Picking Up The Pieces

ch.17

♡

You could feel it as Chelsea stood there, that slowly sharpening ache that was starting to form in her chest once again, a pain that had become rather familiar to her since it had first developed. Though you could tell that it was only getting worse with each passing second.

''It happened so quickly. I didn't know what I was thinking,'' Ben said to Chelsea. She stood there like a statue while Ben explains what happened. Chelsea couldn't wrap into her mind how or why did this happen. She thought she'd a good chance with someone like Ben but he proved her wrong.

Ben heaves a sigh. ''I'm sorry. Chelsea. I broke your trust and I know you to deal with me anymore, which is fine. I can only hope you can forgive me.''

''Yeah,'' Chelsea sniffs after wiping the tears away dripping down on her nose. ''I'm going going to have to think about that.''

♡

Theo watches the sea, lost in the rhythmic percussion of waves on sand. His eyes are steady to the horizon, face aglow with the last orange rays before twilight beckons the stars. His lips bear the semblance of a smile, just enough to show that he is enjoying his thoughts, whatever they may be.

Phoebe was done for a swim and dried up afterward. She met up with Oliver and the two looked around to see where Chelsea and Ben were at but eventually they gave up not knowing where they could've been.

The two met up with Theo as they went over to the front of the lakehouse meeting up with Patricia and Janet.

"Where is Chelsea?" Theo asked.

"She wasn't feeling so well, she went back to the house, " Patricia replies. They all drove back to the vacation home feeling a bit worn out from the party.

Janet and Patricia went to their rooms and begin to dress in their pajamas to call it a night. Phoebe decided to head back and hang out with Oliver one last time as Theo was in the living room drinking and watching basketball tournaments.

Minutes later, the door was opened and Chelsea walked into the house with her head down. Her body posture looks like a slump; an old woman to be exact. She looked like she hasn't slept for days as she was slugging her way out to the center of the room.

Theo did his best to keep his gaze off of Chelsea's ass, but it was very hard when she was wearing tight leggings. He liked her curves, had liked them before, and liked them even more now.

But, his main focus was on Chelsea's feelings. He wondered why she was so gloomy and who could have made her feel this way. From her posture to her sad eyes and her frown face, Theo assumed she and Ben fought. Or that is what he thinks.

Either way, Chelsea was sad. Extremely sad and that didn't make Theo happy.

Chelsea went up the stairway and went over the hallway that leads to the balcony. She sat down on the brown wooden chair and looked out from the view from where she was sitting. The sun rises and descends in waves of color, pastels of orange and pink.

Chelsea watched the sunset slipping away as the colors begin to fade away slowly. The sky went dark and the moon appeared across shining along with the stars. Her eyes moved around watching each star shine right above her.

The sliding door was opened and Theo went over to where Chelsea was sitting as she takes a deep breath and folded her arms.

Stars come to greet their eyes and the two were sitting in silence. Theo could sense that something was wrong but he didn't want to push Chelsea too hard. He saw how tired she'd looked and it made him feel sick at heart. So he took a deep breath and looked at her ''Are you okay?'' He asked.

''Fine,'' she mumbles under her breath. Even when though she wasn't, Theo knew she was lying. A teardrop from her nose and Chelsea quickly swiped it away from her.

''Chelsea,'' Theo said her name in a whisper, moving his body towards her. ''What's wrong.'' His knees were touching her close. He saw the way Chelsea's breathing pattern changed when he asked the question.

She stared back at him with such mournful eyes.

''Nothing,'' she whispers, avoiding contact from him. Chelsea got up from her seat immediately and tried her best to escape when Theo's arm lands on hers, preventing Chelsea from leaving him.

He places his thumb touches on her chin then uplifts her chin to look at him and looked at her brown eyes. They were watery, on the edge to spill over her face with tears.

Her head was fuzzy, and it wasn't just because of the alcohol in her system. No, it was because Thel was right in front of her.

All thoughts of that fled her mind when Theo's hand slid through her hair to cup the back of her head and pull her closer to him. Chelsea wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her body against his.

Theo lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers, just a caress, for just a moment.

He had missed this. Missed this more than anything. And when she didn't move away, he kissed her.

And Chelsea knew she wanted this feeling. Kissing Theo again was something she had thought about for a while now even when she was with Ben.

So she kissed Theo.

Not because she had to.

But, for so long, she wanted to.

Chelsea's head was swimming, the mixture of the booze and Theo filling her up, so she just closed her eyes and leaned onto him as he took her lips again. He tasted of light of alcohol on his lips but that didn't stop him from kissing her. Theo missed the touch of her lips onto him; the soft texture on top of each other in a rapid motion making a smacking noise when they kiss.

She loved it.

Theo had loved it too.

Theo pulled back, his brows lowered as he frowned. He thought he'd taken a little too far with Chelsea, kissing her like that was over the top. Theo sighed and studied her face. He knew she wanted more but couldn't resist keeping going.

Besides, Chelsea was drunk, he didn't want to push her limits, so he stopped.

Gently touching her face again, Theo gulped down to on his throat, cautious of his next move, and took a step back.

Chelsea nuzzles her head into Theo's chest, falling asleep, as Theo kisses her gently on her forehead, wrapping his arms tighter around her. Underneath the stars, hugging closely, Chelsea and Theo stood there with each other quietly, enjoying each other's company.