Playing Hero... But Not Really

"You didn't have to come, you know." Charlie kills the ignition, simultaneously removing the keys, before she turns to look at the boy in the passenger's seat. Cameron and Alexander waste no time and exit the vehicle first, abandoning them in the truck. The older of the two Whitmen boys definitely doesn't need to be the awkward third-wheel again. Sure, Alexander might have pushed his sister to pursue the guy she fancies, but that doesn't mean he doesn't get the heebie-jeebies from witnessing the pair stare at each other like lovesick puppies.

Already, Ethan is unfastening his seatbelt as he smiles warmly at her. "I wanted to," he answers. The upward curve on his face causes Charlie's insides to knot up almost instantly. Honestly, she's glad he had been persistent in accompanying them to the hospital though. Because, let's face it, she would have never told him that she wanted him to come along.

All of this – Ethan, the mere thought of dating, her feelings, the imaginary butterflies which seem to have made her stomach their permanent home. These things are all still fairly new to Charlie, considering she has never taken a liking to anyone or had been romantically enticed within the past seventeen years of her life. Therefore, she's got to take some time to adjust. She's got to learn about the dos and don'ts of being in a relationship.

Three months ago, the girl wouldn't have bothered fretting over this kind of stuff. She would have simply gone with the flow, as some people put it. But, after witnessing how complicated relationships could be and what it could do to people, specifically Hayden and Cecilia, Charlie can't help but wonder if things will work out well between her and Ethan or if they'll crash and burn. Oh, and let's not forget all of that overdramatic shit that happens in some of Jillian's favorite movies.

Deep down, a small part of her is afraid that if the two of them don't mesh well together as a couple, she'll lose him as both a lover and a friend. At least, that's how things typically went in the movies. Maybe referencing something created only for pure enjoyment and entertainment as a guide isn't the smartest idea but Charlie will take what she can get. Then, Ethan's palm falls over the back of her hand, his thumb grazing over her knuckles, effectively snapping the girl out of her train of thoughts. 

"Everything will be okay," he assures, giving her hand a gently squeeze. And those four words are more than enough to make the doubts clouding her mind disappear, as if they were never even there to begin with. "Let's get going."

After checking in with the nurse at the front desk, the four of them head up towards the room Chase had been placed in. Alexander knocks once before he pushes the door open, not bothering to wait for an answer in case the patient is incapable of giving one. Who knows what kind of condition he's in. For all they know, he could be in a coma! Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration but anything's possible. Plus, Officer Mueller hadn't been specific or thorough with the details of what kind of accident he had been involved in, nor is the man anywhere to be found at the moment. He must be a rookie.

Hearing the knock, Chase glances up from the bed, where he's seated upright, his legs dangling over the edge, a cast wrapped snuggly around his forearm and a bandage stuck to his left temple. His eyes widen slightly at the sight of the visitors before he jumps up to his feet. "What are you guys doing here?" he questions, brows bunched together.

"Chase, you fucking idiot." Charlie barges into the room, glares at him and then traps him in a hug. Not meaning to, she applies pressure to his injured arm, making him yelp in pain. "My bad," she says wickedly as she pulls back. "But you sort of deserved it."

"Seriously." Another voice heaves by the entrance. Everyone turns around and finds Nick hunched over, an arm resting against the doorframe. He looks like he has just run a marathon or something. Once he catches his breath, Nick straightens out his posture and walks in with his cheeks flushed a deep and crimson red. "If you were going to run away, couldn't you have, I don't know, avoided ending up in the hospital?"

"I'm alive and kicking, aren't I?" Chase snaps, sucking his teeth. "And again, I ask, what are you all doing here? How'd you even know where to find me?"

"Officer Mueller called the house," explains Alexander.

His oldest brother nods in understanding before his gaze proceeds to fall onto their neighbor who is standing rather awkwardly in the background, behind the only girl in the room. "And you?" Chase raises a brow. "How'd you wind up here?"

