Chapter Thirty-Seven

      “And then she picked us up, and swore not to tell our parents or Michael,” Talia laughed as we walked down the stark hall of the hospital.

      “She sounds great,” I said, genuinely wanting to meet the girl we were now talking about once she was done… giving birth.

      “She is,” Talia said happily. “If Michael doesn’t propose to her soon, I’ll do it for him. She’s amazing, and, personally, I have no issue with being an aunt, though her parents seem a bit on the displeased side.

      “Are they nice people?” I questioned.

      “Eh. A little bit on the strict side, but overall they’re pretty chill. They’re like ultra conservative, which is why they like Michael, though their daughter is a bit more on the modern side… if that makes sense.”

      “Yeah, totally,” I said, as we came back to the waiting room we had left just a brief hour before. I saw Chase sitting down next to his older brother, talking.

      “Mike!” Talia shouted at an inappropriate volume level for the place we were in.

      “Do not call me that,” Michael said, standing up, and approaching us as Chase did the same.

      “Did you bring us food?” Chase asked.

      “I don’t know, did you want food?” I said, gripping the provisions I had brought tightly behind my back.

      “What’s behind your back?”

      “Nothing.”

      Chase wrapped his arms around me, awkwardly hugging me, and snaked the bag of processed, crunchy potatoes from my fingers. He held the bag in front of his face and smiled in triumph. He opened the thin packaging, and popped a chip into his mouth, savoring the salt and lack of potato. After finishing a hand full of chips, he addressed me, “You rock, Jules.”

      “I know,” I sighed, watching him eat… though not a creepy way.

      “Talia, you didn’t by chance happen to bring me back anything as well, did you?” Michael pried.

      “I thought your girlfriend was going to do that,” Talia said, blinking. Michael wasn’t amused, and crossed his arms in annoyance. Talia huffed, and handed over the brown bag of M&Ms she had gotten for her older brother. His eyes widened, as did the grin on his face. He carefully tore the top open, and then began munching on the circular chocolate. Someone liked chocolate...

      “Thank you,” Michael said after he was half way done with the packet of candy.

      “Welcome,” Talia said.

      “Michael!” a female voice said. I looked up and saw Alison, Chase’s mom standing beside her husband. We all turned towards the couple, as they greeted their eldest son by embracing him.

      “Mom, dad, what about me?” Talia said, holding her hands out, a few feet away from us.

      “We see you all the time- where did Brett go?” Darcy, Chase’s father, said, glancing around his surroundings.

      “Yo! Right here!” a voice boomed.

      “Jules, I apologize for the next undetermined amount of time you may have to spend with my family. Don’t hate me or break up with me when it’s over,” Chase whispered to me.

      “Why would I-” I began.

      “Chase! You’re all grown up!” a tall guy I presumed to be Brett said, rustling Chase’s hair. He looked like an exact copy of his father, only younger. His hair was shorter than Chase’s, and he had squared shoulders that were exposed from the loose-fitting tank top that was on his body. His eyes were same color as Chase’s, and he had a pleasant face. His bottoms consisted of black, mesh shorts, and on his feet he wore a pair of flip-flops.

      “Yes I am,” Chase said, removing his sibling’s hand from his head.

      “Who’s the chick?” Brett asked, as his eyes tumbled across my figure.

      “Jules. Jules Tylers,” I said, sticking out my hand as the customary act of introducing oneself.

      “Chill. You scoring with her, bro?” Brett questioned Chase.

      “She’s my girlfriend,” Chase explained, as I noticed his jawline tighten.

      “Oh? Wait… Tylers. Huh. Wasn’t Talia’s last boyfriend’s name Tylers?”

      “Current boyfriend, and he’s my brother,” I said, looking up to speak to him.

      “Keeping it in the same family. Wow, bro, you really need to get out more!” Brett laughed.

      “Actually, I don’t. I like Jules, and it has nothing to do with Talia dating her brother,” Chase said, standing up for his integrity.

      “Right… tell me when you two break up,” Brett said, causing me to gape in astonishment that something like that would actually come out of a person’s mouth.

      “Are you high?” I accused, wanting to know if that was the reason behind his insolent words.

      “Ha. No, I’m afraid I’m not… at the moment,” he said, winking.

      “We’re not breaking up,” Chase said sternly, still stuck upon what his brother had said. I smiled as what Chase had said registered in my mind. He had affirmed what one could only fantasize about. In his mind, we weren’t going to break up. In my mind, I thought about all the difficulties in life, and hoped that we wouldn’t break up. Chase’s mental stance was in it for the long run; I guess that’s a good thing.

      “Yeah, whatever, little dude,” Brett said.

      “Brett Ryan!” his mother’s voice hollered from a few feet away. “Please don’t mess with them!”

      “Guess I can’t mess with you guys,” he said, reiterating his mother’s words.

      “So, Brett, how have your last thirty-seven girlfriends been?” Chase asked, taking a stab at what I assumed to be a touchy subject.

      “Funny. It’s actually only been twelve since the last time we spoke,” he corrected, though not impressively.

      “Yeah, my count’s been one, and I intend to keep it that way for many years to come,” Chase said, placing his arm around me. I felt like a princess. Or, better yet, one of those girls in a young-adult novel who finally get the boy of their dreams only to have him say mushy, amazingly amazing things like my boyfriend had. I don’t even know how I became this lucky…

      “Ah, high school relationships, I remember them well…” Brett said, smirking. “All of mine ended in disaster, or a harsh breakup. But then again, you two still have what, two years left? Nothing could possibly change in that time span!”

