|Never Let Me Down Again||Joel Miller|

Chapter Sixteen

"Got everything?" Joel called out to Tess, who was loading their truck.

"Yep." She hollered back. At her affirmation, he shut the door to the grocery store behind him. He, along with Caroline and Tess, had arrived at the grocery store safely, guns in tow. They were now loading up Joel's truck with the guns, so they could head down to Georgia and deliver them to their client. It was now time that they abandon their grocery store hideout, and Joel had packed away all of their survival equipment back into his truck.

"You sure this was necessary?" Joel asked, taking a peek at all of the loose guns, laying around the bed of his truck.

"It was more of a safety precaution. I was worried that there was a tracking device in the crates. Better safe than sorry." Caroline shrugged.

Joel sighed, knowing that she was probably right. "You two all loaded up?" He asked, looking at Tess and Joel.

"Actually, I think I left something in the store. Joel, will you take me in there?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, sure, I guess. Come on." He said, leading her back into the grocery store.

He opened the door, and she followed closely behind. Once they both had stepped fully into the store, Caroline shut the door behind them.

"I asked if you left anything in here, why didn't you-" Joel said, completely unaware of the situation. He was cut off by Caroline, who stepped in front of him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"I've been waiting to do this for a long time." She smiled as she pulled him in for a kiss.

It lasted for what seemed like forever until Joel pulled away. "We've gotta get going. Tess is probably getting suspicious."

"Do you care if she knows?" Caroline asked.

"Of course I do." He said, sharply. "I told you this, Caroline. Tess and I had a thing. There are still feelings there. Just let me figure this out, ok?"

"Geez, Joel." Caroline said, crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry." Joel said, realizing what he'd just said. "I love you. It's just going to be difficult, you know? Tess and I have had our thing, and with you around, I just don't know how this is going to play out." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before planting a kiss on her forehead. "Just let me figure this out, ok?"

"Of course. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

"We shall." They both walked out and headed for the truck.

Tess was already sitting in the backseat of the truck, so Joel assumed the role of driver and Caroline sat in the passenger seat.

"To Georgia?" Joel said.

"Where else?" Tess asked, annoyed.

You could cut the tension in the truck with a knife. The three of them sat rigidly in their seats for the first hour of the drive.

"Music?" Joel asked, boldly. He motioned towards the CD player.

"Do you have a problem with me, Tess?" Caroline asked, completely ignoring Joel's question. Caroline had been thinking about bringing it up since they left, and had used Joel's speaking up as a way to begin the conversation.

"Does it seem like it?" She responded with, acting extremely defensively.

"Yeah, why else would I be asking?"

Joel sighed, mentally preparing for a long drive filled with girl drama.

"You know what, Caroline, maybe I do." Tess folded her arms around her chest.

Caroline sat there for a moment, considering her next move. "Care to explain?"

"I don't know. You just show up here and start acting like you're the boss. Ever consider the chain of command?"

No, Caroline hadn't ever considered that. She knew how to help them in certain situations, and she wasn't just going to sit back and bite her tongue.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I should have thought that through."

"I don't know, Caroline. You come here and just barge in, take charge whenever you so choose, steal Joel..." She said the last party under her breath, but, unfortunate for Tess, Caroline still heard it.

"What did you just say?"

"I don't know, I-"

"You just said that I stole Joel." Caroline said, accusingly.

Joel shifted in his seat, knowing that the conversation was about to get uncomfortable.

"I mean, look at you two!" Tess began to yell. "You just show up here and flash him a wink and he's gone! I know you two had a past but come on."

"Woah, Tess. That's pushing it." Joel said, trying to mediate the situation.

"Joel, not now." Caroline said. "Tess, do you really think there's something going on between Joel and I?"

"Do I think? Don't act like I don't see you two sneaking kisses or just ending up always being together."

Joel and Caroline shared a nervous glance, unsure of how to proceed.

"I guess it's unfair to be upset with you, Caroline." Tess admitted. "Joel, what the hell?"

"Woah, slow down." Joel said, putting his hands in the air. "What are you getting at?"

"You just jumped at the sight of her the moment she showed up." Tess explained. "You and I, we've been through hell and back together. Don't act like he had nothin'. Now some girls that you were shackin' up with in high school makes a guest appearance, and now all you care about is her!"

"Tess, I care about you more than you could possibly imagine." Joel sighed. "You're right. I've been with you through the roughest of the rough. Don't think I haven't forgotten about that. It's just, I never thought I would ever see Caroline again. She was my first love, and we ended so badly. I guess she's my only connection to my world before everything went to shit."

Everyone went silent in the truck, processing what Joel had just said. To Caroline, it made perfectly good sense, but also made her a little sad. So the only reason that Joel had been so attached to her was because she reminded him of his past? Tess was relieved, glad to know that he was just infatuated with Caroline and not truly in love with her like he seemed to be.

And Joel was wishing that he could eat his words. Of course, what he said was true. Caroline did remind him of his past. But she was more than that to him. And Tess was his partner. They had spent some horrible times together, and he trusted her like no other on the planet. He felt like he was being forced to choose between the two, which was something that he didn't think was possible.

"I just want to make something clear." He said, breaking the silence in the truck once again. "I don't have "feelings" for either one of you. Of course, I love you both in many different kinds of ways. But, don't get it twisted. We're out here, just trying to survive. The last thing I'm worried about is who likes who." He knew it was bold, but it was the only thing he could think of to say to keep this group together. The three of them, and eventually four when they reunited with Leo, were a force to be reckoned with. He couldn't let middle school level relationship drama get in the way of that.

The silence was deafening in the car. Both girls looked like they were simultaneously on the verge of tears and killing each other, so he popped in his favorite Linda Ronstadt CD and took in the sights as he drove them down to Georgia.