Because You Need Someone: Book 1 in the Need Trilogy: The Pack: Merome

Chapter Sixteen: The Rest Of The Pack

Four more days went by, and social media silence from all the Pack Members, making almost all their fans worried. Jerome walks down the steps, rubbing his sleeply eyes. He stumbles into the living room, seeing the TV on the disc menu and stuck there. Jerome walks to the TV and stops when he sees Rob cuddling Preston on the couch, both asleep. Jerome smiles at them, pulls out his phone and takes a picture.

"Might as well." He said quietly. He walks out of the living room and into the kitchen where he starts the coffeepot. He than hears a thud from the living room. He looks over the opening seeing Preston sitting up on the floor. He gets up and dusts himself off, only stopping frozen when his eyes connect with Jerome's. He walks over to Jerome, his hair and clothes a mess from sleeping.

"You...You didn't see that, did you?" Preston asks. Jerome pulls up the picture and shows Preston. Preston's cheeks flush and look away. "That isn't what it looks like." Jerone lowers his phone onto the table.

"I..I won't judge you if poofless is real, Preston. You guys know how I feel about Mitch." Jerome said. Preston sits on a stool, resting his arms on the table.

"Okay, fine it is but please don't tell Lachlan or Vikk. Mitch knows already." Preston said. Jerome smiles.

"How long has this been going on?" Jerome asks.

"A few months." Preston said. Jerome nods as the coffeepot beeps. Jerome gets up, grabbing two coffee mugs. "How has Mitch been, by the way?" Jerome grabs the pots, pouring hot coffee into the mugs.

"Um...he is doing better, but that won't matter if he won't wake up." Jerome said handing Preston a mug. Jerome sits down at the table as well. "I should have stayed here, than maybe I could have stopped Mitch from doing that to himself."

"Jerome, don't blame yourself. Mitch was already in a very dark place, anything could have set him off to do this. Look at the bright side, he could have shot himself or..." Preston trails off and Jerome looks away from him.

"I should have checked the bathrooms, make sure he didn't have that option." Jerome said. Jerome looks at Preston. "And I'm glad that he can still come back from this, but I should have never left him alone. I promised him that I wouldn't leave him alone and I broke it."

"When he wakes up, he will come back with us right?" Preston asks. Jerome looks at his coffee.

"Actually, his mother wants him to come live with them for a few days. If he wakes up anyway." Jerome said.

"He will." Rob said walking pass the table. "How about we all go out for breakfast? You and Lachlan need to leave this house for a way. It is too depressing." Jerome shakes his head.

"No. No I'm okay--" Rob crosses his arms.

"Let me restate that, we are all going out for breakfast." Rob said. Preston gets up and moves over to Rob, whispering something in his ear. Rob kisses Preston's cheek. Jerome looks away from them.

"It is 11 a.m." Jerome said.

"Than how about lunch?" Preston asks. Jerome doesn't answer because Vikk comes down the steps, already dressed and everything.

"Guys, we need to do something about Lachlan." He said walking next to Jerome.

"Where is he?" Rob asks.

"In his room, crying." Vikk said. Preston puts down his coffee.

"I'll talk to him." Preston said going upstairs. Rob looks at Vikk.

"How long have you been up?" Rob asks. Vikk smirks.

"Enough to get a picture of you holding Preston." Vikk said. Jerome smiles.

"Yeah, I did too." Jerome said. Vikk smiles.

Preston knocks on Lachlan's door.

"Lachlan? Can I come in?" Preston asks. He hears the crying stop and silence on the other side of the door till it opens revealing a puffy red eyed Lachlan.

"Hey, whatca need?" Lachlan asks trying to hide. Preston shakes his head.

"Dude, don't do that. You haven't left this room in four days." Preston said. Lachlan loses his smile and looks away.

"It's my fault Mitch is in a coma." He said. Preston shakes his head again.

"No it's not." Preston said. Lachlan grips the door handle.

"Don't be stupid, Preston! I was there when Mitch took those pills, I should have done something instead of trying to talk him out of it!" Lachlan shouts. Preston takes a step back.

"Lachlan, there are so many factors into why Mitch did what he did. And I don't think you would have been able to stop him." Preston said. Preston pushes Lachlan into the room and looks around, seeing a mess. He looks at Lachlan who sits on the bed. "There was Jessica, of course, the main one. All of the hate he gets on YouTube, which we all know does tend to get to him and overwhelm him no matter how much he pretends it doesn't. And also Jerome." Lachlan looks at Preston.

"Jerome?"

"Yeah. Jerome was here before us, he stayed with Mitch longer. But I don't know if he was enough to save Mitch from himself and from Jessica. The abuse broke him." Preston said. Lachlan looks at his hands fidgeting with the blankets.

"He screamed at me because I wouldn't let him die. He just wanted someone who cared about him. Jerome was here, why didn't it work?" Lachlan asks. Preston shrugs his shoulders.

"Sometimes, people are just....unfixable." Preston said. Lachlan flinches.

"That what he said." Lachlan said. Preston sits on the bed as Rob leans against the doorway.

"But when Mitch wakes up, we are all gonna be there for him. Not just Jerome." Preston said. Lachlan looks away from Preston, he than gets off the bed.

"I'm gonna go downstairs, I'm starving." Lachlan said leaving. Preston sighs and Rob sits down next to him, slipping one of his arms around Preston's shoulders.

"You tried, hun. You tried." Rob said before he kisses Preston's head. Preston looks at Rob.

"If it wasn't for the fact you always need someone to cuddle with at night, Jerome wouldn't have a picture of us to hang over our heads." Preston said.

"Vikk has one too." Rob said. Preston rests his head on Rob's shoulder. "Jerome suggest we record a video. They are setting up Mitch's computer now." Preston picks his head up, slipping his fingers through Rob's, holding his hand.

"Like an update video?" Preston asks. Rob nods. Preston gets off the bed and pulls on Rob's hand. "Come on, lets go." Rob gets up and Preston lets go of his hand.

"You told Jerome?" Rob asks. Preston nods.

"I really had no choice. You were cuddling me on the couch, now come on we have a video to make." Preston said. Rob and him then leave the room.