Chasing Imperfection (Chasing Series 2) (3 page)

     
Oh, the irony
. When Kyle broke my hear
t, Blake was there for me. And
now the situation’s reversed. The cycle of life can be so tedious
and complicated
.

     Kyle on the other hand—took a different turn. A hot sexy turn, I might add. He cut his surfer hair and had a buzz like cut, got a large intricate tribal tattoo on his back that wrapped around his shoulder and
arm. The trip back home gave him
a nice tan.
He’s been
dropping hints about
us
again. How long can I evade the subject? This is major emotional overload.

     I’m on my way to catch up with Chad and Lucy in a pub outside Lucy’s school. I’ve explained the situation to them—only the highlights. I don’t think I can voice much without breaking down into hysterics. It’s best to keep it that way. I have a façade to put on.

    
I’m ninety-nine point nine percent sure th
ose two didn’t buy the crap
I fed them, but hey I had
to keep trying.
It’s easier to be in denial with
my
feeling
s
to others when I simply couldn’t
deal with it
either
. I’d rather dwell on it alo
ne without anyone seeing me. I was functioning and that I believed was
a great head start.

     Upon entering the pub, I saw Luce and Chad tucked in a booth on my far left and made my way to them. Their faces lit up upon seeing me.

     “Hello ladies—sorry to be late—traffic totally sucked on the way here.”

     “Oh, don’t be daft—no need to apologize love,” Lucy greeted me and kissed both
of my cheeks. The European way—
love it!

     Chad poured me a glass of red wine and slid it carefully before me. It’s just us three now. The boys, Toby and Blake, temporarily moved to Marbella to finish the project.

     “Chad, you’ve lost weight. Are you on a diet or something?”
I asked.

    
He looked at Lucy and me
.
“I did?”
W
e both nodded in unison. He smiled but
it
didn’t reach his eyes. “
Oh you know
. The usual problems gay men have.
Boyfriends…parents…
hellish things…
But you know
, moving on
—the exhibition was a success
although it
definitely took
a large amount of my life. It
was stressful but super fucking worth it.”

      “What’s going on with your parents Chad?” Lucy asked.

    
He shrugged before answering. “Usual crap—don’t feel like talking about them. But let me tell you my dear baby love—all your portraits were sold—I had to let you know since you’ve been hella busy since you’ve been back. You’ve been ignoring your bestie—but I forgive you!”

  
   “I’m sorry you guys, promise I’ll be
better. But wait—
who
bought them? Oh, I’m so happy for you! You’re going to be a major brand soon! Just you wait.”

     “I can’t disclose that—sorry,”
he smiled
wickedly at me.  Huh.

     “I can only guess who bought them—but who knows—anyway, Toby invited all three
of us
to go down there and visit. I mean I
go there
almost every weekend to see him—but he wants to catch up with everyone
,
”
Lucy said with excitement.

     Um, not ready for that. Toby lives with Blake.
Certainly not ready for that
.

   
“You guys go—I’m busy with school and work. Tell him I said hi and I miss him
or better yet—I’ll text him
.”

     “
Please do
. He’s been worried you see—but he’ll be glad to hear from you. What about you Chad? Coming?”
Quirking her eyebrow.

     “No can do missy—I have a lot on my plate. Though the thought of sunbathing and enjoying hot rich men around the beach is very enticing—I have to pass, maybe next time perhaps?” Lucy st
uck a tongue at him. “Oh, surely not you too?
You’re such a
bugger
Chad!”

    
Crap
, invitations to go to Marb
ella are going to come up a lot.
I just hope I have enough excuses to dodge it. Chad loves vacations, wonder what’s keeping him
?
He looked unhappy, but why? Was it about his parents? I’ll corner him later and interrogate.
   

    
I’ve heard from Luce that Blake’s been extremely busy, flying to a few different countries on a weekly basis. His reign
in
the
business is imminent and Toby’s confident that Blake’s grandfather is stepping down in the next six months. With his hectic schedule—I doubt he remembers his short stint with me. He did have a
playboy
reputation and I don’t doubt that he already
had a replacement. The man was insatiable and had an everlasting stamina in bed and out of it.

    
Thinking of him with another woman slowly kills me—but that’s the reality
…
and sooner or later I have to face that. It’s inevitable that I will see him with his girlfriends. I just hope that he’s okay and hopefully, someday
he and I can be friends again.

    
It was almost ten before we decided to leave the pub and by then we were starving. We totally forgot about dinner and got carried away talking. They never brought up the subject
of
Blake, thank goodness!

     “Where do you guys want to go eat? I’m starving so decide pronto!” Chad demanded. “Oooh China Town,
please? Crispy D
uck?”
M
y famished tummy
growled
.

     “Genius, let’s go biatches!” Chad said as he hailed a black cab.

