CHAPTER 27: You give so many damns they are visible from space

An air of despondency envelops me, engulfing me in its hopeless nature. My foolish endeavor at ignoring the voice backfires on me when it gets nearer than it possibly could.

"What?!" I bark, turning around to see him, fully drenched and breathing heavily. His chest rises and falls back down in seconds, his loud breaths being the only sound around us. The stormy grey eyes bite on my shield, slowly tearing it down and I know I can't fight him. I feel weak for even thinking about giving in to Caleb. He's a stranger, I remind myself.

A stranger that evokes equally strange feelings in you.

My heart shoots back.

"Why are you running?" His question cuts through the suffocating silence of the night and my eyes frantically move around, taking single glimpses at the dark trees.

"I asked you a question, Summer." He calmly states before taking a step toward me. My mind is suddenly alert at the slow steps he takes and it reacts by equitably taking steps, just backward. Realizing that I wasn't going to answer his damn question, he takes two simple steps and he's right in front of me. The freshwater scent combined with his minty breath invades my consciousness and my mind becomes fuzzy for a while.

"I'm not running." I look down and say, knowing he's not stupid enough to believe that considering my fabricated tone.

"You're running from Veronica, aren't you?" He ignores my answer and speaks, compelling me to look at him which is a very, very humongous mistake I make because I just met his enthralling eyes. Now I know there is no escaping him because those eyes almost bring me to my knees. I seem to be a puppet to the grey in his eyes for a reason unbeknown to me.

Irritation of being portrayed as weak in front of Caleb infiltrates me and I push his chest, shoving him a few feet away. His face holds astonishment, but just for a few seconds before being replaced with a look of disconcert.

"Why are you being so obstinate about this, Caleb?! I told you the other day that we cannot be friends. You just don't get that fact, do you?" I ask whilst shaking my arms around me furiously so that I could get my point across.

"Stop making it a fact! It's not one. This is not about me and you being friends. Forget that for now, okay? But why do you need to overreact just because Veronica is here?" His furrowed brows prove me right and I realize he doesn't know why I'm really scared of Veronica exposing my truth. A truth that is just supposed to stay with my family. A truth, too sensitive, to be chipped away at by some guy I barely know.

Nonetheless, a guy who affects me way too much.

"I'm not over-reacting. Hell, I'm not reacting at all because...because I can't! Just leave me alone, Caleb." I storm out of his way and go around the tree, continuing my tiring fast pace again. It doesn't take him two seconds to follow me again but this time, I'm pulled back, no doubt, by his hand and I crash into his chest.

"Why do you care so much about what she thinks? She can't do anything to you." He tries to reason with me softly but with still an ounce of authority evident in his deep voice.

"You don't know anything. Stay. Out of it." I grit my teeth in anger. He's simply playing all this off as something minor. He has no idea about Veronica's sharp tongue and how she can use it against me to torture me with the unbearable truth.

"Then tell me." Caleb presses on even more while holding my arm in a strong grip. There is a slight tinge of pain but it's endurable. Nothing compared to the pain Veronica can cause me by simply mentioning anything to do with my broken family. Anything to do with her. The woman people call mother.

"You won't understand." Saying this, I push his hand away and run faster. The corners of my eyes seem to be pulling in some tears but I blink furiously to push them away. I stop, panting heavily, in front of a beautiful scenery. It's a little hilly from where I stand but the lake is there. I figure it's probably the other side of the campsite. I squint my eyes and manage to see the bridge where everyone else is. I have the sudden urge to jump into the water and swim away from all my problems and...well, Caleb. But I have no idea on how deep it could be this side so I abandon the crazy thought.

"Stop running from me as if I'll hurt you." I gasp and try to turn around but Caleb's hands grab my shoulders, fixing my stand so that I couldn't move. I close my eyes as I feel his hands emanating warmth on my cold shoulders. His breath hit my bare skin and I'm suddenly aware that I'm only in a sports bra and shorts, and Caleb in shorts only. Rasp breaths escape my dry lips and I tilt my head slightly with the hope that Caleb would let go of me. His touch is driving me crazy, I reckon, but I can't tell him that. His hands still don't move but I feel his warm breath tickle the back of my neck again and I freeze.

"You...you're not...bad, Caleb. But..." I difficultly say with my eyes still closed. Caleb relaxes his hold on my shoulders after I say that and I breathe a little normally.

"But Veronica is." I nod and he continues, "She won't do anything to you. I'll make sure of it." I open my eyes and I'm overwhelmed at the various distant and foreign feelings that were exploding in me right now. It's like many bright colors were carelessly thrown on a plain and boring white canvas but they created a beautiful picture nonetheless.

And Caleb is in it.

