hovering over neelam's shoulder, jack anxiously chews on his finger nails. the lack of flights landing before 6pm tomorrow make him sweat in the slightest. "find anything?"
neelam shakes her head but keeps scrolling. "unless you want to land at 7, then no," she sighs. jack nods and runs a hand through his curls, tugging at the roots. "and i called the jet company—they're out of planes."
"how the fuck are they out of planes?" jack asks, standing up straight. he presses his hands to his face and drags them down roughly, causing his face to turn red.
it's been one month since jack called and flipped sierras world upside down, which means tomorrow is valentine's day and jack is across the country, in new jersey of all places. he had some quick business to handle, and then did a show. technically, he is supposed to be in atlanta right now, but those plans were cancelled this morning due to a snow storm that has since passed.
he's dreading calling sierra to tell her that he won't be there for valentine's day, but he cant not say anything when she's expecting him. if he misses tomorrow, it would be a lie when he told her he changed and is going to try.
"i don't know, jack. ive called airlines, too," neelam says with a shrug.
"i can't miss tomorrow," he says, staring blankly across the room at nothing. he chews on his bottom lip and shakes his head. "she's going to beat my ass."
"tell her it's my fault," neelam says. jack scoffs and lets out a light laugh.
"i love that energy from you, neelam, but she won't give a fuck. trust me," he says. neelam shrugs in agreement and jack takes a seat on the chair in the hotel room. "fuck!" he groans, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. thoughts of what sierra is going to do or say to him when he tells her he's not going to be able to see her float through his mind and make him sigh heavily.
"well, if you're going to tell her, do it now before it's too late. don't ruin her day tomorrow morning," neelam says. her answer is so practical and obvious, but the thought is too much for jack to handle. "cmon. she'll appreciate the honesty."
neelam doesn't know sierra deep down like jack, but he pulls himself out of the chair and goes into the bathroom for some privacy as he dials sierras number. it's 6pm, so she should be off of work and available.
"hey, babe," sierra says brightly when she picks up the phone. his heart swells and he feels guilty for it because he knows he's about to crush her, and possibly ruin a good thing. ever since that trip to kentucky, and after his grandmother pointed out that they should just solidify their relationship, sierra has been acting more like a girlfriend, like she used to. and even though jack hasn't asked her again, he plans to soon. unless he ruins everything.
"hey, sierra. how was your day?" he asks, keeping the conversation light and the panick out of his voice. it comes out smooth like he had intended, but he hopes she ignores the fact that he didn't greet her as excitedly as she did him.
"it was good; i'm just excited to see you tomorrow," he can practically hear the smile in her voice, and he hangs his head. he has never purposefully intended to be the cause of her pain and suffering, but it always seems to work that way.
there's a lull in the conversation, and jacks hesitance to answer gives him away. "you're playing," she says, like she's trying to convince herself that this is all a joke or a game.
"sierra..."
"are you fucking serious, jack?" she shrieks, her voice getting almost unnaturally high. jack sighs and she scoffs. "how long have you known you weren't going to be in atlanta tomorrow? and don't lie, because i swear i'll jump through this damn phone." she barks.
