He yanked his phone out of his pocket and checked it for a minute, “I don't see anything.” He mumbled.
I powered up my phone and waited for it to stop chiming from the dozens of texts and voicemails I'd received from Chase, Bree and Mom. When they were done I opened the texts from Chase and scrolled through the ones he had sent me after waking up this morning, until I got to the pictures. I held my phone out and waited for him to come get it. He took it with a shaking hand and after a moment that felt like a lifetime sucked in a sharp gasp.
“Oh God. No. No, no I wouldn't.” His legs gave out and he hit the ground hard.
“Well, you obviously did.” My voice was shaky, but I kept myself calm.
“I don't remember this, I wouldn't do this to you! You know I love you!”
“Maybe you were just that drunk.”
“I didn't drink last night, I swear! Ask Bree!”
“Chase,” my voice was low, almost soft, “just stop lying to me.”
“I'm not lying!” He scooted closer to me and placed his hands on my thighs, “Please believe me!”
I removed his hands and took a deep breath, “Chase, if you still want to be in the baby's life, I would love that. But I can't continue to be in this relationship, besides, we both know it has been doomed from the beginning.”
“No it hasn't!”
“I can't trust you Chase. Especially after this.”
“Harper. We. Are not. Breaking up.” He gripped my hands in his, his whole body shaking. “I was going to propose to you after graduation tomorrow!”
I recoiled at the thought of him asking me to marry him while he'd been cheating on me. “We need to.” I continued, “You obviously still want to live your old life, and I need to not have to worry about what you're doing when I'm not with you.”
“I don't want my old life! I don't want anything without you! You are my everything Harper. You and our baby are my everything.” His head fell into my lap while his body was overtaken by sobs.
I sat there silently and ran my fingers through his shaggy blond hair until he calmed down and looked back up into my face, “Maybe sometime later, after you've had a chance to think about what you really want, we can give us a shot again.”
“Princess please, please don't do this. I can't lose you.”
“You don't have to,” I whispered, “we can remain friends, you can be at all the appointments and I will continue to live here if that's what you want. But Chase, you have just shattered my heart, over what will probably only be one night with Trish. Because of that, I can't be yours right now. I can't be the na?ve girlfriend at home with a baby, while you're off with other women.”
“I won't be, I only want you.”
I sat there a moment, concentrating on deep breaths in and out, “It's going to take a lot for me to believe you again Chase, but I'm willing to give you the opportunity to earn my trust again. We're going to have to start over as friends though.”
“I don't want to be your friend Harper!”
“It's that or nothing Chase.” I tried to keep my tone composed for the both of us.
“Baby I'm so sorry. I promise I wouldn't have done that to you, I don't remember anything from last night.”
“I told you, I'll give you a chance if you want it. But I need a few days before we can try to be friends. I really – I'm hurting Chase, I feel like you just confirmed every fear I've ever had of being in a relationship with you. And I'm still not sure how to begin to deal with this.”
He kissed me firmly, and cupped my face, “I will get to the bottom of whatever happened. I love you Harper, more than you could ever imagine.” He brought his mouth to mine again, and I let our lips move against each other for a few moments. I couldn’t help it, I didn’t know if or when we would have this again.
Chase's phone rang, snapping us out of the moment. He started to press ignore, but did a double take and answered, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!” He stormed off into the kitchen, face bright red from anger, “No! You just ruined my life, do you understand that?! Don't fucking apologize to me! Harper is the only person you should be apologizing to, but understand that if you ever contact her, or me for that matter, again, I will make the rest of your life a living hell!” He ended the call and threw his iPhone against the wall, shattering the case and sending pieces towards me. “Oh God, Harper. I'm sorry!”
I shrunk into the chair when he came near me, he still looked like he was about to kill someone. When he saw my movements, his face fell, his anger quickly fading.
“I have to go, before I mess this up more.” He brushed his knuckles along my jaw, “I'm sorry for everything. I can't say that enough Harper, I'm so, so sorry. Please don't end us though, I will earn your trust again somehow, just don't do this.”