Curtain Call (Jake Sims)

Chapter 30

I woke up the next morning feeling like somebody sawed my stomach in half, then sewed it back together. I was in so much pain. I slowly and carefully got out of bed and wrote Beth a note that basically said I had to leave because I had rehearsal with Jake at noon. It was 11:25am by the time I left, and the first place I went was to the pharmacy so I could fill my prescription. The lady at the counter said it should be ready by 4pm. That means over four more hours with this pain. I groaned internally, but thanked her anyway and then went back to my car. Every move I made, even walking and driving, were ten times more difficult than I was prepared for. When I eventually pulled up at Jakes house, it was a little after 12pm, and I knew we would be alone since it's Friday. Before I could even reach his porch he opened his front door and looked at me worriedly. "Are you ok? You're ten minutes late." He said. "I'm fine. And technically I'm only seven minutes late." I rebutted as I walked inside. I really wanted to sit down and rest, but I knew it would be too painful to get back up, so I continued to stand. "So what happened?" He shut the door and looked at me, and I knew what he wanted to know. He wanted me to tell him what happened last night. Plus I promised I would tell him. I took a painful deep breath and then locked eyes with him. "Frank tried something with me but I ran away then he attacked me and I fell down the stairs." I said with one breath. "H-he hit you?" He asked, and I could see the rage in his eyes. I slowly nodded my head and waited for him to explode. Which he did. He reached out and grabbed the first thing he could, which happened to be a lamp, and tossed it acrossed the room making it shatter. I flinched at the sound, but slowly approached him, his hands were trembling with anger. "Jake, look at me." I whispered and grabbed his hands with mine. He closed his eyes at my touch and I could tell he was trying to calm down. "Look at me." I whispered again, and this time he opened his eyes and stared at me. "I'm ok. I promise." I said calmly. He began shaking his head but I spoke again before he could interject. "Believe me, I can take care of myself. I'm not as weak as everyone thinks." I gave him a small smile. "I don't think you're weak, but I know you can't hurt that bastard like I can." He said through gritted teeth. "Don't." I shook my head and tried to think of how to say this. "Please don't hurt Frank." I said. "What?" He looked at me like I just asked him to sell a baby on the black market. "For my mom. She doesn't know what happened and I don't want her to find out. She's happier than she's been in a long time." I pleaded. "Shannon, he's a fucking dirt bag! How can you let your mom stay with him?!" He yelled at me, and I flinched away from his harsh words. He noticed that he hurt me, but didn't apologize. "She's happy." Was all I said. "But you're not." He added, and grabbed my arm. "You shouldn't be scared in your own house." He said softly. "I'm not scared." I told him. It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't completely true either. I'm honestly a little nervous around Frank, especially when we're alone, but it's just something I have to deal with. "I call bullshit. You have three broken ribs and I can see the hint of a black eye from where he hit you." He stated. I didn't notice that I had a black eye, if I did I would have covered it up. "We need to rehearse." I said, trying to change the subject. "Nice. Let's just avoid the topic at hand because you don't want to talk about it. Very mature of you." He snapped. "Look, if you're just gonna be an ass the entire time I'm here, then I'll gladly leave." I replied sharply. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he let out a frustrated sigh and then looked away. "Let's practice." He said, and I nodded in agreement. I was willing to let everything go if he was.

