Unexpected changes?

"How did you not notice? Doesn't it hurt?" Jake asked as he gently dabbed the blood, cleaning it off my arm. I sat in the middle row of the car seat, the doors wide open, while Jake tended to my wound. His legs were outside while his body tilted in.

Earlier today, after he noticed my injured arm, he had sent Mr. Robert to get some supplies, and after Mr. Robert came back, he made an attempt to tend to me himself, but Jake had refused.

Ethan and Matilda had wandered off, while Owen sat on a bench opposite where the car was parked. As for Mr. Robert, well, I had no idea where he went.

"I must have been too focused on the concert to notice," I chuckled slightly, trying to lighten the mood.

"This will sting a little," Jake muttered. He placed the balm on his fingertip before gently applying it to my arm.

"Ahh!" I gritted my teeth together, my lips pressed as I tried to endure the pain.

Jake carefully tended to my bleeding arm, and I winced as he applied the balm. The stinging sensation was hard to ignore, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

After a few moments, Jake finished wrapping a bandage around my arm to stop the bleeding. He leaned back slightly, examining his handiwork. "There, that should do it. It wasn't a deep cut, but it's best to keep it clean and covered."

I nodded, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude. "Thank you, but it was just a scratch." I raised my arm, examining the already wrapped wound. "You didn't have to do all of this."

"You're still my responsibility," he said in a casual tone, his voice soft. Even the way he talked was now off. I stared at him, examining him closely.

"What?" He said as his eyes caught mine.

"Why are you being nice?" I asked. I needed an answer for his sudden change in behavior, not that he was a bad person, but now he was acting differently.

"What do you mean? I have always been like this," he defended, stroking his hair back.

"No, you haven't. You are literally one of the rudest, straightforward guys I know."

He stared at me, surprised, his tongue hitting the tip of his teeth before he responded. "Wow, so honest. Now that I think of it, I guess I have been a jerk sometimes." His hand slid down his hair to the back of his neck, and he tilted his head to the side like he was thinking about it.

"Sometimes?" I repeated, raising a brow.

"Am I that bad?" He questioned, and seeing my blank face was enough for him to get the answer. "I never realized." A sigh escaped his lips, and he moved forward to take a seat beside me.

"You still haven't answered my question, though."

"Why am I being nice to you?" He repeated, leaning his head back on the seat. "Honestly, I have no idea," he closed his eyes, his legs crossed, and his body leaning backward while I just sat there staring at him.

Minutes passed, and finally, Matilda and Ethan returned, Matilda looking slightly disappointed. "We didn't find any ice cream," she explained as she climbed into the car, pushing past Jake, which caused him to open his eyes. "So disappointing."

"I don't know why you care so much about getting ice cream when you can have as much as you want at the resort," Ethan said behind her.

"Really?" Matilda whipped her head quickly to glance back at Ethan.

"Of course, it's a resort."

"Why didn't you tell me in the first place!" She retorted.

"You never asked," although Ethan's replies were calm and blunt, they pierced through Matilda's skin as they had spent the last thirty minutes looking for ice cream. Angrily, she charged at him, pulling him by his ear. "You punk!" She wasn't giving him any chance to escape her claws.

"What the heck, I am the one who's meant to be upset. I also wasted my time and energy, you know?" He tried to come to a compromise or at least talk some sense into her.

"And we wouldn't have to if you just told me to begin with," Matilda sighed, brushing loose strands of her hair to the side.

Ethan, who had had enough, finally pushed her off him and jolted off the car, rushing to the front seat. As Matilda kept throwing tantrums over an ice cream, I glanced back at Jake, who was now seated in the back seat. He seemed strangely at ease despite the chaos unfolding around us. He leaned back in his seat, a faint smile playing on his lips as he observed the drama. Beside him sat Owen, fully focused on his cell phone. Again.

The car engine roared to life, and Mr. Robert prepared to drive us back to the resort. Matilda had finally calmed down after her ice cream quest, and Ethan sat in the front seat, still wearing a bemused expression.

It was already late by the time we arrived at the resort. I was exhausted, and all I needed was to collapse on the soft mattress.

As we got off the car, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out from my back pocket and slid open the lock screen to see the caller ID. It was a call from Mom.

"Hey, Mom," I answered, the phone by my ear as I walked in the opposite direction, away from the rest. "Yes, it was cool. It's a two-day concert, so we will be going tomorrow."

I continued walking, now standing in an empty corridor.

"Have you had dinner?" Mom asked, her voice filled with concern, although I hadn't had any yet, mainly because I didn't have an appetite for anything. I just said the only thing that would keep her from worrying.

"Yes," she sighed in relief before asking.

"Gavin has been asking about when you are coming home. He really misses you already." She laughed, and the side of my lips tilted up in a smile.

"Can you put him on the phone?" I leaned on the balcony, still talking to my mom on the phone. I couldn't help but feel a pang of homesickness. Hearing that my little brother, Gavin, had been asking about me made me miss home even more. It was moments like these when I realized how much I cherished my family.

"He's already asleep, maybe tomorrow." It was moments like these when I realized how much I cherished my family.

"Oh," my voice was filled with sadness. "Okay." Even though she was right.

We continued to chat for a while, discussing the concert, my plans for the next day, and catching up on all the news from home. My mom's voice was a soothing balm to my soul, and it helped ease some of the exhaustion I felt after the long day.

After we said our goodbyes, I hung up, taking a deep breath, staring out into the night. This side of the resort was quiet now, and the cool breeze ruffled my hair, which had fallen out of a ponytail.

Turning away from the balcony, I frightened gasp escaped my lips

, causing me to place my hand on my chest.

"You scared the heck out of me," I said to Jake, who was now standing behind me, his hands tucked in his pocket.

"My bad," he replied and turned to leave, but I stretched my hand forwards.

"Wait!" My word caused him to halt in his tracks before turning over to me. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, just wanted to see why you were taking so long." I let out a sigh of relief, realizing Jake didn't have any ulterior motives for approaching me. I had expected him to say something about our earlier conversation or his sudden change in behavior, but he seemed casual.

"I was on the phone with my mom, and I guess I got lost in thought," I said, my heart rate slowly returning to normal.

Jake nodded, taking a step forward, his expression still calm. "I figured," he responded. "I didn't know you had any siblings."

Was he eavesdropping? How long had he been standing there? He has been doing this lately, sneaking around like he was spying on me.

"I do, I have a younger brother. Same age as your sister." I could sense the tension in the air as I mentioned Jake's sister, a subject that had caused discomfort between us before. My own slip of the tongue had brought it up again, and I worried about how he would react.

Jake's expression remained neutral, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before finally responding.

"Ah, I see," he said, his tone carefully neutral. Walking up to me, he stood beside me, his arm resting on the balcony. He asked. "What's he like?"