Fighting a New World

35

Jax's POV

'I've been thinking about your stress a lot lately,' Kyra noted as we watched Carter do his 45 minutes on the punching bag.

I only hum as I sunk back farther into the comfy couch. I'm not completely sure when it happened but at some point Kyra redecorated the front room. I'm not sure if she meant to do it not but it looks like the living room of my dad's house.

I thought I was going to hate it but the more I stay here the more comforting it becomes. Especially the nice couch.

'What about the stress,' I asked with a sigh.

'I was thinking there might be another way to help. It might not be as good as some of Andrews suggests but we could still try it a few times.'

'For some reason I don't like where this is going,' I sighed.

'Well I've noticed that when one of you is stressed it tends to rub off on the other one while Bram and I are left completely unaffected. Most of the time when altars are stressed they retreat to the inner world to calm down. For a while you and Carter haven't had that luxury since someone always had to be up front but now that Bram and I are here, you can try that for once.'

'So you're saying you want to front more,' I asked skeptically.

'Not really, I've never wanted to front. Bram can try it though. Just at home while you and Carter are stressed. It might help and it might not but I think it's worth trying. That and Seth said it would be good for Bram to front more so he can be more confident when he needs to front for his role. Fronting at home can be a good start.'

I hum at that as Carter's timer slowly began to run out of time.

'You can't tell me that you usually don't feel more at ease when you're back here,' Kyra continued.

'I'm okay with trying it but it's up to Carter too.'

'I know but while Carter likes that I take care of Bram, he doesn't actually like me so he'll need help accepting the idea.'

She had a point. Ever since their little fight about whether or not Carter should have fought with Liam, Carter's love for her slowly began to dissipate.

Both of you really need to work on not broadcasting, Carter mumbled as he soaked in his last few minutes on the bag.

'So are you willing to try it or not,' I asked as I took a look at Bram, who seemed to be having the time of his life in his pillow fort. He wasn't even paying attention to us.

I guess. If you both think it will help then I don't see why not, he brushed off just as the time timer went off.

Carter's spirits fell as the sound reached his ear. Almost as if he were waiting for the timer to go off, Callum eased into the room.

"Times up," Callum said gently as Carter backed away from the bag. Tension was still set in his shoulders and I can tell he didn't fell any better but he followed Callum's lead out of the room anyway.

But I don't think I can do it today. I don't think being back there will help. I'll probably just freak out.

'That's okay," Kyra assured quickly. 'I haven't told Bram about it yet anyway. I doubt he would want to do it today either.'

"I don't suppose I could have a few more minutes," Carter joked as he eased onto the couch. "Or that we could go for a run?"

Callum frowns in a scolding way as he sits down next to him before pulling Carter onto his lap.

"We both know the answer to that," he sighed as he began watching meercats bounce across the screen; this was a definitely Carter's favorite.

"I figured," Carter admitted. "Jax and I are going to try and let Bram front more at home. Kyra thinks it could help us be less stressed but we'll just have to see how it goes."

"I think that could be a good idea," Callum said. "Is there anything the rest of us can to make him more comfortable?"

"I don't really know. He doesn't talk to me enough anymore."

'Don't act like that bothers you,' Kyra teased but Carter doesn't listen to her.

"That's okay. We can figure it out as we go." Callum soothes but Carter doesn't seem to care. "So you don't feel any better after the work out then?" He asked picking up on the fact that Carter wasn't even trying to pretend to be cheery or social.

"Not really," he said blankly, still not caring enough to add in vocal cues.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

To my surprise Carter didn't immediately shoot him down. He thought it over but after a few minutes he shook his head.

It was obvious that something was wrong; he had been acting weird all day for some reason.

'Did something happen?' I asked after a while of him and Callum just watching TV.

No, he said numbly. I hated when he got like this; it became nearly impossible to tell whether he was lying or not so I look over to Kyra, she's better at reading him for some reason.

'I don't think he's lying but I can't really tell,' she said honestly. 'Your guess is as good as mine.'

'We took our meds today, right?'

'Yep right before we left for work,' Kyra confirmed.

I hummed. Either this was the pre-game and something was about to or something already has and Carter just didn't want to tell us. I honestly feel like it's the first option. I can usually tell when he's hiding a dream or a flash back but I don't think it's happened yet.

'Maybe I should front for now? Just for a few minutes while you calm down?'

Maybe if I stay up front for the night I can calm us down before what ever happens finally comes around.

I already told you no. Just leave me alone.

I only scoffed at as I settle back into the couch.

I know we haven't been together for very long but he's never said that to me before and it honestly kind of hurt. I guess I know what it felt like for him when we were first diagnosed.

Still as his words sunk in, the more I felt like tonight wasn't going to end well.

Last updated August 4, 2021