“..and he seemed all fine on the phone when I asked about you staying at the house for a while. It was all fine. Or so I thought, and now..and now everything is screwed. Everything. Why am I even here Charlie? I don’t have a job, I don’t have a boyfriend, I doubt I have any friends anymore, except you and Keryn. It’s a damn pattern. I cant even shake it off. Everything I touch rots and dies. It shrivels up in front of me, and the worse bit is that I am forced to watch it happen. Powerless to stop it.”

Charlie sat by Kayla’s bed with his 4th mug of coffee and sore eyes. He watched her reach over and pluck another tissue out of the box, wipe her eyes then throw it on the mountain of tissues next to her. It was a sad sight.

“Charlie, what can I do? What should I do?”

Charlie sighed, placed his mug on her dresser and leaned down to her.

“Sleep Kayla, there is nothing you can do now.”

“But.”

“No buts, this wasn’t your fault. It had nothing to do with you, okay granted it did a little, but his actions are not your responsibility, I have been telling you this for the past hour. You emailed him. It is sitting there. He knows you care. You have done everything you can from here, he as the guys and Keryn there to help him heal. And he needs to heal Kayla and he can only do that without you.”

Kayla looked up sheepishly at him, “It still hurts Charlie.”

“I know, but it’ll go. Heartache always does.”

She bravely smiled and he stuffed all her tissues into the bin and carried it out with his mug.

“Kayla, you’ll feel a little better tomorrow. I promise. Now just sleep. Let it go.

“Thanks Charlie.”

“I owed you Kayla, now my margarine buddy, sleep. Night.”

“Night.”

Kayla watched her door close behind him. She smiled as she saw his hand adjust the door so it was a crack open, exactly as she liked it. Its funny how much you learn about someone by living with them. Her head swarmed like it was about to explode, the thoughts were angry and abusive and she felt small. She rubbed her forehead and attempted to turn and sleep. In the darkened room shapes loomed and her imagination began to run wild. She saw Ike black and blue lying broken on a bed. The image made her squirm. She banished the thought to the far reaches of her mind and attempted to think of something else. Her mind quickly transported her to that dank room where she was denied. The smug smiled of the men as they told her she “wasn’t what they were looking for.” She had wanted to cry, right there and then but made it out the door. Made it in the car, braved it by thinking it was the worse, when really there was a hell of a lot more to come. Again she rolled over and searched for a nicer thought. Her email to Ike forced its way to the forfront of her mind. It’s words were plain and honest and she wondered if she would get it in time. Wondered if he would get it. Or even want it. Maybe she should have called. It was then that sleep attacked her. In the midst of all the tears and heartache sleep came like the moon, undetected and soothing. Her breathing slowed as she drifted on the clouds of imagination.

Charlie fiddle with her door before dragging his hollow body and the bin into the kitchen. Dumping his mug in the sink he began to clean out the bin. The silence of the house did nothing to cool his nerves his mind was racing and he couldn’t cope. Kayla was a mess, and would undoubtedly go through a whole dark period now, it was expected. But Charlie’s feelings didn’t dim. They were beating with gathering speed. He was to be the knight in shining armour and for all this mess, he was quite enjoying it.

Keryn sat down in front of her glowing computer screen at the end of the day. She still hadnt spoken to Ike, but she would tomorrow. It was such a sad night. Everything was sad. Kayla’s email especially. Keryn would make a point of suggesting to Ike that he checked his email tomorrow. But right now the house was filled with male snores. It was quite comforting to have the noise. Taylor’s deep breathing was cute, Ike was snoring with added fuel, as if he was thinking of the events. Zac was more quiet, no noise really at all. But Keryn was still awake. Being the only female in the house, she was the only one that had thoughts of the night before for the girl. Why had she been talking to Ike, what he said to her previously. It troubled her. Something didn’t add up. Keryn flicked the computer off and huddled into bed. Her eyes closed automatically an soon she joined the noises of the night.

Taylor lay on his bed and tuned his ears to the sounds of Keryn. He heard her pad across the floor and into bed. She obviously hadn’t noticed that he was fake sleeping. He knew he had it down to an art form, and if Keryn fell for it. He was truly the man. His eyes now roamed the darkness freely and his mind ticked as he calculated the forecoming events, nd they added up to…well, a lot of touring. Taylor prayed that Ike would have pulled himself together enough to brave the world again. But you know what they say, “ It has to get worse before it can get better.” He hoped it was true of Ike.

It was funny, as Taylor lay there he realised for the first time that he had never once worried about Zac. Never. Zac was one of such a strong sense of character that troubles and hardship rolled of the back of him like water on a duck. But Ike, well he didn’t quite fit into the typical older brother barrier. Ike wore his heart on his sleeve, meaning that one downfall, one failure, one rejection would leave him wounded in battle. But this battle he needed to fight not just for himself, but all of them. They were a threesome, they had to bond and do this together and they would need Kayla’s help.

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