The Harder They Fall

Chapter 4: Distance

Cole

It's been three weeks since Jasmine became Gracie's nanny. In the beginning, it was a little rough for all of us to adjust and it's still a little weird. I was surprised she stayed this long and all the more astonished at Gracie's behavior. It was amazing how Jasmine had gotten her to change. I'm not saying Gracie is the world's most respectful kid. Sure, she still has her attitudes, temper tantrums, and refuses to eat a vegetable, but we're making progress.

The only problem was me. I was having weird feelings towards Jasmine that I haven't had since-well, in a long time. I've only known her for three weeks and already want to get to know her more. I needed to convince myself it was just a small crush and that it would go away. I needed a distraction. I needed to distance myself. If I could just dig a little deeper about her. All these mushy feelings will disappear.

What? You want to distract yourself from her, yet you're going to stalk her? Come on, cole, think a little.

''Gracie! Breakfast!" Jasmine called, interrupting my thoughts.

A few seconds later, Gracie came running down the stairs and joined us in the kitchen. She and Jasmine were wearing matching outfits. Light pink top and jeans. Even in that simplest outfit, I wanted Jasmine. I needed to get out of here, fast.

''Hey, sweetheart,'' I greeted Gracie as she grabbed her plate from Jasmine.

Just as she was about to respond, I got a message.

Cooper (aka Jackass): You ready? Your dad said it's practice today.

Me: What? How come nobody told me that?

Cooper (aka Jackass): Since when don't we have practice on a Monday dumb ass?

Me: I'll be there in twenty.

''Is everything alright?'' Jasmine asked as I jumped up from the seat.

''Yeah, everything's fine. I just gotta go to practice.'' After grabbing my bags and kissing Gracie goodbye, I rushed out the door.

Jasmine

Four days. Four freaking days since Cole started avoiding me. I wasn't the clingy type, but I was beginning to get mad. Since Monday, he hasn't said a word to me besides the usual, "I'm going to practice, I'll be back." It started when we didn't have our usual talking session in the living room. Since he walked in on me sleeping on the couch, he sits down next to me after getting home, and we would talk. Every night we talked about Gracie, his day, pretty much everything. We never got too deep. But now, he comes home and goes straight to his room. It was frustrating, not knowing whether I had done something or not. The suspense was killing me.

Deciding to push those thoughts away for now, I went up to check on Gracie. When I walked in, she was playing with her dolls. After she saw me, her face lit up, ''Jasmine!'' she cheered, getting up. ''Can we watch Monster High, please?''

I was proud of how much her behavior was changing towards me. She was nicer. Well, at least when she wanted something; she was still giving me sass, but I don't think that will ever change. That's just the way Gracie was. A redhead, sassy little girl. I also noticed she was picking up some of my ways. Last week after I had finished showering, when I walked into her room, she started to hype me up on my outfit. I usually did that every time she would change clothes, even though most of the time she would just roll her eyes. Then I noticed her do the same to me. It was adorable.

''Hmm, Monster high... I don't think I've seen that one yet. What's it about?'' I asked as I walked out of the room, with her trailing behind.

''Seriously? You don't know what Monster High is? Even daddy knows what that is.''