Chapter 6

The rest of the week passed in a blur of school, friends, family, and my now‑boyfriend, Chase. Nothing dramatic happened, but ever since he confessed on Tuesday about talking to another girl before meeting me, the thought lingered in the back of my mind. I tried not to let it eat at me — it wasn’t betrayal, just timing — but it still bugged me. Did he know how I felt? Probably not. Would I tell him? Eventually. Maybe. It was still early in our relationship, and so far, things have been good. Really good.

By Thursday afternoon, I was home again, hanging out with Chase. We didn’t see each other every day, but every few days felt perfect — enough to miss him, enough to look forward to the next time. Still, I couldn’t ignore the tiny knot in my stomach that Natalie had unintentionally tightened when she mentioned Isaac earlier this week.

Isaac — my ex.

Same age.

Same school.

One shared class.

Barely any conversation beyond polite greetings.

Friends, technically, but distant ones.

He didn’t know about Chase yet. But people at school loved to eavesdrop and spread rumors, so it was only a matter of time.

Chase was in the garage with my dad, the two of them getting to know each other. Dad had wanted to meet him, and Chase had agreed without hesitation. Meanwhile, I was in the living room setting up Netflix, flipping between shows and movies, trying to decide what we should watch later.

That’s when my phone buzzed.

A text from Isaac.

I blinked and confused. We barely talked.

I set the remote down, walked to the coffee table, and picked up my phone.

Isaac: Hey Lola, what’s up?

Weird. But it's harmless, right?

Me: Oh, hey! I didn’t expect you to text me honestly, considering we don’t talk all that much.

He replied almost instantly.

Isaac: True, but it doesn’t mean I can’t message you. I just wanted to know how you’ve been lately.

I hesitated, then typed:

Me: I’ve been good, now that I’m seeing someone.

As soon as I hit send, I realized I didn’t owe him any details about my love life. But it was too late.

I opened the group chat and updated the girls:

Me: Isaac texted me out of nowhere asking what I’m up to and how I’ve been. I told him about my relationship, which I probably shouldn’t have brought up, but I didn’t think twice about it.

I hit send just as I heard Chase’s voice coming down the hallway. He must’ve finished talking with my dad.

I set my phone aside and focused on him as he walked into the living room.

“What did you feel like watching?” He asked. “A movie or a show?”

“I’m up for either,” I said. “Whatever you’re in the mood for.”

“We can watch a show.”

“Okay. Anything in mind, or should I pick?”

“You can pick. I’ll be fine with whatever.”

I scrolled through options, then clicked on Supernatural. I’d seen it before, but he hadn’t, so I started us on Season 1, Episode 1. As the opening credits rolled, we settled into the couch together, slowly leaning into each other until we were cuddling.

A few episodes in, he said, “This show seems interesting so far. Also… how come I’ve never met your brothers?”

“I’m glad you’re liking it,” I said. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it. As for my brothers… they’re usually out while I’m at school. On weekends they leave at different times and come back either the same day or the next.”

“Hopefully I get to meet them one day.”

I looked up at him from where my head rested on his lap. “Don’t worry, you will. I’ll talk to them and plan a day. They’re protective of me since I’m the youngest, but they’re nice.”

“That’s good to know. What are their names?”

“Lance and Gavin.”

He nodded, and we went back to watching the show.

Outside, the sky darkened. The room grew cozier and quieter. At some point, he paused the episode and turned toward me. I looked up, and he leaned in slowly. I leaned in too.

Then he kissed me.

Soft, warm, gentle — but full of something that made my stomach flutter. I kissed him back, letting the moment wrap around us.

When he pulled back, he smiled at me, eyes locked on mine.

“I hope you didn’t mind,” he said softly. “I wanted to kiss you so badly. I didn’t want to miss my chance since I’m here with you now.”

“I didn’t mind at all,” I said, smiling back. “That kiss made this moment feel special. I won’t forget it.”

A little while later, he checked his phone. “My mom is here,” he said. “She’s waiting outside.”

“Oh, okay. Make sure you’ve got everything. If you left something behind, I’ll let you know. Also… I want to meet her, if you don’t mind. It’ll be quick.”

He thought about it, then nodded. “That shouldn’t be an issue. She wanted to meet you too, since I told her about you.”

