Chase

Have you even woken up and instantly known that you were alone in a bed, when you shouldn't be?

I haven't, until this morning.

My eyes shot open, like there was a silent alarm clock in my body going off. I was greeted by the dark, but that's not what I noticed first. I noticed my arms were empty.

They weren't supposed to be empty.

Indie was supposed to be in them.

That's how she fell asleep last night, in my arms. Her back against my chest, her head nuzzling into me. She had fallen asleep far quicker than I had, and I wasn't sure what it was due to. Maybe she fell asleep because she was exhausted, maybe I stayed awake because I couldn't bare to put an end to this moment.

I didn't want to go to sleep to dream when I was already living my dream.

But, this wasn't how my dream was supposed to end. I wasn't supposed to wake up alone.

I climbed out of the bed, tossing the wound up blankets aside. I took a minute to look around my room, noticing that her clothes were still on my floor, where she had left them last night. Though, my stomach lurched with jealousy again when I remembered they weren't Indie's clothes at all. They were Brock's. With a scowl on my face, I glanced out of my open door, seeing the bathroom door was wide open.

Confusion gathering in my head, because I had no idea where she went wearing my clothes, when she didn't have her car here. As if thinking about the word car prompted me, I walked over to the window.

My stomach lurched as I saw her. She was there, still in my clothes, her arms crossed as if she was cold. She was climbing into someone's car, and that someone only waited a second before driving away.

My heart fell to the floor, the confirmation of my suspicions causing the plummet. Was... was it that bad? That she had to run away before the sun even rose?

I ran my hands through my hair, before picking up my phone from where it was charging.

It only rang a few times before Asher answered.

"Chase?" He didn't sound like I woke him up, which was curious, considering it was before dawn.

"Man, I," I started, trying to find the words.

"Does this have anything to do with Bella leaving my bed before I was ready for her to leave my bed?" Asher asked me, and I could picture his eyebrows raising.

I swore under my breath, knowing that it had everything to do with it. "Can you just get here, please? The door's open, apparently, so just come to my room."

"Okay," Asher surprised me by not having anything sarcastic to say.

I busied myself with brushing my teeth until he got here, trying not to focus on the pain of my bruised ego, but of course the obvious question was breaking through.

What the fuck did I do wrong?

I heard Asher's footsteps coming up my stairwell only a few minutes after our phone call. I was always glad that he lived so close, but I was especially glad today. I needed someone to walk through what happened with me.

I needed help to find whatever it is that I did wrong, so I could fix it.

"What's going on?" Asher said, as he met me in the hallway. His voice was hushed, no doubt he was trying not to wake anyone.

I gestured with my head to my room, and we both went in. I closed the door behind me, shaking my head as I collapsed on my bed.

Asher hesitated before he sat, "is this bed safe to sleep on?"

"Shut the hell up," I grunted at him.

"What's going on, man?" He asked me, taking a seat beside me. "Why the hell did Bella leave my house to come get Indie? And why was she here? And why did she have to make such a hasty exit? And why..."

"Jesus Christ, Asher," I muttered. "Just, fuck. Can't you figure out what happened by what you just said?"

"No," Asher said bluntly. "So spell it out for me."

"Indie slept here," I told him, "we kissed."

"Fucking finally," Asher punched my arm. "About time you grew some balls."

I rolled my eyes.

"... are you that bad of a kisser? Damn, man, you've had enough practice, I thought you'd know a thing or two by now. All those girls and you didn't pick up any tips?"

"I really don't understand how you find this funny," I glared at him. "I don't know what the fuck happened. Everything was perfect last night, it was, damn, it was perfect. Every part of it."

"Better than you imagined?" He asked me, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yes," I said instantly. "For me, at least. Apparently, she couldn't get away quick enough."

"Chase, you have to stop this, man. Stop with the insecurity, stop doubting yourself. There's a million reasons why she could have left," he told me, sitting back against my bed.

I stared at him blankly, "name one."

"Well, uh... she could have forgotten her medicine at home and she didn't want to wake you."

"Indie doesn't take medicine, you idiot," I seethed at him. He wasn't taking this as seriously as he needed to.

"You would know," Asher muttered.

"Like, what the hell am I supposed to do now? Where does this leave us? What if she acts like this never happened?"

"Chase, just slow down. This is what I'm saying. I know you, man. I know you don't freak out with girls like this," Asher started.

I interrupted him. "Indie's not those girls. She's different."

"I know, Chase, but you're not doing yourself any favours by overthinking anything," he continued. "You know how to talk to girls, you know how to navigate relationships. What would you do if this was any other girl?"

I scowled just thinking about it. "Give her space, I guess."

"So, there's your answer," he told me. "Especially, right now. They need each other more than they need us," Asher said.

"You're right," I leaned my head in my hands. "I know you're right, it's just..."

"I know," Asher replied. "It's Indie. You know, you might have to get used to the fact that she's not as into you as you are to her."

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side?" I shot at him.

"I am, man, I am. I'm just saying, I had to think the same thing about Bella. To us, they're like diamonds we found amongst the rocks at the beach. But, you know, maybe to them we're just two other rocks."

I sighed as I heard his words.

"And," Asher continued. "That's not a bad thing, all we can do is hope we can show them that we're the best rocks they'll ever find."

"But, what if we're not?" I lifted my head up as I asked him.

Asher shrugged, "then it wasn't meant to be, and if it's not meant to be... there's no changing it. All we can do is enjoy the ride."

"I'm not enjoying the ride," I muttered, feeling like my heart was turning from red to blue.

Before he could answer, my phone dinged from where I had left it. I sprung to my feet, racing to grab it in hopes that it was Indie.

And, my suspicions were concerned at I looked down at the screen. My eyes went to the picture she had attached first. I almost lost my breath at her beauty. She was standing in front of the sunrise, a small smile on her face. Her eyes were red, making it look like she had been crying, her face was flushed the same colour.

I felt a frown come to my mouth, just knowing she was upset.

But, then I read her message.

And my mouth turned into a smile instead. Not just a small smile, no, a full blown smile that I could feel in my cheeks.

"Let me guess," Asher rang out, I could hear the amusement in his voice. "You were wrong, and I was right. She had a perfectly good reason."

"I don't know her reason, but she said she wished she was still in my bed," I practically sang.

"Well, there you go. See? All of this worrying for nothing. What are you going to do now?"

"Just what you said," I answered. "I'm going to show Indie that I'm the best fucking rock in the world."