Chapter 21

The first few words that left Chase's mouth had me smirking. We had barely stepped into his room, and he was looking at me with determination. "Take your shirt off."

"You want music with that too?" I asked suggestively in a teasing manner. He looked confused at first as he furrowed his brows together and tilted his head. I grabbed the hem of my shirt with my free hand and started swaying my hips, a silly grin on my face.

When he caught on to what I was doing, his eyes widened, and the tip of his ears turned a bright red. "N-No! I didn't mean it like that! Why do you have to sexualize everything?" he defended, covering his face in embarrassment.

I laughed and walked over to his nightstand, placing the plate with the toast on top of it. "Of course you didn't mean it like that," I teased. He grumbled underneath his breath as I took in the features of the room.

The walls were painted a dark gray, only one of them was royal blue. In the center of the room stood a full-sized bed with royal blue covers, a mahogany nightstand on the side. On the wall next to the door was a computer desk, with a laptop on top of it and various books and papers scattered around.

"I need you to take your shirt off in order for me to inspect and treat your cuts and bruises."

"Alright, try to not enjoy it too much," I said, and he groaned, making me chuckle. I swiftly took my shirt off and threw it on his bed messily. When I looked at him, he was rummaging inside his closet, probably looking for something.

I was about to make a comment on it just to bother him, but he instantly turned to face me, a first-aid kit in hand. "Lie face down on the bed," he instructed, and I had to bite my tongue to keep quiet.

My dirty mind really had to chill out today.

I did as told and folded my arms under my forehead. The sound of plastic filled the room as he rummaged through the first aid kit. Before I knew it, there was something cold touching my side. I hissed at the coldness and he mumbled an apology, continuing to do whatever he was doing. His fingers massaged my side and part of my back, which felt relaxing if I didn't focus on the pain.

Boy, was I tense.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled, closing my eyes.

"Shut up and let me work," he grumbled.

"Someone sure is grumpy today," I teased, and I could pretty much see him rolling his eyes.

He kept working on my bruises, pressing on certain spots that earned a warning from me. After a minute or so, he instructed me to stand up and I did, turning to look at him. "I'm almost done, I only need-"

"Chase, I'm home!" a female voice called from down the hallway, and he froze in place. He muttered a string of profanities under his breath, surprising me, and gave me an alarmed look. I could hear a faint clicking of heels and the closing of the front door.

He urgently told me to hide as he looked around the room frantically. His eyes settled on the closet doors, and he grabbed my wrist, before pulling me to it. "I know it's uncomfortable, but please hide for a little," he pleaded with wide eyes.

I wanted to tease him and bother him about it, but he was genuinely pleading. I raised my arms in mock surrender and stepped inside the closet, trying to fit as best as possible due to all the clothing. As the clicking of heels got closer to the room, he closed the closet doors hurriedly but left them a little open. I peeked through the small crack nosily, seeing a woman in her mid-forties step inside the room.

"Chase, darling, how was your day? I heard from Izzy that you were all dismissed at lunchtime."

"Uh, yeah. Nobody knows why though," he said.

The woman standing there-which I could guess was his mother-furrowed her brows at him. "I meant to ask; do you know who's the owner of that motorcycle in our driveway?" she asked and leaned against the threshold.

I could see Chase's shoulder tense ever so slightly, and he let out a nervous laugh. "No, mom, why would I? Maybe it's from one of the neighbors," he said innocently.

His mother didn't quite believe him as she gave him a bored expression.

Was Brownie going to be in trouble?

"Is that Nutella?" she asked after eyeing the forgotten plate on the nightstand. "I thought you didn't like Nutella."

"I had a change in mind," he answered quickly.

"Chase," she said in a warning tone, probably fed up by his obvious lying. "Why is there a girl's shirt thrown on your bed? And why is the first-aid kit all opened?" she asked accusingly as she strode toward his bed.

Chase's eyes widened as it dawned on him and he quickly rushed toward her with his arms in front of him. "Mom, I promise that it isn't what you think," he began, and she narrowed her eyes. Seemed like she was getting very mad.

I had to do something before Chase got himself into even more trouble. Seriously, how hard was it to just say the truth?

I decided to step out of the closet, even if I was only in a sports bra. It pretty much wouldn't help the case, but I was sure that she wouldn't resist my charm. "Looks like we've been busted."

Both of their heads snapped to where I was standing, and I didn't think her eyes could grow even bigger.

"Chase Underwood! What is the meaning of this?" she exclaimed, looking from me to him. I could tell that he was ready to hide under the bed and never come out. Something in her eyes shifted as if she was...proud? "Are you finally acting like a teenage boy?"

