Rage

Chapter Fourteen

The weeks passed and I struggled to keep my cool around Julio. I managed to convince him I was sane, but Ryo, being the observant little shit that he was, noticed the monstrous crush I had on him and teased me about it endlessly.

Anyway, November was upon us and, towards the end of it, it brought Thanksgiving weekend along. Unfortunately for me, while everyone else was going to spend the day with family, turkey and stuffing, I knew that I'd be stuck at home, probably watching Netflix or reading and definitely pitying myself.

I'd just gotten a phone call from Chase, apologizing for not being able to be there and reminding me that he'd be there for Christmas, which we were forced to spend with my mother, Jack and Charlie, instead of in San Francisco like I'd hoped. I was just glad that my brother would be there, too.

"So," I said, just as he was about to hang up, "What did you mean that one time?"

"Which time, Tay?" Chase laughed, and I could just imagine him running a hand through his shaggy blond hair, that teasing glint in his eyes. I was suddenly homesick again.

"You know, the time when you said you didn't have a choice when it came to leaving me here." I probed, knowing that he'd tell me the second time I asked. It would just take a little bit of convincing.

"I really don't want to tell you." My brother said, honestly, "Is there any chance you'll just let it go?"

"Not a chance in hell." I stated simply, not bothering with even trying to deny it.

He sighed, sounding weary and exhausted even through the phone, as if his worries from America had followed him all the way there.

"I just don't want you worrying about anything. Everything will sort itself out in two months."

"If it concerns me, then I think I have a right to know." I was getting a little frustrated. Even when I'd been distracted with things like Chris, Ryo, Julio and Ally, that conversation had been weighing on the back of my mind, sending a little niggling feeling of doubt.

"You do have a right to know, Tay. But I know you. You'll almost definitely freak out and say something you shouldn't to the Bitch." I almost laughed at the malice with which he spoke the nickname we gave her.

"I promise I won't." I knew that this wasn't a promise I was likely to keep, depending on the nature of the matter he told me about.

"Bullshit." Chase laughed, then sighed again, sounding like he was giving up, "Can I at least tell you in person? When I see you in December I'll tell you. I promise."

"Fine." I conceded reluctantly, knowing that I'd just cause him more stress and strain, "But you have to tell me."

"Have I ever broken a promise?" It was a rhetorical question and he knew it. No matter what he promised me, from the time we were kids, he always followed through, even if it was something as stupid as taking me out for ice cream.

We talked for a little while longer, the topic pushed away to the last corner of my brain, where it wouldn't resurface until I actually saw Chase again.

He said a quick goodbye, when I heard a voice in the background that was almost definitely female calling him. Was that a friend or a girlfriend? My insufferably inquisitive brain needed to know.

After putting the phone down, I went back to my book. It was the day before Thanksgiving and I hadn't had school, but I knew none of my friends were free to do anything, so I'd just spent the day reading, after spending two hours in the gym. I'd gotten through an Agatha Christie book, Unfinished Portrait, and I'd even started a new Wattpad story, one of those classic, cliché bad boy/good girl ones.