Bad friend

CHAPTER TREE

I wasn't sure how long we had stood there staring at each other, but when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and the panic that washed through Vera's brown eyes, I quickly closed the door behind me.

I took a deep breath, "Are you...?"

"Mhmm." Vera nods.

I point at her belly, "Is that...?"

"Mhmm." Vera nods again.

I run a hand through my hair and I blink, "When what-you-how?"

"I think we all know how a baby is made, Hay." Vera chuckles as she grabs her floral robe from the arm chair basking in the afternoon light and slips it over her shoulders. She slowly takes a seat on the edge of the king bed and I join her.

"And Sam is the father?" I question as I glance down short that rode dangerously low on his hips, "Mint chocolate-chip for Everett, blueberry swirl for Levi and strawberry-cheescake for my headache of a cousin."

I glance over my shoulder, wondering where the hell he had run off to. Probably to flirt with some girls in or a couple dudes. It's his only reason for coming to the beach. Vera decided to stay home today, I guess it's cooler in there than out here. Especially with all the layers she's wearing. She said she didn't feel well and we didn't press it any further.

We had all decided to come to the main beach in Holden Bay for the day because we were all in a desperate need of a tan. It was more fun here than the beaches back at the house. However, it was a bit of drive from there because he lived in the richer, quieter area but we didn't mind. There were volleyball courts here, restaurants and a pier with a mediocre ferris wheel.

"Yes ma'am." Chase gives me a two finger salute with a small smirk. I've missed that damn smirk.

"Great." I smile before turning to Penn and gesturing towards the parking lot a few yards down the beach where the Beach Hut and another couple restaurant stood, overlooking the ocean, "Milady."

Penn only giggles at me as she hooks her arm with mine and we start walking over the sand and towards the Beach Hut. The sound of the waves crashing, friendly chatter and the youthful squeals of kids reminded me of the countless days I spent here during my summers.

My mother would always pack for an eight member family so I never got to go to the Beach Hut like the rest of the kids. I was stuck with f*****g club sandwiches and juice boxes. Looking back at it, that was a bomb ass meal but so was cotton candy and hot dogs that were drowned in ketchup.

I'm pretty sure I threw another kid's hotdog into the

sand because I was jealous. He still ate it.

"I'm actually so proud of you Hayden." Penn says as she tugs lightly on my arm, pulling me from my thoughts as I smile softly at her, "With you and Chase. I'm not gonna lie, Noah and I memorised conversations prompts in case of awkward situations. Noah's a little disappointed that he doesn't get to use his Elastigirl segue."

I frown, "Elastigirl?"

"Don't ask," Penn shakes her head and she swipes through the air, "I'm just glad that you got it all out in the open, talked through everything and—"

"Well..." I trail off with a high pitch as Penn frowns at me from behind her rose-coloured glasses, "Everything is just such a strong word."

"Hayden." Penn says in her impressive motherly, chiding tone as I groan loudly and tilt my head back, "Neither of you guys have had closure, you need to talk about."

"f**k closure!" I exclaim,, no doubt earning a couple disgruntled stares from the old couple chilling under their unnecessarily big beach umbrella. "Closure

is so stupid. Who even said you need closure in relationships. I'm fine. He's fine. Problem solved."

Penn continues, "You need to talk about why you broke up. Have you at least told him about that phone call."

"It's his grandfather Penn." I groan as I drop my head as look at the sand as we walk across it. I'm glad I decided to wear flip flops because the sand is so f*****g hot it's like it was shipped directly from satan's ass c***k. "Chase is finally getting close to his grandfather again, I can't break that up."

"I don't swear much, but Chase's grandfather is a million-dollar asshole. Grade A butthead." Penn shakes her head as I snort and shake my head.

"He was right though." I explain as we get step into the beach hut, instantly feeling the overhead fans on us. "Please don't bring that phone call up around Chase...or anyone. You're the only one that knows."

"Thank you for trusting me." Penn grins as she rests her head on my shoulder, "Now, I'll go grab Noah's lollipop and meet you back here."

"It doesn't look like I'm going anywhere," I say before my eyes land on the front and my volume rises, "Because someone apparently can't make their mind up!

The little old lady, as well as everyone else in the line, glance over their shoulders at me. What? We're all dying of heat stroke here and allowing her to take forever to choose a flavour is not helping.

