The Roommate (It's Complicated Sequel)

Chapter 27

*Cas

"Jamie, hold on," I said as I walked after her.

She had just seen Alex and I standing by his car and talking, and she obviously wasn't very happy.  I made it to her just as she was grabbing the door handle on her car.

"Hey, come on. Don't do this please," I pleaded with her as she got in.

"Cas I know this seems like no big deal to you, but it is to me," she said.

"Jamie I - " before I could finish she shut the door and began to pull away.

"Fuck," I said quietly.

Could we ever just have a normal relationship?

I knew she wasn't a huge fan of me hanging around Alex, but I never imagined it would make her this upset. I slowly walked back into the house, not really sure what I should do next.

I didn't think calling her right away was a good idea, I probably just needed to give her some space. I just didn't want her to get the wrong idea about anything.

I took out my phone and sent her a quick text.

"Let me know when you want to talk, I'll give you your space."

I got back inside and started to get ready for bed. I kept checking my phone for a text from Jamie, but it never came. Had me wanting to be friends with Alex really fucked up our whole relationship?

Sleep didn't come very easily that night, and I dragged my way through the next day at work.

When my day was almost over, I heard someone clear their throat and I looked up. Alex was standing in my open doorway.

"Hey Alex," I said with a tired grin.

"Mind if I come in for a second?" He asked me.

"Not at all," I said as I motioned him in.

He came in and sat down in the chair opposite of me at my desk.

"I just wanted to apologize if you and I talking last night caused any problems between you and Jamie," he said.

"Alex I appreciate the apology but that's definitely not your fault, that's something that Jamie and I still need to figure out," I said in response.

He nodded and kept his gaze down, "either way, I felt really bad so I just wanted to come and apologize."

"Well thank you for the unnecessary apology," I said with a grin.

He looked up at me and smiled back.

"But I do think," I continued hesitantly, "we should probably keep our hanging out to a minimum until I figure things out with Jamie. It's not like we've been hanging out a bunch, but...you know."

"No that's completely fair," he said quickly, "I guess I'll just have to deal with Sophie on my own for a while."

He smirked at me and I shook my head, "yeah good luck with that one."

"I'll probably need it," he said, "but anyway I have to get going, I just wanted to make sure I got that off of my chest."

"Thanks Alex," I said, "see you later."

He got up and walked out of my office with a wave.

I could confidently say I didn't have romantic feelings for him anymore, but damn was he a good guy, that was clearly never going to change.

I knew I had told Jamie to tell me when she was ready to talk, but by the end of the day I felt like I couldn't wait much longer. I hated that I had caused either of us to feel this way.

I decided to drive over to her apartment after work. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but I needed to talk to her.

I made it up to her door and quietly knocked.

"Hey, it's me," I said, leaning my head against the door.

I heard footsteps coming closer and I stepped back, waiting for Jamie to let me in. I heard her voice on the other side before she opened it.

"I thought I was supposed to tell you when I was ready to talk," she said.

"I know, I'm sorry but I just - can you please just let me in?" I said.

The door slowly opened, but Jamie had turned away and was walking back towards the kitchen. I followed her over and sat on one of the stools next to the counter.

"I'm sorry if seeing me with Alex pissed you off," I started, "I thought we had kind of gotten past that phase."

Jamie quickly turned to face me and she had a fire in her eyes.

"I'm not going to just quickly get past something like that Cas," she said.

"Well we've talked about it a few times so I just thought - " Jamie slammed her hand down on the counter before I could finish and it made me jump.

"Okay what the fuck is going on?" I asked her. "I knew you weren't crazy about the idea of Alex and I still being friends, but I've never seen you this upset over it."

Jamie rested her elbows on the counter and leaned over and put her face in her hands. She sighed and then finally looked up at me.

"Among many of the shitty things that Maddox did to me when we were together," she started, "one of his worst was that he cheated on me with his ex."

"Shit Jamie, I'm -"

"It's just a little bit of a trigger for me," she said, cutting me off.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked quietly.

She looked irritated with me again as she answered, "because I thought you might get the hint with how much it was bothering me!"

"Fuck, I just thought - I don't know," I said, "I can't read your mind Jamie, how would I have known any of this?"

Jamie threw her hands up in frustration. "I don't know Cas, I was just tired of having to bring up Maddox in our relationship. It hasn't exactly been a good topic for us."

"Well do you really not trust me that much that you think I'm going to cheat on you with Alex? Or with anyone for that matter?" I asked her as I began to feel more frustrated.

"No that's not - I'm not saying that. I don't think you'd cheat on me, it just -" Jamie trailed off as she tried to find the right words to say.

"It scares me I guess," she continued quietly.

"Scares you?" I asked her, "what do you mean?"

"I know you're not going to cheat on me, but it makes me think about you leaving, and I - " Jamie stopped mid sentence, seeming like she couldn't finish her thought.

Hearing why this upset her so much made me feel even worse, and it also made a lot more sense. I stood there in silence, giving her a minute to finish whatever she was trying to say.

She stepped around the counter and came closer to me.

"It scares me because I love you Cas, okay? I'm - I'm in love with you."

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