***

"Barclay just texted me. The boys want to know if we wanna go to a concert tonight?" Jake asked me with a full mouth. Right now we're eating lunch and taking a much needed break from rehearsing. I thought for a second. A concert with Jake. Is that a good idea? "Who's playing?" I asked him. "Not sure. Some local band. I think they're called Enchanted Parkway." He replied. "Never heard of them. Are they supposed to be good?" I already decided I would go, but I know the more questions I ask, the more annoyed Jake would get and I just couldn't help myself. "Probably." He shrugged his shoulders. "Where's the concert at?" I looked at him curiously. "The pub on 38th street." He answered. "How many people are supposed to be there?" It was getting hard not to laugh. "Do I look like a fortune teller?" He asked. "Kind of." I nodded my head and he rolled his eyes. "Do you want to go or not? I need to let them know." He said, making me chuckle. "Sure, sounds fun." I answered and took a drink of my water. "Ok." He said, while typing a reply to Barclay. We finished our lunch around 2pm, and were getting ready to start practicing again before his mom walked through the door. When she seen me, she gave me a small smile and joined us in the kitchen. "Hey mom what are you doing here?" Jake looked at her. "I decided to come home for lunch. What are you guys doing?" She asked, looking from him to me. "Just practicing for theatre. By the way, I'll be home late tonight. We're going to a concert with the boys." He added. "Oh that'll be fun. Tell the boys to come say hi some time. I haven't seen them in ages!" She smiled. "I'll tell them you say hi." He smiled back. "Have you already met the boys?" She looked at me and I nooded my head. "I have. They're great." I felt awkward talking to her normally since the last time we spoke, she told me to give Jake another chance and I walked out on her. "Do you have a favorite?" She asked, almost like a school girl trying to figure out who her best friend likes. "Personally I love Tom. Such a kind young gentleman." She smiled adoringly. "My favorite has to be Reece, or Casey. They're both pretty awesome." I said. "What about me?" Jake gaped at the fact neither of us said his name. "What about you?" His mom replied jokingly and he gave her a little push. We all laughed and then Jake got up to go to the bathroom. As soon as he was gone, his mom looked at me. "Don't hurt him." She whispered. I was shocked at her straightforwardness, but even more shocked that she thought I was capable of hurting him. "I...I l-love him. There's no way I would ever hurt him." I stuttered nervously. That was the first time I'd ever said those words outloud and now that I said them, I can't take them back. Not that I want to, but it makes it so much more real. Atleast I could pretend I wasn't in love with him, but now his mom knows. "Have you told him that?" She asked and I shook my head no. "You should." She smiled just as Jake rejoined us. "Should what?" Jake asked once he sat down next to me. "I was just telling Shannon that she should wear her hair down for the concert." His mom replied, and Jake nodded his head in understanding. "Alright, well we should probably get back to rehearsing." Jake said, looking at me. "Yeah we should." I slowly got down off the stool and walked with Jake to his room. "She likes you." Jake said once the door was shut behind us. "I like her too." I said and slowly began to sit down on the bed, trying my best not to groan in pain. "Do you need help?" He asked when he noticed me struggling. "I got it." I shook my head and finished sitting down. He sat down next to me and all I wanted to do was rest my head against his shoulder and take a nap. "I thought we were gonna practice?" He said quietly. "We will. I'm just really tired." I said, and gave into myself and rested my head on his shoulder. "The concert starts at seven. Do you want me to take you home so you can get a nap in before we go?" He asked. I really did want to take a nap, but I didn't want to go home. Frank's home. "Can I nap here?" I asked quietly, and he must have understood why I asked because he put his fingers under my chin amd forcede to look at him. "You can stay here whenever you want. I don't care what time it is, what day it is, or anything. You need me, I'm here." He said firmly. I felt my heart swell in my chest at his words, and it was hard not to cry. Nobody has ever cared for me this much, and it feels amazing. "I'm sorry for flipping out on you." I apologized. "Which time?" He joked, and I punch him lightly in the stomach making him chuckle. "You know what I'm talking about." I whispered and felt him nod his head. "It's ok. I would have done the same thing." He said, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me closer. "I donte want to talk about this right now." I said quietly, and grabbed his free hand with mine. "Ok." He whispered, and we sat there for what felt like hours, just enjoying the others presence and loving the moment.

***

SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I'VE BEEN REALLY BUSY. HOPEFULLY I CAN GET BACK TO MY USUAL UPDATE SCHEDULE NOW. I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED THIS CHAPTER! SHAKE IS FINALLY REKINDLING THEIR RELATIONSHIP!! YAY! WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK IS GONNA HAPPEN AT THE CONCERT? ANYTHING INTERESTING? VOTE AND COMMENT! xx