Pen Pal Project [Alex Gaskarth]

Chapter Thirty

As much as I wanted to enjoy my birthday, I'd spent the entire day with my head hovering over the toilet bowl.

I felt bad because Jake was leaving tomorrow, but I was in no fit state to go anywhere. Not to mention that Alex was getting ready for tour.

I was miserable and they all knew it.

Jake sat with me most of the day, brushing his fingers through the short hairs that were already growing on my head. It helped me relax.

"Have you spoken to your girlfriend at all?" I mumbled, half coherent. He grinned.

"We email daily. Seeing as I can't text her without being charged a fortune." I giggled. "But yeah, we've spoken over skype as well. She wants to meet my little sister." My heart lurched.

Every time he called me that, I felt love for him, but I felt guilty for leaving him.

"I'm sorry I left." I whispered quietly. Jake shook his head, placing a kiss to my forehead.

"Charlia, I was so happy for you when Alex first suggested the adoption. At first, yeah I was jealous and upset because not only were you being adopted, but I was gonna lose my chance to look after you once and for all. But seeing you so blissfully happy with this huge family surrounding you, it reminds me every day that I made the right choice in no being selfish."

The guilt eased up slightly at his words.

If Jake could find it easy to deal with his little sister being halfway across the world, I could let go some of the guilt that ate me up for leaving him halfway across the world.

The next day Jake was gone. I felt put out that he couldn't stay any longer, but he reminded me that he still had to finish University.

I still went to school and All Time Low finally went on their European and Australian tour.

I seemed to survive okay on my own, but because he was gonna be gone for a good month and a bit, I stayed with my grandparents.

It felt weird calling them that, but both of them insisted.

Alex had been on tour for a week and before I knew it, Cass was helping me get ready for the Spring Dance. That was more weird than prom last year, but I put up with it.

They want to make the most of it in case you die. I shoved the sly thought from my mind as fast as it came.

Fletch was the perfect gentleman in front of the adults and then we were off to the dance.

The Spring Dance was okay.

Fletch and I goofed around a lot when I made my intentions clear that I couldn't really see him anything other than an annoying brother.

He laughed and told me that he had to make sure that I wasn't falling for his charms.

I hit him for that.

For some reason, I felt jealousy surge through me as I watched Callie with her date. I couldn't understand why I was so jealous at all.

Was I turning into one of those kind of girls? Jealous that her best friend can have it all?

The green monster slunk away when she rejoined our group, a huge smile on her lips, her arm looped with mine.

With a jolt, I realised that I wasn't jealous of what she had.

I was jealous of her date. I wanted to be in his place.

The minute those thoughts popped into my head, I tried to dispel them but I couldn't. They sat there, in the back of my mind every time she laughed at a face I pulled or held on to me.