I suddenly take a step, the warmth immediately leaving my shoulders, and turn around to face him. I can't fall weak in front of him. No.

"I don't need you to help me."

"This isn't about- "

"Yes, it is!" I glare at him and continue, "To answer your question, I'm not afraid of that little bitch, okay? She can do whatever the fuck she wants to do. I don't give a damn!"

"Oh, please. You give so many damns they are visible from space!"

"I don't!" I seethe in anger and my body shakes vehemently. I grunt and move around him, spotting a log I could sit on. The grass rustles beneath Caleb's feet as I only see his bare legs and flip flops.

Silence.

Or...I spoke too soon.

"You act all tough and feisty, don't you?" A flashback of him saying the exact same words to me after Veronica's party appears in my mind.

"But yet," he crouches down to my level and I can feel his strong gaze burning on my face, "here you are, afraid of what Veronica will do to you." I blink harshly, my teeth gritting, and squeeze my knee in anxiety. He will find out. I know he will.

He will unravel me like a kid opening a Ferrero Rocher.

"Summer..." His whisper unknowingly pulls my eyes towards his and I find myself staring right back at him.

"What are you hiding under this tough exterior of yours?" He leans forward and I involuntarily close my eyes for like the hundredth time. My breathing falters as I feel his warm one on the skin near my ear. His cheek slightly brushes my own and I feel my hair bristle at his sensual touch. I freeze completely as his lips skim across the area around my earlobe and his short and hot breaths meddle with my sanity.

Literally.

"It's okay to be emotional, trust me it is..." His words were soft, encouraging and warm. There was pure hedonism in my fuzzy mind at the moment. I could see nothing but Caleb. I could hear nothing but Caleb.

I could feel nothing but Caleb.

"You don't have to hide it. It'll consume you like wildfire. The flames will torture you. It's okay to be vulnerable, Summer Jones. You can't always be strong." As if his slow and agonizing but pleasant whispers aren't enough, his hands reach my left cheek and his fingers stroke the corner of my eyes. He runs his index finger down my face and cups my chin gently, tilting my face so he could have access to my neck and ear.

"You're hiding the real you. And I'm pretty sure the world would love to know the real you..." His velvety voice takes over me entirely and his words dance around my conscience, penetrating through it and I have the sudden urge of embracing the new change Caleb is talking about.

A strong wind brushes past us and we jump back from each other. I grunt as I fall back, my ass landing on the other side of the log as my legs hang off the log while Caleb is sprawled on the grass. I blink, not able to understand what the fuck just happened.

I hoist myself up to the log and Caleb leans on his elbows. We look at each other, trying to fight the awkwardness of the situation. But... as queer as it is...there is no awkwardness. There is nothing abnormal floating around me like I usually felt around Caleb all the other times.

In a fraction of a second, we burst into boisterous laughter which reverberates around the lake. We sit upright, still laughing at the way we fell and our dumb ass staring contest. After a few minutes of unlimited laughter and wiping away the tears in the corners of my eyes, we keep quiet and sit in silence. Comfortable silence.

"How do you know all this?" I break the silence while staring at my feet which were currently dirty because of all the running with wet feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Detective. Not answering any of your questions until you answer mine." He smirks and I smile slightly at his attempt at making the situation a little light.

"What answers could you possibly want, Anderson?" I look at him and shrug.

"Many. You intrigue me." Caleb states smoothly, sending my mind in a frenzy at his peculiar words.

"How could I possibly intrigue...you or anyone for that matter? I'm just... simple." I send him a half-smile, scoffing internally at what I just said. Who am I kidding? I have unanswered questions too.

"You're bad at lying, you know that?"

"Oh, and you're good?"

"Meh, it works just well for my parents."

"Well, they are probably too naïve."

"Trust me, they are wicked. But...when you're in Rome, do as the Romans do." He clicks his tongue and chuckles at his own words, shaking his head in amusement as he stares down at his feet.

"How is it in Rome?" I ask and he stops shaking his head. His jaw visibly clenches and he looks at me. His eyes held pain – I recognize – and loneliness. I'm very well aware of those evil twins because sometimes, I see the same emotions in the mirror.

Every damn day.

"Hell. I don't like it." I flinch at his sharp tone and we both turn our gazes away. I discern that Caleb may not be happy with his family... whoever they are. A pang of hurt fills my chest and I open my mouth to say something but I don't, realizing that I could hurt him.

"How is it in your Rome?" He asks after a few minutes of silence and I longingly look at the lake. I have no idea what time it is. I hold my bare wrist in my hand and remember taking it off right before getting into the lake. It's not dark as before so I figure it might be around 1 am in the morning. The lake is still and the lights near the bridge were a little dim, hinting that everyone must have got out of the lake.

