All the Faint Lights
016:
Chapter Sixteen
-Caroline-
I've been out for hours, it was dark out, but I didn't feel like going home, I just wanted to be left by myself. When I wanted to check the time a while ago, I realized that I left my phone at home and cursed because I knew that Trisha was going to be worried, but then stopped because this was her fault that I was feeling like this.
"Come on, Roxy," I said and then stood up from the park bench and started to walk down the street lamp covered park path. I stopped and turned around when I heard footsteps coming closer, but I didn't see anyone there. I turned back around and pulled Roxy along, hoping that I was just imagining someone being there.
I felt someone's hands on my shoulders, I screamed loudly and then turned around and threw a punch, "Linny!" I heard and then snapped my eyes opened to see Geno standing there.
"G-Geno? What are you- What are you doing here?" I asked blinking in confusion.
"Looking for you, Sid called, you were missing," Geno said and I sighed and looked down towards Roxy to see that she was sniffing Geno's dog, Jeffrey, "When he said that you and your dog were missing, I thought here. I've been walking around for hours."
"What time is it?" I asked and he checked his watch.
"Just before midnight," he said and I sighed and looked towards the ground, "Are you all right?"
'...Trisha's gunna kill me, she sent the team to look for me...' I thought, not looking up to Geno.
"Linny," he called and I felt his finger cup my chin and pull me to look at him, "Are you all right?" I shook my head and he looked at me worriedly, "Are you hurt?"
"Not physically," I said and he looked at me confused.
"Is it Neal?" he asked and I sighed and nodded my head, "Come on."
"What?" I asked confused and Geno grabbed my wrist.
"Come on," he repeated and started to drag me along, "It's too dangerous to be here this late."
"I know," I muttered and then sighed, seeing Roxy trotting next to me.
We made it back to my car and then Geno pulled me to the passenger side, "Keys."
"What?" I asked and looked to see Geno holding out his hand.
"Keys," he said again and I sighed and reached my hand into my pocket and pulled out my keys. He took them and then opened the passenger door and helped me in. Once he let the dogs in, Geno pulled himself into the driver's seat and then turned my jeep on.
"Don't take me home, Geno, I don't want to be around them," I said and Geno looked at me confused, but nodded his head.
"I take you to my home," he said and I nodded my head.
-Evgeni-
I took Caroline back to my house and then grabbed some of my clothes for her, she looked cold and tired, so I showed her to the guest bedroom and let her get dressed. I walked downstairs and saw her dog, Roxy laying on Jeffrey's bed, with Jeffrey lying on the floor.
"Get kicked out, boy?" I laughed and he just looked up towards me, '..Guess I should call Sid...'
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to see that I had fifteen texts from fifteen different teammates all asking the same thing, 'Did you find her?' I sighed and then called Sidney and he answered on the first ring, "Talk to me, G."
"She's safe," I said and then heard him sigh.
"Where?"
"I have her at my house, but she doesn't want to come home," I said and I heard him say something to someone else, probably Trisha, "I don't know what happened, but she's upset."
"She and Nealer had another fight," Sidney said and I sighed.
"It seem more than that," I said and then sat on the couch and rubbed my face, "I bring her home tomorrow."
"All right, thanks G," Sidney said and I looked at the dogs, "Where was she?"
"The park," I answered before I saw Caroline walking into the room wearing a pair of my basketball shorts that looked like pants on her and then one of my shirts, that looked like a dress on her. I looked at her and then the phone, "Sid here, you want to talk?"
"No," she said and then walked over towards me and sat down next to me, "I don't want to talk to anyone," she mumbled as she wrapped her hands around my arm and laid her head on my shoulder.
"Sid-"
"I heard," Sidney said and then sighed, "It's all right, just call me when you're bringing her tomorrow."
"All right," I said and then hung up the phone and threw it on the nightstand next to me, "Why you hiding?"
"I don't want to talk about it," she said as she let me go and then stood up.
"Lin," I said and then grabbed her wrist and pulled her back and she landed on my lap, "Talk to me."
"Sid and Trish set James and I up to be nice to each other," she confessed as she rubbed her face, "It didn't work, he's an asshole and I don't want to talk to him ever again!"
"Nealer just not know how to talk to you," I said and Caroline turned in my lap so that she was facing me and her legs were on each side of me, '...This not good...'
"I'm just tired of it all, he hasn't been nice to me the moment I met him," she said and I sighed, feeling her arms wrap around my neck and she leaned in closer. I thought something else was going to happen, but I breathed a sigh of relief when she just laid her head on my shoulder, "I'm tired of it all Geno."
"Then get some rest," I said and started to rub her back, feeling her snuggle up to me. It only took a few moments of silence and me continuously rubbing her back, but she was asleep on top of me. I sighed and then stood up and gently carried her up the stairs towards the guest bedroom, "Sleep, Linny," I breathed as I laid her in the bed and threw the blankets over her.
