Secret obsession

CHAPTER 12

Henry falls on his back and, while turning to stand up, Jake kicks him again, so Henry stays down and with that last kick Henry hits the floor with his chin. We all run to them to stop Jake. Carl grabs Jake and me and Diego help Henry to stand up. Henry pushes Diego and walks to Jake to hit him, but I place myself in front of him, and he stops his punch, desperate to see me in front of him. Jake gets out of Carl’s hands and with a quick move he pushes me aside to have access to Henry. When Henry saw that, he couldn’t hold his anger anymore and gives a hard punch to Jake’s face, swelling his cheek immediately. I run back between the two, Carl holding Jake again and Diego holding Henry.

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” I shout, looking at them angry “Jake, you are in my house! Didn’t that run through your mind?” I shout at Jake, waiting for an answer. Jakes avoids my eyes and keeps looking at Henry furious.

“Let’s go, man,” Diego says, pulling Henry to my house. “You need to calm down.”

“Where do you think you’re going maggot?” Jake shouts, trying to escape from Carl’s hands.

“Enough Jake!” I say, getting close to him. “I want you to leave! I don’t want to see you here anymore!” are my last words to Jake before walking away to see Henry.

Jake looks at me disappointed and stops forcing with Carl. I think that Carl felt his body relaxing, so he releases him, getting back to avoid another fight, but he also stays there waiting to see Jake's reaction. Jake looks down, thinking, trying to calm his breathing and, after a quick glance at us, he walks to his car and runs fast, making the wheels squeak.

I grab Henry’s hand and take him inside my house. Carl and Diego follow us.

“You guys can turn on the TV if you want”, I say pointing to the living room to them with my eyes. They both agree awkwardly. I take Henry to the bathroom to look for the first aid kit my mom has there. He follows me quietly. “You can sit there” I say while tearing an alcohol pad. Henry is just staring at me like studying my face. I turn to him to clean his chin. There is not too much blood, it looks like a small cut, but I still want to take care of him. After all, it was my friend the one that hurt him. I am giving small touches to the cut, thinking how much I hate this situation between them, when he grabs my hand to stop me.

“Don’t feel bad Erin, this is not your fault” he stands up, looking into my eyes.

“I don’t know” I say. “These things have never happened to me before” I look at everything in the bathroom desperately, trying to avoid his eyes and trying to know how to fix it. He chuckles.

“I guess it is my fault,” he says, holding my chin, so our eyes can meet, and he softly reaches my mouth and starts kissing me, pushing me with his body until I get the bathroom door behind me. I can feel his body getting hotter and hotter while his hands hold my waist. I run my hands from his strong arms to his neck, hugging him and kissing him with more passion. He stops our kiss for a moment, his forehead touching mine and playing our noses together. “This is dangerous” he murmurs, trying to recover his breath, but I’m not sure if he is talking to me. “I cannot hold back anymore.”

“You don’t need to”, I say, swallowing hard and trying to regulate my breathing. He smiles without opening his eyes, then stands straight looking at me smiling.

“I feel better now, let's go” he reaches the first aid kit and grabs the closest band-aid there, and moving me from the door, he walks out of the bathroom holding my hand.

In the living room, Carl and Diego are fighting for the remote control, calling each other with childish names. When we enter, we both laugh, looking at them and Henry massages his forehead, ashamed of his friend’s attitude. When they noticed we were standing there, they stopped sitting awkwardly like well-behaved children. We are still laughing.

“Is time to go dumbasses” Henry looks at them, making a move with his head to order them to get out. They both stand up and walk to the door.

“Are you sure you are feeling good pretty boy?” Diego says to Henry while clapping his cheek with his hand, trying to annoy him a little bit more.

“Just get out!” Henry says, pushing him out of my house. I laugh at their games, walking outside with them.

I say goodbye to Carl and Diego, and I apologize on Jake’s behalf.

“Don’t worry, we know our friend is also a troublemaker”, Carl says, smiling and winking at Henry “we had fun anyway, and we hope we can see you later”, he adds, walking away from us to go to Henry’s car.

“Sure, don’t worry… Adios Bonita”, Diego says before starting to run behind Carl. I laugh at them, they made me feel relieved with their attitude.

“Bonita?” Henry asks, looking at him run. “That guy is gonna get a punch… flirting with my girlfriend” he chuckles and looks at me now.

“Your girlfriend?” I ask smiling and blushing. He tilts his head smiling.

“Of course,” he says before giving me a short kiss, “I will call you later, OK beautiful?”

“OK”, I smile, still holding his hand. He kisses my hand and gets close to me to kiss me again when the horn of his car makes us jump. In Henry’s car, Carl and Diego laugh at us, making signs to Henry to hurry up.

“I’m gonna kill those guys!” he gives me a quick peak and starts walking to his car. There the guys are laughing and saying things I don’t understand. Henry gets inside his car and takes his hand out to wave. I just smile happy and wave back. Once his car is out of my sight, I go inside my house with a mix of feelings again.

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After dinner, my sister and I are cleaning the kitchen when someone rings the doorbell. My dad stands up and opens the door, giving a warming welcome to the person outside. Lisa and I stay quiet waiting to hear the name of the person that just came, I feel a pinch in my stomach when I realize it is Jake. I walk to the door and see my dad asking Jake about the dark punch on his face. Jake looks at me awkwardly, smiling when he noticed me there.

