Loving the Fighter

88

Callum's POV

They had been looking for Jax for a good 45 minutes so far and we hadn't heard anything from anyone.

Worst case scenarios are all that played through my mind as the time ticked by.

What if he drowned in the lake, what if his body froze already, what if he some how managed to get over the fence? If he had left camp he would be tracked down and sent to jail and there wouldn't be anything we could do about it.

"You worrying yourself isn't going to help anything," Andrew said to no one in particular but we all knew he was mostly talking to Ryder, Liam, and me. I honestly don't even know why he's still here. His shift ended hours ago and it's not like he cared enough about any of us to stick around for emotional support.

"Well I'll take that into consideration the next time my boyfriend disappears into thin air," I snap, making Andrew only sigh as he sat down on an empty bed.

"All I'm saying is maybe we all just need to take a breather. Jax is going to be okay and he's only going to be mad at all of you for getting so worked up over this."

"Hey Andrew," Matthew said with a small glare. "Shut up."

Liam sighed from the other side of the room as he rubbed his temples. He was starting to get a headache but he would never tell anyone. I doubt he even fully registered that he had a headache.

Ryder had perched himself on a bed far away from anyone else. There were too many people in here that he didn't know that well, that paired with fact that Jax was missing was a good way to make a person anxious. Normally he would have someone to rub his hair but Liam and I were a little preoccupied.

This is why we needed Jax. He would have dropped everything to make any of us feel better.

"You guys know you don't have to stay right," I asked everyone I wasn't currently dating.

"Like we don't want to make sure he's okay too," Kyle grumbled as he leaned into his own boyfriend. "Sit down, you're making me want to kill you and considering I'm not in Jax's good graces right now, I don't think he would forgive me for it."

I sigh as I force myself to sit down on the bed closest to the door. The 9 of us sat in silence until the door burst open.

Patrick stood there with Jax curled up on his arms. A stressful breath left me as I stood up and motioned for Patrick to lay him down on the bed I was just sitting on.

I expected Jax to go back to normal when he touched the bed but he only curled up into a tighter ball as he pulled the jacket Patrick gave to him closer to him. When his shaking picks up I pull the thin blanket over him before kneeling in front of him with Liam and Ryder beside me.

"If you ever do something like this again, I will throw you in the lake," I said harshly but Jax's lip only turned up into a small smirk as his half shut eyes moved to Ryder. Ryder was already pouting as if he knew what Jax was about to say.

"Ryder already did," he joked as his eyes closed for good while his breathing evened out.

The tension in the air was gone the second Jax spoke, leaving nothing but relief as we all stared at the now sleeping Jax who still managed to look pissed off.

"I think he should stay here tonight in case he gets too cold," Patrick said after a while of us just staring at him. "Then first thing in the morning he'll get a check up just to make sure he's still healthy." I nod as I look to Liam and Ryder.

"Pick out a bed I guess," I say to them making Patrick raises an eyebrow as but he says nothing.

"As for the rest of you," Andrew said, "It's late. As you can see Jax is fine and curfew is way past over so go off to your cabins. I'm sure you have roommates waiting up on you."

Everyone still looks hesitant as they give one last look over to Jax before heading to the door.

"If you don't mind, we can stop by your cabin tomorrow," Boyd says before he stepping out the door. "Just to check in on him."

"I'm sure he'd love that," I say with a smile. "Or at least would like it on the inside. He might cuss us all out on the outside but it's the thought that counts."

Boyd only hums as he walks out the door followed by Matthew and Jordan, who both spare him one last glance before waving goodnight.

"Do you guys mind a bit of company?" Patrick asked as he began to settle himself on a bed without an answer.

"I suppose not," I say as I find I take the bed closest to Jax before waving Ryder and Liam over. A few minutes later we are all three situated on the bed that is somehow smaller then beds at the cabin.

Patrick makes a disapproving sound, making my head snap up at him. I wasn't in the mood to have someone question anything about my relationship considering everything that has happened in the past three hours.

"If you've got something to say just say it," I say with a glare, making Ryder look up at Patrick too.

"That bed doesn't fit three people very well does it," he asked in a joking tone as he took off his shoes.

"No it doesn't," Ryder admits with a yawn. "We just push our beds together at the cabin." Patrick hums as he looked back to Jax.

"And he's with you guys too?" I only nod making Patrick smile at us.

I assumed he knew about our four way before but maybe he didn't. Maybe he was just clarifying. I honestly didn't care anymore.

"He was calling for you when I found him."

He had probably said that to make me feel better about how he must like me if he wanted me mid break down but it only made me feel worse. Jax was out there for three hours, in the freezing cold, during a break down, calling for me and I wasn't there to help him.

I only hum in acknowledgement as I peak over at Jax again.

Ryder and Liam seemed to follow his lead and fell asleep quickly, their heads on each of shoulders while I lay in the middle of them.

"I'm glad he had you guys," he says after a while as he slipped down farther into the bed. "It's clear he needs you all a lot, but you can only help him so much when you're exhausted," he said with a knowing look on his face.

"Point taken, I'll go to sleep in a minute." Patrick hums as of he doesn't believe me but turns on his side anyway.

I lay there thinking back to yesterday and how weird he was acting. I'm sure today and last night are connected some how but I haven't figured out how yet.

Maybe if I had pushed him more last night he would have told me what was wrong and tonight wouldn't have happened. Or maybe I pushed too hard and this whole thing is my fault.

"You're still not sleeping," Patrick slurred a few minutes later, making my sigh loudly, which only made him chuckle.

Regardless, I close my eyes, hoping that tomorrow will be better some how but deep down I knew not to get my hopes up.

Tomorrow was about to be a shit day.

May 4, 2021

Do you guys prefer long chapters with multiple POV switches that can span over the course of a few days, or do you prefer smaller chapters like this one with only one POV and only lasting for one day?