Double Dare // Sky Flaherty

Chapter Seventeen

Jack's POV
Once my friends leave the apartment after the movie, Olivia leaves me alone with River. I sit with him on the couch, leaning into his side. As much as I would like to believe that I'm happy, I'm not.

"I missed you," River mumbles, turning to look at me.

I force a small smile onto my face, but it doesn't feel real. In order to keep myself from flat-out lying, I gently kiss River. However, as my eyes close, one face comes to my mind's eye; it's not River. When I open my eyes, I find myself disappointed when I see River's face.

"Are you okay, Jack?" He asks, concerned laced in his voice.

Nodding, I answer, "Uh, yeah. It's getting late, I should be going to bed." I quickly stand up. "I'll see you later, okay?"

River nods, confused. "Sure." He stands and heads for the door. "Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight, River." I watch as he leaves. Once the door closes, I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. I make my way to my bedroom, sitting on my bed with a sigh.

"You okay?" Olivia asks, standing in the doorway. "You didn't really seem like yourself tonight. What's up?"

I shrug. "Something just doesn't feel right," I confess, deciding to be vague. "I just can't seem to shake a certain thought, no matter how hard I try. I don't really know what to do."

My sister nods slowly. "Here's my advice. Give this thought some more," she pauses, "thought. Sleep on it at the very least. Then, figure out what you want. If you're not happy with something going on right now, change it. Or find a way to change it. You're smart. You know yourself, and you always figure out what you want. Maybe this dilemma needs a little more time and thought, and things will work out. Trust yourself, Jack." Olivia offers a small smile. "You'll work it out in time."

"Thanks," I say quietly, grateful for her advice.

"Well, I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Olivia smiles more as I nod. "Goodnight," she says, leaving me alone in my room to think.

As I get ready for bed, I hum to myself in order to keep my thoughts from crashing down on me. However, the moment I lay down, my mind begins to reel with questions.

Am I happy? Do I want more out of my relationship? Should I even be in a relationship with River? Should I be in a relationship? If not, why am I? If so, is River the right guy? If River isn't the right guy, then who is?

I cut my thoughts off before they lead to an inevitable conclusion. I scold myself, saying, You're not unhappy, you're just confused. Stay in your relationship with River. He's changed and you love each other. That's a lie, but I skirt around that realization as quickly as I can. Stop thinking about other options when you should be committed to your relationship. You broke up with him very rudely. The least you can do to make up to him is accept his apology.

With that in mind, I roll over in my bed, deciding to think about something else as I try to fall asleep. My mind turns to upcoming auditions. I know I'm prepared, I don't feel ready. Marlee has prepared me well by giving me mini voice lessons, just to brush up on my skills. Sky has helped me immensely with my dancing, although since our first lesson, he hasn't taught me alone. I don't trust myself to be alone with him much anymore, especially since I'm in a relationship. I'm not going to cheat on River, no matter the circumstances. It's not right. Shaking my head slightly, I distract myself from the topic of Sky by trying to get a song stuck in my head. It succeeds, and I fall asleep, my mind singing along to songs from Mamma Mia.