Wait and Hope Ch. 02: That Day In The Rain

Note: This is the second chapter of a larger story. I strongly recommend checking out the first one before reading this one.

Note 2: This is a slow-burn, slice-of-life, friends-to-lovers romance story first and foremost. There will be erotica, but not for a long, long time.

Huge thanks to ChaoticTwunk for helping me out with editing and providing some invaluable feedback on this chapter and the next.

Wait and hope Ch. 2 - That Day In The Rain

As advertised in the last chapter, the next scene is meant to be read along with the song Santa Monica Dream by Angus and Julia Stone playing.

On the road to his old hometown –

It feels weird, going back there. I visited friends occasionally for the first year or so, and after that, nothing. For years.

Chloe wasn’t one of those friends I visited. Looking back, I'm not even sure why. It’s not that we didn’t want it or we couldn’t. No, I think it's because we didn't need it. Even without seeing each other, we were able to stay in touch. And it lasted 4 years, and it would have lasted much longer if… If that hadn’t happened.

And I’d always been okay with that — still am, really. Chloe is still one of my closest friends, and it’s not looking like it’s going to change anytime soon.

And yet, since that phone call earlier, there’s something I can’t get out of my head: could things have been different for her if I had? What’s happening can’t be new. That storm has probably been brewing for a long, long time… Perhaps there was something to be done, and I didn’t see it because I wasn’t there.

I can’t dwell on that. Not right now, at least. What I need to do is focus on helping her today, and not on what could have been done yesterday.

With only a few miles left, my phone rings once again -I can’t seem to catch a break today. The caller ID says MOM. Welp, better take it.

"Hi! Can you wait while I pull over?"

I stop the car on the side of the road and pick my phone back up." Yeah sorry. What's up, Mom?”

“I saw your text. Is everything alright?" She asks, sounding worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not sure I can say the same about Chloe, though."

"That’s your friend from middle school? I thought you two stopped talking when we left ?" she says. I picture her brows coming together as she says this.

"Nah, not really. We talked less, sure, but we never really stopped altogether. Although it had become much rarer for the last few months…”

“And she got kicked out, just like that?”

“She—She didn’t tell me much,” My throat tightens a bit as I remember our call from earlier. “I never heard her that shaken. She was pretty much crying the whole time, so I didn’t ask…”

“And no one else could help her?” Mom asks again. “Like no one at all? ”

“She tried calling a few friends, but none offered any help. She didn’t elaborate on why they didn’t want to. Maybe she’ll tell me more later,” I shrug, even though Mom can’t see me. “I don’t know...”

“Look…” This time, Mom sounds more serious. “I’m sorry I even have to ask that, but do…Do you trust her?”

I answer without thinking. “Yes, I do. Apart from Thomas and Ruby, she’s probably my closest friend. Why?”

“Well, whatever she has in mind, she probably won’t find anything decent by tonight. Not a place where an eighteen-year-old girl should be staying alone, anyway. We talked about it a bit with Dad, and we both agreed that her only real option is probably to stay at our place for a few days.”

Somewhat shocked by their offer, I don't say anything. She keeps going, “If you trust her, then we do too. At least, it’ll give her a safe place to recover for a few days and figure out her next move.”

“Well—Thank you very much. I–I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She pauses before adding: ”Shouldn’t you be on your way to pick her up ?”

It’s still pouring with rain outside. Mom’s right, I shouldn’t waste any more time. “Yeah, I should… See you later then ?”

“See you tonight, Jesse! And drive safe, alright ?”

It only takes me a few more minutes to get to my old middle school. I haven't been here in years at this point, and yet it hasn’t changed much, if at all. Everything is still pretty much how I remember it.

It’s still raining heavily. I hope Chloemanaged to find some shelter while waiting...

As I make it to the front, I finally see her. Standing in the rain, alone. I instantly recognize her strawberry blonde hair. She looks thin. Too thin. Her wet hair is sticking to her face.

I park at the first free spot I see, 60 feet or so away from her.

She looks miserable… How does that sort of thing happen to someone like Chloe — someone who never deserved it?

