It's All About You ⌘ Joe Sugg ✓

Chapter 52

Joe kept his foot pressed to the accelerator as often as he could - the London traffic just so happened to be out in full force, stopping us from speeding all the time. I sucked and nibbled on my fingernails for the entire drive home, my mind already formulating scenarios. Caspar slumped on the floor, eyes vacant and lifeless. Caspar trashing the place, his anger coming off in waves. Or even worse, an empty apartment with no indication of when he might come back.

Judging by the desperate expression on Joe's face and his white knuckles on the steering wheel, he was feeling the same way. Joe managed to weave past a number of cars expertly throughout the drive, obviously not giving two shits about consequences.

Now we are finally parked in the block, our breathing coming in sharp bursts despite being seated in the car. I try to tell myself as we walk towards the building entrance that maybe I'm reading into this wrong - perhaps the two just had a bad fight... Everything will probably work out...

The ride in the elevator passes in an impatient blur and finally we make it back home. Joe swings open the door so hard I'm worried the hinges will break.

"Caspar!" Joe shouts so loudly the sound echoes throughout the entire apartment, bouncing off all the sparsely decorated walls and creeping into every crevice. What sickens me is that there is absolutely no response to his cry.

We walk into the lounge and scan the entire area quickly, but see no sign of him anywhere. Joe immediately starts bolting down the stairs, and I follow just behind him. He runs to the entrance of Caspars room and scans his eyes around - but it doesn't take me long to realise what's in front of us.

Caspar is sitting on his office chair, laptop perched on his knees and gaze fixed on the screen. Although to the untrained eye it would seem like he is working, I know better. His eyes have taken on a glazed quality, the whites of his eyes bloodshot.

"Cas!" Joe says loudly as he runs over to stand next to his empty eyed best friend.

Even when Joe shakes his shoulder vigorously Caspar keeps his bloodshot eyes fixed on the screen, his lips wavering slightly but no words slipping out. I walk to stand on the other side of his chair, desperate for him to acknowledge us somehow.

"Hey..." He says softly, his voice rough with emotion. Even though he appears to be an empty shell on the outside it is clear by his tone of voice that his emotions are whirling.

"Buddy, what happened? we saw Laura in a taxi cab... Crying..." Joe says, his voice confused and full of worry.

"Crying? She was crying?" He suddenly tears his gaze from the screen and looks Joe in the eyes with desperation and surprise.

"Ask Eila... She was the one who saw her." Joe says.

Caspar turns around to face me instead, his hand reaching out to grip my shirt fabric in his hand. He waits expectantly for me to talk.

"She looked terrible Cas... Like she was really trying to keep it together." I whisper, my hand clasped over his sweaty one.

"That doesn't make any sense..." He says quietly, his own eyes getting slightly watery.

"What happened Cas?" This time Joe speaks frantically, obviously desperate to help his friend.

"She just left... As if the last month we had together meant nothing. Her parents are apparently making her move back to LA for good, but I think she could've fought harder. The fact that she was so accepting of the situation when she told me just shows that she doesn't want to stay with me anyway. I told her I loved her for the first time and she spat it back in my face." His voice is slowly getting angrier with each word, his frustration with her obviously coming to a head. He slams the lid of his laptop shut and stands up from the chair, stalking away from me and Joe. He then starts pacing back and forth, forehead pressed into his hands.