Resembling a deer caught in headlights, Ethan opens his mouth to offer up an answer. However, he isn't able to get a word out. "Don't be a dick," Charlie cuts in, lips pursed out. "He came because he was worried about you."

"Sure," Cameron and Alexander laugh, both of them knowing very well the real reason Ethan decided to tag along.

"Chase!" Ian bursts into the room with Jillian following him in from behind. The concerned expression plastered on his face is soon replaced by a defeated and crestfallen pout. "You only broke an arm?" Ian huffs. "Are you kidding me? I thought this was a life or death situation!" His girlfriend jabs her elbow into his side, provoking a wince from him.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, bro, but it's only a fractured wrist, at worst," Chase replies, trying not to roll his eyes.

"What happened anyway?" Nick asks. "How'd you hurt your arm?"

"Probably by jerking off too har—" Jillian jabs Ian much harder this time to prevent him from completing his inappropriate remark and he laughs, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "I'm only trying to lighten the mood, babe."

"There are children here," the girl hisses, her eyes flitting over to the two youngest boys in the room. 

"It wasn't anything major," Chase reports, plopping back onto the bed. "I was just hit by a drunk cyclist. But it worked out well because, apparently, the guy was a thief who was actually in the middle of stealing the bike he crashed into me with." There's a long pause. This has to be a joke.

"Come again," Nick beckons.

"Who the fuck rides a bike in November?" Charlie questions.

"I told the officer it wasn't a big deal. He shouldn't have called you guys." Then, something dawns on him. "Wait, you didn't tell dad, did you?"

"What were we supposed to do?" Cameron says.

Suddenly, there's a soft knock, which captures everyone's attention. A girl, with long brown hair flowing well-past her shoulders and down her back and a potted plant in her possession, enters and, politely, she greets Chase while ignoring the other seven people in the room. "Hello, I brought you a thank you gift," she announces, holding the plant up. "For catching the guy who stole my bike, I mean."

"What's that?" Chase queries.

"It's a spider plant," she answers. "It's rather effective in clearing the air and fighting off pollutants. You can put it in your room."

"Uh thank you, I guess." He reaches out and accepts the token, albeit hesitantly, using his good hand. "But it wasn't like I went out of my way to catch him or anything. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, for you, I guess I was at the right place at the right time."

"I know. You don't have to tell me," the girl states curtly, giving him a short nod. "If that's all, I should get going now." And as fast as she had appeared, their guest vanished.

"You should have asked for her number." Charlie grins.

"She's not my type," her brother deadpans. "I don't even want this thing." He places the plant onto the bedside table and starts to gather his belongings. He's got to leave before his old man arrives. He doesn't have the right to be in the same room as him. At least, not until he manages to get his act together.

"Give it to Jack," Ian suggests. "He should be here soon. He claims he's got a green thumb, you know. Or was it a red thumb? Whatever. He's just good at growing stuff."

Chase shakes his head. "You guys called him too?"

"The question you should be asking is: who didn't we call," Alexander counters.

"Well, thanks for coming and checking up on me. I really appreciate it and everything, but I've got to get going." Chase tries to leave and fails miserably due to the fact that everyone, Jillian and Ethan included, is blocking his path, ultimately giving him nowhere to run.

"Oh, no you don't," Charlie declares firmly. "You and dad need to patch things up, today."

He doesn't have time for this. The clock is running down fast. "I will patch things up with him when I decide I'm ready to do so. And right now, I'm not ready," Chase huffs. "Now, if you guys could just move out of the way, that'd be great." Nobody listens to him, however, as they all stay rooted to their spots. It's like they've been nailed down to the floor and are unable to budge. Their unwillingness to comply with his request makes Chase groan in frustration. His lips pry apart so that he could yell at them this time around, but his words unexpectedly get lodged in the back of his throat when he hears his father.

"Chase?" Mr. Whitmen scurries into the room and everyone parts like the Red Sea, giving him a view of the patient. Relief floods the man's face as he rushes in and examines his son from head to toe. "Are you alright? What did the doctors say? What happened to your arm? It's nothing serious, is it?" He can't even begin to explain how frightened and anxious he had been when his daughter had called him earlier. All he could do on his way to the hospital was pray for Chase to be alright and, thankfully, for the most part, it looks like he is.

