Our Safeguard

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

~Nolan~

       Orchid kept poking me in the arm and she just wouldn't stop. I would push her hand away, but she just went back to poking me after a few moments. Eventually, I glared at her as I slapped her hand away. "Can you stop?"

       "Not until you tell me why you're moping," Orchid said. She gestured to my lunch; a sandwich that had been too squished because of the way I kept squeezing it. "You literally massacred your lunch."

       "I'm not moping."

       "Again, you massacred your lunch. You've been moping all day, Nolan. What's up?"

       I didn't reply. I just didn't want to tell her, and everyone else at the lunch table, that I got into a fight with Jerome and now, we weren't talking to each other. We both refused to say a single word to each other.

       I didn't know how long it was going to last. I mean, I didn't feel like I was in the wrong. Joel was my first friend in a long time and he was a really nice person. I didn't think he would hate someone when he barely knew Jerome.

       "I think you should eat your lunch instead of murdering it," Alan said.

       "And I think you should leave me alone," I said.

       "Well, that wasn't nice," Alan said. "I think that proves you're moping, though. You're never this mean to me."

       "I just told you to leave me alone. I don't see how that's mean."

       I took a small bite out of my sandwich, hoping that would be enough for my siblings to leave me alone. However, it wasn't. They were concerned for me, and I was grateful for that. I just really didn't want to talk about my relationship problems.

       Unfortunately, sometimes my siblings were really good at guessing what was wrong. "Is this because of what happened when you and Jerome got home?" Orchid asked. "It seemed... intense."

       "It was nothing," I muttered, though I wasn't the best liar, thanks to my mom's genes, so it was probably obvious that I was lying.

       "It didn't seem like nothing," Alan said. "I've never heard you two argue like that before. I don't think I've ever heard you argue at all."

       I glared at Alan. "Thank you for airing at my problems like that."

       "Dude, it's just Orchid, Joel, and me here," Alan said. "It's not like I announced it to the school that you and Jerome are fighting."

       "Is everything okay with you two?" Joel asked, frowning. "I mean, from what you've told me about how much he cares about you, he doesn't seem like he would want to start an argument with you."

       This was why I was so confused about this whole thing. Joel seemed genuinely concerned about my and Jerome's relationship. He would ask me about Jerome all the time and didn't seem to mind when I went on and on talking about my boyfriend.

       So why did Jerome think that Joel hated him?

       "Yeah," I lied, still not wanting to talk about it. "Yeah, we're fine."

       "You're lying," Alan said. "It's not nice to lie."

       "It's also not nice to keep asking me about it when I really don't want to talk about it," I said. "It's fine. It's whatever. Just please, let me eat my lunch without reminding me that my boyfriend and I currently aren't talking to each other."

       "Just... please talk to us when you do feel like talking about it," Orchid said. "Even if it's just to rant about how frustrating it is. And also, it's not always a bad thing to fight with your significant other. Some people even say that it's healthy. You know, as long as it's not every day and you don't insult each other."

       "Yeah," Alan agreed. "Brandon and I argue and we're still in a healthy relationship."

       "You also insult each other daily," I pointed out. "That's not a good example."

       "Dude, us insulting each other is just a joke," Alan said. "We don't actually mean it when he calls me a dumbass and I call him a whore. But, yeah, I agree with Orchid. It's okay to argue."

       I didn't say anything else. I was really hoping that they would just drop the conversation. I didn't even think if I could call it an argument between me and Jerome. It seemed... more than that. A lot worse too.

       I mean, we weren't even talking to each other. We didn't say 'good night' or 'good morning'. He didn't ask if I wanted to go out for lunch today or if I wanted him to pick me up from school. We wouldn't even look at each other.

       It was a miracle we still slept in the same bed last night. I was tempted to sleep on the floor, or even sleep in the closet where my little sensory room was set up, but I was lying down on the bed and too lazy to move.

       Thankfully, the conversation ended. Instead, it shifted to Alan whining about a test we have after lunch and how Brandon refused to help him study, saying that he didn't want the memories of high school to come flashing back to him.

       I didn't blame Brandon. I was doing okay this year, but in total, I really hated high school and the memories that were associated with it.

       School ended after two more classes. After dropping my stuff off in my locker, I went outside to where Orchid and Alan's car was parked. It would be my car too if I bothered to take my learner's test. I should, but I had too much going on my mind to study for it.

       Orchid was the one driving home since Alan was going out with Brandon. After Orchid and I were both in the car, she said, "Since it's just the two of us now, do you want to tell me what the argument between you and Jerome was about?"

       I hesitated. Of course, I still didn't want to talk about it, but maybe it would be good to get a second opinion. Orchid was probably the best for it since her boyfriend got mad at people whenever they asked out Orchid, even though they didn't know she had a boyfriend.

       "Do you think Joel is a bad person?" I asked Orchid.

       "Was that what the argument was about?" Orchid asked. "Joel?"

       I nodded. "A few weeks ago, Joel asked me out because he didn't know that I had a boyfriend. I told Jerome about it but ever since then... I don't know. Jerome thinks that Joel is a bad person."

       "Hmm..." Orchid thought for a bit. "Honestly, I don't know. Joel has been very nice to us. Jealousy can cause people to do crazy things, though."

       "Jerome claims he's not jealous," I said.

       "I wasn't talking about Jerome's jealousy," Orchid said. "I was talking about Joel's. I haven't seen him act jealous, but that doesn't mean he isn't."

       "He's a good friend, though," I said. "One of the few friends I've made since Thea and Alfie graduated and goes to university outside of town. I don't know, it's just nice to talk to someone outside of my family, you know?"

       Orchid nodded. "I get that. Look, I'm not going to tell you who's right and who's wrong in your fight because really, I don't know. Joel could be a completely different person around Jerome, but Jerome might also be seeing things because he's jealous. A lot of people claim they're not jealous when they are."

       I sighed. "So what do I do?"

       "The only thing you can do is be careful," Orchid said. "And really pay attention to the signs. Figure out who's lying and who isn't."

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i love orchid and i stand for orchid supremacy.

(just wait until she finds out that joel has been acting like a jerk to jerome)(she's very protective over nolan)