 
   I haven’t had a meal all day
. I nibbled on a granola bar, had two grande cappuccino
s
and two gl
asses of red wine. I am ravenous
.

    
There’s this restaurant in China Town that
’s
open until four in the morning and they have the best crispy duck ever. I mean—seriously—it’s divine. The
y
fry the duck to
a
crisp and the pull the meat into shreds on the table with two forks, you then eat it with Chinese style pancake
s
and a drizzle of plum sauce. It’s glorious! I’ve tried several Chinese restaurants in LA that offered something similar, but it’s not even close. We all love this place…even Blake. We used to come here often after late night partying.

     When we got
inside
the restaurant, Lucy excused herself to call Toby. Apparently they’ve been playing phone tag all night. When Chad and I were both seated, I took the opportunity to ask him.

     “Chad—whatever it is—you can tell me—something’s bothering you—I’m here for you
,
” I said as I studied his face. Something flashed in this eyes, was it pain?

     “I’ll tell you later okay
?
—I’m not ready to talk yet—but thank you. I know you’re there for me, Sienna. That’s why I love you,”
he smiled
lamely at
me. How I wish I knew what it was
—so I can help put a genuine smile on
his face
again. His usual vibrant self is gone—the luster dimmed. What the hell happened? Why won’t he tell me?

     “I’m not going to put my phone on silent at night anymore—you can call me anytime, whenever you are
ready to talk.
”
H
e n
odded and when he saw Lucy striding towards us, he pasted a lame smile
.

    
So, I guess we both had a mask
on—pretending we’re okay.

     After dinner, Chad took off to party with his friends while Luce and I headed home.
China Town is close to our flat in Covent Garden so it didn’t take us long to get back to our place.

    
Tomorrow’s Friday, so no classes for me. I can’t wait to sleep in late and just be a bum all day eating tubs of ice cream.
I showered and went to bed. The pa
st three weeks of getting two or
three hour
s of
sleep and short naps took a toll in my body. I’m exhausted and slept without a hitch.

     I was woken up
by
my phone
shrilling next
to me
. I placed
it
next to my beside table just in case Chad
took
my offer and it seems that he did. But when I reached for my phone, the number flashing on the screen was unfamiliar.

     “Hello?” my sleepy voice croaked.

    
Goodness, I’m parched. I need water.

     “Is this Miss Sienna Richards?” the stern voice of the man on the other end asked. I don’t know
why
, but there was something with the way he spoke that made my heart beat wildly.  “Yes, speaking. What is it?” I inquired.

     “I’m calling because you are the listed
person
on the emergency contact. There’
s been an incident with
Chad
Wilson.
We suggest that you come
to the hospital
to discuss the situation.”

    
Chad
, my poor Chad. What happened? I started to shake as I responded to the other person on the line
and
informed him
that I would be there as soon as possible. I
called a cab company and
rushed over to Lucy’s bedroom and woke her up.
She almost jumped out of her skin when I told her.
We both quickly changed
and
I
harried
myself in sweats and
U
ggs.

   
Th
e entire cab journey was silent as we held hands. I could
he
ar Lucy silently weeping. I haven’t any clue
what the incident was
. T
hey wouldn’t dis
close any information until I go
t there.

    
When we got to the
emergency
reception
, the nurse directed us to the room
and told us what happened
. “He was brought in couple hours ago. He consumed great amount of alcohol
. T
hat alone was dangerous, but what put everything off kilter was his use of cocaine. He overdosed and slipped into a coma.” I stared at her while Lucy bawled next to me.

    
“
Coma?
Drugs? Chad doesn’t do drugs. There must’ve been a mistake. Chad wouldn’t do that…” my voice trailed off as the nurse smile sadly at me.

    
“That’s always the case love. Here’s the room.
Do you know how to reach his family? It’s best you should contact them as well.” I nodded not knowing what else to say. I have to go through Chad’s phone for his parent’s phone number. The nurse went on, “
I just checked on him so you both can go in and wait for the doctor. He’ll explain everything.” I nodded half hearing her speak as I gently pushed the
ominous
white door open.

    
The shock of seeing Chad lying there on the hospital bed
hit me with sadness and guilt
. I rushed to his side crying.

    
“
Why didn’t you tell me? Why the
hell
didn’t you!”
my sad angry voice shook as I
hugged his body and cried
.

    
This
is all entirely my
fault
.
I let him leave knowing something was off. I could’ve stopped this from happening but I didn’t.
N
ow he
’s in the hospital
…
in a coma
.  Hi
s dark skin
looked
ashen
, his lips pale. Aside from the beeping noise of the heart monitor
and the ventilator
, he looked completely lifeless.
Chad, had I known you were in so much pain, I wouldn’t have left your side tonight
.
He was in so much pain he overdosed on booze and drugs,
I thought sadly to myself.
Lucy was crying openly on the chair.