Page 78 of Confusing Hearts

“Sorry, she sort of walked in on us last week. They said they weren’t coming to study group and then showed up anyway, so I had to tell her.”

Tessa and I stayed up half the night talking about anything and everything. It was wonderful, and bittersweet. It felt like the bond between twins like the kind you read about in books, but I had rarely experienced in my lifetime until that moment. Despite her assurance that no matter what Daddy said I’d always have her in my life, I didn’t dare cling to that hope.

We ended up falling asleep on the couch. I awoke to eight missed messages, all from Chase. I hadn’t even heard it ring once. Checking my settings, I realized it was still shut off, because I had silenced it after it started ringing in the library the evening before, when several people had scolded me for it as I was walking in to meet up with Chase for our study group which had resulted in very little studying, unless you count me memorizing the ridges of his abs.

Checking the clock on my phone, I realized I was going to be late for calculus.

“Tessa, you have to wake up. I’m late for class,” I told her, knowing it took an act from God himself to wake my sister.

She grumbled while I started brewing coffee, hoping the scent would rouse her.

“Tess, I’m in classes most of the day. You have to hurry.” My pleas were only met with more grumbling.

With the coffee ready, I quickly filled two travel mugs and was surprised and thankful to see Tessa starting to stir. I shoved one of the mugs into her hands and wrapped my arm around her to heft her up.

“A little help, Tess. God, you’re heavy,” I complained. That was enough to get her moving.

“Hey, I’ve only gained a few pounds this semester. You don’t have to poke fun,” she whined.

“I’m not making fun, but I’m literally begging you to move so I don’t have to carry you all the way to the Jeep.”

She giggled but straightened. “Do I have time to go to the bathroom at least?”

“No. I’ll drop you off at the house. You can do the walk of shame and be the talk of gossip all week. You’ll love it.”

She looked at me and pouted. “Where did you get those clothes?”

“I live here, remember?”

She looked around in a sleepy daze as reality slowly settled back in. “Oh, right. Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, let’s go.” To my relief, she finally relented.

I made it back to campus, dropped Tessa off, and drove over to my first class. I ran the short distance to the building and arrived breathless just as the professor walked in. He looked at me and shook his head with a look of disappointment, but didn’t comment.

Chase and Anita were already there waiting.

“Are you okay? You never called last night,” he said, his voice filled with worry while looking me over to see that I was okay.

“I’m fine. Sorry. We went back to the cabin, and then fell asleep after talking until like four a.m. I’m exhausted and didn’t think Tessa would ever wake up.”

“Tessa knows about the cabin?” Anita whispered, clearly listening into our conversation.

I nodded. “Tessa knows everything.”

Chase was watching me carefully, but didn’t reach out like I could vividly feel he wanted to.

“And . . .” he asked.

I smiled, genuinely happy. “We’re good. She took it much better than I expected.”

Chase

Chapter 23

Seeing that Jenna was okay, made me feel like I could breathe again. After everything that had happened over the weekend, I couldn’t help but freak a little when she didn’t call or answer my calls the night before. I knew she and her sister had gone off to talk and they had likely left campus since she took my Jeep, but that certainly didn’t help my sanity one bit. I think it was the first time that I fully understood just how important she was to me.

Jenna Lockhardt was my life. She was my future. She owned my heart and was the only person I wanted to spend my time with. I was glad she had time with her sister, but a part of me was jealous of that, too, because I had missed her so much and I didn’t want to miss out on any part of her life.

I scolded myself for being a sap. I was whipped; there was no denying it. Maybe I needed to spend a little time with my fraternity brothers and remember what it was like without Jenna consuming my every thought. Nah. There was no point, because I knew she’d still be there, if only in my mind. I was a goner. I simply couldn’t imagine my life without her. Though, I knew the old Chase from even three months ago would be kicking my own ass over it. Even knowing that, with her by my side, I simply didn’t care.

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