In It Together→Book Two (SEQUEL)

Part One→Chapter Nine

Kuro waved as well before he smiled and opened the door for Raidon, and as soon as he walked out, the door shut behind them both. Adriana stood shortly after, but took Kaiden's arm and almost dragged him away from the group. "One sec!-" She called from behind her, leading Kaiden to the kitchen.

Kaiden looks at Adriana, a bit confused. However, he doesn't stop her from what she's doing. Harley nods. "Oh okay-" she says, a bit confused.

Adriana looked into the area Harley and Alex were in for a moment before she let go of Kaiden. "Okay, what is up with you?" She asked quietly, sighing a bit. "You were spaced out and acting weird when we were out, and now you are being all awkward around Alex."

Kaiden huffs slightly, although knowing this is something he needs to talk about. "I don't know," he says, knowing what he said isn't true. He waits to see if Adriana will believe him. If she did, then he'd leave it there. But if she didn't... he would have to fess up.

Adriana raised a brow. "Are you sure? Cus someone who's 'fine' normally doesn't do that stuff, Kaiden-" She crossed her arms lightly over her chest.

Kaiden sighs, knowing she's right. "Things just feel off lately. I-I didn't think me and Alex were going to be together this long. I thought all this was just going to be short-term. A rebound for him," he says, keeping his voice quiet enough so the others in the other room couldn't hear. His voice was a bit shaky, but he kept his gaze on Adriana, seeing how she'd respond to this.

Adriana just listened, tilting her head a bit. "Oh. A rebound?" She asked, a bit confused. "Did you expect it to kinda be a few week thing then him and Eve hook up again or something-?" She asked softly, though it might have been a bit too blunt because she sighed shortly after. "Sorry- that was kinda rude of me to say-" She mumbled softly.

"No it's fine," he says, frowning slightly. "I didn't know what to expect if I'll be honest. At the time I thought they were just taking a break and shit would be all normal again for them. And once Alex wanted things to be serious and shit I was fine with it. I never know how he feels about things because he's not good at communicating them. I wasn't ready for a long term after how shitty things were with me and Eve. I used it as a rebound too," he says, his tone of voice still a bit shaky like before.

Adriana reached over and took his hand softly. "Hey, you can always talk to him tomorrow. While you were zoned out, Harley bet him $500 that he couldn't be open and shit for a full day, and he accepted." She informed him. "But I'm sure everything is fine, Kaiden."

"I would be able to talk about it with him either way," he says quietly. "I just- can't. Things might be fine but what do I do next? I don't even know how I got all the way here," he tells her. "I don't know what to do. I can't break up with him. Should I? Should I keep things like this? Should I fix it??" he starts to ramble. "I don't know-"

"Hey, Kaiden- Breathe." She told him lightly. "I'd say, if you aren't feeling it anymore, maybe take a break from each other, figure out the way you feel. Then you can regroup and talk it out, figure out something that works." She explained. "Just because he might be happy, doesn't mean you have to play along. You have to think of yourself as well-"

He takes a breath, having it help just slightly. "Yeah, I guess so. How would I introduce that idea though? What would he say back? I don't want to fuck things up if they're fine and I'm just in a mood or something," he whispers. "And I don't want to ruin his happiness either. But I think if I left that'd mess him up more."

"I can help if you want, though you need to do most of the talking." She paused for a moment. "and I don't think it's just a mood if you are so uneasy like this." She added after a moment. "Also don't worry about Alex too much, he may be depressing sometimes, but he can handle himself." She said gently, squeezing his hand softly. "Main focus is you right now, Kaiden."