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I was so conflicted and found myself
questioning my own judgment. I knew I had every right to be mad at
him, but did I have the same right to be equally angry with Mila?
Did she really do anything wrong? I shook my head to clear the
nonsense brewing inside; of course she was wrong. Whose friend was
she? I know her relationship with Chase was one of tolerance, but I
really thought she would at least think of me before trying to
spite him.

I knew Ryan was probably up for work at this
point -- it was well after six o'clock, and he had to be in by
seven thirty. I decided to give him a call.

The phone rang and he finally answered on the
third ring.

“Good morning Cars, is everything okay?” his
voice indicated that he had been up for a while.

“Hi Ryan. Are you up for work?”

“Yes, what’s up? Are you okay?” His voice had
a sudden hint of alarm.

“Um, not really? Is Mila with you?”

“She just left. Why?”

“Oh so you don’t know?”

“Know what? Will you tell me what’s going on
Cara?”

“Well, I haven’t heard from Jason since he
left last Sunday, and he showed up at my apartment last night.”

“Okay.”

“Well, I was out with Chase, and when I
walked into my apartment Jason was sitting on my bed.”

“Hmmmm… is that all?”

“No. Mila let him into the apartment, without
my knowledge, and had Jason’s truck. You didn’t notice?”

“No. She came to my place late last night and
I didn’t even look at the car. Why were you out with Chase?”

“He’s my friend Ryan, and that’s beside the
point. Mila is butting her nose where it doesn’t belong. I haven’t
heard from Jason and I thought he was writing me off… but
apparently he’s been in contact with Mila, and she didn’t think it
was necessary to tell me. “

“What the hell? Really? What happened with
you and Jason when you saw him last night?”

“Well, he and Chase almost got into a full on
brawl, which could have been avoided…”

“Yeah, if Chase weren’t around,” he
interrupted in a muffled voice.

“Whatever. Anyway, I had to diffuse the
situation and ask Chase to leave so I could deal with Jason. He
stayed last night, but we discussed it this morning, and I just
asked him to leave.”

“So you’re done with him?”

"I don’t know.”

“Well where was he? Why didn’t he contact
you?”

“He went home to Texas to deal with
something, but won’t tell me what that something is.”

“If he wants to be with you Cara, he needs to
tell you. Don’t accept anything less. And, I will speak to Mila.
I'm not fan of Chase, but that was kind of fucked up.”

“I know. That’s why I asked him to leave.
And, I don’t know what her deal is.”

“Well, she did come over a little pissed
yesterday. She said you guys kind of got into at breakfast or
something.”

“Yeah. I apologized though, didn’t think
she’d try to get back at me.” I sighed – loudly.

“Cars, she told me what happened. I told her
I understand your concerns, but that I would hope you could trust
me. That’s why I’m not going to pester you about your decision with
Jason. I think you can make your choice, and if I don’t like it, I
‘ll deal with it.”

“Let me ask you this. Do you like Jason?”

“I don’t dislike him.”

“So you don’t like him?”

“He hasn’t given me a reason to dislike him,
and he can be pretty cool when he isn’t riled up. I would need more
time with him to know if I like him or not. But, Chase; I don’t
like him. I hope you don’t go that route.”

“I get it. And, don’t worry about Chase, he’s
just a friend.”

Just then I heard the front door open, and I
ran to my window to see who had come home. It was Chelsea, and I
had so much to tell her.

“Hey Ryan, I have to go, but thanks.”

“Yeah no problem. Love ya Cars.”

“Love you too.” And with that, I hung up.
Ryan gave me the advice that I needed to hear. It wasn’t always
what I wanted to hear, but he was always supportive without trying
to coerce me. I was still livid with Mila and Jason, and I really
had no clue what I was going to do with either of them. The fact
that they were communicating and conspiring made my skin crawl like
a bad rash. I heard Chelsea walking down the hallway and I poked my
head out.

“Hey Chels.” I must have shocked her because
she turned ghost white and nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Whoa, good morning Cara,” she replied,
holding her chest. “Why are you up so early?”