That made my stomach flutter again. I followed him outside.

We walked up to the car, and he tapped lightly on the passenger window. His mom looked over, then noticed me standing beside him. She rolled the window down with a warm smile.

“Well, hey there!” She said, Waving.

Chase gestured between us. “Mom, this is Lola. Lola, meet my mom.”

I felt a little nervous but smiled anyway. “Hi! How are you?”

“I’m good,” she said brightly. “And it’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

She glanced at Chase. “Come on, we’ve got to get going.”

He double‑checked that he had everything, then turned to me. “I’ll text you when I get home.” He hugged me, kissed my cheek, and slipped into the car.

“Sounds good,” I said, hugging him back. I waved at his mom. “It was nice meeting you, Chase’s mom.”

“It was nice meeting you too, sweetheart! Have a good night.”

“You too.”

They pulled away, and I headed back inside.

I locked the front door behind me, cleaned up the living room, tossed the trash, and finally grabbed my phone again. The group chat had blown up.

Natalie: Well now Isaac knows about it… who knows why he messaged you in the first place.

Brianna: It’s weird he said, “it can’t hurt to text you.”

Angel: Wait… did he know something was up before you told him? How would he know? We didn’t say anything to him.

Their messages made me pause.

Think.

Rewind.

But I didn’t want to spiral.

Me: Yeah, it is kind of weird now that I think about it… but I’m not going to stress over it.

I set my phone down and went to the kitchen for a snack. But curiosity tugged at me, and before I could stop myself, I texted Isaac again.

Me: Did someone tell you about my relationship?

Isaac: Maybe. But don’t worry about it. I’m happy for you. You deserve to be happy, too.

Me: Huh… well if someone did say something behind my back, I’ll deal with it. But thanks — that means a lot.

Later, I plugged my phone in on my nightstand, then sat on my bed with my laptop. I opened Facebook, mostly out of boredom — but also because Chase and I were friends there, and I wanted to see if he’d posted anything.

He had.

The photo of us outside the movie theater.

My heart warmed… until I scrolled to the comments.

One girl had written:

“You look good in that photo, Who’s the girl? A friend?”

A winky face.

Asking who I was.

Assuming, I was just a friend.

My stomach tightened.

Why would she say that? Does she not know he’s in a relationship? Did he not tell her? Did he message her privately? Or is she just clueless?

I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but the thought stuck like a burr. If he didn’t bring it up to me, I’d bring it up to him — eventually.

Other than that, nothing else seemed off, so I closed the tab and tried not to overthink it tonight.

Before bed, I sent him one last text:

Me: I had a good time tonight. I already miss you.

Chase: I did too. And I miss you already.

I set my phone down, letting my eyes rest from the screen.

And before sleep pulled me under, one last memory surfaced — the beginning of everything with Isaac.

Back when I was the new girl at school, everything felt unfamiliar and overwhelming. Then Isaac showed up in my life, and for a little while, it felt like things were finally settling into place. We talked, got to know each other, and we just… clicked. When we confessed our feelings, it felt easy to make things official. I met his family; he met mine. We hung out all the time, went on dates, shared music, and shared secrets. He knew about my anxiety, my insecurities, the personal things I didn’t tell just anyone. He even knew I was a virgin — and he never made me feel weird about it. He knew my flaws, and I knew his.

And then one day, everything changed.

During class, I caught him flirting with another girl. At first, I tried to brush it off — maybe I misunderstood. Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like. But at lunch, I saw it again. This time, he didn’t see me right away. I watched it long enough to know it wasn’t innocent. When I finally confronted him, everyone around us saw what had happened. He tried to lie, tried to say it was nothing, tried to blame my friends for “putting ideas in my head.” But I’d seen it with my own eyes. That was enough.

I broke it off right there.

After that, he spent weeks trying to convince me to give him another chance. I said no every time. Eventually, a month later, he got the message and moved on.

Thinking about all of that now — the good, the bad, the betrayal — made my chest feel tight. Maybe that’s why his sudden text earlier this week felt so strange. Maybe that’s why part of me was still tense when his name popped up on my screen.

But tonight, after everything with Chase — the cuddling, the kiss, meeting his mom — my body finally started to relax. My eyelids grew heavy, my thoughts drifting in and out.

And eventually, I slipped into sleep.