother." She said, balancing the chip she had in her hand on top of the burger.
This was weird.
"Have you taken drugs?" I asked her.
Khloe looked at me. Her eyes were dead serious. Then a sick smile twisted it's way into her lips and then she just shrugged.
Jake sighed. "She hasn't. She wouldn't." He said turning to me as Khloe leaned her head back on the seat.
What was wrong with her?
That was when she started laughing hysterically. "No! I haven't." She smirked.
"Khloe, stop fucking about! We're trying to talk to you here." I growled.
"Maybe I don't want to talk." Khloe concluded.
"If you're no going to talk then you can eat." Jake replied.
I sighed and looked at her as she picked up the same Chip again. She brought it up to her eye level and stared at it.
I looked at her face. She looked ridiculously pale. Except, there was an unsettling cut on her right cheek.
"Where'd you get the cut?" I asked her.
Khloe's eyes snapped in my direction and she looked at my eyes the same way she had just looked at the chip.
"It's a birth mark." She shrugged.
What the fuck?
"what are you on about? You don't have a birth mark." I retorted.
"You didn't know I couldn't swim until recently. How would you know whether I have a birth mark or not?" She asked.
"Khloe stop." Jake sighed. "Who gave you the cut?"
She grinned and looked back down at her food. "I can't tell you that."
"Why not? Khloe who ever gave you that, needs to be taught a lesson. No one touches you like that." I growled, slamming my fist on the table.
Could she not see how much this was aggravating us?
Khloe titled her head to the side slightly and smiled sickly. "Determine what you mean by no one."
"Anyone, Khloe." Jake sighed.
"Like it said, it's a birth mark." Khloe clarified.
I sat back in my seat and looked at my sister with disbelief. I didn't understand a word that was coming out of her mouth. She was acting crazy and she looked sick. It was unsettling.
"Eat." Jake sighed, pushing the untouched milkshake in-front of her.
"Like I said, I'm not hungry." Khloe huffed.
"Tell you what, I'll eat a chip and you eat one?" I suggested. "Whoever finishes first gets complete control over the radio on the way home."
Khloe looked at me and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a kid, Chase."
"Yes you are." I said in a small voice, picking up a chip and drawing her attention to it. Khloe sighed and picked up a chip too. Then I watched as she took a bite and so did I.
I picked up another chip and ate it as she did the same. Before I knew it she was slowly starting to pick up more as if she had released some caged hunger and sighed in relief.
"That better?" Jake asked and Khloe gave a small nod and I smiled.
"Chips help with everything."
Khloe slightly nodded.
We sat for a couple of minutes whilst Khloe slowly finished the rest of her dinner and then we ordered her some water.
"Thanks." She said as the waitress placed a glass in front of her.
"Can we talk now?" Jake pleaded.
Khloe nodded slightly and put her hands on the cold glass. "I'll tell you. But I don't like this." She said.
I watched her face for a moment. The glint of amusement had washed away from her eyes and instead it seemed like a storm of confusion had taken over her once crystal blue eyes. She looked troubled in a way I had never seen before. It scared me.
"Whatever it is, we're here." I tried to reassure and she just looked at me with sad eyes.
"Can you promise me not to hurt him?" Khloe whispered.
Him?
"It was a guy who did that to you?" I growled.
Khloe shook her head. "Not like that." She sighed.
"Then who was it?" Jake asked.
"I need your word." Khloe said, looking down.
I leaned forward and looked at her. "Khloe I can't give you that. Someone hurt you. Something needs to be done."
Khloe's lips started to tremble. "Please just promise."
I looked at her confused. Why would she want to protect someone who hurt her? Were they threatening her? None of this made any sense.
"No." I replied.
I wasn't going to lie to her. There was no way someone was going to lay a finger on my little sister and escape without even a punch.
"Why are you protecting them?" Jake asked. "They've done you wrong."
A tear rolled down Khloe cheek and she quickly tried to wipe it away. "I-I have a lot of problems." She said. "And like all of them, I'm the one to blame."
"That's not true." Jake reassured her. "Can you tell us what they are? Maybe we could help you?"
Khloe shook her head. "You can't help me figure out everything that goes through my head. I'm just so confused." She sighed and wiped away more tears.
I looked to Jake and I didn't know what to say. He seemed taken back by what Khloe was saying - just like I was.
"We can try." I told her, giving her a small smile.
Khloe looked up for a moment. "I don't know what's wrong with me, that's the problem. How can you help me figure out my thoughts when even I don't know them."
"Let's just give it a go." Jake urged.
"I don't know." Khloe huffed. "It's like my thoughts get busy." She explained.
"Busy?" I asked, "what do you mean?"
"Like overloaded." She replied.
"And when does that happen?" I asked her.
