Chasing His Kickass Luna Back Chapter 306

Abby

Chloe’s discerning gaze leaves no room for lying. I know that she knows something is going on between me and Karl, and this is just a test at this point to see if I’ll tell her the truth and keep lying.

However, my heart pounds in my chest, and my voice falters when I try to tell her the truth.

Chloe’s eyes soften ever so slightly, but her tone is still firm. “Abby, you can’t keep this from me,” she says, folding her arms across her chest and leaning against the counter. “I know you too well.”

I let out a soft sigh. She’s right; she does know me too well, and there’s no point in lying any longer. At this point, if I keep lying, all it will accomplish is showing her that I don’t trust her as a friend.

“Alright,” I say with a hard swallow. “Karl and I have been hooking up. We’ve done it a few times now.”

Chloe’s reaction is exactly what I expected: immediate, sharp, and full of pain.

“Why didn’t you tell me when I literally told you that I knew something was up?” she mutters, her voice quivering slightly with the emotion. “That’s not fair, Abby. We made a promise not to lie to each other, remember?”

I wince at her tone, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me. “I know, and I’m sorry,” I say. “I just… I figured you would react really negatively, and I didn’t know how long this would even last.”

Chloe sighs, her gaze flickering across the pristine kitchen. “Maybe you’re right about how I react,” she replies. “I know I can be harsh, but I only say what’s on my mind because I worry about you.”

There’s a moment of silence between us. I can’t blame Chloe for being upset; hell, I am, too. I’m upset with myself for ever getting myself into this situation, and I’m especially upset for, once again, letting it get between me and my friend.

“So,” she says after a few moments, “when you guys randomly left the bar last night, were you going to hook up, or…?”

I swallow again. “No, actually.” I pause, gathering my thoughts. “Karl... he rejected me last night. He said I’d just regret it, like I ‘always do’.”

Chloe furrows her brow. “Do you always regret it?”

Her words make me shrug. “I don’t know,” I reply. “Maybe. Maybe not. I… I do like hooking up with him. I miss him.”

There’s another moment of silence, and during that moment, I wonder if she’ll scold me again. But to my surprise, Chloe actually seems to soften just a little bit. “To me, it sounds like Karl was actually being a gentleman,” she says. “Not taking advantage of you while you were drunk? That’s... respectable, I guess.”

Chloe’s sudden admission catches me off guard. Chloe, admitting something positive about Karl? “Are you alright?” I ask with a slight chuckle. “Do you have a fever or something?”

Chloe shakes her head and lets out a slight chuckle of her own. “No fever. I’m still pissed at you—at all three of you, actually: you, Karl, and Leah.”

I can’t help but blanch a bit. I guess Chloe knows that Leah was harboring our secret for us. She’s always been too intuitive for her own good. “Well, let me just set the record straight,” I finally manage. “I’ve decided that we won’t even be hooking up anymore. It was only a short-lived, idiotic thing, so… You don’t need to worry about it, Chloe. It’s over.”

As I finish, Chloe quirks an eyebrow. “Why?” she asks. “If you like it, why end it?”

Once again, I’m taken by surprise. “Chloe, what are you saying?” I ask. “One moment you hate Karl and think he’s a manipulator, and the next you’re implying that I should keep hooking up with him?”

“Listen,” she says, rubbing her eyes. “I’m still wary about him, and you should know that. But I’ve seen the way he’s treated you this week, and I’ve seen how… well, how fucking happy you are. So I’m trying to understand, trying to see this side of him that you seem to see. I figure it’s the least I could do.”

“Chloe, I—”

“I know I can be abrasive and mean, especially towards men,” she says, swallowing as her eyes fill with tears. “And… I have a reason for that.”

I take a step closer to her. “Chloe, what are you saying?” I whisper.

Chloe lets out a soft sigh before she begins. “When I was in high school,” she says, “there was this teacher… Mr. Smith. I was failing calculus, and… and he made me…”

As Chloe speaks, I feel my heart wrench. Her voice falters, but she doesn’t need to finish; I already know what she’s implying. Without a word, I step forward, pulling her into a tight hug. Her shoulders quiver and she buries her face in her hands, letting out silent sobs.

“I’m sorry, Chloe. I had no idea,” I say, tears brimming in my own eyes as I hold my friend.

“It’s okay,” she murmurs, finally pulling away and wiping her red-rimmed eyes. “It was a long time ago, but… I guess I’ve just got this horrendous image of men in my head. That they’ll always do the worst thing imaginable. That’s why I only ever have one night stands, and always push away the men who want to get close with me.”

“Because you’re trying to protect yourself,” I whisper.

Chloe nods. I hand her a tissue from the box on the counter, and she takes it, blowing her nose.

“But I’ve been talking about it in therapy, and I know it’s time for me to move on,” Chloe says. “The fact of the matter is, I’m lonely. I… I want a partner, but I can’t do that if I always push people away. And I guess, in my own twisted sort of way, I’ve been jealous of the strides you and Karl have been making together. I’ve been seeing how hard he’s been working to better himself, just for you, and it makes me furious that I can’t seem to find anything like that.”

“Oh, Chloe, you’ll find someone,” I say gently, rubbing her back in big circles. “You’ll find someone who’s just as amazing as you. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

She chuckles. “Yeah, I know. But sometimes it feels like, just as soon as I get it built, it all comes crashing back down. But that doesn’t mean that it’s okay for me to destroy what other people have built, either. So I’m sorry, Abby.”

“It’s okay, Chlo,” I say softly. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

With a soft smile, Chloe leans on the counter beside me and rests her head on my shoulder. We continue to talk in the kitchen for a while, letting out our frustrations; and over time, her words begin to resonate with me. Maybe Karl was just being a gentleman after all, and maybe, just maybe, this won’t end in flames like I originally thought.

I still have a lot to think about, of course, but this is a start.

And maybe, like my wolf said, I can take my time to make a decision that won’t destroy either of us in the end.