Chapter 27

"Okay. Now that we're alone." Cody sat down on the bed. "Yeah." "I wanna talk to you." "You need to talk to me." I corrected him. "Yeah. That." He laughed a little. I played with the bow on my underwear as he tried to think of the right words to say. I was in my underwear because I'd started to get ready for tonight.

"I've had something on my mind for a while now. Like a week or two. So it's not really that long but it's kinda a long tim-" "Cody. Get to the point." "We don't talk enough. We talk about small things and the less important things but it's not enough. We don't have the closeness we used to have. We lost that somewhere and I don't know where." He stared at the floor.

"I think I know where." I spoke quietly. "Where?" He turned to look at me. "Jenna.. Carrie.. Madison.." I listed. Cody's face dropped. I think he knew this but he didn't want to admit it. "And there's nothing we can do about it, is there?" "I don't know, Cody." I sighed and laid back on the bed. "I want to fix it. I want to undo it and I want to trust you again. But it's too hard." I covered my face.

Cody crawled up to me and pulled my hands away from my face. "I'm prepared to do anything. And I mean anything to fix this. I know I messed up. I've said it so many times, you've said it so many times and we both know I'm an utter jerk and do not deserve you but I love you and we both know that you love me. I need you and you need me. We can make it through anything." "I know we can and I know all of this. I defiantly know you're a jerk." I smiled which made Cody smile.

"We don't need to spend all day together everyday. Sometimes just a few minutes of talking is all we need. And the attention thing? Talk to me about that." I said and let him pull me up. I had my feet behind him and we sat between each other's legs.

"What attention thing?" "You think that sex is the only way to get my full attention." "Who said that?" "Cody.." I urged. "Fine. It's true. Yes. But it doesn't matter beca-" "No, Cody. It matters very much." "No! Because I don't want it to stop." He said which made me laugh a little. "It needs to have more of a meaning than just "I want Lauren's attention" because that's not healthy."

"I don't know what to do, Lauren. This isn't good." "I know it's not good." "Well then what are we supposed to do?! I mean we're only teenagers and yet we have to deal with these adult problems. It's not fair! We're just kids." He ran his fingers through his hair and searched my eyes with clear frustration.

"Maybe we need a little break?" "No. That's not an option. I don't care what mess we're in, this is our mess and I'm not dumping it." He refused. He gripped my legs tightly and pulled me closer. "I don't know what else to suggest, Cody." "I'm not taking your suggestion. Call me crazy but I'd rather keep it like this than have to be apart." After he said that it went quiet for a little while.

"Come on, special. Get up and get ready." I slapped his cheeks lightly. "Promise me you're not going anywhere." Once again his grip tightened. "Cody, calm down. It's okay." "Promise me, Lauren. Promies me that no matter what happens, we're gonna fight through it and work it out." He looked so scared and desperate. "Please?" He whispered with his forehead resting on mine.

"We've got to go out in twenty minutes. You still need a shower." I reminded him. "Well then say it and I'll move." "I promise that I'm not going anywhere." I whispered. "Say you love me?" "I love you and I always will love you." "I do too." He kissed my lips. "Now go get in the shower and I'll find you something to wear." I let go of him and moved away.

I got out Cody's leather jacket and black jeans whith a white shirt. After I'd laid it out on the bed for Cody I got out a black playsuit for me and then changed into it. "Well aren't we dull tonight." Cody laughed as he came from the bathroom. "I think it's cute that we match." I smiled. "Black and white go with anything." "That's why you normally wear it. Now get changed." I told him and left the room.

"Alli, what are you wearing tonight?" I sat on her bed. "This." She looked at me like I was dumb which made me laugh. She was wearing a simple, deep blue skater dress. "I like it." "I like yours too." "Thank you." I smiled. "I love your hair!" She admired my hair. I'd done a waterfall braid with beachy waves. "Thanks! It took me forever." I smiled.

"Alright, girls. Stop chatting cause we gotta go." Cody came in. "Says the person who's only just got dressed and still has his collar sticking up." I laughed and sorted it for him. "Let's go." Alli walked for the door and we both followed.

