𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧

xxi. another

c h a p t e r t w e n t y - o n e
___________________

I woke up feeling groggy. Thank god it was a Sunday. As I dragged my hands up the sheets, I realized I wasn't in my bed and that I was indeed in Ava's guest bedroom. It wasn't a dream. The car ride to the hospital and driving to her place was real. The fact alone lifted a bit of the groggy feeling. I reached to my phone on the bedside table to check the time.

10:21 am.

There was some indistinct chattering outside so I languidly got up from the bed and fixed my hair as I left my room. There I saw Ava and Isabella sitting at the dining table while they ate and chatted. Once Isabella saw me, she leaped in joy and ran up to hug me.

"Hey, how are you, Chace?" She asked me and opened a seat across Ava.

"I'm good."

She placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me and smiled perkily, "Here, I cooked them for you."

"Oh, thanks."

"I hope my cousin didn't do anything weird or something," she snorted.

"Isa," Ava scolded her lightly and the other girl just giggled.

"No, uh, Ms. Huntington and I got along pretty well," I forced a smile at Isabella, feeling the awkward tension growing between us three. Ava took a quick glance at her and then back at me, "Chace, I told you to call me Ava outside of school."

I nodded slowly, "Right, sorry."

She stood up, taking her finished plate with her and setting it down on the kitchen sink, "I'll leave you two to talk. I'll be heading out to buy some groceries. Do you guys want anything?"

Isabella faced me and I shook my head. Then she replied, "Nope."

"Alright, I'll head out now."

And with that, Ava left without another word. I focused on my bacon and eggs as I felt Isabella's eyes on me. She had her elbow on the table with her chin placed over the palm of her hand. Then I asked her about the game yesterday and how it went.

She beamed at me and said, "We won. Well, actually after you scored the first point, the Lakewoods were determined to get the next point and then we kind of tied up with them. But luckily, we managed to score the last goal."

"So, are you okay living here with my cousin? You can sleep at my house anytime if you want."

"Yes, Isa. She and my parents made a deal already. And besides, I don't think Ms. Huntington would want that," I told her, lying about the parent part because she still didn't know.

She smirked, "We'll see about that."

"You know, you never really told me she was your cousin."

"I guess it never came up. After the night I got drunk, Ms. Huntington told me what happened and that she saw you with me, and we didn't have time to talk after that over the past few days because I was embarrassed if I ever did something to you that night."

"I told you, you didn't do anything. Do your friends know?"

"No, no one knows except you and Ronnie. I don't want people to treat me differently just because she's our teacher."

I slowly nod my head as I swallowed down the bits of food in my mouth. When I was done, we chatted for a bit while she helped me wash the dishes. I then spoke, "So did you and Selene grew up together?"

She snapped her head in my direction and said, "How'd you know her second name?"

"You pretty much called her that when you got drunk Saturday night."