"You must be Sophia," I quickly stepped in, extending a hand her way. I don't think Chase could handle any more embarrassment. "I'm Amelia Clark. Chase was treating some bruises I have."

She stared at me, perplexed, still processing what was happening over her head. I bit back a laugh as Chase's mother blinked and stared between me and Chase, who was looking at the ground embarrassed. I smiled innocently at her, still aware that I was standing only in my sports bra in her son's bedroom.

After some moments of awkward silence-for them-she spoke up. "You look so much alike," she whispered.

This earned more silence, soon followed by my laughter. "I'm sorry," I apologized, chuckling. "But there's nothing alike between me and Chase. I think you're confused."

She blinked some more and shook her head as if she was coming back to reality. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish, still unsure of how to react, and Chase cleared his throat.

"I'm sure you've heard about Amelia. She's the one that pretty much saved me from the bully."

At this, her eyes widened and turned to me. In a flash, she gave me a big smile and rushed toward me, taking me by surprise. She grabbed me by my arms, a look of gratitude all over her face as she looked at me. "Of course, how silly of me!" she said. "I'm so glad to finally meet you! You don't know how thankful I am for you to help my poor son."

"Mom!" Chase groaned. "I am not that weak!"

"Anyway, dear. Why was it that you were shirtless again?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

So that was something Chase got from her. Interesting.

"I had a very bad inconvenience yesterday and told Chase about it. He offered to help me treat some cuts and bruises on my side so that's why I'm only on a sports bra and the first-aid kit is open."

She nodded slowly, turning to look at Chase for confirmation. He nodded slowly, and she let out a relieved breath. She then looked at me and smiled fondly, gesturing at me to turn around to inspect my bruises. I did so reluctantly and wasn't surprised by the gasp that left her mouth.

"Oh dear, this looks bad," she commented, and I turned back again, giving her a small smile.

"No need to worry, I know that Chase had treated them quite well. They should be alright," I said with honesty.

Chase looked a little taken aback, but gave me a shy smile of gratitude. "I just need to wrap some bandages so that the open wounds don't catch an infection," he spoke up.

"I'll help with that," Sophia offered. "I'm pretty sure you might faint if you come into contact with her skin."

At this, I laughed. Chase opened his mouth to protest but huffed in embarrassment and left the room. I was pretty sure the guy's head was about to explode due to so much blood rush. Sophia grabbed the bandages from the kit and started working, wrapping them around the necessary parts of my torso. Once she was done, she put everything on its rightful place as I slipped my shirt back on.

"Thanks," I managed to say. I had to admit, it felt quite strange to thank someone since I barely did so.

"It's alright, darling," she said with a warm smile. "Chase is a very good kid, so I didn't doubt that he had good reasons. I guess I got a little too excited after seeing that he brought a girl over. Even though I must admit that this isn't the way I wanted to meet you."

"Likewise," I replied with a small chuckle.

She was excited? It actually seemed like she was about to rip his head off at first.

"I, once again, thank you for all the trouble you had to go through to help him. If it wasn't for you, who knows what would've happened to him. He's such a nice boy...too nice, may I add. So I guess having you around might be good for him," she said, and my eyes widened at this.

She definitely didn't know what she was saying.

"You don't have to thank me, honestly. I just did it on impulse and it got me suspended for three days," I said.

"I know, Chase told me about it. Ever since then, he doesn't really stop talking about you. He really looks up to you," she said, and I stared at her, suddenly feeling guilty. Her whole demeanor screamed innocence and kindness. I blinked twice as I stared at her, truly seeing what a real mother looked like. For some reason, I felt my throat closing up-a knot forming.

"It's getting late. I should leave," I said and grabbed my things before rushing out the door.

I found Chase in the living room, who turned to me once I rushed past him.

"You're leaving already?" he asked, momentarily stopping me. I didn't look at him, and instead headed toward the front door. "Be careful!"

"Nice meeting you!" Sophia yelled, and I gave her a polite smile before throwing my helmet on and hopping on my bike.

I brought the engine to life and sped off, looking back over my shoulder for a second. The last thing my eyes met was a certain pair of chocolate-brown eyes before I rounded the corner.

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[Edited: August 30th, 2020 by michh_44]

Dirty, dirty Chase. It must have been very embarrassing for him to face his mother under such circumstances. I mean, it all added up to what she was probably thinking. Sophia seems like a cool mother, though. Well, I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for your time! xx