"Where were you earlier, Codes?" Alli asked while walking to the elevators. "Huh?" "When we came back here, you stayed out for a little lonegr. Where were you?" "I was talking to Matt on the phone." He lied. I mean, it's a good and worthy lie but he can't lie to me and he knows it. "What did Matt want?" I smiled.

"He just- Uh- He forgot what day we're getting home." "And why did he want to know that?" Alli questioned. We both knew he was lying now. "Scooter asked him." "What did Scooter want to know it for?" I threw the next question and then Alli added, "And why didn't Scooter ring you himself?" with a smirk.

"I don't know! I'm not Matt or Scooter, how do I know their trail of thought? Damn." "Getting a little defensive over there, Simpson." I teased. "I've had enough of this interrogation. Why don't you sit me down and shine a light in my eye?" "Calm it." Alli laughed. The elevator doors opened and we all walked out.

"He's up to something." Alli whispered. "You think I don't know that?" "But what?" "Well I don't know that." "May-" "Lauren!" Lilly came running over to me with tears streaming down her face. I picked her up and hugged her.

"What's happened, sweetie? Did you fall over?" "Mommy and Daddy have been shouting at each other all afternoon. I don't like it." She buried her face in my neck. "Make them stop, Lauren. Make them stop!" I looked at Alli, she gave me the same look back. "Go get Cody?" I asked. Alli nodded and went over to him. I moved to the side with Lilly.

"What were they saying?" "I don't remember at first but then they said Trey and Cara's names and they were saying you and Cody too and I'm not sure.." She looked down. "It's okay. You don't need to remember what they were saying." I held her tightly.

"Alli said something was up?" Cody spoke. I looked up at him and then to Lilly again. Cody guessed and took her off of me. "No more tears now, princess. Don't waste those. You need them to get you out of trouble." He said which made her laugh a little. "Do Mommy and Daddy still love each other?" "Yes. Very very much and that's why they fight so much." He explained.

"But they weren't talking about them. They were talking about other people." She said. "Who?" "You first. And then Tre-" "Me?" "Yeah." She nodded and took a deep breath while rubbing her eyes. "Mommy told Daddy that she saw you talking to a girl outside and Daddy said it was probably Lauren but Mommy said it wasn't. So they were fighting because Daddy was mad at Mommy." "Right." Cody kissed her head.

"Why don't you go give Trey a cuddle, he's worried about you." "I will do that." She nodded as Cody placed her on the floor. "I hope your conversation with Matt was worth it." I glared at him and walked past him. "Lauren..?" He called me but I ignored it.

Once everyone was in the lobby we left for the restaurant that we were eating at tonight. "You and Cody haven't spoken since we left the hotel, what's going on?" Trey whispered to me. "I'm trying to read my menu." "Lauren.." "He's the reason for your little sister's tears." I glared at Cody. "Which one." "I haven't cried yet." I switched my gaze to Trey.

After dinner we started walking back, everyone spread out along the beach as we walked. "Mom," I interrupted Mom and Angie's conversation. "Can I speak to you quickly?" "Sure, honey." She let me pull her behind. "What did the girl you saw Cody with look like?" "How do you know about that?" "What did she look like?" I demanded.

"She had long brown hair, a little darker than yours. She was tall an-" "How tall?" "About Cody's hight, a little taller maybe. And she was very very thin." "Did she have tanned skin?" "Yeah." "Right." "What was she wearing?" "A floral summer dress and her hair was in a messy bun." I rubbed my chin. "Why did you and Dad have an argument about that?" "Your father thought I was accusing Cody of being unfaithful." "Oh." I looked at the ground.

"Trust him, baby." Mom kissed my forehead. "I do." I said as she walked away. I watched everyone walk and then decided I wanted to be alone so I turned around and started walking in the other direction. After a while I sat down on the sand and laid back.

