One of the Boys

Chapter 17

Delaney

My phone rang and I had to step outside of the restaurant to answer my mom's call so I could hear her. It was night time and dark so I stayed on the sidewalk close to the restaurant while I spoke to her. After I had hung up, I noticed that a person walking by had dropped their wallet and so the next think I knew, I picked it up and ran after them to return it. Just like any kind and honest person would do. Then when I was making my way back towards the restaurant, I felt two arms grab me and lead me down a dark alley.

Thank God Jason and Chris showed up when they did because who knows what that drunk creep would have done. Jason held me close to his chest and placed his head on top of mine while I cried. "Did he hurt you at all?" He asked as he rubbed my back and looked down at me. "No-no he just used too much force when he pinned me against the wall." I sobbed.

"You're lucky I didn't do even more damage!" I hear Chris say before turning my head to see the drunk guy disappear and Chris approaching us. "Shh, it's okay, you're safe now Dels. Chris scared him off and we aren't leaving you." Jace says quietly leading me out of the alley.

"Can- Cane we go back to the hotel now?" I ask my voice sounding raspy and shaky from all the screaming for help I had done minutes ago. "Yeah... Yeah we can do that." Jason says. "I'll head back inside to get your bag okay." He says once we're back in front of the restaurant.

Chris stands there silent for a moment before speaking up. "Nah man, let me go in and grab it. You should Proust at our here with her. I'm sure she'd feel more comfortable." He says as Jason freezes on the steps. "Dude, if you go back in there with bloody knuckles, the guys are gonna start asking questions." Jason replies.

Chris looks at me. "Are you okay if I stay out here with you?" He asks giving me a sympathetic look. I stay quiet but nod to confirm. "Tell the guys I wasn't feeling well and went back to the hotel to get some rest." Chris says before Jace nods and disappears into the restaurant to grab my bag.

Jason called an Uber to pick us up from the restaurant so that I would feel safer than if we walked. When the Uber arrived, Jace opened the door and let me in before he got in next to me. Once I had buckled my seatbelt, Chris took the empty seat on my left side.

"Thank you guys for coming to my rescue. I honestly didn't know what would of happened if you hadn't shown up." I say quietly as the car begins to drive the three of us back to the hotel.

"Hey don't thank us, if it weren't for Chris noticing you'd been gone for a while, we wouldn't have gotten there in time to help you. Now you're safe and that's all that matters." Jason replied.

I look over at Chris who sat there quietly looking out the window, heat rising in his cheeks. I move my hand and place it on top of his that sat in the small empty space between us. When I do, Chris looks down but doesn't move away. He looks up at me confused as I smile at him, blush creeping up on my cheeks. "Thank you." I say to him barely above a whisper as he smiles.

******

Once back at the hotel, Jason and Chris take a seat on the two empty chairs in my hotel room. "You know you guys don't have to stay with me." I say as they both look at me. "We know, we just didn't know if you wanted to be alone after everything that went down tonight." Jason replies.

"Well, I was going to have a shower but if you guys want to stay and hangout I guess we can watch a movie." I say. "No, no go shower. I'm going to go change into something comfier than a suit." Chris says.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go have a quick shower too." Jason says as both boys stand up and make their way over to the door. "You cool if we come back and hang after that?" He asks. "Yeah, I'm good with that." I reply as both of them leave and to to their rooms.

******

After I had finished having my shower, I threw in a pair of black sweatpants and my Marlies hoodie before putting my hair up into a messy bun. I fold my clothes I had worn to the afternoon game and place them neatly in my suitcase before there was a knock on the door.

I zip up my suitcase and make my way over to the door. I quickly look through the peep hole and see Chris standing there looking down at his phone. I turn the lock and remove the chain from the door before swinging it open, allowing him to come in.

"Hi." He says. "Hi" I reply closing the door behind him. "How are the knuckles?" I ask taking a seat on the end of my bed. "A little bruised but good. How are you holding up?" He asks looking down at his slightly swollen knuckles. "Still a little shaken but I'm good." I reply.

We both sit there in awkward silence before he replies. "That's good I uh... I was just um..." he says not making eye contact with me. I can tell that there's something he wants to say to me but seems a little nervous. "Everything okay? You can ask me whatever it is you want to ask. It's okay." I reply.

Chris looks up. "Can I - Can I give you a hug? Is that okay?" He asks as I nod in reply and we both stand up to meet halfway. Chris wraps his arms around me as I wrap my own around him. It seems a little strange at first but the tension he had built up inside him releases from his muscles relaxes once I give him a hug.

Is now a good time to tell Chris that I've developed feelings for him?

A couple seconds later, another knock on the door was heard. I separate from the hug Chris had given me and walk over to open it, letting Jason into the room.

"Feel better now?" Jason asked. "Yeah, that shower helped me calm down a bit." I reply closing the door behind him. "Alright, so what movie are we going to watch?" Jace asked taking a seat on the empty bed next to mine as Chris takes a seat in the arm chair.

"Might Ducks?" I asked. "What a classic!" Chris exclaims. I manage to pull it up on my laptop and connect it to the tv as they scrolled through their phones. "Jack said they're on their way back from the restaurant." Jason said. "Told them if they can't find me, I'm hanging out with you." He says looking at me.

When Jason had gone back into the restaurant to grab my bag, he told me that the guys were asking him where I had gone. He said he wasn't sure if he should tell them what happened but he did, leaving the part about Chris punching the guy out of the conversation.

"They know I'm chilling with you guys too." Chris says. "After Jason told them everything inside, I got a text from Riley. He had a feeling I wasn't coming back because even if you didn't tell them about the part where I punched the guy, Riley knows it's what I did." He adds.

After Chris had told us all of that, we turned back to focus on the movie as silence filled my hotel room.

You k ow, maybe this change isn't bad after all. Maybe it's a good thing I got traded to the Marlies. Maybe this will all be fine in the end. I know it will be.