♤DEALS♤

Chapter 25 -'I'm the taker of souls.'

Sometimes we have to make choices that are bigger than just us.

-THEO

Caleb Parks' POV

"I'm such an idiot."

I dive into the water and relish the coolness it brings. As much as I would love to continue to stay under here, the nagging in my chest reminds me that I need oxygen.

Not wanting things to escalate, I swim upwards.

"No arguments here." Jack greets my reappearance with a sly smile.

"In hind's sight, this might be a blessing in disguise," He continues, "Look at this way; if you act on your feelings and she doesn't return them, you will be crushed. I don't know about you, but there is only one room for one whipped idiot in this relationship." He motions his index finger between the space between us.

I swim closer to him and rest my forehands on the ledge, "So you are finally agreeing with Taryn and me that you are an idiot?" A smirk tugs at my lips.

Jack regards me with an unamused gaze, "My point is, even if you like her and let's say you do. And she feels the same way. Are you ready to risk your heart for another crack because you will let go of the people you love?" He gives me a knowing look filled with my most hated emotion.

Pity.

I huff and turn back towards the water and start a lap.

I try to keep my emotions in check, but if you remember those warnings that zookeepers tell the people that visit, like 'don't poke the bear' or 'don't feed the lions'.

Well, that should be written on my forehead because when Peyton dared to ask; I blew up at her. I didn't know I had struck a nerve by comparing her to the girls that like to flock around me. Yes, my bad.

I felt even worse when during her rant, she started crying. I agree I deserve the low blow she threw at me regarding my parents.

I guess I could have kept my self-restraint above water, but it's not that simple. I wanted Peyton to feel part of the hurt she gave me, but I took it too far.

All I want now is to apologize. And if I'm lucky, maybe I could pull her into a hug. But I'm pretty sure that she would not only castrate me if I even came as close as five feet near her.

It's been about two weeks since the little incident in Dinah's office; she avoids me like the plague. There was that awkward part when Gail asked if she and I could read her a story when she claimed to be ill.

Yup, I'm a complete idiot.

I do more laps around the pool and get out of the water. Jack throws a towel at me, and I catch it.

"Where are Jacob and Shawn?" I ask while we make our way out of the pool room.

"Jacob is in the kitchen charming the pants off Peyton," He catches my glare and continues with a sly smile, "Shawn is doing some laps on the treadmill."

This is weird because Shawn only exercises in the early hours of the morning.

In this household, we all deal with our stress in different ways. I turn into a literal merman and spend my time in the pool. Shawn runs at odd hours; Jacob tries to pick up his brother's silent façade. Marci locks herself in her room, Gail clings to my side for support, and Taryn becomes more bitchy than usual while Jack eats the food he cooks.

Weird right? But that's how we cope without hurting each other.

I walk straight out of the pool and into the gym. Our silent friend is running down on the mill with a big frown.