The Elites

Chapter 18

Nash

Early in the morning, Nash and Caiden sat on the workbench in the Elites gym, but neither of them worked out. They sat side by side, staring ahead of them because Nash had called Caiden and told him he needed to talk. After what happened with Chloe yesterday, he needed to get it all out because he feared he screwed up.

"So you kissed her," Caiden said, grinning as Nash flushed. "Congrats. You finally grew some balls."

Nash glared at Caiden so heatedly Caiden held his hands up in defense. "I'm joking, but I'm genuinely happy for you. You-"

"She said this was too much and ran away. I just kissed her, Caiden. I didn't even ask and she didn't kiss me back. What if I scared her off? What if I kissed her without consent."

Caiden frowned. "She ran off? Why? I... I was sure she reciprocated your feelings."

Nash stared down at the ground. He clasped his hands together, wringing them, debating on telling Caiden everything. He shouldn't. Chloe would probably be mad, but he was exhausted. The last few weeks had taken its toll on him and he needed to let it all out.

"Chloe's dad had a stroke last summer and he's been sick ever since. He can't work anymore and he can't move too much because he has trouble walking. And Chloe does everything for him. She cooks, cleans, takes care of him, and she also works a part time job to pay the bills. She has so much on her plate and she suffers through it on her own, and I've been trying to help her. Through small favours like giving her rides home and stuff, but she's been upset with me for it. She keeps refusing to let me be there for her and it's to the point where I've been angering her. So no, Caiden, she doesn't feel the same way as me. I was an idiot to kiss her given the last few weeks we've been through."

Nash ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at his waves in frustration. Why had he thought to kiss Chloe yesterday? Why in the middle of an argument. He sighed, knowing it was to prove he cared about her, but it had been such inappropriate timing. And she had run from him. Possibly out of his life for good.

"Oh wow, Chloe's been going through that on her own." Caiden's eyes widened. "I can't imagine handling any of that on my own at our age."

"Yeah, she's been through a lot. But she just wants to handle it on her own. All I've wanted to do is be there for her, whether or not she reciprocates my feelings, but she won't let anyone help her. She's set in keeping all this to herself."

"What about Sophia? Why don't we talk to her about this and see how we can help Chloe together."

"No, no we can't tell everyone about Chloe's home life. If we all try to help her, I'm sure she'll hate us. Especially me."

"I'm sure Sophia knows bit and pieces of Chloe's life." Caiden frowned. "But from the way you describe Chloe, she seems really stubborn and sensitive about it, isn't she? It's a touchy subject, so let's try to be there for her without being obvious. I really do think you should at least check in with Sophia."

Nash nodded. He couldn't do this on his own anymore. He had tried. He truly had, but Chloe had turned out to be too much like him - stubborn to a fault and that made them clash too much. Sophia had to be the best option to figure out how to handle all this.

"I shouldn't have kissed her," Nash confessed again, finding himself cringing at the memory. She hadn't kissed him back. It wasn't like the movies where he'd kiss her and she'd reciprocate, claiming she had loved him from the start like he had. Instead, it was humiliating and Nash wished to lay in bed all day, but he still worried bout Chloe. Whether or not she felt the same way, he would always care.