Center Chase

Chapter 31

Chase

It has been over a week since Lindsey stopped talking to me. We got back home on Tuesday and found the apartment empty. The girls were both at work, so we didn't see them until Tuesday evening. Lindsey went straight to her room and said she ate dinner on her way home. She clearly doesn't want to be in the same room as me.

I have no idea what to do.

Taylor said she figured out how Val had so many details about my date with Lindsey. She told me about her discovery at the salon and how Val was listening in on our conversation about the date at the restaurant. That's how she knew about the rooftop. She was eavesdropping on us!

As mad as I am at Val, I can't concentrate on that; I'm more concerned that things are too far gone with Lindsey. Even if Taylor can somehow show Lindsey the truth, there's no guarantee that she'll want things to go back to the way they were. What if she doesn't want to give me another chance? What if the ghosts from my past are too much for her to deal with? I'm not sure I want to know the answers.

Liam still has no idea what's going on. He's frustrated and thinks everything going on with his sister is because of the 'guy from work' that she went out with weeks ago. His frustration is adding to my own, and we're both still not playing our best on the ice. We lost two more games, and Coach is threatening to bench us if we don't get our acts together. The team is suffering, my best friend is suffering, my girl is suffering, and it's all my fault!

Thank goodness Taylor knows what's going on. If I didn't have her to vent to, I would have lost my mind by now.

After dinner, while Liam is showering, Taylor pulls me aside. "Hey, I have a plan. You just need to trust me, okay?"

She told me a little about her plan, something about tricking Val into admitting everything somehow and making sure Lindsey hears... I don't know. I was distracted by my own misery when she was telling me about it. But I know Taylor is crafty, and she can't stand Val, so I'm sure her plan is brilliant. After the next home game, she says she's going to set everything into motion.

Please let her plan work.

I need my girl back. Having her avoid me like this is killing me slowly. And I hate seeing the heartbreak in her eyes when she does look at me. She should never feel like that. If she does give me another chance, I'll make sure she never feels that way again.

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Lindsey

The boys got back today. I thought I could handle being in the same room as Chase for one meal, but I guess I was wrong. Seeing him just makes my heart break all over again. I don't even want to look at him. I feel if I do, I'll forget everything and just run right back into his arms. He looks so sad and beaten down. I imagine I'm not much better.

Maybe he did tell Taylor the truth.

I can't think like that! If I want to go through with my plan, I can't think like that anymore. It would just make everything so much harder.

After thinking it over incessantly, I decided that since I can't stay here anymore, and I essentially have no other prospects for living arrangements, I'm going to go back home. Back to my parents' house. Back Upstate. It's just too hard for me to stay here and see Chase and think about what could have been.

It's for the best.

I haven't told anyone yet. Maybe I'll tell Taylor tomorrow or in a few days. There's another home game on Friday. I know she's going to try to get me to go. She's still team Chase all the way. She even tried to tell me she knew for a fact Val was lying. I just can't believe it. The whole situation feels so hopeless.

That's why I made the decision to move back with mom and dad. I'll turn in my notice for work on Monday and start packing my things. Then I'll go.

It's what I have to do to protect my heart from any more damage.

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Taylor

I have officially run out of time.

Lindsey dropped a bomb on me the other day. She said, because of everything, she has decided to leave the city. Yep, she said she's moving back in with her parents and leaving everything here behind.

This cannot be happening!

Ever since I heard Val bragging about everything at the salon, I've been trying to figure out how to get her to admit that she lied to Lindsey. I finally think I have come up with a plan, but I need Lindsey to cooperate for it to work.

There's a home game tonight, and Lindsey refuses to go to it. I mean, I guess I get it. With everything she's got going on in that head of hers, going and watching Chase play is the last thing she wants to do. I have to convince her to come to the bar tonight, though. I have to!

For my plan to work, she needs to show up to the post-game party tonight. The only way to get her to come out is to guilt-trip her. I hate to do it, but I'm out of all other options. This has to happen tonight!

Since she says she's moving away, I reason with her that one last night out with the group is what everyone will need in order to cope with her absence. I tell her that she owes it to Liam for everything he's done for her since she got to the city. She hasn't told him yet, and I use that to my advantage too. I tell her he'll be incredibly upset when she breaks the news, and she can do one more post-game celebration with him and the team before she disappears. I know, it's a shitty thing to do, but she has to be at that bar tonight.

I feel terrible for doing it to her, but I'm doing it to help her, so she can love me or hate me for it later. I promise her that we can even stay at the bar; we don't have to sit at the table or anywhere near Chase. Luckily, she caves and says she'll come out one last time- for her brother.

~

We skip the game for the night and hang out until it's time to head to the bar. Once we arrive, we grab a couple of seats right next to the bartender. He takes our order, and we wait for the team to arrive. They won the game tonight, narrowly. I take that as a sign that things may be starting to look up.

Fuck! I hope this works!

The game ended twenty minutes ago, and fans have started to pour into the open area. It's not long before guys from the team start to file in and find their usual spots at the back tables. I can tell Lindsey is getting tense.

Hang in there, girl, just a little longer.

She turns away from the door when Chase and Liam enter. Chase makes eye contact with me, and I subtly wave him by. I don't miss the look of hurt that crosses his face, but I don't need him to come over and spook Lindsey into leaving, not when everything is about to come to a head.

Liam stops at our seats and gives us both a big hug. He asks why we're at the bar instead of the table. I tell him we just wanted a change of scenery, and he was welcome to stay with us. He grabbed an empty seat and visited with us for a while until one of the guys called him over to take a victory shot.

As he walks over to the table, I scan the room, looking for one person in particular. I quickly lock onto the platinum blonde I've been searching for. She's standing by the table, hovering over Chase. Of course! I keep my eye on her and wait for the perfect opportunity to carry out my plan.

Half an hour and three shots later, she's finally leaving the guys' table. She's heading right where I need her to. She's going straight for the women's restroom. I grab Lindsey's arm and tell her she needs to follow me. She starts to complain, but I ignore her and keep dragging her toward the restroom with me.

It's showtime!