“Is the red natural?”
“Not in the slightest.”
He shoots her a saucy grin. “The craziest kind. My favorite.”
“Hmm. I’ll take your word for it,” Minnie replies, setting a warm roll near him on the counter. He’s been looking around her home, taking in the sights, and naturally, that makes her feel uneasy. He is a formerthief, after all. Hopefully notstill. “Maybe you’ll come across her one day.” Ariel does enjoy ill-advised flings.
With a chuckle, Chase comes to the plate and starts scarfing down one of the large, steamy rolls, humming with delight under his breath. “Thoughts and prayers,” he says flippantly.
Minnie remains on the other end of her pale kitchen, arms crossed over her chest. She leans back against the countertop, her roll left untouched. “Why are you here, Chase?” Her expression feels stony, eyes hidden behind her glasses. “I’m not the sort to rant and rave; you know I’m not going to yell at you to ‘make myself feel better’ or whatever it is you thought you’d get out of me.”
Sitting on one of her barstools, Chase gestures with both hands, palms up. “The offer stands. You can even hit me if you want. Just,uh, watch out for the piercings.”
Minnie shakes her head, looking at the ceiling. “I’m not hitting you either.” After contemplation, it becomes clear what the problem is. “You’re here for a reason, and I get the sense you like confrontation about as much as I do.” Which, quite frankly, is not at all.
The dynamics of the group are clearer in her mind now, thinking back to the cookout. Red and Gage are firecrackers, always ready to be lit, at each other’s throats in a heartbeat for the thrill of it. Marlin, cool-headed and steadfast, the mediatorand enforcer of mediation. Last comes Chase, the go-along who sails wherever the wind happens to push him.
He doesn’tmakethings happen; things happento him. Much like Minnie. For a moment, she almost feels kinship.
Chase’s plate is empty, and his eyes are pointed at the box of cinnamon rolls with a certain hunger. Minnie says, “You brought them; please have another.”
While helping himself to another delicious roll -Minnie is going to have to buy these in the future- Chase finally replies. “I’m here for Gage. I mean, he didn’t send me or anything. Like I said, he don’t know. Butuh, he misses you. I mean. Of course he does. He’s crazy about you.” Chase’s lip quirks fondly. “I guess I’m hoping to see if you’re willing to at least talk to him again. I understand why ya wouldn’t want to though.”
Minnie finds herself pinching the bridge of her nose, pushing her glasses up in the process. Her eyes feel tired. “I told him I would let him know when I’m ready to speak with him again.”
“But like, when is that?” Chase says around a mouthful of cinnamon roll. “A week from now? Or like, five years?”
Insides twisting with knotted ropes, Minnie looks down at the floor, counting the tiles. How does one put time on trauma? On hurt? Days have gone by, and yes, the initial sting has lessened, but the betrayal and the reality disconnect is still very real. There is a part of her that cannot quite come to terms that Gage is the Skull Mask. The other half accepts that he is, but only sees the Mask, not Gage.
They are not one entity.
When she sees the monster, she doesn’t see the man under the mask. “I think I’m still afraid of him.” A ghostly feeling of a gun sliding against her cheekbone makes her shiver.
The expression on Chase’s face drops, pale eyes bright. “He’s not that guy anymore, the one in your head. Gage would neverwillingly harm you.” He cocks his head to the side, all matter-of-fact. “He’d hurtotherpeople for you, though.”
Goodness, Minnie doesn’t need that.
“But he was that man, once.” Minnie’s voice is soft, wavering. It feels as though her voice might crack like her insides if she speaks too loudly. Her emotions are fraught. “It’s hard to unsee that. I dream of that day. Don’t you understand?” She bites her lower lip, looking at nothing, seeing nothing but the past. “That day changed my life in a way that it didn’t change his. He was incarcerated; he was punished, sure. But I wasscarred inside.”
Chase is looking down at his once again empty plate, quiet. His blonde hair catches light from the sun peeking through the window, giving it a golden fire. “I know there is no healing that type of wound. I’ve got my own from my shit childhood.” His tone is bitter, jaw shifting. Minnie already knows hints about his neglectful mother; she doesn’t want to know aboutmore.
Silence falls between them, tangible. They are both, perhaps, wallowing in old injuries.
After a moment, Minnie utters, “You see why it’s so hard for me to just take him back? As if nothing ever happened?”
He nods, defeated. Seemingly taking this as his sign that his welcome is over, he gets up and asks where to put his dirty plate. Minnie takes it from him and places it in the sink, thanking him for thinking to bring some over to share.
At the front door, he starts putting his shoes back on, hopping around on one foot comically for a moment. “You have all the power here.” Chase straightens up, looking rough around the edges and ready for a metal concert. “You can choose to forgive him, or you can choose to never see him again. For what it’s worth, I hope youcanforgive him. He would do anything for you. I’ve seen him with girls before, but when he looks at you, it’s just, it’sdifferent. I thought you should know that. Your relationship has changed something in him, and I don’t thinkeven he understands it.” He tilts his head, his twin eyebrow piercings glinting. “Can he call ya at least? Even if you aren’t ready to see him?”
The words worm their way into her brain matter. Minnie inhales and nods in acknowledgement. “Thank you for the visit, Chase.” A hard pause of indecision. “I guess he can.” It’s better than him showing up.
When he stands on her front stoop, he turns and gazes down at her with something sad in his expression. “I’m sorry, Minnie. About that day. I know words will never make what happened right. You don’t have to forgive my part in that event, but I hope you can find a way to accept Gage. That bastard is in love with you.”
Heart squeezing painfully, Minnie closes her eyes and whispers, “I know.”
Chapter 14
She shouldn’t have told Chase that a phone call was acceptable.