"Dad," he lets out in a mere whisper. "I'm okay."

"I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if something terrible happened to you," his father nearly sobs, carefully embracing him. The stubbornness and pride, which have been holding him back the last week, are nowhere to be found as he strokes the top of his son's head while trying to control the tears welling up in his eyes.

Everyone takes this as their cue to leave. Quietly, Ian shuts the door behind them. Perhaps the accident is a blessing in disguise because look how easily it brought the two of them back together.

At this precise moment, Chase realizes that no matter how many times he fails or screws up, no matter how much grief or heartache he might bring upon his father, Mr. Whitmen's love and concern for him would never fade. Because he is his son and that's the only thing that matters. Of course leaving home and fighting with the man, who has taught him almost everything he knows, have been hard on Chase, but he's just grateful to be here with his father. "I'm sorry for everything, pops," he says as they break apart. "I should have told you sooner."

"No, no. It was my fault too, son," Mr. Whitmen protests gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. It was completely unreasonable of me to kick you out like that without listening to everything you had to say. You were right. You're not a kid anymore and I've got to learn to accept the fact."

"You were right too," Chase confesses. "Education is important in today's society. What place is going to hire a college dropout and provide a decent wage? How am I supposed to my pay off anything working at a fast-food joint for the rest of my life?" 

"If you want, you can come work for me at the office," Mr. Whitmen says at last. "Part of your paycheck can go towards your loans."

Chase sniffles, his mouth slightly ajar. "Can I really do that?"

He nods. "Of course you can. But I have one stipulation," he proclaims.

"What is it?"

A warm and tender smile spreads over Charles's lips. "You have to move back home tonight."                                                                                           
Outside, Charlie and Ethan are seated by the windows while everyone else is located about ten feet away from them. There weren't enough chairs outside of Chase's room for all of them. And without looking at the boy, she says, "Thanks again for coming. I'm sorry about cancelling our date."

"It's fine," he replies. "The night is still young. Maybe we could go back to my house and—"

Her head snaps up and she turns to glower at him. "If you suggest anything even remotely sexual, I will kill you," she warns.

Ethan places his hands up in a surrendering manner and laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I was actually going to say order some pizza while we continued with our Marvel marathon. But it seems like somebody's got their mind in the gutter." He grins.

Color floods Charlie's face and she mentally curses herself. This is that douche's fault! "Oh, I mean, yeah. That's cool too," she mutters, flustered.

Then, Ethan scoots in, removing what little distance is left between them. Placing his lips next to her ear, he whispers in a dangerously husky voice, "I'd be totally fine with kissing you though. If you don't mind, of course." An army of shivers marches up her spine, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand tall as she attempts to control her erratic beating heart.

The clacking of heels captures their attention, sparing Charlie from turning even more red. She recognizes the visitor without an issue. "Naomi?" Cameron blinks, stunned by the woman's presence.

"Hello, kids," their father's employee greets.

"What are you doing here?" Alexander ponders. He's not trying to sound rude. He's just curious like everyone else probably is.

"I actually came with your father," she reports timidly, nibbling on her bottom lip as her eyes shift all around the place.

"Holy shit," Ian gapes.

His sister does the honor of completing his thought out loud, "Are you two banging?" 

- - -

Author's Thoughts: Chase and Charles have made up! Yay! More sibling interaction in this chapter with a sprinkle of Elie. And come on, you guys should have seen Naomi and Charles coming when I mentioned her showing up to work half an hour early for her shift. More to be revealed in the last five chapters :) I hope you guys enjoyed!

Big thanks for getting this story ranked 226 in Teen Fiction! It means a lot <3 Don't forget to vote and comment if you want to. Also, if you'd like to talk to me or ask questions about this story, your life, anything feel free to contact me through here: ask.fm/everlasting_dream.