I heard some pitter patter on the hardwood floors and turned my head to see Roxy and Jeffrey walking into the room. Roxy looked at me and then jumped onto the bed and laid down next to Caroline. I sighed sat on the side of the bed and placed my hand on Caroline's arm, '...It would seem that you have a few people after your attention...'
I stood up and then debated with myself about kissing her, she was right there, her lips were right there, but I just kissed her forehead. I grabbed Jeffrey's collar and walked him out of the room, closing the door just a little, enough to let Roxy come out if she would like.
I walked back downstairs with Jeffrey and sat on the couch and turned the TV on. I knew it was late, but I had a lot on my mind and couldn't sleep, I was just happy that we were off tomorrow. Even though the TV was on, I wasn't watching it.
A knock at my front door pulled me out of my thoughts and I stood up and sighed, walking out of the living room and towards the hallway to the front door. I opened it to see James and Jordan both standing there glaring daggers at each other, they hadn't even realized that I opened the door, '...I should shut it and pretend I'm not home...'
If it wasn't for Jeffrey letting out a little bark, I would have. But when they heard my dog, Jordan and James snapped their heads towards me and looked at me tiredly, "She's sleeping."
"I just need to talk to her," James said and I shook my head.
"For what?! Make her run away again!" Jordan said and I sighed, "You keep screwing up your chances with her! She's probably done with you!"
"Shut up! You weren't there! You don't know what happened!" James growled.
"I know enough!" Jordan snapped and I shook my head, watching these two go back and forth and wonder why I'm not closing the door, "If you're not going to treat her right, let someone else do it!"
"Oh, like you will! Please, you screw around with more people in a day then I do in a month!" James yelled and I closed my eyes, sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"You're fighting over a girl," I said and Jordan and James looked at me, "Go home."
"No, just let me talk to her Geno!" James begged and I shook my head.
"She sleeping, what part no get?!" I growled and James glared at the ground, "Go home!"
"Geno, come on man, just let me talk to her," Jordan said and I shook my head.
"If you no leave, I make you leave," I said forcefully because I was tired and if they spoke any louder, they were going to wake Caroline up. Jeffrey growled and I heard another growl, I turned my head to see Roxy coming over and looked at Jordan and James, "You wake Roxy up, go before you wake Linny up."
"Geno, come on-"
"No, stop fighting over her- You both not deserve her!" I snapped and then stepped back and slammed the door in their faces.
-Caroline-
I've been out for hours, it was dark out, but I didn't feel like going home, I just wanted to be left by myself. When I wanted to check the time a while ago, I realized that I left my phone at home and cursed because I knew that Trisha was going to be worried, but then stopped because this was her fault that I was feeling like this.
"Come on, Roxy," I said and then stood up from the park bench and started to walk down the street lamp covered park path. I stopped and turned around when I heard footsteps coming closer, but I didn't see anyone there. I turned back around and pulled Roxy along, hoping that I was just imagining someone being there.
I felt someone's hands on my shoulders, I screamed loudly and then turned around and threw a punch, "Linny!" I heard and then snapped my eyes opened to see Geno standing there.
"G-Geno? What are you- What are you doing here?" I asked blinking in confusion.
"Looking for you, Sid called, you were missing," Geno said and I sighed and looked down towards Roxy to see that she was sniffing Geno's dog, Jeffrey, "When he said that you and your dog were missing, I thought here. I've been walking around for hours."
"What time is it?" I asked and he checked his watch.
"Just before midnight," he said and I sighed and looked towards the ground, "Are you all right?"
'...Trisha's gunna kill me, she sent the team to look for me...' I thought, not looking up to Geno.
"Linny," he called and I felt his finger cup my chin and pull me to look at him, "Are you all right?" I shook my head and he looked at me worriedly, "Are you hurt?"
"Not physically," I said and he looked at me confused.
"Is it Neal?" he asked and I sighed and nodded my head, "Come on."
"What?" I asked confused and Geno grabbed my wrist.
"Come on," he repeated and started to drag me along, "It's too dangerous to be here this late."
"I know," I muttered and then sighed, seeing Roxy trotting next to me.
We made it back to my car and then Geno pulled me to the passenger side, "Keys."
"What?" I asked and looked to see Geno holding out his hand.
"Keys," he said again and I sighed and reached my hand into my pocket and pulled out my keys. He took them and then opened the passenger door and helped me in. Once he let the dogs in, Geno pulled himself into the driver's seat and then turned my jeep on.
"Don't take me home, Geno, I don't want to be around them," I said and Geno looked at me confused, but nodded his head.
"I take you to my home," he said and I nodded my head.
-Evgeni-
I took Caroline back to my house and then grabbed some of my clothes for her, she looked cold and tired, so I showed her to the guest bedroom and let her get dressed. I walked downstairs and saw her dog, Roxy laying on Jeffrey's bed, with Jeffrey lying on the floor.
