I'm Feeling Love Sick But I Don't Mind

I don't know why I'm so scared about Tyler. It's not like he's going to hurt me or anything, or Joe. Because if he hurts Joe, he hurts me. And he doesn't want that, right? Or maybe he just wants to hurt me to show what can happen when we're not together. Ugh, no. This is getting to be too much and it's beating me up more than I need to be. Stupid Tyler.
At that note, I crawled into bed and shut the light out, trying to make myself fall asleep. But all I could think about was Joe...which made me want him here with me. To make sure he's okay, and for him to hold me in his arms. And the more I thought about that, the sleepier I got. Thinking about his adorable face, his chocolate eyes, and...and...
And then I passed out.

The next morning I woke up to voices downstairs. Loud voices. Oh, gosh. What was Dad doing now? We just got back home and he already has an activity going on? I yawned and looked at the time on my clock. It was 9:30 in the morning. Then, I heard someone walk past my door, then stop. I looked over and saw Nick walking backwards back to my door, then he looked over and waved someone over, I smiled, knowing already who it was.
"Hey, Abby," Nick said, then walked away.
Oh yeah, hey Nick, nice talking to you, too. But then Joe came into view and I smiled even more.
"Hey you," He said, walking into my room and sitting at the end of my bed.
"Hey," My voice cracked, and I rubbed my eyes. I sat up, got dizzy, and laid back down and groaned. I reached over to the water bottle on my nightstand and drank some water. Much better (No pun intended).
Then, I heard Joe chuckle and felt his hand on the top of my head, smoothing my hair out.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Well, I missed you...and plus your Mom invited us over for breakfast," He smiled.
"Ah, I see. But you're staying longer, right?" I asked, hoping, and put my hand over his on my head.
"Maybe. I want to," He said.
"We can hang out. Here, or we can go to the mall or something," I pleaded.
"Okay, okay, Abby. Don't freak out," He laughed, leaning over and kissing my forehead. "Now, come downstairs and get something to eat, alright?"
I nodded, sitting up. Then, I realized I was much more closer to him than I thought. Our legs were already touching, and our faces more than inches apart. I felt him lean into me, and I did the same. I decided to tease him with something he wasn't expecting. So, quickly, I gave him a peck on the lips. Immediately, his eyes snapped open like a lightswitch being turned on or off. I giggled at his reaction and got up, pulling my hair back into a pony.
It was funny how in that short peck there can be so much emotion. Electricity in my viens, heart speeding, and overall happiness.
"C-Can I get some more of that?" Joe said, surprised. It was so adorable how he would stutter sometimes.
"Umm..." I said, acting like I was thinking. I really wasn't going to get him any more until a more than a few days. "Nope!"
He sighed. "Abby," He whined.
I laughed again and skipped out of the room, going to the stairs. Already, Joe was behind me, grabbing me by my waist.
"Joseph, I said no," I joked, trying to sound stern.
"Grrr," He joked back, faking a growl, and setting his chin on my head.
My lips pulled into an even wider smile, and I went down the stairs to see everyone down there around our small kitchen table. When I walked in, I said hello to everyone and gave Nick, Kevin and Frankie a hug before jumping on a bar stool by the counter. Then I saw what was for breakfast, waffles. Yum! So I got up, again, and got a plate and served myself a waffle with butter and syrup. Not drowning it or anything, that's just gross. As I sat back down, I picked up a fork and knife and started tearing it apart and popping it into my mouth.
Then, someone sat beside me. I looked over and saw Nick.

"Hello," He smiled.
"Hey," I replied.
Nick started swivling in the chair, spinning back and forth. "What are you doing today?" He asked.
I shrugged while I ate. "Probably nothing."
Suddenly, Joe showed up by Nick. "Hey. Can you move?" He asked.
"Why?" Nick asked back, as if Joe was out of his mind.
"Because I wanna sit by my girlfriend!" Joe whined, again.
"You just like saying that," Nick swirled around again, facing me this time. I laughed at how childish they are.
Over Nick's head, I saw Joe frown like a little kid with his toy was taken away from him. I giggled again, and waved for Joe to come to me. He did, and I wrapped an arm around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"You two should star in a lifetime movie," Nick said, shaking his head.
I laughed again. "No, those movies are all the same. The couple fall in love, the guy has a secret, he tries to kill her or abuse her or something like that, he does, then someone finds out he did it and tells the police and he's punished."
He nodded his head, "True. Okay, a Christmas love story."
I nodded too. "That'd be a good one."
Joe laughed, this time. He took my fork and fed me a piece of waffle. "Yummy," I said. He tilted his head and kissed my temple. This was the start of a good day.

