Page 21 of Chasing Secrets
They walked in silence down the stairs and through the main floor of the house. Jalen caught glimpses of other pack members moving about, but no one bothered them. He felt their curious glances, though, watching as Chase led him toward the back of the house.
The afternoon sun hit Jalen’s face as they stepped onto the back porch, warm and bright enough to make him squint. The property stretched out before them, a vast expanse of green lawn giving way to dense forest at the edges. Mountains rose in the distance, their peaks still carrying patches of snow despite the summer heat.
“It’s beautiful here,” Jalen admitted, breathing in the clean mountain air.
“It is,” Chase agreed, leaning against the porch railing. “I’ve lived a lot of places over the years, but this... this feels like home.”
Jalen glanced at him, overwhelmed by how badly he wanted to be in Chase’s arms. He wanted just one hug that didn’t come with a price. “How old are you, anyway?”
A small smile tugged at Chase’s lips. “Two hundred and forty.”
“Jesus,” Jalen whispered, trying to wrap his head around that number. “That’s... that’s… Jesus.”
He couldn’t imagine living that long. His twenty-six years felt like a lifetime. Jalen could only imagine the life Chase had lived.
“Yeah. Makes birthdays a little awkward. Hard to fit all those candles on a cake.”
Laughter erupted from Jalen’s throat, a sound so unexpected it startled him.
They fell silent again, the soft chirping of birds and rustling of leaves filling the space between them. Jalen waited for Chase to bring up the pills, to ask questions he wasn’t ready to answer. Instead, Chase just stood there, seemingly content to share the silence.
Finally, Jalen couldn’t take it anymore. Chase stood there all zen, while Jalen waited for the inevitable lecture he knew was coming. Nobody was that chill without faking it. “Aren’t you going to ask about them?”
Chase turned, eyes reflecting the golden afternoon light. “Do you want me to?”
“No.” Jalen looked away, focusing on a bird landing on the lawn. “But most people would.”
“I’m not most people,” Chase said simply. “And I figure you’ll tell me if you want to.”
He’d spent so long bracing for judgment, for criticism, that Chase’s acceptance—or at least his willingness not to pry—felt almost disorienting.
What did that say about him that he’d rather argue than believe Chase wasn’t judging him? Somehow, the lack of criticism felt like its own kind of attack.
“They’re prescription,” Jalen found himself saying, as if he was desperate for Chase to see him in a better light. “For anxiety. Sometimes... sometimes it gets bad, and they help.”
Unfortunately they couldn’t make him forget. The pills only helped mask the pain, not the cause of it.
Chase’s expression was still free of judgment. “Makes sense.”
It never makes sense to me.
“That’s it?” Jalen asked, unable to keep the surprise from his voice. “No lecture about how I shouldn’t take more than prescribed?”
A small crease appeared between Chase’s brows. “Is that what you want me to say?”
“No, I just... expected one.”
“I’m not here to tell you how to live your life, Jalen,” Chase said, his voice soft but firm. “I just want you to be safe. And happy, if possible.”
Jalen stared at him, searching for the catch, the hidden agenda. But Chase’s expression remained open, his eyes steady on Jalen’s face.
“Why?” he finally asked.
“Why what?” Chase glanced at him as if he was truly puzzled.
“Why do you care if I’m safe or happy? You barely know me.” That made no sense. Not even Jalen’s family was concerned about his wellbeing, yet someone he’d just met seemed to genuinely care?
Chase had to have some kind of flaw, like someone who cut in line because waiting was for chumps or a guy who flexed way too often at the gym while lecturing everyone on a proper protein diet.
