Cassie's POV
To say I'm angry would be an understatement. I'm down right furious with Jake's, dare I say, unnecessary actions. He had no right to make any sort of decision on my behalf. Still he had the audacity to and I- I just don't understand why. Why would he do that to me?
I called my cousin Brittany for the first time since I moved to LA. She's always my last resort. I didn't mean for our relationship to be that way but that's what separation does to you, she's not around so there's no real way to maintain whatever we are. None of that really matters though because I still talked to her about Jake and she had some interesting ideas as to why he suddenly became so, as she said, "ballsy."
"Brittany," I say.
"Mrs. Styles!" She screeches.
"Please stop. That's what we need to talk, well partly anyway."
"What happened?"
"It's Jake."
"Jake? Has puppy eyes when he's around you Jake?" She asks with some surprise.
"Puppy eyes?"
"Yes. They're the eyes that puppies make at their owners."
"He doesn't do that."
I can practically hear her roll her yes. "Yeah and I'm totally not obsessed with One Direction."
I groan into the receiver.
"He likes you and you know it, Cass. You just don't see him that way. To be quite frank, I don't understand why. Jake is literally the hottest guy I've seen, in person, and he's totally in love with you."
"Does he love me? Yes but in the same way that I love him. He's basically my brother."
"Brother, brother? Or 'hot you-might-end-up-being-my-step-brother-someday-so-it's-okay-to-think-you're-attractive' brother? Because there's a difference," she says in a voice that is too serious for what we're talking about.
I don't want to think about Jake that way. He's like my brother, I could never like him.
"Seriously Brit, I don't know what to do," I say.
"I can't help you until you tell me what happened," she says.
"Are you actually going to be serious this time?"
"Of course. I'm here for you, Cass."
"Okay, well... Jake took it upon himself to make a decision for me about my relationship."
"Mm hmm. What exactly did he do?"
"When Harry came to see me a couple days ago, Jake told him that I wasn't interested anymore. Which isn't in any way true and is really going to cause some problems between Harry and I."
"Have you tried talking to Harry yet?"
"No. I needed to talk someone else about the situation beforehand so I don't say something stupid."
"Okay, Cass, here's what you gotta do. You need to talk to Jake and let him know that you are only interested in one person romantically and it's not him. After that conversation goes horribly wrong, you need to go find Harry and set things straight. All of it needs to be done face to face. No phone calls, alright?"
"Yeah, I got it."
"Good. Now don't call me again until you've got your man back."
"I won't."
"Good... Oh and please let any of the boys know that I'm single and I really good time in be-"
"Not going to happen."
"But..."
"Goodbye, Brittany."
"Bye, Cass," she says with a huff before finally clicking off, leaving me with a plan on my mind and a smile on my face.
....
"Jake," I call out whilst walking out of my bedroom.
"Jake," I call again. "We need to talk."
I hear a door open and footsteps coming towards me. I listen the light pitter patter of each step until the sound disappears and Jake is within sight.
He's staring at me. He's giving me to look that Brittany described except now there is less of a sparkle in his eyes. He looks pained and I almost feel bad for him. But, I can't afford to feel that way, not when two of my relationships are on the line.
"I'm going to ask you a question and I need you to be completely honest with me," I recite the line I've been practicing in front of my vanity mirror all morning. "Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah."
I take a deep breath. "When you look at me, what do you feel?"
There is a silence that commences just moments after the last word of my sentence leaves my mouth. I can feel each and every second that ticks by as I watch Jake battle with himself over his answer. I see each thought race through his mind as he looks at me. He hasn't taken his eyes off of me but the silence remains.
"When you look at me, how do you feel?" I ask him again, his eyes no longer pouring into mine but instead shooting right through me.
There's still no answer. I make small, calculated steps over to him. There can't be more than a foot of space between us now. My action has forced him to avert his gaze but I can't wait another second so I dare ask him again, "When you look at me, how do you feel?"
Silence. Of course. I begin to turn my back on him to walk away but he catches my wrist before I can go very far.
"Empty," he whispers. "When I look at you I feel empty."
Jake releases his grip and places his hand on my cheek, caressing the side of my face. I stand still, frozen in place as he slowly brings his hand down to his side leaving traces of his presence lingering on my skin. I can feel tears welling in my eyes as I watch him collect himself. He takes a step towards me, leaving a kiss on my forehead and then leaving me in our house all alone.
The tears that were forming in my eyes break the surface and I can't control them. I stand still, silently crying in the middle of my living room for what seems like a long time before I finally stop. I wipe my cheeks, dry my eyes, and allow myself a few minutes to calm down before moving on because it's all I can do.
I hurt Jake. I got to feel just a glimpse of the pain I caused him and I'll never be able to make it up to him.
I thought battle had changed him. I thought training had changed him. I thought time had changed him. I thought everything else had changed him, but it was me. I did that to him and I'll never be able to look at him the same way again.
I'll never be able to look at him the same way again.
A/N: Hey. First update of the week, I have quite a few more coming your way this week and then I think I'll be on my way to wrapping up this story once and for all. Hopefully all of you will enjoy the last bits of creativity I manage to let out as we come to an end. This story is probably one of my prouder accomplishments and I'm grateful to have been able to share it with all of you.
Until next time, - Tyler.