"What are you doing down here, Lauren?" A familiar voice broke me from my thoughts. I sat up and looked around. "Oh. Hi, Jasmin." I smiled. "Who's your frie- Oh my gosh!" I covered my mouth. "This is my best friend." Jasmin introduced. "You know her?" I pointed to the girl next to her. "Yes. She's my best friend." She laughed.

"Her name's Jenna, she's a massive Cody fan!" "No. I'm not talking to you." I refused as I got up. A smile appeared on her face. "How is Cody?" Jenna asked with a smirk. I noticed her hair. A messy bun. And then her dress. A floral summer dress.

"You were with him today!" Her smiled grew as I accused her. "Tell him he left his watch." She passed me Cody's watch. "Lauren, what's going on?" Jasmin looked confused. "Your best friend is the reason my boyfriend first cheated on me." I spat. "You?" She looked at Jenna. "Come on. He's so easy to convince." She laughed.

"I'm so sorry, Lauren." Jasmin stepped towards me. "Is Jake at home?" I couldn't take my eyes off of Jenna. "I think so." "Okay." I turned around. "She's gonna make your boyfriend cheat now." Jenna said as I walked away. I ignored her and carried on walking.

Once I got to Jake's I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. "Hi." Kipp answered. "Is your brother in?" "In his bedroom." Kipp let me walk inside. "Thanks." I kicked off my shoes and went up to Jake's room as fast as I could. "Lauren? What's up?!" I collapsed into his arms and started crying.

"Hey.. Stop crying.." He sat down on the bed and sat me on his knee as he wiped my eyes. "What's up, gorgeous?" "He- He saw her." I managed before starting to cry again. "Who saw who?" "Cody. He saw- He saw Jenna." "Who's Jenna?" "The first girl he cheated with. Her. He saw her again." Jake's face dropped as I spoke.

"Did he.. You know?" "I don't know. She gave me his watch and said he left it." I placed the watch in his hand. "This is my watch." Jake looked at it. "What?" "This is my watch." "How is that possible?" "I don't know. The last time I saw it was when I left it at Jasmin's the other day." "Jasmin and Jenna are best friends." I said.

"How didn't I know that?" He asked. I shrugged and rested my head on his shoulder. Jake's phone started ringing after a few moments of silence. He picked it up and showed me the screen. Cody was ringing him. He pressed answer and put it on speaker phone.

"What's up, man?" "Dude. Lauren's gone." "What?" "I don't know. We were walking home and no one's seen her since then. I'm freaking out. Have you seen her by any chance?" Jake looked at me. I shook my head. "No, I haven't. Sorry, man. Have you tried ringing her?" "I've got her phone." "Oh right." "Could you come help me look?" He asked.

"I don't know, I'm kinda caught up with something." "What's more important than Lauren?" Cody questioned. Jake sighed. "Fine. Meet me at the beach in five minutes." "Okay. Thanks." He hung up. Jake locked his phone and looked at me. "We're gonna go confront him." "No, Jake." I refused. "Come on. It'll be okay." "No." I shook my head.

Jake lifted me up as he got up. "You're too small to fight me." He laughed and left the room. I struggled as he carried me through the house. Jake put some shoes on and picked mine up before walking out of the front door. "Jake!" I giggled and tried to wriggle free but he just held me tighter.

"You're so awkward." He re-ajusted the way he was carrying me. "There's Cody." I pointed and rested my head on his shoulder. "You've gone floppy." Jake laughed and carried me on his hip. I wrapped my arms around his neck. "What's going on?" Cody looked at us in confusion. "I could ask you the same thing." Jake put me on the ground.

"Why are you carrying my girlfriend along the beach at eleven o'clock at night?" "Why are you meeting up with girls behind your girlfriend's back?" "What?" He choked. "I think we both know what I'm talking about." "I didn't meet up with anyone. I saw a girl and had a conversation with her. It was a fan, no big deal."

"Is that your excuse for everything? She was a fan? You say it like they are nothing." "My fans are everything! Don't ever say that!" Cody became extremely defensive. "And since when was Jenna your fan?" Jake chuckled slightly. Cody's eyes locked with mine. He looked so guilty, it literally killed me.