"You have fun." Penn grins before patting my shoulder and leaving the shop. I fold my arms as our conversation relays in my head. She was right, I needed to talk to Chase. Just not about that phone call. I can't. Not only does it make me look stupid, which I no doubt already do, but it also puts his relationship with his grandfather in jeopardy.

Orrrrrr, I just don't talk to him. That's sounds like a great plan.

"Hayden Jones?"

I spin around at the sound of my name to see a girl in a blue bathing suit, a towel draped over her shoulder and an ice cream cone in her hand staring at me. Her blue eyes were staring at me in questions, deeply wondering if she got the person right.

She slowly walks towards me and realisation strikes me.

"Oh my god, Emily?" My jaw goes slack as she quickly closes the rest of the space between us, "I haven't seen you since..."

"Since you blew up our school cafeteria?" She jokes as the couple in front of us glance over their shoulders at us. They meet my stare and instantly turn back around. Nice.

I laugh along with her, "Yup. You still talk about that?"

"I don't think anyone's stopped." She giggles as she cleans up her dripping ice cream, "So are you back for the summer?"

"It seems like it." I shrug as I take a step forward. Finally the elderly woman had made a decision. She walks past me, glaring through her tiny glasses and I glare back. We waited all the time for f*****g Butter Pecan.

"Great. I've been wanting to get in contact with you since you left but it was kinda hard since you went to a reform school or something. I was scared I was going to get arrested for just positing a letter to you." Emily laughs but I could tell she was slightly nervous.

"You'd think being in a reform school that security and rules would be through the roof. But our headmaster didn't believe that was how we could grow and develop. How f*****g wrong he was, huh?" I chuckle as Emily nods, still nervous.

Emily Richards was apart of the swim team I was in. We were the only juniors in the squad so we kinda banded together during trainings. She was extremely shy and basically just the complete opposite of me and yet we still managed to get along so well

"I've always wanted to know what it was like at Caldwell Academy. That's where you went in senior year, right?" She questions as we take another step towards the counter. My mouth was watering just at the thought of ice cream. But then again, my mouth waters at any thought of food.

"Yup, that's the place." I shoot finger guns at her and then feel like slapping myself in the face. Why am I like this? "I guess it wasn't so bad, I made a ton a new friends."

"And then you got kidn*pped, right?" Emily questions and she must've seen my expression change because her mouth falls open, "Oh s**t, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up."

"No it's fine. I'm fine." I says, only half-truthfully. I don't ever think I'll be fully fine. But I don't like other people worrying so I just say I'm fine for the sake of it.

"s**t, I've got total-foot-in-mouth syndrome." Emily shrugs as she hits her forehead with her hand, "You know what, just tell me about those friends you were talking abo—"

"Jones!"

"Ah, speak of the devil." I grin as I turn towards the entrance of the hut to see Chase walking towards me in only his board trunks, following him was every pair of female eyes in the building.

He comes to a stop before Emily and I, "Can you get me

another ice cream?

"Hmm," I narrow my eyes, seeing through his lie straight about, "What did Noah promise you?"

"The newest MacBook." Chase gives in easily as I chuckle and glance at Emily, only to see her staring at Chase like he was an alien from f*****g Pluto. Is she even blinking?

"Of course he did." I mumble before deciding to introduce Emily before she passes out, "Everett, this is my friend Emily Richards. Emily, this is Chase Everett who's my.....friend from Caldwell."

I could feel Chase's stare on my and I knew what he was thinking. Emily didn't need to know the history between us and he was my friend. He still is and he always will be.

"Nice to meet you." Chase smiles at Emily who can only nod with a short hum. I watch as her dark blue eyes drop to Chase's chest and I felt the slight urge to rip her eyeballs out. For f**k sakes, calm down Hayden.

"Oh, you're the one who got shot." Emily blurts out asChase and I instantly glance at each other. She slaps her forehead, "Dear god, I did it again. I'm so sorry, Chase."

"It's fine. I guess it's a pretty impressive scar." Chase explains and of course he uses it as an opportunity to flex his pectorals. I scoff and roll my eyes as Chase glances at me with a very attractive smirk.

I put my palm up towards him, "Ok, calm down Dwayne Johnson.

