The Faces Of Karl Jacobs

Chapter 8: Friends.

Hailey's P.O.V.

"Jimmy" I sniffled over the phone, "Please help me... I don't know what to do" I sobbed, unable to contain my emotions any longer.

He sighed defeatedly, "I'm so sorry Hailey, you know I never meant for this to happen," He said softly, unleashing a whole new level of despair that I didn't know I was capable of.

"P-please," I begged, "You know what's at stake for me here..." I choked out, hot tears running freely down my face as I began to rock back and forth.

Jimmy was silent for a moment, as we both listened to my pathetic whimpering.

"I think I have an idea..." He said in barely above a whisper.

I was desperate.

~ time skip: back to Hailey's car trouble ~

"Thanks again," I said, my head resting against the cool window of Karl's Tesla.

"Yeah, no problem," Karl said, with a tight smile drawn on his features, "My friend David should have your car fixed in a couple of hours, he said you just needed a new battery"

I nodded my head silently at Karl's words. I let out a harsh breath of air as I said, "Well, I guess I'm skipping class today" I chuckled to myself softly, not feeling particularly heartbroken over the circumstance.

Karl chuckled, "Yeah, you look pretty torn up over it," He cast a knowing stare in my direction, my contentment written across my face.

I pressed a hand to my chest, sarcastically lamenting, "Oh god? Skipping class?! How will I ever recover?" As I gasped for dramatic effect.

A slight chuckle sounded from Karl, at my lame attempt to lighten the mood, the air remaining dry from the past few weeks of silence. The car quieted for a moment before Karl hesitantly suggested, "Well since we have the time, do you want to grab a coffee?"

I glanced over at him skeptically, his suggestion sounding all too familiar, so I couldn't help but ask, "I thought you didn't like coffee? The liver killer not doing it for you anymore?"

He snorted at my analogy, "No, no, I still prefer energy drinks, but there's this one shop by my place that has awesome smoothies" He answered honestly, glancing at me briefly.

I retained my hesitant disposition as I considered his offer. Reluctantly, I bit my lower lip and said, "Alright. I owe you anyway"

A confused hum made its way from Karl's mouth, "What do you mean?"

"Ya know," I said returning my gaze to focus on my breath fogging up the frosted car windows, "For helping me with my car and not letting me fall this morning..."

A charged silence filled the car at my words. When Karl didn't respond, I began anxiously playing with the rings decorating my fingers. Our constant state of silence was starting to bother me.

Before, I could handle our long stretches of not talking, in fact, I looked forward to them. But now? Now the past three weeks of dead silence have been eating me alive, and that scared me more than I was willing to admit.

"I told you," He began, pulling my attention from my inner monologue, "I'll always catch you"

There it was again, those four little words. He repeated them so confidently as if he really really meant them. I felt my lips part in confusion at his statement as I hesitantly said, "Why?"

My question seemed to have caught his attention as he snuck a glance in my direction, "Why?" He repeated, clarifying that he heard me correctly.

I nodded my head, encouraging him to continue. Karl let out a tense sigh before saying, "Because we're friends. And I don't let anything happen to my friends."