I hop out of my car and walk up to her. She doesn’t notice me immediately. Maybe she’s just lost in her thoughts?

"Hey?” I slowly say, once I'm close enough. I try not to startle her, but she still jumps. She turns around to face me. To add to that pitiful look, her eyes are red. She’s clearly been crying.

“Jesse?" she blurts out, on the verge of tears.

“Yeah, it's me. Sorry, I—” But I don’t get to finish. Chloe collapses into my arms in some sort of chaotic and tear-filled hug. I let her put her arms around me, not quite sure of how to react. In seconds, she breaks down. Not sobbing like earlier on the phone, but full-on crying. I can hear her whimpering on my shoulder.

There’s not much I can do but put my arm around her, bringing her closer to me. Her head snuggles into my neck as I try to reassure her. "Hey, Hey… It's okay.”

We stay like this for a few minutes. The only sounds are the rain falling on the ground all around us and my friend crying as I hold her against me. It feels weirdly nice, holding her like that… Should it feel nice? Probably not.

Finally, she calms down a bit and stops crying. She loosens her embrace and looks up at me. "You're–You’re bigger than last time.”

I can't help but chuckle. Even in this Situation, she manages to crack a joke. "You're wetter than last time,” I say, following her lead to relax the atmosphere a bit. My joke manages to rip a smile and a sob-filled chuckle from her. I remove my arms to let her step back a bit.

“So-sorry about... that…” She says, looking around a bit embarrassed about what just happened.

"No, it's okay, don't worry,” I say, trying to hold back the slightest of smiles. I think some part of me… Liked it.

"Why don't we go in my car? At least we won’t be in the rain.”

We are now both wet from the rain, although she's more soaked than I. "Yeah, That’s... That’s a good idea,” She says with the hint of a smile.

I smile at her. "I'm parked over there,” I say, nodding my head towards my car.

We walk side by side. As we do so, I examine her a bit closer. She doesn’t look good. It was as if she had been thrown out of bed. The dark circles under her eyes hint at her otherwise obvious exhaustion.

"Are you... Okay?" I hesitantly ask.

“Honestly?” She asks, looking up at me. Her green eyes are just as beautiful as I remember. I nod her along.

"No… It's been a hellish couple of months. I think,” she bows her head. “I think you're the first friendly face I’ve seen in weeks…”

"Can--Can I ask you what happened?” Before she can answer, I blurt out, "I mean, if you don't feel like telling me... You don't have to.”

As we are nearing my car, I add, “You can put your bag in the back seat.” She nods along, and once I unlock my car, that’s what she does. I then invite her into the passenger seat, and I take my seat behind the wheel.

She looks at her dripping self. "I'm sorry, I'm soaking your seats.”

“It's just water, don't worry about it,” I reassure her. I look at her with compassion, waiting for my friend to be ready to tell me what happened.

“It started right before September. At the end of the summer break, they just barged into my room and told me, ‘You’re not going to school next year, we’re homeschooling you from now on.”

I watch as my friend looks at the rainy sky. The dim light coming from the morning sun outlines her figure, creating a sad and yet beautiful image.

"I don't know why. And I couldn't do anything about it; it was a done deal when they told me. And… I lost pretty much all of my friends because of it. They also grounded me permanently for some reason…” While talking, she begins to fidget with her soaked sleeves as her chin shakes.

I sit there, listening to her, my hand lying on the wheel. My friend stays quiet for a bit. I don’t want to push her, so I wait in silence. I’m willing to give her as much time as she needs. We both listen to the sound of the rain slowly falling on the metallic roof.

After a minute or so, she speaks up again. "Since then, it only got worse… And this morning–” Chloe pauses, unable to say anything else. I watch her nervously fidgeting with her sleeves.

“This morning they kicked you out…” I say, finishing her sentence for her.

My friend doesn’t answer, she just nods, and starts sobbing. Some part of me wants to comfort her… But I have no idea what to do, so I just awkwardly sit there, not doing anything.

