*Zack’s POV*

“I told her she didn’t have to give me an answer and asked what happened in her past.” Jack said. Alex, Rian, and I looked at him in shock.

“Let’s leave her alone and talk about this in the front lounge.” Alex said softly, pushing us all out of the back lounge.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Rian asked, the shock clear in his voice.

“I was thinking that I want to help someone who means the world to me.” Jack said bitterly.

“Jack, that’s not going to help, it’s too soon. Whatever happened was probably still happening the day she went to the hospital. You have to give her space and time before talking to her about it. She’s clearly traumatized.” Alex said.

“So you’re on his side now?” Jack asked snidely. He then turned to me. “What about you? Are you on his side too?”

“Do you care about her?” I asked and he looked confused.

“What?” Jack asked.

“Zjael, do you care about her?” I asked again.

“Of course I care about her!” Jack exclaimed, now sounding frustrated.

“Then you’ll realize that we do too and ‘taking Rian’s side’ is the side that shows we care.” I said softly.

“Whatever.” He said and walked away.

“Alright, well I’m gonna keep an eye on Zjael.” Alex said and walked back to the back lounge.

*Alex’s POV*

I walked to the back lounge and was surprised that Jack wasn’t there. I sat on the ground next to Zjael and waited; I needed to talk to her. After a few minutes, I heard Zjael moving. I looked to see her slowly sitting up.

“What happened?” She asked me softly.

“You had a panic attack and passed out.” I explained simply. “I tried to help.”

“Well, thank you.” She said and patted the spot on the couch next to her. I got up and sat next to her.

“Did they find you a place to live and a job for you yet?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Please don’t act like you don’t know. Rian has been telling me the plans. Jack is the only one who doesn’t know.”

“Matt will be taking you and Jack out tomorrow so we can take the bus and move me into a little apartment. Then I’ll be working at Alternative Press. Adam Elmakias is gonna be helping me understand everything.”

“That’s great! Adam is a great guy. I’m sure you’ll love working with him.”

“He’s basically the reason I’ve wanted to photography.”

“That’s great.” I said and handed her a slip of paper. “This is my number. When you get a phone you’ll have it now. I’ll always be here for you if you ever need someone to talk to. All of us will be. If you need anything, just call.”

“Okay.” She said and put the paper in her pocket.

“I also wanted to suggest something I never thought I would. When you’re ready, I want you to talk to someone. If not any of us, then please talk to a therapist or something. Jack was right that you will need to talk about it, just not now.” I said softly. I could tell she didn’t like what I had to say until I got to the end.

“Thanks.” She said with a small smile. I smiled back.

“For what?”

“For actually caring. All of you do, but Jack is trying too hard.”

“I can see what you mean. He means well, just not understanding that there is a limit sometimes. For as long as I’ve known him, he’s been so carefree. That’s why it’s so different to see how much he really cares about you.”

“Oh….”

“It’s not a bad thing. It’s actually nice to see him care for once.”

“Okay.” Zjael said awkwardly. “We should probably get out of here so they don’t start worrying or things that something’s up.”

“Alright.” I said with a small smile and stood up, leaving the room with Zjael right behind me.

Notes

Last update for me from 2015! Happy New Year everyone! :) I still have 2 hours to go, but that's okay. This is the last of my written chapters for this. I do have some plans though, so hopefully I can get myself writing soon :)

Hope you enjoyed this :) Have a beautiful start to your 2016.

-Rose