"Get kicked out, boy?" I laughed and he just looked up towards me, '..Guess I should call Sid...'
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to see that I had fifteen texts from fifteen different teammates all asking the same thing, 'Did you find her?' I sighed and then called Sidney and he answered on the first ring, "Talk to me, G."
"She's safe," I said and then heard him sigh.
"Where?"
"I have her at my house, but she doesn't want to come home," I said and I heard him say something to someone else, probably Trisha, "I don't know what happened, but she's upset."
"She and Nealer had another fight," Sidney said and I sighed.
"It seem more than that," I said and then sat on the couch and rubbed my face, "I bring her home tomorrow."
"All right, thanks G," Sidney said and I looked at the dogs, "Where was she?"
"The park," I answered before I saw Caroline walking into the room wearing a pair of my basketball shorts that looked like pants on her and then one of my shirts, that looked like a dress on her. I looked at her and then the phone, "Sid here, you want to talk?"
"No," she said and then walked over towards me and sat down next to me, "I don't want to talk to anyone," she mumbled as she wrapped her hands around my arm and laid her head on my shoulder.
"Sid-"
"I heard," Sidney said and then sighed, "It's all right, just call me when you're bringing her tomorrow."
"All right," I said and then hung up the phone and threw it on the nightstand next to me, "Why you hiding?"
"I don't want to talk about it," she said as she let me go and then stood up.
"Lin," I said and then grabbed her wrist and pulled her back and she landed on my lap, "Talk to me."
"Sid and Trish set James and I up to be nice to each other," she confessed as she rubbed her face, "It didn't work, he's an asshole and I don't want to talk to him ever again!"
"Nealer just not know how to talk to you," I said and Caroline turned in my lap so that she was facing me and her legs were on each side of me, '...This not good...'
"I'm just tired of it all, he hasn't been nice to me the moment I met him," she said and I sighed, feeling her arms wrap around my neck and she leaned in closer. I thought something else was going to happen, but I breathed a sigh of relief when she just laid her head on my shoulder, "I'm tired of it all Geno."
"Then get some rest," I said and started to rub her back, feeling her snuggle up to me. It only took a few moments of silence and me continuously rubbing her back, but she was asleep on top of me. I sighed and then stood up and gently carried her up the stairs towards the guest bedroom, "Sleep, Linny," I breathed as I laid her in the bed and threw the blankets over her.
I heard some pitter patter on the hardwood floors and turned my head to see Roxy and Jeffrey walking into the room. Roxy looked at me and then jumped onto the bed and laid down next to Caroline. I sighed sat on the side of the bed and placed my hand on Caroline's arm, '...It would seem that you have a few people after your attention...'
I stood up and then debated with myself about kissing her, she was right there, her lips were right there, but I just kissed her forehead. I grabbed Jeffrey's collar and walked him out of the room, closing the door just a little, enough to let Roxy come out if she would like.
I walked back downstairs with Jeffrey and sat on the couch and turned the TV on. I knew it was late, but I had a lot on my mind and couldn't sleep, I was just happy that we were off tomorrow. Even though the TV was on, I wasn't watching it.
A knock at my front door pulled me out of my thoughts and I stood up and sighed, walking out of the living room and towards the hallway to the front door. I opened it to see James and Jordan both standing there glaring daggers at each other, they hadn't even realized that I opened the door, '...I should shut it and pretend I'm not home...'
If it wasn't for Jeffrey letting out a little bark, I would have. But when they heard my dog, Jordan and James snapped their heads towards me and looked at me tiredly, "She's sleeping."
"I just need to talk to her," James said and I shook my head.
"For what?! Make her run away again!" Jordan said and I sighed, "You keep screwing up your chances with her! She's probably done with you!"
"Shut up! You weren't there! You don't know what happened!" James growled.
"I know enough!" Jordan snapped and I shook my head, watching these two go back and forth and wonder why I'm not closing the door, "If you're not going to treat her right, let someone else do it!"
"Oh, like you will! Please, you screw around with more people in a day then I do in a month!" James yelled and I closed my eyes, sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"You're fighting over a girl," I said and Jordan and James looked at me, "Go home."
"No, just let me talk to her Geno!" James begged and I shook my head.
"She sleeping, what part no get?!" I growled and James glared at the ground, "Go home!"
"Geno, come on man, just let me talk to her," Jordan said and I shook my head.
"If you no leave, I make you leave," I said forcefully because I was tired and if they spoke any louder, they were going to wake Caroline up. Jeffrey growled and I heard another growl, I turned my head to see Roxy coming over and looked at Jordan and James, "You wake Roxy up, go before you wake Linny up."
"Geno, come on-"
"No, stop fighting over her- You both not deserve her!" I snapped and then stepped back and slammed the door in their faces.