Cincinnati Boy

Chapter 10

CARO'S POV

I was so depressed.. I heard my phone going off so many times, but I ignored it. If I even spoke once, I'd do nothing but explode into tears. Erica opened my door. "Caro.." She looked at me in disappointment. I haven't movee out of bed in a week; my mom forced me to eat and I rarely got up to use the bathroom. Erica sat beside me and rubbed my back. "Babe, you've gotta get out of here for once." She told me. I didn't say a word, I didn't even look at her. I was so hurt.. Before I knew it, Erica was literally picking me up and making me get dressed. "Why are you doing this?" I finally spoke. She looked at me in shock, "Doing what?" I looked at her slowly. "Helping me? I'm not worth a shit." Erica sat down with me and forced me to tell her what happened. "I promise, everything will be alright." She always said that. But this time there was a weird half smile on her face. We headed to her car and she drove. I didn't know where she was going. Then she finally told me after minutes of silence that we were going to a coffee house. Erica parked in the parking lot; The coffee house wasn't far from my house. She ordered what I always got and she ordered what she always got. She knew me so well. We sat down at a table. There was more people here than usual, which bugged me because I knew I looked like crap. They delivered our coffees, Erica thanked them and paid them. I also thanked her for taking me here. "Don't hate me." She told me. "Huh?" I looked at her. She was looking above me. So I slowly turned my head around. Fuck! I said in my head.. Well it felt like my soul said it. There was Joe and Jon standing right behind me, but Jon walked over to Erica who was standing up. Joe looked at me in a depressing way. He was hurting just as bad as I was. I don't think Joe knew anything about this like me, but I sure as hell bet Jon and Erica did. I stood up, leaving my chair pulled out. "I.." Joe stopped me. "I'm sorry." He emphasized the 'I'm'; He knew exactly what I was gonna say. "I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry I got mad at you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I told you to leave... I'm sorry." I looked around and a lot of people were looking. Joe noticed too. "Mind your own fucking business." He told everyone. They all looked back at their coffees. He looked me in the eyes and froze. I couldn't speak; my heart was broken. "Caro, please.." He pleaded. I didn't know what to say.. I didn't know what to do. I turned my head and walked out of the shop. I stood outside and then I felt their presence behind me. "I love you." I heard. I didn't move at all. I stood there, not looking their way. I felt his hands grasp my shoulders. I jumped a bit at his touch. "Caroline." He never said my full name. I finally gave in and looked at him. "Caroline, I fucking love you, alright? I know sometimes I fuck up. I know sometimes I'm an idiot. I know sometimes I don't do shit right. I know I don't deserve you. But I love you." Joe said every word meaningfully. "I.." I started to speak. He looked me deep in the eyes. I gulped, "I love you too, asshole." I hugged him tighter than ever. I felt his hands grasp my rear end tightly, but I didn't say anything, I grabbed his too. I heard his deep laughter. I missed it. I missed him.