And There Was You (A Short Story)
It had to be Jacqueline Bond. Of all the fine girls in school, Chase Tucker, the star of the football team and a known playboy, had to like the statuesque model that seems to be inside the dreams of every guy in school. “Every guy” doesn’t exclude Chase. Simply the sight of Jacqueline, or Jackie to her friends, nearby is enough to get Chase tongue-tied. However, it’s too much for Chase’s friends to handle who’ve known him as the happy-go-lucky player. Therefore, no one knows about this phenomenon happening inside Chase – well, no one except Sebastian Hades, the football team’s co-captain and Chase’s bestfriend. What makes it better is that Sebastian is Jackie’s classmate and friend. The two boys cooked up a plan.
“The osmotic pressure keeps–” Jackie was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. “Do you want me to get that for you?” she asked Sebastian.
“Sure,” he answered. So Jackie rose and ran to open the door. She saw a familiar figure standing by the gate – a boy.
“Chase,” Jackie called. “It’s someone…someone from the football team.”
“T…tell him it’s Chase,” the boy by the gate said.
“It’s Chase,” Jackie called once more.
“Oh, let him in,” responded Sebastian. Jackie said as she was told. She let Chase in and led him to Sebastian’s room. Sebastian rose to get his visitors something to drink. This left Chase and Jackie alone. An awkward moment of silence enveloped the two.
“S…so,” Chase broke the silence “y…you’re the model, right?”
“Mhm…” Jackie said with a nod. Another moment of silence followed.
“Are you feeling hot?” Jackie asked as she broke the silence. “You’re kind of sweating.”
“R…really?” Chase asked. “I…I don’t feel hot at all.”
“Come on, let’s go the balcony.” Jackie said as she stood up and grabbed Chase hands. Chase felt his ears got hot and his hands sweaty. He grabbed Jackie’s hand too. As they were walking, he tightened his grip. Everything felt surreal.
“Uhm…we’re here now.” Jackie said as they reached the balcony.
“Yeah”, Chase responded.
“My hand?”
“Oh…s…sorry,” Chase said as he let go. As Chase was about to speak, Sebastian entered holding a tray with a pitcher of pink lemonade and three glasses.
“Hey guys,” he said. “I’m back.”
“Hey,” Chase and Jackie said in unison.
“Missed anything?” Sebastian interrogated.
“Nope,” Chase answered. “We were just getting acquainted.” Jackie followed.
“Cool,” Sebastian said. “Here you go,” he handed them drinks. The two thanked him as all of them sat down. Jackie and Chase shared the couch as Sebastian sat on the beanbag. They chatted for a while as they consumed the drinks. Everybody was happy and laughing. After the laughter died, Jackie said: “Hey Sebastian, don’t you want to continue studying for Bio? The quiz is tomorrow; just so you know.”
“Nah,” Sebastian answered. “I get most of it already. Thanks to you, of course.”
“You’re welcome.” Jackie said with a wink. “I have to go in a couple of minutes. I don’t want to miss the last bus home. I still need to go on a photo shoot.”
“Really? That’s too bad,” Sebastian said. “Where do you live anyway?”
“I still live in Bel-Air,” Jackie said “all the way in Makati, but the photo shoot is in The Fort”
“I…I can give you a ride.” Chase said. “I need to pick something up in The Fort anyway.”
“Oh really? That’s great!” Jackie exclaimed. “I’ll be going straight to the photo shoot then, and just call my agent to pick me up once the job is done.”
“I can also bring you home if you want to.” Chase offered.
“Really? Won’t it be out of your way?” Jackie asked.
“Nah,” Chase answered. “We better get going. I don’t want you to be late because of me.” he added as he looked at his watch.
“You’re right.” Jackie agreed as she looked at her watch. “Bye Sebastian.” she added with a touch on the cheek.
“Bye man.” Chase said with a handshake.
“Bye.” Sebastian replied to both of them.
“So I’ll just meet you back in here in an hour, okay?” Chase said as Jackie closed the car door. They were in front of Posh Studios in The Fort, where Jackie is taking her photos for a magazine editorial.
“Okay,” Jackie said, already standing by the studio door.
An hour later, Chase was already outside the doors of Posh Studios, waiting for Jackie. A couple of minutes later, Jackie went out, looking just like a model – make-up on face and hair done. Chase’s jaw dropped and for a moment, he held his breath.
“Hey,” Jackie said with that gorgeous smile around her face. “Sorry to keep you waiting too long.”
“Oh,” Chase said, fetching for the words to say. “No…I mean, it’s fine.”
Jackie laughed at the fidgeting that Chase did. Chase, on the other hand, was cursing himself in his mind for it.
“We better get going.” Jackie said.
