My Life Would Suck Without You

Chapter 9

"Where have you been, Caleb? It's been almost a month already since she's moved away." Tyler said as Caleb shook his head in shock.

He turned to Pogue and said, "I'm so sorry, man. If I had known I would have…"

Pogue cut him off saying, "It's fine. I know you've got a life of your own."

"No that's really not even fair to you. I should have been there for you." Caleb said.

"Really it's okay, Caleb. I'm surviving." Pogue said trying to avoid the topic.

"I'm still really sorry, Pogue. I've been so focused on wanting to get to know Sarah that I didn't even think to notice that anything was wrong." He said as Pogue nodded his head.

Janessa had finally come into the lunchroom and joined the guys. As she sat down, Tyler asked her, "Where were you? I've been waiting for you."

"Sorry. Library." She said avoiding eye contact with everyone.

Caleb took a look at the girl in front of him. He couldn't even recognize her anymore. Her uniform looked like it was big for her. That would have meant that she had stopped eating again. There had to be something wrong then because she wasn't eating and he hadn't even seen her in so long. He wanted to ask her how she was doing but instead decided not to.

"We hanging out tonight at Nicky's?" Reid asked changing the subject.

"I'm down." Tyler said.

"Yeah I'll be there." Caleb said as Pogue nodded his head.

"What about you, baby girl? You down to chill and hang out." Reid asked reaching for her hand.

"I'm okay. I think I'm going to study." She said as Reid nodded his head not wanting to push her.

Later that day…

After school was over, Pogue had decided to talk to Janessa. He wasn't just doing this for Tyler but for himself as well. The both of them could really help each other heal in a sense. Getting off his motorcycle, he placed his helmet on the seat before walking up the steps to the Simms' Residence. He pushed the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door. Tyler opened the door and greeted him with a handshake. "Hey man, thanks for coming over." Tyler said.

"Yeah don't worry about it. Where is she?" He asked.

"In the backyard." Tyler told him as they both walked towards the back door.

Pogue saw Janessa's tiny frame sitting on the tire swing that hung on the tree or more so on a tree branch. He patted Tyler on the shoulder before opening the back door and walked outside. It was a beautiful day. He walked over to her and gently pushed the swing as she looked back at him. "Hi baby girl." He said.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as he continued to push her.

"Tyler wanted me to talk to you. He feels helpless, baby girl. Let him help you. Let us help you. Or at least let me help you. We both lost someone who meant the world to us." Pogue told her.

Janessa stopped the tire swings momentum with her legs. Looking back at him, she hadn't realized what Pogue must have been going through after Samantha left. She had been caught up in what she was going through that she never thought to check up on Pogue. "I'm sorry." She whispered as he sat beside her on the grass.

"It's okay. You can make it up to me by telling me what's going on with you." He said as Janessa slowly pushed the swing.

"I just felt like everything was going really well for me. Then like within a few weeks, I lost everything. My biological parents and my best friend. What did I do to deserve all of this?" She said as she started to cry.

Pogue looked at her and said, "You did nothing wrong to deserve that. But that's part of life, baby girl. Losing them doesn't mean that you've lost yourself. They'll still be here in your heart. You may not have had the best relationship with them but think about the blessings that they've left you with. You've been blessed with two amazing parents who love you. You've got a brother who would do anything for you and you've got three adoptive brothers who care about you. Samantha is still here for you even if she's miles away. But my point is we're here to help you heal. I know that you and I can help you each other heal. With Sammi moving, you're the only person I could talk to about missing her because you know the feeling.

Janessa stopped moving the tire swing and got off to sit beside Pogue. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his shoulder. They sat like that for a few minutes before they both realized that they were crying. Janessa was the only person who ever saw Pogue cry. She looked at him and wiped his tears. "We'll be okay, right?" She asked.

"Of course, baby girl. As long as we have each other we'll be okay." He said kissing her head.

"I wish life was so much more easier than this." She said.

"We all do but we just have to fight all the tough times." He said as Janessa nodded her head, "You feel like going to Nicky's tonight?"

"Yeah sure I guess it would be nice to go out again." She said

"All right. Get changed and I'll be back in 20 minutes to give you a ride." Pogue told her.

"Okay. Thanks again, Pogue!" Janessa said.

Pogue nodded his head as they both got up and walked towards the house. When they got inside, they realized Tyler had left. Probably to go to Nicky's with Reid. Janessa let Pogue out before heading to her room to get changed.

Nicky's…

Caleb sat with Kate and Sarah as they waited for Tyler, Reid, and Pogue. Caleb had finally asked Sarah to be his girlfriend and she said yes of course. She was over the moon about it. She just couldn't stop smiling. She held his hand as she continued to talk to Kate. Kate, on the other hand, had been excited to hear that Samantha had moved away. It meant that she was one step closer to having Pogue be hers. Caleb looked around and found Tyler and Reid heading over to their table. They sat down to join them. "Have you guys heard from Pogue?"

"Well last I saw he was hanging out with my sister. So he should probably be on his way." Tyler said.

"Speaking of your sister, you two have a minute to talk outside?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah." Reid said as all three got up to go outside.

Caleb looked at Tyler. He wanted to ask him what was going on with Janessa. Since lunchtime at school, Caleb had been thinking about how he didn't see her as often as before. It was almost like she was avoiding him. Nor did she ever really come out to hang out with the guys anymore. When they were in class, she like never acknowledged him but he never knew why she was avoiding or ignoring him.

"What's up, Caleb?" Tyler asked.

"What's going on with baby girl? I noticed she seemed out of it earlier." Caleb said as Tyler froze.

"Umm…she's going through a time since Samantha moved away." Tyler said.

"Is that it? She's not avoiding me is she?" Caleb asked.

"I don't think she's avoiding you." Tyler said as he looked at Reid.

"She's just coping with having lost her best friend, Caleb. Cut her some slack for not wanting to talk." Reid said.

"Yeah I guess you're right." He said.

"Hey guys!" They heard someone shout.

All three guys turned around to see Pogue giving Janessa a piggyback ride. He set her on her feet, as they got closer to the guys. Caleb felt his heart beating faster when he saw Janessa. California had really done her well. She was dressed in a lace cream-colored crop top with a tank top underneath, denim shorts that stopped at her thighs, and brown knee high boots. Plus she wore a leather jacket as her waist-length black hair had been curled and left down. He couldn't find the words to say. He was speechless by how beautiful she looked.

"Baby boy, we're sending baby girl to California more! I'm liking this transformation!" Reid said as Janessa laughed and tugged on her leather jacket.

"Seriously Pogue, you could have told her to put clothes on." Tyler said as the guys laughed.

Author's note: Sorry it took long to get this chapter up. Been busy. I'm working on Chapter 10 right now. I apologize if you guys wanted to read about Caleb asking Sarah out. Thanks again for all the reviews, follow, and favorites! I appreciate it!