“It was an accidental punch while playing basketball”, Jake lies.

“Well, that’s a contact sport, son, you need to be more careful”, my dad says, inviting him to sit.

“Did you see the school nurse or something sweety?” my mom gets close to him to see his cheek. “It looks really bad” she adds, worrying about Jake as if he were her son too.

“Nah! Don’t worry Mrs. Bennett, is nothing”, he chuckles, trying to calm my parents. Then he looks at me. “What’s up Luciferin?” he fakes a normal attitude towards me.

“Erin, did you know Jake was punched while playing?” my mom asks me, still worrying about him.

“I guess” I say, faking a normal attitude too. “Let’s go upstairs so I can put something on it” I turn to go upstairs so he can follow me and avoid my parents while we talk. My parents went back to what they were doing, like I said before, Jake is a member of my family, so they don’t mind if he goes into my bedroom every time he wants.

Inside my bedroom, I wait for him to close the door. It will be hard to argue with him with my parents downstairs, but I will try to hold my temper. He looks sad and worried. Honestly, I don’t know if I will forgive him one more time for this. I sit on the edge of my bed waiting for him to start talking. He gets close to me, rubbing his neck.

“I hu… I don’t know how to start” he says, avoiding my eyes. I look at him in silence. “I haven’t behaved correctly for the past few days, and I know that…” he walks from side to side of my room looking at the ceiling desperate “I don’t know how to control myself anymore” he then turns to face me “I just can’t!... even right now when I picture in my head the two of you holding hands, hugging and kissing…” he stops trying to hold his anger breathing heavy closing his eyes to stop looking at me again. I try to say something, but I think it would be better if I let him say everything he feels. He opens his eyes, looking at the floor, breathing slowly getting calm, and then he looks at me again. “I’m sorry” he says, like giving up.

“You are sorry?” I ask scanning his face. “That has been your favorite word lately, Jake! I don’t understand why you are so overprotective towards me. This isn’t you!... I understand I am like a sister to you but…”

“What!?” he interrupts me before I finish. “Like a sister?... is that how you feel with me?” he stares at me anxiously with sad eyes.

“Yes… I mean, we have been friends for many years. My parents see you as another member of this family, like a son… you even have your own keys to my house, Jake!” I pause, looking at him getting smaller “how else do you want me to see you?”

Jake is looking down with a weird expression on his face. He starts walking to my side and, with an exhalation, he sits on my bed looking at his feet. His attitude is new to me. I know I should be upset with him. Actually, I am upset with him, but somehow, I feel bad, he looks so sad, and I don’t understand why exactly. I told him we loved him as family. That was something nice to hear from what I know.

“What?” I look at him. “What is going on, Jake?” I wait for him to talk, but I don’t know exactly what he is thinking, It is like somehow he remembered something horrible, something sad that he had forgotten a long time ago.

“Erin… I haven’t been completely honest with you” he looks at me and I see how sad he is, like almost crying.

“What do you mean?... What happened Jake?” I ask, worried. He rubs his face with his hands like getting brave.

“I… I…” he looks at me so nervous getting me nervous as well “I am in love with you Erin” he finally says, leaving me speechless. “I have been in love with you since the day I met you” he swallows hard before continuing “I was a bigger coward back then, and I thought that if I became your friend you can notice me and love me the way I loved you… but I was a big coward and just enjoy the time we spend together, I decide to join the basketball team to attract your attention, but then I heard that there were some other guys looking at you trying to get close to you… that is when I focus my time in repelling those guys from you, I was afraid that you might fall in love with them, so I push them away… then Kim appeared, and I thought that if I approach to Kim in a romantic way I could make you jealous, but you even offer to help me with her…” he pauses again running his hands through his hair “I know that was bad, and I can promise you that I really love Kim is just…” he holds my hand looking at me speechless “I am crazy about you Erin, I am so in love with you that I don’t think I can control myself anymore…” he is staring at me waiting for an answer or at least signs that I am breading I guess.

“I… I don’t know what to say… I didn’t know you felt that way Jake…” I say, shrugging confused.

“That is exactly why I am so mad!” he stands up again. “If I haven’t been a coward, if I have come clean to you since the beginning! None of this could’ve happened!” he shouts desperate.

“What exactly do you want me to say Jake? … I don’t feel that way about you… you are… like a brother to me, and you know I am in love with Henry”, I say the last part with a soft tone, kind of like apologizing. Jake comes back to me and holds me from my shoulders.

“You can’t do this to me Erin” he looks at me intensely, and I see he starts to cry “You cannot tell me you love him if you have never given me the chance.”

“… Jake, I didn’t know you wanted a chance”, I claim in my defense so he can understand.

“I know” he says, looking down again. “I am so stupid, I’m such a coward, Erin” he releases me, standing up exhaling disappointed. “I need to go… I need to get my thoughts clear, I need some air” he walks to the door, leaving me sitting on the bed and before going out he turns back to me cleaning his tears “at least now you know” he smiles weakly and then go out of my room.