"No, no, no, no.. No! It's not what it seems like." He stepped towards me. I stepped behind Jake who pulled me closer to him. "I promise, baby." "What is it then?" I finally spoke. "I was stood outside the hotel and someone called my name. I turned around not knowing who it was and saw her. I had to talk to her." "You don't have to talk to anyone." "Please believe me that I didn't touch her." He begged.

"You made me little sister cry. You're the reason they started fighting so you caused her tears. She's seven, Cody. You can make me cry all you want but you do not mess with my little sister." "I know. I'm sorry." "Jake, take me home?" I looked at him. "No." Cody grabbed my hand. "You're coming home with me. I don't care if we're here for hours. If it takes everything I own, I need you to believe me." "Cody, I'm tired. Actually scratch that.. I'm exhausted. We're running in circles and I'm not down for it."

"Baby, I didn't go looking for this. It came to me." "So that makes it alright?" "I haven't done anything wrong!" He seemed so convinced. I looked at Jake who seemed to be believing Cody's every word. "Well then why did you lie to me about it?" I challenged. "Well that's easy, I knew you'd be mad and think the worst." Cody took a step closer to me.

"Well at least you're smart." I shrugged. "You're just not smart enough, are you?" "I wasn't hiding anything! I promise you, I've done nothing for you to be mad at. I had a conversation with her which ended with me telling her to leave me alone and never talk to me again." "Leave you alone? She's tried talking to you before?" "No." Cody instantly defended. I scoffed and crossed my arms.

"Okay, yes. But I ignored it and you can even check my phone and twitter and everything else she tried to get hold of me on. You're the only person I want. I'm in love with you, Lauren Miller." "What about your reputation?" I gasped playfully and looked at Jake. Cody laughed a little, I could feel him relaxing.

"The whole world knows I love you, baby. I just have real shitty ways of showing it." "You got that right." "So come home with me?" "Is Alli awake?" "Everyone is worried sick." "Oh." I looked at the ground and then then up at Jake. "Don't look at me. It's your decision." He held his hands up.

"I'm sleeping on the couch tonight." I looked at Cody. "Sleep in Alli's bed with her." "I want to be alone." "Well then I'll sleep on the couch, you can sleep in the bed." "I will be sleeping on the couch." I repeated myself. Cody nodded and stepped back. "Okay, you good now?" Jake pulled me to look at him. "I think so." "And remember, no more tears." He cupped my face. "You're too pretty to cry." He smiled and kissed my forehead.

Cody and I walked home in silence and then I went to see Dad when I got back to tell him I was safe. After that I went to our hotel room. "You scared me! I thought I'd lost my best friend." Alli instantly hugged me. "I'm sorry, Als." I hugged her back. "Have you been crying?" She asked. "It's a long story. Can we talk tomorrow?" "Yeah sure." She smiled. "You can go to bed now." I laughed.

I got out some spare blankets and made myself a bed on the couch before getting into it and turning the television on. "I made you some tea." Cody came into the living room. "And I got you some biscuits." He placed two digestives next to the mug.

"Thanks." I said and then went back to watching the TV. "How did you find out about this?" "Guess who's best friend's with Jasmin?" I looked at him. "Are you joking?!" "Nope." "This is messed up!" "I thought the exact same." "So Carrie and Jenna are cousins and then Jenna and Jasmin are best friends." I nodded at him and giggled softly. Cody smiled at sat on the floor next to me.

"She gave me your watch as was like 'Tell Cody he left his watch' and I exploded." I said. Cody pulled his sleeve up to reveal his watch. "Jake said it was his anyway. He left it at Jasmin's." "You think she was involved?" "Nah. She was just as shocked as I was." "Well at least you've got one true friend other than Alli." "True that." I agreed.

"Alright. I'm going to bed now. Sleep tight, princess." Cody got up and tucked me in before kissing my forehead. "I'm sorry for everything. Once again, I promise I didn't lay a finger on her. I was going to but strangling people is illegal so I didn't." He shrugged and walked away. I laughed a little at what he'd said before closing my eyes and drifting into a well needed sleep.