Fried Burrito

t h I R t y - o N e

The days I continued to spend without Jace became harder to bear. I hated to be away from him but I knew I had to be. For some reason, marriage was too big to look over between us. I strongly disliked that. I was tired of being sad about it though. I spent way too many days moping over the boy who could cause more drama than I ever did.

"Caden?" CJ's worried voice filled my dark room. I knew that the other clowns I called my brothers weren't far behind.

"Are you okay?" Cal questioned.

"You haven't left your room for days-" said Cameron.

"And it's starting to smell in here," finished Casey.

"Shut up," I groaned. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Charlie asked while sitting on my bed.

"When was the last time you talked to Jace?"

"I don't know... Three weeks ago?"

They all broke their necks to stare at me in awe.

"Three weeks? What happened?"

"He wants me to marry him."

"Marry him?!" The clowns exclaimed in unison as if they were going to have a heart attack any second.

"Don't worry, I said no and I don't wish to continue this conversation anymore. I'm tired of talking about my feelings," I groaned and buried my head under my pillow.

"I think I speak for all of us here Caden-" CJ said as he sat on my bed. "None of us really knew you had feelings until you started dating Jace."

I sat up in horror. Were they being serious?

"What is that even supposed to mean? I have feelings."
"Yes we know," Cameron started.

"But you don't show them that often," Casey finished.

"Okay... So does that mean I'm supposed to marry him for that? I could've done that on my own."
"Again, we know that," CJ said. "What we're trying to tell you is that Jace has helped you grow in so many ways. You're able to express how you feel and not feel sorry for it. You've done that with us, Dad, and especially with Mom. Before Jace came along, you never did that at all."

I sat up and thought about what they were trying to tell me.

"So what are you saying? I should marry Jace? Right now?" I wondered aloud.

"We're not saying anything, we are still your brothers after all—" started Charlie.

"But we're saying is that you and Jace are a special pair who bring out the most genuine sides in each other and stick with each other no matter what happens," said Cameron.

"That's extremely rare for you sister," Casey added.

"I wouldn't let that go so quickly," said Carson shortly after.

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. I couldn't sit here and wonder if I made the right decision for myself when I knew that I did. For once, I knew that I was not in the wrong.

"I don't want to talk about this with you guys. I don't regret my decision," I said while turning my back towards them.

"I regret mine though," emerged a voice I desperately forced myself not to miss.

I broke my neck to stare into the eyes of the boy who caused me so much pain and love at the same time. He sat at the tip of my bed, looking as awkward as ever while my body began to itch. His eyes stared into mine, wider than I'd ever seen them, as he struggled to find the right words to say.

"I've made a mistake," he whispered as his hand moved to touch mine. "I didn't realize it during the moment but I was asking for so much from you. Marriage is a huge step and I shouldn't have pushed you to make that step when you weren't ready for it."

"You really hurt me, Jace," I replied, ripping my hand from his. "I can't just forget what you said. I always have to do the catching up between you and me, that isn't fair to either of us."

Jace grabbed my hand once again, only to hold on tighter.

"But it's what makes us, us, Caden..." He paused to lift my chin till I matched his gaze. "I've been hopelessly in love with you from the first day I met you and I know for me that won't change. Being able to watch me grow on you as you fell in love with me lets me more than anything else that that's not planning on changing anytime soon either."

My heart skipped a million beats instead of once as the truth of his words dawned on me.

"I love you so much sweetheart, I'm so sorry for overreacting."

"I'm sorry too," I whispered into his chest. "I love you."

Jace moved back to plant a soft yet passion-filled kiss on my lips before returning me back in the arms of his embrace.

I felt a million emotions run through my limbs as I sat there with him that were hard to pinpoint. I didn't know what to think just yet but, I did know that whenever Jace looked at me, held me, or kissed me, I wanted to be stuck in that moment forever. It felt too right to ever give up and I knew that I wanted to hold onto it for as long as I could've.

I wasn't going anywhere.