2.57 NICHOLAS

Oh shit.

I fucking hate when Caroline cries.

It feels like my heart is breaking apart, like something inside of me has gone array.

“Baby, hey. You’re okay, Caroline.” I say, wrapping my arms around her small frame.

She cries in my arms, sniffling slightly. “I know, I know. Trust me, I’m not sad right now. Fuck, I’m anything but sad. I’m happy. I’m so fucking happy right now.” She pauses, letting out a sob as she pulls away to look up at me, her hands resting on my shoulders as she stares up at me with so much vulnerability in her eyes. “And that makes me scared.”

I stare down at her in bewilderment. “Scared? Why would being happy make you scared?”

She shakes her head, her tears now streaming down her face silently. “It’s not that I’m scared of being happy. I’m scared that everything will just… disappear, or something. Like something bad is just going to happen, like it always happens. I feel like we can never catch a fucking break, you know?”

She sniffles, wiping her tears quietl