“Oh…right.” Chase said. He ran around his car to open the door for Jackie and she went in with a little nod on the head, as if saying “thanks”. Chase ran back to the driver seat and hopped in the car and started the motor. While driving, Chase said, “Listen, do you want to have some coffee first before I bring you home?” Jackie thought for a while before saying “I’d love to.” with that heavenly smile of hers. So, Chase pulled up around the corner and parked his car right in front of Starbucks. While sipping their coffees, the two chatted for a while and got to know each other more. Chase learned that Jackie was versatile, smart and open-minded. On the other hand, Jackie learned that Chase was not the typical jock – a jerk, dumb and a believer in “physical relationships”; instead, she learned that he was sweet, smart and sensitive. When it was finally time for Jackie to come home, the two still carried on the conversation in Chase’s car. They had so much fun and they saw it in each other’s eyes. When Chase was already outside Jackie’s house, he thanked her for such a good time and she did the same. Jackie didn’t leave just yet. She stayed for a couple of seconds before looking straight into Chase’s brown eyes. Chase looked straight into her piercing blue eyes. The two didn’t speak but knew exactly what the other was thinking. After a few more seconds, Chase has gathered enough courage to give Jackie a kiss on the cheek and caress her face. Jackie’s eyes were never as expressive as before. Unfortunately, the moment was broken by a motorcycle that passed by. Jackie finally left the car and went straight inside her house. Chase drove out the village that Jackie lived in and went straight home. That night, Chase couldn’t sleep. He kept on turning from one side to the other, and then back again. Jackie was also as restless as Chase. She kept on analyzing her feelings and by the time that the sun was almost cracking, she knew it. She was falling for Chase.
The relationship of Chase and Jackie deepened as time passed by. They went out with each other for a couple of times and they seem to be enjoying each other’s company. Finally, one Friday evening, Jackie was sitting in Chase’s bedroom couch, watching Notting Hill on DVD. Chase had his arms around Jackie the whole time they watched the movie. Amidst the movie, Chase took Jackie’s hand, looked at her straight in the eye and said in a soft voice: “Jackie, these past few months, I have changed and I hope you noticed.” Jackie gave a nod. Chase continued, “I want you to know that I’m doing it for you…I’m trying so hard to get your attention, and believe me Jackie, I really do…I…I’ve fallen for you.” Chase concluded with a spark of love in his eyes. Jackie looked at Chase in such way that it pierced through Chase’s heart. A couple of moments later, Jackie spoke. “I’m so sorry. I’m afraid that if I fall with you, you won’t be there to catch me.” There were tears in her blue eyes, Chase noticed and Jackie noticed the same in Chase’s brown eyes. “If you fall, I’ll fall with you and together, we’ll battle the world against all odds.” Chase said to Jackie. These words brought the tears out of Jackie’s eyes. The two kissed and kissed as if one of them would be gone tomorrow. At that moment, the two knew that they love each other.
Chase and Jackie had a happy and loving relationship that blossomed and grew. Their love endured tough times and they cherished every moment. They were now one soul and inseparable. There was a certain bond between them that is just so strong that no one dare meddle with it. Everything was going smoothly until…
Jackie was in the midst of a photo shoot for the Spring/Summer ’09 Collection of Chanel. You can say that she had a long day ahead of her. It was 7:00 in the morning and two hours later, she needs to run to the opposite side of town to shoot a beauty ad for NARS. Then, an hour and a half after lunch, she needs to run to the agency and then around town for the rest of the afternoon for Go-Sees. Back to the Chanel shoot, Jackie was sitting in front of the mirror, removing her make-up when Chase called. She painted a little smile on her face and answered the call with that sweet voice of hers. However, the smile quickly faded and the sweetness immediately turned sour. On the other line was not Chase. It was a doctor. He called to inform Jackie that Chase had a car accident a couple of minutes ago. He was now in the hospital but still in a critical condition. The tears swelled up in Jackie’s eyes which immediately burst out. She came collecting her things and ran out the door, without even leaving regards to the photographer, the crew and Mr. Lagerfield, himself. She immediately hailed a cab (it was such an emergency that she can’t even call the agency to pick her up) and asked it to drive to the hospital as fast as the driver can. The driver did just so and they arrived in the hospital in just five minutes. She burst into the ER and asked where Chase Tucker was located and immediately ran where he was.
In the room, Jackie saw Chase with a bandage around his upper body and his arms. She ran, sat down beside him and touched his hands tightly, never wanting to let go. A couple of hours passed and Chase awoke, seeing Jackie crying beside him. He called faintly: “Hon.” Jackie lifted her head and cried some more before replying, with her eyes swollen from crying: “Please tell me you’ll never leave me.” Chase breathed and gripped Jackie’s hand harder. He said how much he loved her, how she must take care of herself how she must continue on inspiring and bringing out the best in everyone, just like what she did to him, faintly. Jackie cried some more for what seemed an eternity. She didn’t care about the money she’ll earn this day; what mattered was Chase. A couple more moments later, Jackie felt Chase’s grip weaken and let go of her hand. She said: “No…you won’t leave me. You told me we’ll fight for our love. Against all odds, remember?” Chase opened his eyes and said in a very faint voice: “We did…and as long as you love me, we will.” Upon saying this, he took a faint breath and there was nothing more to hear in the room but a long, monotonous beep that came from the machine beside Chase which showed a moving, straight, horizontal line and Jackie’s sobs.