wait; karl jacobs ✓

six

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tally<3
can i come over?

relief covered karl as he read the text. he didn't know it was possible to feel such comfort but also have your heart flutter so much at the same time.

karly:-)
of course you can

karl was never nervous for talia to come over.

he sat on his couch, picking at the piece of skin next to his fingernail.

why was he so nervous?

maybe it was because they hadn't talked in two weeks. maybe it was because he was scared to lose his best friend. or, not to be dramatic, maybe it was because he was so in love with her and knew she'd never feel the same and would always chose max over him.

karl jumped off the couch and ran to the door when he heard the years old secret knock he and talia had made. 2 slow knocks followed by 3 quick ones.

he opened the door, immediately stepping aside for talia to enter. she didn't seem like her normal self. she walked in slowly, her arms crossed across her stomach. her eyes looked tired.

"hey," he started, sitting across from her on his couch.

"i'm sorry." she dropped her head, ashamed.

"don't-"

"and don't tell me not to be sorry," she interrupted. "i have a lot i wanna say."

karl crossed his legs, pulling them in under himself. he grabbed one of his throw pillows to hold against his chest before nodding to let her know he was listening.

"i'm really sorry. i have been an awful friend the last two weeks. max got jealous with how much time and attention i gave to you. i was so worried about losing him that i fed his insecurity by ignoring you." talia started rambling, staring at her palms.

"it was really wrong of me to ignore you like that, and i feel absolutely awful about it," she glanced up with tears in her eyes. "i miss my best friend."

karl's heart hurt. talia always had this effect on him, almost as if she had a spell on him. she could set his home on fire and murder his family, and he would still want to protect her.

he scooted closer to her, pulling the crying girl into his arms. he could feel a few tears land on his t shirt, but he didn't mind. he wanted talia to feel safe in his arms. he wanted his arms to be her home.

"max and i got in a fight today," talia sniffled, not really knowing why she was sharing that information.

"what happened?" karl immediately got defensive.

"i just," she struggled to find the words. "he kept bringing up me staying at your house, so i asked who the girl in his instagram picture was. he immediately started gaslighting me. he told me it was someone from high school, but i know it wasn't karl, i swear. then he got mad and thought i was accusing him of cheating."

she seemed so defeated.

"you aren't going back there tonight, are you?" karl carefully pushed her hair away from her face.

"i don't know what else to do. that's my home, too. and i can't stay here or he'll lose it. i'll just make him sleep on the couch, i guess."