Obsessive | Mitchel Cave •(Chase Atlantic)

12 | Strangers

Mitchel's Pov

I watch Maddie sleep, she looks so peaceful, it puts me at peace knowing she's better than before.

I wish I could help her, but it seems no matter what I do I only make it worse.

Aleia let me sleep in the room with them, surprisingly I didn't have to protest, she'd be too tired to anyway.

She takes good care of Maddie, I wonder why sometimes. I mean I would do anything for Clinton, he's my brother, and yeah Kras, even though he's fucked up in the head.

But i've known these guys longer, they've just known each other for a few years.

The room has been in silence for a while, Aleia has been typing on her laptop, courtesy of Clinton who just dropped our things off an hour ago.

I feel like I should say something, make conversation, I mean a good way to get to know Maddie would be through her best friend, right?

We sit in silence for a bit more, I listen to the taps of her fingers against the keyboard, but then it stops and it's just complete silence, until she finally speaks up.

"Do you love her, Mitchel?"

"What?"

"I said do you love her?" She asks again.

I sit in silence for a while.

I want to say yes, but would that be the right thing to say? Maddie likes to take things slow, and I don't want to scare her off. The time we've spent together has been the best time of my life, but i'm scared it might be the worst of hers. I've never felt this way before for somebody, and I don't want my past to haunt me.

"It's a yes or no answer, Mitchel" She says.

I clear my throat.

"Yes, I love her" I respond.

Because it's the truth.

"Then you gotta help me out" Aleia says, letting out a cry, pushing her laptop to the side.

She turns to face me, sitting at the edge of her bed. Wiping her face from the tears.

"She can't keep going the way she's been going all these years, her body is going to give up"

I let everything she says process in my brain.

"What do you need me to do?" I ask.

I'm willing to do anything, this girl deserves to finally feel happiness in her life, and I want to be the one to give it to her.

"You need to convince her to drop out" She says, and it's almost as if I can't believe the words that just came out of her mouth.

"What?! She's worked so hard to get into university!" I exclaim silently, because I don't want to wake Maddie up.

"I know, I know" She says, with a few tears sneaking their way out of her eyes.

"But she doesn't even like Criminology that much Mitchel, in fact she fucking hates it, she just takes it because she feels like she has to, like it's her purpose because of her cousin's death"

"She thinks it's her responsibility" I respond, to which Aleia shakes her head, sniffling.

"Everything in her life leading up to now has been her responsibility, she never wants to accept help, it always has to be forced, and it's just so sad to see someone who went through so much, thinking she has to be punished for it" She lets out a silent wail.

I move over to her bed, sitting next to her, comforting her by rubbing her back.

"You can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped" I tell her.