"Not too often, not anymore. But maybe once a week." Khloe sighed.
"That's still a lot." I told her and she nodded slightly.
"But that doesn't explain your cut." Jake stated.
Khloe sighed. "The cuts the result of my fucked up head."
"Your heads not fucked up." Jake told her.
"It is." She argued. "There's a lot of things you don't know."
"Tell us." I said and her head shot up in my direction.
"Tell you? Why should I?" Khloe asked.
"Because I'm your brother." I replied.
"My brother?" She laughed. "You don't act like one."
My heart sunk with that. With Khloe, I never understood her. She was so complicated, confusing and erratic. I could never keep up. It just seemed that Khloe wanted to cause problems and be a bitch all of the time so I never played into it. I just thought it was better to keep my distance and maybe then she'll stop looking for attention when she realises that acting up won't get her anywhere.
But, now, I was starting to wonder whether there was something more to it.
"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I know I've been a jerk."
Khloe laughed. "You think?"
"But I'm here now. You can talk to me." I told her.
Khloe's harsh eyes softened and she took a deep breath.
"I.... I just think that something's wrong with me." She said, but then shook her head and was about to stand up, but Jake grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. "Can we just go home?" She asked.
"No. We're listening." I told her.
Personally, I was starting to see that she was struggling. And if she was having a hard enough time just talking to me and Jake, then there would be no way we would be able to get her to talk at home. It was now or never.
Khloe sighed and Jake wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. I could see that he was trying to comfort her. And it seemed that right now that was what she needed.
Khloe leaned her head against Jakes chest as he rubbed her arm soothingly. She seemed to slowly start to relax, but didn't look at us. Instead, she looked at Jakes shirt and let out a huge sigh.
"I feel like I'm not good enough." Khloe whispered.
I looked at Jake and the pair of us exchanged a confused look. Of course, she was good enough. She has always been good enough.
"Khloe, you are good enough." Jake told her.
"Shut up Jake. I'm talking." Khloe huffed and I had to resist the urge to laugh. "None of you include me in anything. At school there's so much pressure to live up to the Lakewood name. Not only that, but at home too. You expect me to act like you guys. All the time. And when I do the things you do, you give me a hard time."
"Khloe, that's just because we get worried. You've gotten yourself into a lot of problems over the years. None of us have done the stuff you have done." I explained.
"I know I have, but that's only because no one paid attention to me. Then I joined the cheerleading squad at my old school with Maddie and suddenly everyone was paying attention to me. Everything I did mattered.I had to play a part. And the way I looked was the most criticised." She sighed.
"The way you looked? What are you on about?" Jake asked, confused.
It was a little hard to believe that Khloe had insecurities about the way she looked. She had always acted like she was comfortable with her appearance. Besides, she was a Lakewood. We were all good looking. And Khloe looked like our mum. They are both stunning.
Khloe laughed. "Where do I even start?" Her voice was shaky as she spoke and she had to take a deep breath . "Probably cheerleading again. There was a pressure to be thin like I had never seen before. And people thought they could comment whether I had gained or lost weight. Either way, I didn't take it as though they were praising me. If I gained weight, I felt judged. If I lost weight, I felt like they were questioning whether I was sick or if they were jealous or claiming that I was fat before. No matter what I felt unsettled."
"Khloe you're not exactly fat." I told her.
"I don't need to be told that. It doesn't make me feel better or worse if you tell me what I look like. If I'm considered obese then I take that the same way as being told that I'm too skinny. And then my thoughts just spiral out of control and I don't know what to think about it."
"No one has the right to tell you what you look like. Plus, who cares?" Jake said.
"I do." Khloe sighed. "But I wish I didn't."
I remained silent for a moment. I had never realised my sister was this insecure. She walked around with a confident attitude. I had never thought that, that was all an act.
That's when it clicked. "Khloe?" I asked. "You haven't had a problem with eating have you?" I asked her. I mean, I did just have to persuade her to eat her food, Dean had to force her to eat dinner last week and she skipped breakfast this morning. It was starting to seem likely.
Khloe's lip trembled and it seemed like she was trying to get the words out, but couldn't. Instead, she responded with a meek nod.
Well, fuck.
I looked to Jake and we shared the same look. I watched as Jake pulled her closer to him to try and comfort her and I just wanted to do the same. For the first time in a long time I was starting to understand Khloe.
"You know there's nothing wrong with feeling insecure." I told her. "And we like you just the way you are, right?" I said.
Khloe just looked at me and shrugged. "You're Chase Lakewood. You can't exactly tell me that I'm up to your standard." She said and looked up
at Jake. "Or any of yours."
"Khlo, we don't have a standard. You're okay to just be you." Jake replied.
"You guys don't like me."
