Our Safeguard

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

~Jerome~

       Nolan had been sleeping almost all day, which wasn't like him. Sure, he would sometimes lie in bed all day, but whenever he did that, he was awake. He would just be watching TV or something. Him sleeping all day instead worried me a bit.

       Despite not liking cooking all that much, I made Nolan a quick meal before bringing it upstairs. I set the plate on the nightstand before sitting on the edge of the bed, gently shaking Nolan awake.

       Nolan stirred a bit before turning on his other side, pulling the blanket closer to his chin. I tugged on the blanket, but Nolan just kept a tight grip on it to prevent me from moving it. I sighed. "Nolan, you've been in bed all day," I said. "You should get up and do something."

       "No," he muttered.

       "At least eat something," I said. "I brought food up here for you so you can get in bed if you really don't feel like getting up."

       Nolan didn't move. He just stayed still, his back continuing to face me. I moved to lie down beside him on the bed, facing him. Nolan was about to turn around, but I gently placed my hand on his waist to stop him. He looked visibly upset. His eyes were glassy, either from tears or from just being woken up.

       Either way, I didn't think it was just his exhaustion that had kept him in bed all day. "Nolan, what's wrong?"

       "Nothing," Nolan said.

       I moved my hand to Nolan's cheek, gently wiping the small amount of tears away from his eyes. "Something's clearly bothering you. It's not like you to sleep all day."

       "Maybe I'm just tired. I'm still recovering from sepsis."

       "Maybe. But I don't think that's the case right now. You're crying. You don't just cry when you're tired."

       Nolan rolled over, turning his back towards me once again. "I don't want to talk about it."

       I was extremely worried about Nolan, but I didn't want to push him into giving me an answer. If he said he didn't want to talk about it, then I was going to have to respect that. The best thing I could do is let him know that I would be here for him if he ever chose to talk.

       "Okay," I said softly, running my hand up and down his arm. "If you ever want to talk to me, you know I'm here. Even if you need someone to talk to in the middle of the night."

       Nolan didn't reply. He didn't even give me a nod to acknowledge what I just said.

       I didn't know why, but I had the feeling he was mad at me. A lot of the time when he was upset about something not related to me, he would just snuggle with me. Be very touchy. But now, he wouldn't even look at me.

       Maybe he didn't like the idea of me going to parties because he knew what I was like around alcohol. Sure, I didn't drink at the party, but that didn't mean I wouldn't at the next time. Sometimes, I would vow that I wouldn't drink only to either be caught up in the party or of peer pressure.

       I still didn't want to push him into talking to me or to assume why he was upset, so I got off the bed and went back to Nolan's nightstand. I picked up the plate and handed it towards him. "At least eat this. Please."

       Nolan just stared at the plate for a bit before turning around, yet again.

       "Okay," I said, placing the plate down. "I'll leave it here. If you get hungry."

       I left the bedroom, closing the door behind me. Maybe he just wanted to be left alone for now. 

       I walked downstairs where Orchid was the only one in the kitchen, snacking on a muffin. "Hey, do you know if Nolan is upset about something?" I asked. "He's been sleeping almost all day and he won't eat anything. He'll barely even look at me."

       I caught a slight amount of hesitation before Orchid bit into the muffin, then shook her head. "Nothing that I know of."

       "So... There is something?" I ask.

       "I just said nothing."

       "But you hesitated."

       "Okay, maybe there's something, but it's something you're going to have to talk to him about. I shouldn't be the one to tell you about it."

       The phrasing through me off a bit and immediately, I thought of the worst case scenario. I sat down at the table Orchid was at. "Is he planning on breaking up with me?"

       "What? No," Orchid said. "Geez, what's up with you two thinking the other is going to break up with you?"

       "Nolan thinks I'm going to break up with him?" I asked.

       Orchid sighed. "He does but again, this is something you have to talk to him about. I tried convincing him that you're not going to dump him, but you know how he is when he gets an idea in his mind. It sticks until there's something for sure that can convinced him otherwise. Even that is hard at times."

       "I just have one more question," I said. "You can tell me if it's also something I have to ask him, but is he mad at me for going to the party?"

       "Not that I know of," Orchid said. 

       "Okay, thanks for the help." I got up from the table, deciding to head back up stairs to my and Nolan's bedroom. And it was a good thing I did because as soon as I got there, Nolan had sat up on the bed and was fully crying.

       He looked at me. "I'm so sorry for being mean."

       "What?" I furrowed my eyebrows as I walked over to the bed, sitting down beside him. "Because you kept turning away from me?" Nolan nodded, so I wiped his tears away. "I wouldn't count that as being mean. I wasn't upset by it. I was more worried about you."

       "I just..." He took a deep breath. "When you didn't reply to my text message last night, I thought you were going to break up with me because I was being too clingy."

       "Nolan..." I pulled him into a hug. "I'm not going to break up with you, and I definitely don't find you too clingy. And if it makes you feel better, I thought you were going to break up with me."

       "You're stupid for thinking that," Nolan muttered. "You're hot so I wouldn't break up with you."

       I laughed slightly, hugging Nolan tighter. "You're hot too, so I wouldn't break up with you either." I pulled away and wiped the remainder of his tears away. "Are you feeling better?"

       Nolan nodded. "A bit. Thank you. Can we cuddle?"

       "We can," I said. "After you eat first."

       "And then sex?"

       "Sure, Nolan."

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(a pet peeve i have for some books is when couples have problems that could have simply be solved if THEY COMMUNICATED so that's why nolan and jerome's communication is great lol)(that doesn't mean there won't be angst lol)

i still love them. i also love angst.