◾ Chapter - 24 ◾

                                    

                                          
*Chloe*
When I'm not feeling murderous, and my anger is calm a bit, I head back to my room at 3 in the morning. The blood on my hand is all dried up and I'm sweaty as fuck. 
After taking a long shower, I go down to the backyard and stand near the fire pit. The chilly night breeze hits my face as I stand there staring at the moon, reconsidering my plans. 
Its no use now Chloe. The more you think about it more you'll find reasons to back out of it. 
Dumping a couple of woods inside I sprinkle some kerosene over them and throw a burning match in it.  . 
If I am to sever all my relationships with them, then it won't hurt if I call them now. If I talk to them, just for one last time. Also, its Reece's birthday today. I never missed any of his birthdays.
 Or maybe I should not. What good it is, to leave them hurting.
I smile at a picture of Tris and I on my screen. I am giving him a piggy back ride, and we both are laughing our asses off. I miss those carefree summer days. When I literally had nothing to worry about. 
(A/n: Imagine Chloe and Tristen in this picture.)

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
Suddenly I hear the glass door open and Ashley emerges from behind it. 
"Hey..." She greets.
"Not feeling sleepy today?" I tease making her chuckle. 
"Woah... whose that hot chick." She asks looking at my phone. I told her all about my boys, but never showed her their pictures. "Wait... is this..?"
"Yeah... that's Tristen" I smile. 
"Damn he is hot." I laugh at her choice of words. She slides through couple more pictures and stops at one. Her lips turn into a smirk as she glances at me.
"What?" I question. Without having to answer, she turns the phone screen towards me, instantly making me go red. It was a picture of Reece. He is standing in just his jeans, and is soaked in water.
(A/n: I love this guy. 😩🥴🥴)

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
"I need explanation" Her smirk grows wider.
"That's Reece. I took that picture at one of the pool parties. He just climbed out of the pool after doing a flip from the roof top. I just thought it was a picture perfect moment so I captured it. As you can see, he is looking at the camera, he caught me. But I was too stubborn to accept, I took his picture. Oh the torture I had to go through after that. 
He even took my phone and tried to sneak inside, but it was password protected. I locked it after the party cause I knew he's gonna pull something like that." By now Ashley is in a fit of laughter. He teased me for weeks. 
"You are insane." She manages to say between her laughs. 
A while later, she calms down and says something I wanted to do for a long time. 
"Lets call them" Her eyes shine with mischief, under the bright moonlight. She pulls out her phone, and dials Tristen's number. It rings a couple of times, before he picks up. 
"No, I don't want any credit cards." He snaps. The sound of his voice brings a huge smile on my face but tears in my eyes too. 
"Is that how you take all your phone calls?" Ashley asks in pure amusement.
"Who is this?" I can tell he is a bit baffled.
"I'm Ashley Martinez, Chloe's cousin from NYC." She introduces herself. I hear some shuffling on the other side, as if he just sprinted to somewhere. 
"Is... Is Chloe okay... Where is she? Is she around? Can I talk to her?" He rambles in one breath.
"Calm down cow boy. She is just fine. She was missing you guys a lot today but didn't have the courage to call. So I did that for her." She smiles looking at me. 
"You wanna talk?" I nod and take the device from her hand.
"Hey Tris.." I say. My voice breaking instantly, and I hear a thud in his background. "Did you just fall?" 
"No.. It- It was just a cat." He stutters. But I know he is lying. He is allergic to cats. If it wasn't him then it was Reece. 
"How are you kiddo?" He asks and I feel the smile in his voice.
"I'm great." I lie. 
"You know you can't lie to me Chlo." He chuckles. I look at Ashley who is a bit shocked, but understands my gesture and leaves me alone for a bit. 
"I- ahh, just had some shocking revelations today." I hold back tears. 
"What revelations?" Should I tell him or should I keep it a secret. But the weight is too heavy for me to carry. I need to tell them. I want to get it off my chest.
"I had a sister Tristen." I confess.
"A what? And wait... had? What do you mean had? Where is she now?" He inquires, bewilderment evident in his voice. 
"The people who killed my mom killed her 18 years ago." I sniff and the line goes silent for a couple of moments. "She was three. They kidnapped her from a birthday party and strangled her to get to my parents." My knees suddenly feel weak as I let it all in. I drop on the grass, crying my eyes out. 
He doesn't say anything but just stays there listing to my cry. And I'm grateful for that. Moments pass in the comfortable silence of my sobs and his breathing. 
"Anyways..." I wipe off my tears. Time to lighten up mood. "Is Reece around?" 
"Uh.. nah, I'm at home. He's at The Arena, You know training for the championship and shit." 
"You're at home with Carlos blasting off your speakers?" I laugh. "Put me on speaker." 
"You're already on speaker." He huffs.
"Happy Birthday King. Finally 19 huh?" I smile, but he doesn't reply. 
"Hey... listen to me, I know its hard and I understand if you don't wanna talk. If it wasn't for Ashley... I couldn't have had the guts to call you both either. And don't be hard on yourself, thinking it was your fault. It wasn't Reece. I'm happy here. I'm so glad that I came to these amazing people that I now call family." I sniff. 
"Just remember, I always love you both. No one can replace you. You are, were and will always be my best friends. My family." Not being able to say anything else, I hang up and stand up on my feet. 
I'm sorry guys, but I have to do this. I have to do this to keep you safe, I don't want them to come after you.
With that, I drop my phone into the blazing fire, and just stand there watching it burn. Watch all my memories and happiness burn with it.
*****
I feel bad for all of them. Did Chloe make the right choice? What would you do if you were her. I think I'd do the same. Sure it'd break me to push my bestfriends away, but It'll be for their own safety. Let me know in the comments what y'all think about it. 
P.S. The fact that I'm writing this chapter on Daniel's Birthday is just crazy. I'm so happy and the tour dates are out. FINALLY. Though they are not coming to my city. But I'm happy that they are back in the game. 
▪ Peace ▪