“Sorry if I scared you. I had a long night.
Why are you up and about so early?”

“Hunter has meetings with his dad all day, so
they were up early getting things ready. I decided to come home and
relax. Where’s Mila?”

I rolled my eyes. “Who knows? Probably on her
way to La Jolla.”

Chelsea’s face instantaneously moves to
astonishment. “Why?”

“Well, it seems she’s been in contact with
Jason?”

“What the fuck?”

“I know. I came home from Buddy’s last night
with Chase, only to find Jason sprawled out on my bed. Chase found
him, it almost turned into an all-out brawl, and Mila helped
orchestrate it.”

“Wait – all this time that you were wondering
about him, she’s been talking to him? That’s so shitty of her.”

“I don’t know if she’s been in contact with
him all this time, but within the last day or so they’ve been
talking. I asked him how he got in here, and why Mila’s car was
still out there, and he said they exchanged cars so I wouldn’t be
suspicious when I saw his truck.”

“Oh my fucking gosh. Seriously? That’s why
you said probably on her way to La Jolla,” she giggled, then
noticed the sour look on my face and stopped. “Does Ryan know?”

“I just got off the phone with him. He had no
idea. I didn’t think she would leave me in the dark on something
like this.”

“She was asking me why you were spending so
much time with Chase. She said Chase is a friend that everyone
hangs out with, but she didn’t get why you were practically dating
him.”

“I’m not practically dating him,” I replied,
sounding unnecessarily defensive. “And besides, that’s really none
of her business.”

“I know, I’m just telling you. So where is
Jason now?”

“In La Jolla, I don’t know. I asked him to
leave this morning.”

“You let him stay the night?” She screamed --
her voice laced with disgust.

“I was drunk, tired, and had just stopped a
fight from happening in my room. We didn’t talk too much, just went
to sleep. I woke up this morning thinking I had workouts and I
realized I didn’t, I texted Mila but I’ve yet to hear from
her.”

“You didn’t fuck him did you?” She asks
wearily.

“No, I didn’t. And talking to him this
morning was frustrating as ever.”

“What did he have to say for his disappearing
act?”

“That’s just it; he didn’t have much to say.
He acted like its normal to leave for a week, not tell me, and not
even think about communicating.”

Chelsea stood with her arms crossed and
shaking her head.

“Well good for you for making him leave.
Gotta stand your ground Cara. As for Mila, you’re going to have to
talk to her. Do you want me to help you?”

I pursed my lips and shook my head. This was
my problem, and even though I appreciated the offer, and I knew
that Chelsea would jump through fire for me, I also knew this was
something that I would have to do on my own.

“Alrighty. I’m going to jump in the
shower.”

I looked at my phone again, eagerly awaiting
a reply from Mila that still wasn’t there. I knew she was up and
about, why was she deliberately ignoring me? Could it be because
she felt guilty? I knew I needed to figure out exactly what I
wanted to say to her. Unfortunately, I had so many thoughts
swirling around in my head, that I just didn’t know where to begin.
I felt horrible for the way I dismissed Chase last night and I
wanted to call him, but I was certain that he wasn’t awake.

I walked back to the vanity area of our
bathroom and washed my face. As I walked out I could hear the front
door opening, and I knew that Mila was home. I had seen her in
action and I knew she could be quite aggressive and intimidating,
but I had to get my thoughts and feelings out in the open. She
glowered at me as we passed in the hallway. I felt my face flush,
but I had to gather the courage to say what it was that I need to
say to her.

I headed back into my room and decided to
call for her, it would be best if I were in a comfortable
environment, seeing that I was completely uncomfortable confronting
her. She came, her face showing no emotion, which clued me in that
she had either spoken to Jason or Ryan – or maybe both.

“You enjoy the Raptor?” I asked, giving her a
half smile.

She threw her long hair behind her shoulders,
and I knew she meant business.

“I did,” she replied, without changing her
facial expression.

“Why Mila? Why are you talking to Jason?”

“Um, because first of all, we both thought it
would be a nice surprise, and secondly, because I can.”

If she had left it at the nice surprise, I
would have been okay, but now, she was being snooty and it irked
me. My face went crimson and I felt my blood start to boil.