Once breakfast was done, the Jonas family still stayed over for a while, but then left. Joe said he'd call me later and we'd hang out, too. I hugged everyone goodbye, and they left. They were like my second family, and I loved it.
So after they left, I helped Mom clean up the kitchen and went upstairs to take a shower, too. When I was out, I dried myself and put on some shorts and a black t-shirt. The thing I loved about being in California was that where we lived, it hardly ever got cold in the winter. And I loved it. The coldest it's ever gotten was near 60 degrees.
When I was all dressed, I decided to go outside and chill by the pool. But on my way out, the doorbell rang. I went to it, looked through the peephole, and saw a familiar face. I didn't enjoy that familiar face, and I debated whether I should open the door or not. But I did anyway.
"Hey," Tyler said, smiling weakly.
"What the hell are you doing here, Tyler?" I asked, taking no bull.
"I told you I'd see you soon," He said, turning that weak smile into devilish smile.
I didn't say anything, then.
"Why don't you love me, Abby? I know that scares you, but it's the truth." He then asked.
I didn't want anyone hearing this, mainly my parents, so I stepped out of the house, closing the door behind me. Tyler and I walked to the nearby park, me not even answering any of his stupid questions. When we got there, it was empty. No one was there except Tyler and I. We were by a bench, but I wasn't going to sit. So we both stood there.
"Just tell me why you broke up with me, Abby," Tyler asked, again, but this time sounding more stern, talking through his teeth.
"Because I don't love you. I don't want to take all of your crap, and I don't want to be with you anymore. Just deal with it instead acting like a damn baby like you have been all week!" I exclaimed.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, I fell onto the concrete ground on my butt. My cheek was burning, and so were my eyes with tears. Tyler hit me. Actually slapped me across the face. What the hell?! I looked up at him through my blurring eyes, and he was just standing over me like he owned the whole Earth.
But...what the hell?! Tyler has never hit me before. But actually, I've never seen him get too angry at me. Would he have hit me earlier if I made him angry? Has he done this to his past girlfriends? Oh, god.
I stumbled to get up, my cheek still burning and tears streaming down my cheeks, I was getting ready to run away from Tyler. But I was too slow, and Tyler grabbed me by the sleeve to him.
"Don't EVER talk to me like that again." He said again through his teeth. When he released me, he started stalking down the sidewalk.
Shocked, and scared, I fell onto the bench and cried. Cried of hurt, and mostly fear. My cheek still hurt, and burned, and I wondered if there was a bruse. No, probably just a very, very red mark. I wiped my eyes clear enough for me to see, and I got up, butt still hurting, and jogged to a building where the bathrooms were. I went into the women's and examined myself. Yes, my cheek was very red, I hoped that wouldn't grow to a nasty green. And my eyes were all red from tears. I definately couldn't go home to Mom like this. No way, no how.

I ran out of the bathroom, and ran to my street. But where was I going? Definately not home. If I went to the Jonas house, could I get past Denise? It was a risk I was willing to take. Quickly, I got my phone out and texted Joe: Answer the door when the doorbell rings.
He texted back: What?
I told him to just do it.
So I quickly ran to the Jonas house and ran the doorbell, putting my head down so my face wasn't showing. Now all of my legs, butt and cheek hurt. When the door opened, I was very relieved.
"Abby?" Joe said.
I lifted my face and his eyes grew wide. "Um..." I sighed. I went inside anyway, grabbing Joe's arm and quickly went upstairs to Joe's room. When we were both in there, I shut the door behind us. When I turned around, Joe was already very close to me, observing my face.
"What happened to you?" He asked quietly.
Immediately, I broke down crying, again. I sobbed onto Joe's chest as he wrapped his arms around me. When I could control my voice, I choked out, "Tyler."

Then, I felt him tense with anger.