Emily was still staring at Chase and there was something about her stare that put me off. I guess it was just her attraction to him that she wasn't the best at hiding. I didn't blame her, Chase was extremely attractive; especially being shirt-less and all.

"Hey, Em, how about you come to where we are and I can introduce you to all my friends. Spencer's here to, you remember him right?" I question as Emily finally glances back at me, but only for a moment, "That's if you're not busy with your other friends."

"I came with my family, I'm sure they won't mind." Emily brushes it off just as Penn skips towards us with one lollipop secured firmly in one hand.

"The package is secured." She jokes with a cute grin as she glance on either side of us, "You haven't moved much. I was gone for five minutes."

"That's because there was an old lady who took forev -"I freeze as I notice the familiar head at the front of the line, handing her damn Pecan Butter cone back to the clerk behind the counter, "-who let her back in line!'

My head was resting on something soft and warm. I lazily wrap my arm around it and snuggle closer to hit. My nose hits something soft and I inhale sharply. It smelt amazing, it smelt familiar but with a little bit of salt.

My eyes slowly open and freeze as I slowly realise the position I was in. My head was snuggled into the crook of Chase's neck as I sat next to him in the back seat of David's Range Rover with my arm wrapped around his waist. He was shirtless and I was still in my bikini. Too much damn skin contact.

I instantly pull back. A little too fast that I end up slamming my head into the glass window of the door behretracts

"Fuck." I hiss under my breath as I reach up and press my hand to my pounding skull.

"s**t, Jones." Chase says as he places his hand over mine to keep my steady. I open my eyes from their squeezed shut position to see him staring at me with so much worry.

"Are you ok Hay?" Penn questions from the front seat.

"Please be ok I have no f*****g clue where the hospital is." Noah says, fear dripping from his voice as he sits in the driver's seat. How David trusted Noah to take care of his fancy ass car, I'll never know. But Noah was ecstatic when he was handed the keys. He almost left them in the sand but we're not allowed to bring that up.

"Is there blood?" Levi questions from behind Chase and at first I thought he was worried, then I remembered he was Levi and realised he genuinely wanted to see blood.

"I'm fine." I mumble as I wait for the wave of pain to leave, "Who the f**k invented such hard windows anyway?"

Chase chuckles, his hand still on mine while the other hand was resting on my shoulder, "You scared the s**t out of me."

"Sorry." I give him a small grin as an easy smile passes

over his lips.

"Awwwww, so adorable." Spencer grins aw he leans his elbows on the backs of our seat. Slow retracts

his hands and warmth from me and settles back into the middle bench of the seat. "Don't stop just cos of lil ol' me."

I raise my middle finger at him with my spare hand, "Shut up, birthday boy."

"You always say the sweetest things to me, cousin." Spencer chuckles before lying back down in the two extra seats like the queen he was.

We all go back to being quiet and listening to the chill, lo-fi music flowing out of the speakers as I stare out the window, my head only a slight pulse now.

Soon, Noah was pulling into the driveway of the beach house and pulling up next to my mother's tiny car.

"Gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee." I mumble as I quickly rip my seatbelt off and yeet myself from the vehicle. My flip flops smack against the ground as I race inside and up the stairs. I decide to make a little pit stop to the room I shared with Vera to grab a shirt to throw over my bikini.

I open the door to the room, expecting it to be empty. But instead I find Vera, standing in front of the mirror in only her lacy pink underwear and her hands were cupping her slightly inflated stomach. We both stare at each other in shock and complete silence

Oh s**t. I don't think that's a food baby.

house and pulling up next to my mother's tiny car.

"Gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee." I mumble as I quickly rip my seatbelt off and yeet myself from the vehicle. My flip flops smack against the ground as I race inside and up the stairs. I decide to make a little pit stop to the room I shared with Vera to grab a shirt to throw over my bikini.

I open the door to the room, expecting it to be empty. But instead I find Vera, standing in front of the mirror in only her lacy pink underwear and her hands were cupping her slightly inflated stomach. We both stare at each other in shock and complete silence

Oh s**t. I don't think that's a food baby.

i couldn't wait to put this up. updates will be a little irregular until classes start up again by the way and then i'll make an updating schedule.

so what do we think of emily?

also vera's pregnant??? a lot of you guessed that in the last chapter. what type of mom do you think she's going to be?

leave your wonderful thoughts!