See Me

Bonus Chapter 7:Z

"Jax would have told us. Definitely." Cain concluded, glancing back down at her. "You'll have to get used to it, if it works out I mean."

"I don't know. I mean I've seen the way you all look at her. Yet he's the only one who seems to have a problem." Carter mused. "I'm not scared of a little competition. I just don't want her to feel awkward about it."

"I don't think Seren even notices, honestly." Cain muttered before taking a drink out of his plastic red cup.

The way they talked about her made my heart feel heavy. It's the way that they always talked about her, like she wasn't a real person with real feelings. Like she was simply a decoration, only there to look pretty. I knew she wasn't, I knew she had those feelings and I knew that she waded deeper into those feelings everyday.

Today was a great example, she had waded even further than I expected her to. She was chest deep now, I could see it. She was only steps away from vanishing under the water all together. 

"How did she seem today?" I asked suddenly, curious to see if Carter had seen what I saw.

"Uh, normal. I guess." Carter answered.

I resisted the urge to shake my head. How couldn't he see that there was nothing normal about the way she was acting?

"I think everyone else turned in." Cain noted after a moment, and I noticed that the yard around us had gone quiet.

"I guess I'll carry her in." Carter said.

As if his words were a cue, Seren slowly moved, nuzzling slightly against Carter's shirt before craning her head upwards. Carter looked down at her when he noticed her movements, a smile crept onto his face.

"Hey, sleepy head. We were just about to go inside. I can carry you, if you want to go back to sleep." Carter said softly, and it left a scowl on my face. He was really pulling out the stops, trying to get her to actually notice him.

And hey, maybe she would. Maybe Carter could be someone for her. She deserves that, she deserves to have someone who really sees her.

She shook her head, pulling her upper body upright before sneaking a hand under her glasses to wipe her eyes. "That's okay. I can walk."

"Sure." He said, letting his arms fall from her waist.

Seren only looked at me for a split second, before walking straight ahead of Cain and I, and I wasn't surprised. Just like the thousands of other boys that Seren would never notice, I was one of them. That's okay, though, I understood it.

We followed Seren into the house, and even though we had all left the yard at the same time, Seren had walked so quickly that I was sure she was already tucked into her bed. Yet, as we walked past the kitchen into the hallways, I saw her. She was standing in front of her door, her fingers lingering on the doorknob. Her eyes were glazed over, and her face looked empty.

"You okay?" Carter asked her, yet she didn't look towards us.

"Seren?" I asked. Her head turned at my words, and she looked startled to see us standing here, watching her.

"I don't want to sleep in here." She said flatly, and I knew from her tone that she was serious. I had no idea why she didn't want to, I couldn't think of a single reason.

I felt eyes narrow, I didn't like this. I had this horrible pit in my stomach. There was more to this story, but what?

Carter scratched the back of his neck. "I can sleep in here with you, if you want."

"No, I don't want to sleep in this room."  She repeated, and now I was even more confused.

There was an awkward pause, nobody knew what to say. "The three of us are in the bunk bed room. There's an extra one, if you want." Carter finally answered.

She nodded, standing back against the wall, like she wanted us to lead the way. I tried my best not to look back at her as we walked, because I knew she didn't want any eyes on her. I could feel her energy, though, and it felt... defeated.

Once she was in the room, she walked over to the unclaimed bed. She didn't look at anyone as she climbed into the blankets, and no one said anything as we all climbed into our own beds.

"Night." Cain's voice rang out.

"Goodnight." I answered.

"Night." Carter joined in.

Seren didn't bother saying anything.

I tried to sleep. I really did. But I couldn't, because I could only think about Seren. Her behaviour was just so off, it was heavy and it was alarming. I remembered Henry, and how his behaviour had changed before he took his life. I wouldn't let it happen again.

I laid awake in bed all night, and by the time the sun came up, I had decided I was going to be there for her, whether she let me or not.

An: let me know if there's any other scenes you want from a different POV