Infinite - Jake T. Austin Love Story

46: Fearful

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Previously on Infinite, Jacob and his family invited Lara to their thanksgiving dinner. At the dinner, she meets once again Quinn, the man who she fears due to her experiences in California and now, the cousin of Jacob and Charlie. Lara stays most of the night at the Camareno residence, then decides to go to the bathroom. In the bathroom, Quinn enters trying to molest her, and without thinking, states that Jacob is her boyfriend in order to protect herself. Quinn escapes rather immediately, and Jacob enters. Lara tells Jacob what significance Quinn has in her life, and he approves of this idea. Jacob, then, drops her home, kissing her in the process as he walks her to the porch.

46: Fearful

Point of View: Marian Lara Estrada

I stand still, trying to understand what is going on. Calm your nerves, Lara. I control the instinct to push him away, to scream and wonder why the hell his hands are cupping my cheeks, why his lips are locked against mine. Instead, I stand still, shocked and confused. He's doing this to protect me from Quinn - from the man that grudgingly holds over the anger he has towards Jake and I, I try to process in my mind, but it isn't fully embedded. I cannot push that thought deep into my brain when there is something different about the way he is doing this - the way his lips are warm, the way he - out of nowhere - did this gesture. I separate our lips slowly, knowing someone is still watching from his car, and looked at Jayce.

He seems dazed, his lips parted slightly. I do not know how to react, and at the same time, I cannot speak. I feel my lip tremble as I look at him. My mind pushing in new ideas and thoughts that I cannot fully process with the worries and agony inside my mind. "Lara - I -"

"T-thank you for dropping me home," I look down at the snow-filled ground, pulling out my keys in a fidgeting manner. I push the key into the hole, rushing my actions, and quickly unlock it. I look back at him, not knowing what else to say, and enter. "Lara -" I stop my hands from shutting the door, looking him directly in his eyes. "I - I'll see you at school." I nod, replying, "G-good night, Jayce."

"Good night."

I close the door behind me, taking in the darkness. No one is here yet. It's thanksgiving, yet no one is home - the silence consuming my thoughts right away. I run up my staircase, entering my room, locking it. I grab my laptop from my desk and turn it on, clicking the Skype application. I need to speak to Jake - I need to speak to him now. But what do I say? How will I tell him? How will he react? The ringing commences right away, but before it can surpass ten seconds, the line connects to him. My eyes make their way to the time, 9:50 pm. It's almost eleven o'clock in California.

"Sweetheart," his voice is raspy, but panicked, quiet but panicked. "S-sorry," I reply back, "I couldn't - I wasn't able to speak earlier." "What happened after that ass- I mean, Jacob hung up?" He grits his teeth, making me worry how to tell him what I had done. "I - He helped - I - we -" I cannot form my sentences correctly, but he waits, a stoic expression on his face. I try to calm the throbbing inside my brain, fearing his reaction. He's going to scream at you and want nothing to do with you after you tell him; he's not gonna want you at all after realizing what you have done, my mind scolds, making it even harder for me to speak up.

"Lara, how are you feeling?" His voice is soft, and I look at the screen to see his eyebrows knotted, his eyes full of compassion and love. "I'm scared, Jake," I stutter, "I want you here." You're pathetic. You're telling him you're scared, yet your lips touched another man's lips. "I wish I was with you, too, sweetheart, but I'm glad you're safe in your home," I see him force a smile on his face, knowing that he's trying to keep a strong façade in order to keep me calm, but it's doing the opposite.