"Of course we like you. But you are, are sister. It's a given that we won't like each other at times." I told her.
"But you never like me." Khloe whispered.
I sighed. "I do really, Khlo. I just don't like your behaviour half the time and I don't want to give it attention because that will only encourage you more."
"I didn't do this for attention." Khloe replied.
"Then what did you do this for?" Jake asked.
"To cope. I needed to forget and let my hair down." Khloe explained.
"Forget what?" I asked her.
Khloe sighed. "I already told you, I can't answer that."
She was now talking about the person that gave her the cut, it was obvious.
"Okay, I'll tell you what. I'll tell you something and you tell me something, yeah?" I suggested.
Khloe narrowed her eyes. "What have you got to tell me? I thought I was the black sheep of the family."
I laughed slightly. "Okay. I'll tell you two for good measure. The first is that you know Stacy? Your friends sister? Well, she called it off with me before
I called it off with her. she's the first and only girl that's ever dumped me. And secondly I once accidentally got alcohol poisoning and ended up in hospital." I told her.
Khloe looked at me for a second almost smirking. "So you got dumped and got your stomach pumped?"
"Sort of..." I said. "No one's perfect."
"I'll say. Once Chase got so drunk that he fell asleep whilst he was doing it with a girl at a party. Then she took his clothes and he had to walk home naked." Jake laughed.
I glared at Jake. "Hey! You said you wouldn't tell anyone about that!"
"Oops." Jake grinned.
"Thanks, bro. I don't think our little sister needed to hear that one." I growled.
Khloe laughed. "Nah, I think I did."
I smiled slightly. "I'm glad that it amuses you."
"Now, Khlo. Who gave you the cut?" Jake inquired.
Khloe shifted and avoided our eyes. "It's not as bad as it seems." She sighed and bit her lip. "But, me and Charlie got in a fight. It was result in this."
I felt my fists clench at the mention of my brother's name, but I tried to keep my cool. Khloe already looked shaken up and she seemed to be watching my every move, waiting for a reaction.
I looked to Jake and I saw him tense and He looked at me, torn. This was impossible. I wanted to beat the idiot, but this was my little brother. I couldn't exactly explain to my Dad why I put my little brother in hospital.
"Charlie." I said to myself, sitting back and letting the initial shock sink in.
"That bastard." Jake muttered, shaking his head. "That explains his behaviour!"
Oh god. It all made sense now.
"Why'd he do it?" I asked.
"Because He was fed up of me." Khloe shrugged.
"That's not an excuse." Jake told her.
"But don't hurt him." Khloe said.
"Why are you protecting him?" I asked.
"If this was a fight between you and Jake, you wouldn't want Dean or Elliott to hurt Jake - would you? No matter how mad you were at Jake?" She asked me.
She was right.
I huffed and clenched my jaw. I hated this. "No, but I'm not you."
"And Charlie's not Jake." Khloe clarified.
"But he hit you, Khloe. That's fucked up." Jake said.
"We always get into fights with each other. What's the big deal? Siblings fight all the time. It's not like he wanted to put me in a coma." Khloe said.
"Yeah I know we fight all the time, but Charlie needs to know when not to take it too far." I told her.
"Who cares. He punched me. I was a cow. And if I wasn't so upset and if I had more guts, I would have punched him back." Khloe shrugged. "The only reason I'm so angry is because of the circumstances he did it in. He did it hating me."
"Don't you see that's why we're mad?
It's one thing to get into fights with each other, but it's another thing for us to do it maliciously. If he had put more weight into his punch, he could have broken your jaw or something." I explained.
Khloe sighed. "I don't care. I just want this to be over. I'm sick of fighting."
I nodded. "Me too."
"Me three." Jake grinned. "Come on, let's head back."
Khloe stood up and walked out of the restaurant and then I turned to Jake.
"I'm really worried about her, this time." I whispered.
Jake looked back at me and I saw tears come to his eyes and for a moment I was scared I was gonna well
Up too.
"Me too." Jake sighed. "And even golden boy. Whoever thought Charlie would do that to her?" Jake said.
I sighed. "We've let them down."
Jake nodded and patted me on the back and followed Khloe on her way out.
••••••••••
This was a long one, huh?
Okay, so you win... you get the chapter early! Yay!
The next chapter will
Not be tomorrow, though.
But I love this chapter so
Much!
What do you think to Khloe and Chases relationship?
How do you think all the brother's will react to the truth about Khloe?
How do you think Chase feels about all this?
How do you think they will be towards Charlie?
Lot's of questions... ya, I know.
But I do love hearing from you all as you probably know by now!!!!!
Please vote, comment and follow.
I appreciate you all.
***** also there was a problem trying to update this chapter - if you can't comment on the chapter or it fails to load or whatever please send me a message! It should be working now?