“So wrong Mila. You know I’ve been a wreck
trying to figure out what I did wrong, why he disappeared the way
he did. When he contacted you, you should have told me.” By the end
of my statement, I felt my teeth grinding, and I couldn’t remember
the last time I was this angry.

“Well Cara,” and I knew she was pissed
because she rarely ever referred to me by Cara, “unlike you, I
don’t feel the need to tattle every little thing that happens.”

“Are you serious Mila? You didn’t think I
would be upset?”

“I didn’t know how you would take it. I
thought you might be mad, but relieved to see him, and then happy
he was back. I certainly didn’t think you would go to Ryan and tell
on me, like I’m some damn kid.”

“That’s my brother, let me remind you. If you
hadn’t thrust yourself into the middle of this, I would have had
nothing to tell him concerning you. Do you realize that Jason and
Chase almost got into a fight last night?”

“Didn’t cross my mind,” she said,
simultaneously rolling her eyes.

“Really?” I asked, in as sarcastic a tone as
I could muster.

“Hey, Chase is not someone you should date,
if it takes Jason to back him up, then so be it.”

“Are you fucking serious Mila?” I was
simmering. “You get so defensive about me having reservations about
you and my brother, my brother, whom I love; yet, you can interject
yourself into my life and I’m supposed to be okay with it?”

“Cara, you are naïve most of the time, so
sometimes Chelsea and I have to help you out.”

She was resorting to insults since she knew I
normally backed down from altercations, but this time it wouldn’t
work. My adrenaline was building, and the more she talked, the more
she built me up.

“And yet, Chels is staying out of it. You
have some nerve Mila.”

“I don’t appreciate you telling your brother
on me, if you had something to say to me, coming to me would have
been best.”

“I texted you this morning and you ignored
it.”

“This conversation needed to take place in
person; I was not going to entertain the text.”

“Look, all I am saying is stay away from
Jason. What he did was so wrong on so many levels, and as my
friend, I thought you would have seen that. The bullshit about
surprising me and it being romantic just doesn’t fly. I think you
were just being vindictive. You knew I was out with Chase, so when
the opportunity presented itself, you started some shit.”

“Cara, if it weren’t for your brother, I
would say a whole host of things to you right now, because frankly,
you are being a fucking idiot. I don’t give a shit who you were
with. I like Jason and I thought what he was doing was sweet. If
you want to spend time with Chase then so be it, but I’m totally
fucking confused as to why.”

“It’s none of your business Mila.”

“No it isn’t. But I was looking out for my
friend,” the level of sarcasm in her voice was through the roof.
“Don’t fucking worry about me sticking my nose anymore, you’ve made
your point loud and clear.”

“Did you even bother to ask Jason where he
was, or why he hasn’t contacted me? You’ve been with me Mila; you
saw how I was this past week.”

“No I didn’t.”

“I didn’t think so, because it was no concern
of yours. I would appreciate you staying out of my business.”

“You are un-fucking believable Cara.”

“So are you.”

And, with that statement, Mila stormed out of
my room. I could hear her acknowledge Chelsea as they passed in the
hallway, and Chelsea burst into my room.

I was on my bed, still reeling from my
conversation with Mila. It was preposterous that she saw no wrong
in what she did, and even tried to justify it by hiding behind the
I thought it was sweet card.

“Hey Cara, I heard. Are you okay?” Chelsea
looked at me like a wounded puppy that was in need of love and
care.

“I’m fine, still a little in awe of her
though.”

“You held your own, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” I managed a smile, “and I did it
without a single tear.”

“I know. This is for you and Mila to sort
out, and I’m sure you will so I’m staying out of it.”

“Thanks Chels.”

“Remember, she is dating your brother, so you
have to get along, or it gets awkward for Ryan.”

“Chels, they are so new…” she interrupted
me.

“New and smitten! He really likes her Cara,
so you need to keep the peace.”

I rolled my eyes and threw my head back on my
pillow. “I need to talk to Chase. I threw him out so briskly last
night and I feel horrible about it.”