"Empty." I say and take a deep breath before continuing, "I do have fun with my fellow tourists," I quote with my fingers and laugh slightly at the thought of my brothers, "but...it's still empty, you know?"

"I know that emptiness." I nod at his words before sighing.

"Dad left when I was quite young. He was my soccer hero." I smile and feel Caleb's silent gaze maneuvering me to go on talking, "He never left me alone, even for a moment. I sat with him always, either in the living room where we watched soccer or in his study room where I noisily kicked my ball on his wall. He didn't mind the noise at all. He always told me he loved me and would always be proud of me." I rub my hands together as if that would give me consolation.

"And then one day, everything became dull. I sensed it in the house and on Jason and Draven's faces. Dad became pale and weak. He no longer played soccer with me every day. He was a little absent but I still didn't mind that. A few months later, I went to the hospital with him. Well, I had to. My aunts and grandmother all came down and were gathered around him. And then suddenly, the machine beep was so loud and I hated it. I cried and cried that day but dad told me to stay strong." By now, I could practically hear my sniffling and I slightly turn away from Caleb.

"He had cancer, Caleb. He kept telling me to be independent always. Never be afraid of anything. Never give up. Always fight for your dreams. Yes, he told me that. But I know, deep down, he was the one suffering. And I couldn't even help him." I close my eyes, trying to control myself from breaking down completely. I always blamed myself for dad's situation, as much as it sounded crazy, but maybe somewhere it was my fault that he suffered. I feel a hand closing up on mine and I see the blurry view of Caleb's huge hand on mine, resting on my knee. His fingers are cold but his inner palm is warm.

"Hey, it's not your fault. You are strong. Your dad knows it, see. He kept telling you to be strong, right?" I nod meekly and he continues, "Then why are you allowing yourself to be weak? Fight back. Fight back all your problems. Fight Veronica." His words calm me down, as bizarre as it sounds, and I wipe my tears away, looking around anywhere else apart from Caleb.

He retracts his hand back and I look at the stars again. He scratches the back of his neck and shakes his head as I can see from the corner of my eyes. I smile softly at his goofiness and decide to take in the plunge.

By which I mean...

"Friends?"

The shock on his face. Pure pleasure. I grin like a Cheshire cat, holding up my hand in front of his chest. He blinks once. Twice.

"What about all that you said-

"Anderson!"

"Yeah, yeah." He sheepishly takes my hand and greets it formally. I laugh and pull my hand away. I suddenly feel elated... like something just got off my chest. I want to strangle myself for disclosing the deep feelings I had about dad, that too to Caleb Anderson, but I don't know why at the same time, I feel like patting myself as well. I couldn't, for a hundred years, imagine that I would be here alone with Caleb, sharing my depressing life stories with him.

"Thank you, by the way." I hold my hands and look at him with an appreciative look.

"Don't be so formal, Jones. I'm your friend."

"I'm starting to reconsider my decision." I chuckle and hit his shoulder.

"If you hit my nose one more time, then I'm no longer gonna stay in this friendship either."

"Oh yeah? Then I definitely should. Asshole."

"Cranky pants."

"Caleb! I'm not a cranky pants!"

"Right. You're an angry bird." He gets up, running while throwing his famous smirks at me.

"You think you can run?"

"I know I can." He shouts as he shoots off at an insane speed and I laugh as I chase him. I feel way more comfortable in my sports bra and shorts and I'm not so conscious about my half-naked state. I almost slow down as I see Caleb's glorious muscles moving back and forth, his shoulders and biceps expanding as he runs. I shake my head and stop, panting as I place my hands on my knees.

He does the same and we both laugh at our madness. I could see the path to our campsite which is illuminated by the vintage lamps hanging above us. We laugh as slowly as we could, trying not to attract the rest of them who were possibly asleep or having sex in their camps. I place my finger on my lips and signal him to keep quiet. He rolls his eyes and we walk silently till the campsite. I wave at him but he stops me as he whispers, "Wait!"

I turn and smile at him, waving once again and running back to my tent. Even though it's really cold, the warmth and the adrenaline rushing through me, because of the chase with Caleb, makes me feel alive. I smile at this feeling I get and turn around one last time to see Caleb entering his tent.

***

JESUS!!! CAN SOMEONE CALM ME DOWN RIGHT DOWN??!

6 AND A HALF FUCKING PAGES! 3000 WORDS. DANG! (excuse the excitement 😂) And that damn tension between these two...😉❤

This is hands-down my favorite chapter so far! I put so much effort this time in their emotions, their feelings, and conflict. Even though, it's the middle of the night...

Vote and comment on the chapters as that's what makes a writer feel appreciated and happy. It would mean a lot to me!!!

Adios!