Page 58 of Chase

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Theo

I’m on cloud fucking nine today after my night with Izzy; this could actually happen for us, finally! However, my need for answers is overshadowing my jubilation. There are far too many questions floating in and out of my head to ignore. I still don’t know what happened to cause her to have nightmares, or to act the way she does, and I sure as hell don’t know what Ethan and his father were talking about on Friday. In fact, I really hate the fact I’ve kept that from her. But then again, I don’t actually have anything solid to tell her yet.

I’ve been studying her all weekend and noticed a lot of differences between her and her siblings. She’s fair, they’re darker. She has large, blue eyes, whereas they all have green eyes, much like their mother. They are ridiculously tall; Tilly could be a supermodel, not that I’d ever tell her that. But Izzy has always been like a little pixie to keep in my pocket. She has a lot more going on in the chest area, kind of loving that, but much like a model, Tilly is flat chested. So that would all point to Izzy not being a Chase, wouldn’t it? But then why the hell is she with them when they clearly don’t want her? With no further clarity, I pinch the bridge of my nose and shut my eyes tight to try and work my way through it all.

“You ok, man?” Daniel’s jovial tone of voice travels across the room and hits me with the respite I need from it all. I let out a long sigh and then look at him, suddenly realizing I could do with a new set of eyes on this.

“Can you do me a favor? Come over here a sec,” I ask,which he immediately obliges with a confident, self-assured walk. Typical, laid-backed Daniel, the perfect ying to my yang in business. I pass him a photo from Tilly’s wedding that she posted on Facebook. It includes Izzy and her entire family. Izzy’s obvious fake smile shows how much she enjoyed herself that day, while Ethan’s scowl shows what an asshole he is. “What do you see?”

“A fucked up, albeit attractive,Addams Familyphotograph,” he replies. “What exactly am I looking for? I’m guessing this is Izzy and her family.”

“Is it though?” I question before explaining what Ethan said to me on Friday. He nods while continuing to study the photograph in more detail.

“She does stand out,” he says, “but all the kids have their father’s nose and small ears, see look.”

He points to Craig, and I notice they do all have the Chase straight nose and ears, including Izzy. I stretch back in my chair, feeling even more defeated by this mystery.

“I’ve got it,” he says, snapping me out of my own head, “it’s the mom!” He passes me the photo and points to her. “Izzy looks nothing like her mom, whereas the other two do. Perhaps dear old Uncle Craig was dipping his wick away from home.”

“Hoooleee shit!” I gasp, clutching at the photo and lifting it up to the light. How did I not see it before? “Izzy’s mom is not her mom!”

“It would seem not,” Daniel laughs awkwardly, then winces. “What the hell are you going to do with this information?”

“I don’t know!” I clasp my hand over my mouth, feeling nauseated over how Izzy’s going to take this. “She’s alreadyfragile, but I can’t keep this from her, can I? Fuck!”

“Maybe she’ll be pleased?” Daniel offers; part of me thinks he could be right. However, a bigger part believes she’s more likely to feel hurt, confused, and angry. I sure as hell would be.

“Do I confront Uncle Craig, or do I leave that to her?”

“I think if it was me, I would take a few days to mull it over so I could come to a more rational decision when it’s all sunk in a bit,” Daniel advises, which makes sense. “But I wouldn’t mention this to anyone else, no matter how tempting. Not your mom, your dad, or Granny in the woods. You know how stuff like this can leak out and she won’t thank you for discussing it with anyone but her.”

“But Ethan knows because he’s the one who dropped the hints in the first place” I look up at him, feeling irritated by the thought of her dickhead half-brother.

“Then you really do only have a few days to think about it,” he sighs, leaving me to my headache of a situation.

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Izzy

After my appointments have ended for the day, I take Mel for a coffee at the local Starbucks before we head home. We’ll hopefully miss the rush hour traffic this way, so it makes sense. I’m still anxious about Will but can’t do anything except sit and wait for someone to contact me. Mel allows me to sit in silence while I mull it all over; she can tell I’m still flustered.

The sound of my phone buzzing across the table has my heart jumping into my throat. It takes a moment or two to register what is going on before I grab hold and pick it up.

“Hi, Penny, what’ve you heard?” I rush out.

“Oh, God, Iz, Will’s in hospital,” Penny sniffs. “His sister spoke to Jaime and told him he’d been beaten up…like…badly. He’s got concussion, a few cracked ribs, and looks bloody awful. We’re with him now but he’s still out of it.”

“Shit!” I whisper shout before placing my hand over my mouth. Mel is already packing up our stuff, obviously having heard everything.

“I’ll text you the details of where he is,” Penny says, “please hurry, Izzy, he’s really bad.”

“We’re on our way now,” I reassure her, then hang up and make a dash for the car.

On the way over to the hospital, I probably break a few speed limits as I wheedle in and out of traffic. I honk my horn and act like a crazy bitch with full-on road rage, all the while the traffic moves slowly Southwards. I call Theo to tell him I’ll be late, but after I tell him why, he insists on meeting me there.

We arrive within the hour, but I still make a mad power walk up to his room, where I find Penny sitting at Will’s bedside, holding his lifeless hand. Jaime is slumped inside of a chair beside the bed with emotionless eyes that are covered in roadmap veins. I can tell it’s hitting him hard to see his friend like this.

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