The Dating Game

TWENTY-TWO

As if a practically dead phone and the return of an abusive father aren't already bad enough to wake up to, my day is only worsened when I arrive at school on time and Chase is nowhere to be found.

There's no sign of his curly brown hair anywhere, no trace of that stupid cologne he uses every day. I listen closely to see if I can hear his obnoxious voice in the crowd of people, but nothing comes close to a match. That boy better not be absent today; we need to plan for me to meet his parents this week.

I grab my nearly dead phone and hurriedly search through the missed calls. There's only one from Chase that was made at almost two in the morning—no wonder I didn't answer that one—so maybe the voicemail would explain why he's not here today. That would probably be the best way to check.

Except I can't check because there is no voicemail. Nice going, Chase.

I tap his name on my phone, deciding to call him back. If he isn't going to be smart and leave a voicemail, he's going to have to take my call at eight in the morning and explain himself instead.

After three rings, he finally picks up the phone with silence. A short second passes until he speaks. "Hello?" he asks, his voice sounding groggy and low through the phone.

"Chase?" I respond back with another question. His voice is so different, I can hardly register that it's him.

"What's up?" He asks softly. He sounds exhausted—he must've been sleeping. Of course.

"Seriously? You're skipping school today because you overslept?"

He breathes once into the phone. "What are you talking about?"

"Why aren't you here?"

"I'm sick, Michelle."

Sick? Are you kidding me? He knows how much I hate being sick; if he ends up infecting me, I'm going to be so upset. "How did you manage to get sick over the weekend?" I ask him angrily.

"I don't know. The rain probably." He barely even tries to answer me before sneezing away from the phone. I recall the last few days when the weather was acting up; it was definitely raining harder than usual. Fine, I guess I'll lay off for now.

"Whatever," I respond, starting to feel bad for grilling him now that I know he's been sick. "Sorry for waking you up; get some rest and feel better soon."

"You want me to feel better?" He asks hopefully, a smile in his voice. This boy is ridiculous.

"I hate being sick, remember? Plus, I still have to meet your parents."

"Speaking of that—"

"Goodbye, Chase," I cut him off swiftly. "Get some sleep."

The dial tone rings once as soon as I press end call and I'm back to being alone for the school day. Walking by myself isn't all that bad, though—especially when there aren't any curious eyes on me because of Chase. I didn't realize how exhausting it was to be so well-known around here. Nobody even really knows me and I'm still drained by the end of the day.

I make it to my locker and start putting my things away when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around half expecting to see Chase surprising me for no good reason, or even Miles trying to tempt me even more with his big brown eyes and charming dimples. But instead, I make eye contact with Holly Jones, of all people. Her eyes are demanding as always, but her aura is the most unsure I've ever seen it before.

"Hey," she says suddenly with the same sharpness her tone usually has. "How are things going with Chase?"

It takes me a moment to register the last twenty seconds. I didn't expect to be talking to Holly without Chase by my side, and I'm definitely not prepared to answer her random question on the spot.