Forever and Always

Chapter 28: I can't live without her

|| J a c k ||

I felt a little wary when Cameron came back from Nash's room without Caroline. "She hung back?"

Cameron paused briefly in his path and nodded. "He's completely gutted, he needs some comfort" Unconsciously, his eyes reverted to the ground, as he sighed.

"Yeah, I know he is" I said tiredly. I knew my friend had been riding this roller coaster for a week now. "If Matt hadn't called dibs on Madi, then maybe-" my eyes widened, and I stopped in midsentence.

I'll admit, everyone knew. Nash wasn't discrete about it whatsoever, and it didn't take but a minute for all of us to realize it. Nash liked Madi.

This wasn't new information for anyone.

Nash was starting to think of her as more than a friend. Thoughts were whizzing around in my head like a tornado, wiping away my judgment too. "And you let her stay there!" I snapped, knowing it wasn't the bet decision to let the best friends of Nash's crush be in the same room.

It was apparent to all the boys that although Nash had feelings for Madi, although the fact that Matt was dating her put a twist of the situation.

"Jack, you can't. Trust Nash. He wouldn't do anything. Or trust Caroline." Cam gripped my shoulders and shook him lightly, trying to knock some sense into me.

I was protecting them both. Nash by all means didn't need Caroline knowing about it, and I didn't need Caroline stuck in the middle of the awkward situation.

I contemplated barging there and taking Caroline with me, but my thoughts changed. Nash was going through a tough time. Some slack could be given.

I didn't want her getting sucked into it though. I had devolved a sense of protectiveness over her, and the last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt. To get caught in the middle of the so called "love triangle", that was forming.

The whole room's atmosphere seemed to thicken the moment that she appeared. Caroline saw all of our facial expressions, and she looked a bit uneasy. Little did any of the boys know, that her and Nash had just sat there, making meaningless small talk to try and draw his mind away from his problems.

Nash knew that it wouldn't do any good to keep bringing up Madi, so Caroline just entertained him with little anecdotes. She sat before, him, rubbing his back, trying to get him to vent his feelings out to her. Though she was completely unaware of what was actually troubling him, she attempted to cheer him up in any way she could.

"Is everything alright", she asked.

Caroline looked at all of us for an explanation, but we all refused to meet her eyes.

"I'm gonna go check on Nash gain, I'll be back in a minute", she said, and made her way back into his room.

I watched her close the door behind her, and it dawned on me how much I did fancy her

Just her name made a brief smile flick on my face. She made me feel like no other girl had. It wasn't just her dark brown eyes and adorable smile that reeled him in, it was more than that. I loved the way she presented herself, a smile always plastered on her face, her tone usually cheery and pleasant. The way that she would zone out for a moment and then come back to earth, sharing with us an unusual thought that would have them talking for hours.

That girl drove me crazy.

Although in the past, I was labeled as too much of player to ever be called "steady" in a relationship, that wasn't the case anymore. I knew how to treat a girl. I would know how to treat Caroline right.

I wanted to be the one to gain her trust, to be able to break down every barrier made by her past. I wanted to be able to touch her, and have her not flinch. I wanted to be able to erase the dark past from her mind, and cement new memories in it's place.

Maybe Caroline could live without me. She had certainly proved that she could. But there was one thing for certain: I wasn't sure that i could live without her.