Despite breaking down on her seat, she keeps on going. "And so there I was, on the street at barely 18. I tried calling a few friends… Most didn't even answer, but the few that did were either annoyed I called them asking for help after disappearing like that for months, or they didn’t pick up the phone when I called..." She looks at the ceiling, tears running down her cheeks, her hands still nervously fidgeting with her sleeves.

"Hey, it's over now,” I say, as softly as I can. She looks up at me. “I'm gonna help you figure things out," I promise her.

“Thanks…”

“Okay, so what’s the plan then?”

Chloe sighs and starts enumerating what she has to do. “I don't have much of anything. A bit of money, a few clothes, but not that much…” I nod along, making mental notes as she speaks. "As for more pressing matters, I don't know how I'm gonna eat. And of course, where I'm gonna sleep."

Her voice gets heavier and heavier as she lists everything. Now that she’s putting it like that, it does look like she’s in a lot of trouble.

“The obvious plan would be to look for a homeless shelter of some sort, right ?” I say, while looking at her. Just mentioning it saddens her, and I can’t blame her for it.

She’s probably imagining what it would be like in one of those places. Now that I’m thinking about it, would I even be comfortable leaving her in someplace like that? Probably not.

"Or," I say, my voice sounding cheerful, “There's another option."

Her eyes, filled with sadness not a moment ago, are now looking at me with a renewed fervor.

Chloe is waiting for me to keep going, and I don't stop. "My parents offered to give you a place to stay while you figure yourself out.”

Chloe considers for a second. No-" she objects. “I-I can't accept that.” She shakes her head. “No, that’s very kind of them, but I can't impose myself like that."

I smile before answering. "Why not? They are the ones who offered, you're not imposing on anyone."

She pauses for a moment, thinking about what I just said. When she speaks up again, her voice sounds much happier.

“W–Why would they offer that to someone they barely know?” She frowns. ”I don’t think I’ve met them a single time.”

"Because, Chloe, you are my friend. And I trust you. And that's enough for them to trust you as well. So, of course, they were going to offer that.” My voice gets somber. “And to be honest… I wouldn’t have been able to let you stay at some sort of shelter anyway…”

She starts to sob again, but this time out of relief. Or at least I hope.

“Jesse..... I don't know what to say. It–It's so generous.”

I smile right back at her. "You're very much welcome. So I take it that's a yes?"

Chloe simply nods while wiping her tears away. "Now that's settled, what's the plan? I mean, right now?"

"Ehhh..." She looks at herself and the now-soaked car seat on which she's sitting. “I wouldn’t be against drying myself, to be honest.”

I quickly glance at my watch. It has been an hour or so since I left the classroom to pick up her call. I had hoped I’d be able to get back to class by the end of the day. Looks like it’s not happening, I’m not letting Chloe alone today. I’ll be fine.

My friend, seeing me look at my watch, asks, "OH! You have classes, don't you? Sorry…Sorry about that.”

“Meh, that can wait," I shrug it off. I can see she's not convinced. "No really, I don't care. At least not today."

I start my engine, and as Chloe is buckli­ng up on the seat next to me, I say," Let's go, you'll be able to dry yourself at my place."

And just like that, we get on our way. The rain is still pouring outside as we leave the parking lot.

Ending notes: Thank you very much for reading the second chapter of Wait and Hope. I hope you liked it! Please feel free to give me your opinion or tips on how to improve in the comments or via other means. I’ll try to include them in the next chapters.

I also wanted to thank everyone who gave me feedback on the first chapter; it was very enlightening to see what you all thought of it. Depending on when you read this chapter, an edited version of ch.01 might be up, which includes the main feedback I saw.

Next time up, I will post two chapters (ch.03 and ch.04) at once, so it will take a bit more time to be posted. However, feel free to contact me to see where I’m at. As it stands, I hope to have them ready in 3 or so weeks, maybe a bit less. To tie you over, I’ll give you a very small teaser, in the form of their titles: Chapter 03: “Memories” & Chapter 04: “Meeting The Aldens”

And once again, huge thanks to ChaoticTwunk for his help with editing this chapter.