Beautiful Storms

chapter thirteen | jude

"Don't give up, I need you."

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beautiful storms | chapter thirteen

"Hey, Jude!"

"Haley, why are you yelling?-- I'm right in front of you."

Haley groans, walking up to Jude who moves away from her. He rolls his eyes at her presence. He tries his best to be nice to her but she somehow just finds more ways to annoy him.

He grabs his book bag straps and he pushes his legs fast as he moves down the hall to Biology. When he makes it, he slams his body into his seat and groans into his hands. Haley sits down with her arms crossed and she glances at Jude with a blank expression before turning her head towards the teacher.

"Jude, are you okay?"

Jude sighs as he pulls his hands from his face. Think happy thoughts. He sits up straight and he opens his textbook. He made a new goal to ignore her but will it work he doesn't know.

"Jude, can you help me with number 10?" She asks.

He closes his eyes and clenches his jaw and unclenches his jaw. He clenches the pencil in his hands and he hears a crack. He slams the broken pencil on his desk. "It's in the book if you would actually read for once." He facepalms himself and his hand falls to the desk.

Haley grumbles under her breath as she opens her book to the pages that were assigned and he opens his eyes to her reading it. A frown dressing her lips and her face grows hard.

"Sorry." He apologizes but he sees no change in her eyes when she hears it. She ignores him. His eyes fall to his work and he slumps against his seat.

He glances up at his teacher who had ignored his burst of anger.

Jude walks barefoot as he makes his way into the lake. Cara smiles before going under the water and he smiles back but he doesn't completely go under, only his feet are covered.

"Are you scared?"

Cara resurfaces and she pulls on his hands. He gulps, clenching on to her hand. He doesn't say anything as she leads him into the deepest parts of the lake.

He places his hands on her shoulder as he tries to keep his balance so he wouldn't drown. Cara kicks her legs back and forth, keeping herself on top of the water. She smirks, poking her finger into his bare chest.

"I'm not scared, I just don't know how to swim." He says nervously.

"Kick your feet back and forth. Move your arms back and forth too." She instructed him.

"I'm teaching you how to stay on top of the water so you won't drown."

Cara stretches out his arms and he kicks his legs, helping him stay afloat. She was inches away from him and he could feel how close her skin was to his. He holds his breath when she raises her face to match his height. "Are you okay?" Her voice was low and he nods, clearing his throat.

Water drips from his hair and Cara pushes it to the side so it wouldn't get in his eye. She pats his cheek and he holds her hand to his cheek, looking into her eyes.

Cara pulls away from him and awkwardly swims away, leaving Jude alone. He shakes his head, running a hand through his hair and waterfalls between his fingers. His eyes never leave hers as he watches her swim. He sighs, still kicking his legs as she showed him just minutes ago.

Friends.

"What do you remember about Grandma?"

Sadie walks into Jude's room. He closes his textbook and waits for her to shut the door. Sadie sits down next to him on his bed and she leans her head on his shoulder. He glances down at her with furrowed brows but he shakes it off. He leans into her.

"I know she barely liked Uncle Hayes and she would always babysit us when Mom and Dad were busy." He keeps his response short and vague.

"Do you know why we didn't go to her instead of Hayes?"

"He was the closet and she wanted to get us but Hayes got us first."

"Do you have her phone number?"

"I'm pretty Hayes has it if you ask him."

Sadie tenses up at the mention of his name but she doesn't say anything as she stares at his closet door then to his open window. Albert is sitting on the tree and Sadie smiles at the bird.

"Hello, Mr. Allbert." She whispers.

"Why are you asking about her though?"

"No reason."

Suddenly, Sadie gets off his bed and walks out of his room before shutting the door.

"Weirdo."

He goes back to his textbook and he begins taking notes. He couldn't get his mind off of Cara and the lake. He holds his cheek, coping with what she did and he closes his eyes.

"Are you sure you aren't the weirdo?" He sighs, he lets his hand fall to his lap.

"Now, you're talking to yourself."

He groans, dropping his pencil on his notebook, causing lines to mark the page. Do I like her? Is that why I'm acting like this? He turns to Albert and he watches as he flies away.

"She isn't always mean Jude. She just needs to warm up to you."

He turns to his nightstand and opens the drawer. He lifts up a notebook and he picks up a piece of paper that was hiding under it. He flips it around in his fingers before grabbing his phone that sat next to him. He dials the number on the paper, it rings before a female voice answers.

"Hey, Grandma."

"It's about time you called me, Love."

She chuckles and Jude smiles. He presses the phone to his ear and there's a silence that grows between them. He looks down at his lap and he picks at his sheets.

"How is she?-- Sadie?"

"She's working through it. We both are."

Jude runs a hand through his hair and he falls back on his bed, holding the phone to his chest. He presses the speaker.

"It's fine for you to talk. It's just me."

"Where are you?"

"St. Clair."

"She keeps asking Uncle Hayes about you, so I wanted to surprise her by you coming."

She curses under her breath and he knows she's upset but he ignores it. He closes his textbook and his notebook, keeping his pencil in as a bookmark. Jude knows she fought for them not for them to live with Hayes but she never told him why. She lost to him and she took it hard on herself. He hears her breathing on the other end before she speaks again.

"Give me a few days and I'll be there. I really tried and I feel like I failed you guys by not trying hard enough."

"You did the best you could, that's all that matters."

"You really are Rachel's kid." She laughs.