      “You’re right,” I said, “nothing will change.”

      “Well, look at that Chase, you have a little optimist on your hands, don’t you!” Brett said cynically.

      “Yes, I do,” Chase said, shaking his head.

      “I don’t like you,” I told the tall Ryan brother who was standing before me.

      “Michael! Talia!” Chase called. They looked over to us, said a few bidding words to their parents, and began walking in our direction.

      “Brett, good to see you,” Michael said once he had reached us.

      “Yeah, you too, dude,” Brett said.

      “Brett, can you please stop growing?” Talia inquired warmheartedly.

      “Chase, Julia, come over here for a moment, would you?” Chase’s mom called. We thankfully left the older siblings to talk amongst themselves, and went over to where Chase’s parents were standing, talking with the two people I presumed to me Gloria’s parents.

      “Julia, this is Mr. and Mrs. Torres, Gloria’s parents,” Chase’s dad introduced.

      “Pleasure to meet you,” I said politely, firmly shaking the hands of the two people opposite me.

      “As you,” Mr. Torres said stonily.

      “Julia is Chase’s girlfriend,” Chase’s mom shared.

      “Oh?” Mrs. Torres said, not sounding interested.

      “You know, I think it would be good if the five of us talked, would you mind going for a short little walk around the building with Talia and Brett?” Chase’s dad requested, as I assumed the fifth person was Michael.

      “Of course,” Chase said. We left the people we had been called over to, and rejoined Talia and Brett who were now in a heated debate over when I thought to be something related to football.

      “You’re wrong!” Talia exclaimed, throwing her hands up to try and prove her point.

      “No, I’m not!” Brett fired back fiercely. “Tom Brady will never be as good as Eli Manning!”

      “Hate to cut in, but Talia’s right, you’re wrong, and mom and dad are making us relocate,” Chase said naturally.

      “I’m right! Anyone knows that Eli Manning is a way better quarterback than Brady!” Brett said passionately. “Right, Jules?”

      “Uh… I don’t know,” I said, football being one of the things my knowledge was lacking in.

      “Wow. Chase, how the hell do you choose a girl who doesn’t know shit about football?” Brett questioned.

      “Easily,” Chase replied, tugging at my hand, and pulling me away. I went with him, and we entered the hallway. Without looking back, he quickly led me down the maze of halls, not caring if his two older siblings were following or not. We came to the double door entrance of the hospital, and stepped out. I didn’t know what we were doing, but went along with it anyways.

      Chase peered around sidewalk in front of the hospital, still holding my hand, and zeroed in on his next move of action. We walked over to a wooden bench, and sat down. There was the faint smell of cigarettes looming in the air, which caused me to cringle my nose in distaste. Smoking cigarettes is stupid. It kills your lungs, and can cause some serious issues. It’s kind of ironic, sitting out side of the place where the help people with lung cancer, and smelling the remnants of how they got there.

      Yawning, Chase placed his arm over my shoulder in the cheesiest way imaginable. I leant my head his side, and took a deep breath, trying to not inhale anymore of the pungent smell surrounding us. We sat there, breathing, for a few moments in complete serenity.

      “Jules,” Chase began, “sorry about my family.”

      “What for?” I questioned, straightening up.

      “Well, Brett, he’s a douchebag.”

      “I could say the same for Adam.”

      “I don’t want to scare you,” he sighed.

      “Look, I love you, therefor there is no way in hell that a little corruption in your family is going to change my opinion,” I said.

      “Yeah, get to know them better, and you’ll run,” he warned, adding one of his warm, deep laughs I had come accustomed to hearing.

      “Towards them,” I added. “If they’re your family, then I don’t care… no matter how irritating they may get.”

      “You’re amazing, Jules,” he said.

      “I know,” I said, though not meaning it to come off as being cocky.

      “The way you ignore society, and just do you, is something I truly admire,” he admitted.

      “I don’t exactly ‘ignore’ society, I more put it on the list of things and people who are waiting for me to give a fuck,” I said, breaking my once formerly concrete expression into a smile.

      “I love you, Jules.”

      “Yeah, I love you too, Chase,” I said, looking straight into his gorgeous eyes.

      “Jules I-” he stopped mid thought, after hearing a faint “beep” sound. “It’s my phone.”

      “Answer it,” I commanded.

      He took out his phone, and read the text that had appeared to himself. His eyes grew wide, and before I could ask what it was, he jumped off the bench, and exclaimed, “I’m an uncle!”

      “Congrats,” I said, standing to (barely) match his height.

      “And, it’s a boy!” he yelled in clear excitement.

      “I’m so happy for you, Chase.”

      “You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked, not being able to contain his apparent joy.

      “What?”

      “He’s going to play football!” he said, hugging me.

      “So, are you telling me, that if we were to hypothetically have a child, then he or she would play football?” I asked.

      “Yes,” he affirmed without a second thought.

      “Ugh. Why wasn’t I informed that you had a football oriented family when I signed up?”

      “So it wouldn’t scare you away,” he said, winking.

      “So, your… less than perfect family, and football. Damn I must love you,” I laughed.

      “Well, look what I chose: an independent, strongly opinionated, chill chick who I also love.”

      “You’re pretty amazing, Chase,” I said, reaching up and tenderly kissing his cheek.

      “As are you, Jules,” he replied back. “Now, let’s go in and my nephew!” I smiled, following him back into the building. Though I was unsure if my presence would be accepted or not, I didn’t really care. Acceptance wasn’t something that bothered me, and the fact that I was with Chase was good enough for me.