I Have To Protect Them - Cleofis Drisen

Chapter Five: Trapped and Alone Part 4 (The Last Part For This Chapter)

I always knew Grizz was going to leave for college and maybe we'd never see each other again, or at least I wouldn't. I just really didn't think that day was could have been today. To be honest the thought of never seeing him again, even though we still saw each other in halls, I felt anxious, sad, and depressed. He immediately cut my thoughts off and he grabbed my arm to turn me back to face him. "Hey nothing is going to happen to me. I'm going to come back with help and we will get back home" he said, trying to calm me and then he pulled me into a hug. I immediately relax when his scent invaded my nose. "I don't want you to go" I mumbled into his chest as he stroked my hair and I hugged him closer to me, making him chuckle into my hair. "I promise that I'll come back and I knew that you cared" he quietly said, making us both chuckle and I playfully pushed him away. "Shut up and give me your hand" I said, reaching for his hand. He hesitantly gave me his hand. I inspected the bruises and cuts around his knuckles. I shook my head disapprovingly while mindlessly saying, "you shouldn't have hit him. He was drunk and-" I started saying, but he interrupted me by angrily saying, "yes I did and he deserved it. TThen he'll think twice before touching, heck even looking at you again." I chukcled at how jealous he seemed. "Is the great and composed Gareth Visser jealous?" I asked in a teasing tone and he quickly took his hand away. He stood awkwardly in and rubbed the back of his neck. 'OMG...was he really jealous?' I asked myself and continued thinking, 'no he wouldn't be. He only sees me as a friend.' My stomach started turning with my brain, but it stopped when he spoke, "no. I just didn't like the way he was treating you. No one should treat someone as wonderful as you that way." He walked into his house and I followed, shutting the door behind me. We went into the living room and we both sat down on the couch. On one hand it felt like we hadn't been apart and on the other I felt mad at myself for making me into someone that Grizz probably doesn't even recognize.

He turned to face me while asking "so, are you going to tell me what's going on?" His question caught me off guard and I sat up straight. "No, nothings going on. I should go so you can pack for your trip." I said, getting up off the couch quickly and making my way towards the door. I could feel him following me and calling after me. "Cleo wait. Come back here please. Why are you avoiding my question. I know something is going on and you can trust me. Whatever it is, we can-" I cut him off by saying "no Grizz, we can't! I just needed a change this year and I didn't want to be around everyone." As I got to the door, I stopped and turned to face him. His expression was a mix of sadness and worry. I could tell he was able to see right through my facade and that the gears were turning in his head. I sighed as I spoke, "Grizz, don't worry about me. You just need to focus on being careful and returning back safely. Plus you gotta look out of Luke because I know that he'll be more focus on everyone else than himself." I smiled at him gently and he returned my smile with a nod. I turned to the door, but something in my mind made me stop to look at him over my shoulder. "Before I go, I just had one question" I said, making him furrow his brows together. "Sure, go ahead, Cle" he said with a forced smile and I couldn't help, but smile at the nickname he called me. He used to always call me Cle. I guess because Cleo was too long or he wanted to be different from everyone else. "The other night when you said that you loved me, what did you mean by that?" I asked while my brain ticked with various thoughts. His smile faded and he looked like he was thinking too hard about his answer. "Well, I meant that I love you. You're my best friend and that will never change." His words made me smile, even though a part of me was sad that their wasn't another hidden meaning to his declaration, and I looked down at the floor. "I love you too, Grizzy." I blushed and paused out of shock at what I had just said out loud. I quickly took a breath in and began to ramble, "I'll see you when you get back. Just go be the hero I know you are" I said, making him smile and I reached for the door handle. As I left I heard him say a quiet "goodbye." When I got home, Greg had just made some macaroni and cheese. He offered me some and he asked how it went with Grizz. I told him everything as we ate and he seemed happy that I had finally opened up a bit.

Greg and I went to watch the group leave into the woods, but I didn't want anyone to see me or think that I cared. So we stayed a fair amount of distance away and we stood in front of the car. I still wanted to keep my 'I hate everyone' persona, at least for now. I was really contemplating tell Grizz the truth, but I knew that I couldn't tell him before he left because he needed to be focused and safe. I watched as the group headed into the woods and my eyes were stuck on Grizz's man bun that disappeared into the trees. I felt my tears start to fall and I hadn't meant to whisper "please come back." Greg had heard me and he wrapped an arm around me. He pulled me into a hug while saying "he'll come back. Let's go home." I was planning on holding my tears in until we got home, but my eyes betrayed me. As we got into the car, Greg's phone buzzed and he sighed. "I just got a text from Will. He said people are raiding the grocery store and we should get over there before all the food's gone. If you want I can go get food after I drop you off at home-" he said, staring at his phone and then he looked over at me when I cut him off saying "no it's ok. I'll come with you." I looked at him wiping the tears that had escaped. WE rushed off towards the grocery store, but as we passed the pharmacy I saw that it was also getting raided. "Shit! Their doing it to the pharmacy too. Drop me off here and I'll meet you at the grocery store after I've grabbed extra meds. If I run out, I'll be completely screwed" I said, making him nod in agreeance and he pulled over to let me out.