Vin is now standing next to us, leering into my room, curiously. Vaughn's managed to rip my hands away but keeps them in his grasp. “They're not home,” He informs me. I relax a bit, except for the fact that my two brothers are standing before me, staring daggers at Chase.
“Whoa, what the hell is happening right now?” Vin yells. “And why is Chase in your room? In his fucking boxers?” Oh, no. Oh, no. I want to crumble at the repeating questions.
I start to panic. I start trying to search for any plausible reason. Who am I kidding? There aren’t any. Hands land on my shoulders and ease me backward. “Guys, why don't you come sit down?” With Chase's guidance, I retreat slowly. Vin and Vaughn follow. Vaughn takes the seat at my desk, but Vin is stoic.
“I'll stand, thanks.” Vin remains near my closet with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Veronica and I are-”
“Fucking?” Vaughn puts in.
“Vaughn!” I hiss.
“That's what it looks like.”
“Shut up, Vaughn,” Vin reprimands.
“No, we're not. I know what this looks like. But, we are...together.”
“Together?” Vin questions.
“Yes. We're seeing each other.”
“I thought you were seeing Nic?” Vin asks, calmly.
“Veronica is Nic.”
“You've got to be fucking kidding me.” Vin's arms drop to his sides. “You're serious?”
“Yes,” Chase confirms.
“What the--,” Vaughn mumbles.
“Wait a minute. How the hell did you get in my room?” I interrupt.
Vaughn moves to grab something from his pocket and pulls out a small screwdriver. He holds it up, “I was trying to get you back for that stunt you guys pulled.” I laugh, remembering the prank Taylor and I pulled on him just last night when she was over. Even though our girls' night usually ends with her staying the night, she left around eleven to meet up with Wes.
“And Vance knows you guys are together?” Vin asks. It ceases my laughter.
“No,” Chase responds, grimly.
“That's fucking great,” he spits, “and why the fuck not?”
“I was scared. I didn’t think he’d approve,” I put in.
“Ya think? I'm sure he'd be just peachy with his best friend and his baby sister hooking up.”
“We're not hooking up!” I retort, becoming annoyed.
“Then what do you call this?” He gestures to the two of us in our nightwear. I look away, not exactly sure how to answer. We slept together--yes--but we didn't have sex, even though I really, really wanted to. I’d never tell my brothers that.
“We were hanging out and we...fell asleep.” I sound guilty even though it’s the truth.
“Right, and he just magically lost his pants in the process,” Vin says, sarcastically. Point for Vin. “Look, I know you’re getting older V, and we can't stop who you see, but sneaking around with our friend isn't the answer.”
“Vin,” Chase is sincere, “I can assure you that wasn't our intention. This just...happened. We wanted to be sure before confiding in you all.”
“Well, you better be fucking sure. You’re already practically sleeping naked together,” Vin says harshly and stomps out of the room.
Vaughn whistles. “Well, then.” I glare at him. This is all his fault. “I'll be honest. This was a surprise, but I don't care what you do, V.” He shrugs and gets up from the chair, walking towards my door. I watch his back as he leaves my room, completely baffled. I quickly move forward, close the door and face Chase. His eyes are on me, “Are you okay?” he asks.
I move to him, “Yeah, you?”
“I'm fine.”
“That's three down.” I joke. He doesn’t crack a smile.
“We need to tell Vance.”
“I know.” I sigh.
“I better get going.”
“Yeah, that's probably for the best,” I agree. He grabs his pants from the end of my bed, and steps into them; one leg at a time. He pulls off Vance's shirt and replaces it with his bloodied one. The sight of his muscular back brings memories of the intimate things we did last night to the forefront of my mind. “You alright, there?” He's now standing in front of me, amusement etched upon his face. There’s a smile.
“Yeah.” I relax.
“Okay. I'll talk to you later.” He kisses my forehead and leaves me standing in the middle of my room.
Not long after Chase leaves, there's a knock on my bedroom door. “Come in,” I groan from my bed. The door opens to reveal Vin, who slips through. He looks pensive, and his features squished together.
“What's up?” I ask. My nerves are at large; I can only imagine what he’s going to say to me. He remains quiet as he moves to sit at the end of my bed. I place my phone to the side and watch him. He finally speaks after what seems like forever, “How did you two happen?” That's not what I expected him to ask, to be honest. He was pretty harsh earlier, so I thought he'd come to berate me some more.
I shrug slightly. “I don't know. It just did. He didn't come after me and he tried to stay away. We spent some time together, and we just...clicked. We really like each other, Vin.”
“Okay,” He abruptly stands up, “Let's go finish your car.” He leaves me alone, and I change into some old clothing. I send Chase a text just to let him know that I'll be at the garage.
McSwoony: You forgot to tell me about your parts.
I cringe. I did. I hid the packages for about a week until Vin found them and questioned me about it. I made up some lame excuse about the packages arriving sporadically, and that there was no use to start it until they all arrived. I didn't want my mornings with Chase to end.
Me: Sorry.
McSwoony: You're forgiven. I'm going to miss our mornings together.
I grin, quickly typing a response back.
Vin and I have been working on my car for a couple of hours and while he hasn't mentioned anything about Chase, he seems to be incredibly focused--putting all his effort into this build. It's almost robotic.
“Vin?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he answers immediately.
“You seem off.”
He's quiet as he tightens up a bolt. There’s only the sound of the ratchet twisting. His muscles bulge when he finishes with one last twist then stands up straight. He places the tool on the bench behind us and wipes his hand on his pants.
“I think it has hit me that things are changing,” he says quietly, and that surprises me. “Victor is starting his life with Melissa; they'll get married, and have kids. I've taken over the garage. You're going off to college next fall. Then we find out you're dating behind our backs,” he rambles. I know he's not done, so I remain quiet. “What can we really do about it? Seriously? I'm a bit disappointed that you couldn't confide in me. I know we're protective of you. We only want the best for you. Is Chase the best?” He shrugs. “I don't know. He's not a bad guy. He's an honorable one. I mean, he joined the Army instead of following his father’s footsteps and living a cushioned life. There’s a reason we’ve been friends with him for so long.”