Echoing J.A.C.I.E. (All Time Low Fanfiction | Jack Barakat)

Chapter 30

I woke up to sunlight entering through the curtains and an empty bed. Jack's side only housed crumpled up sheets. The mattress wasn't even warm anymore. I turned around sleepily to check the time, wondering if I overslept. But it was only six-thirty in the morning. I shifted onto my back again, my eyes falling on the bathroom. The door was open, the lights turned off.

I breathed out heavily and looked up at the ceiling. I didn't know where Jack was, and I had no clue why he'd even be up. But something told me it wasn't simply because he needed some water. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to know. All I wanted was to get some sleep. Yet, not going out to find Jack also wasn't an option.

I climbed out of bed, throwing a fluffy blanket around my shoulders to keep me warm. My feet felt cold against the wood floor as I quietly stepped out into the living area. Unfortunately for me, Jack was nowhere to be found there. I could already tell from the doorway, the room really wasn't that big.

Still, I tiptoed further into the living room, looking around to see if I could spot any sign of Jack. And that's when I saw a figure through the front window. He was sitting out all alone on the porch, staring out into the distance, steam coming from the mug in his hands. Part of me wanted to reach out, to ask how he was doing. But I knew that would fall on deaf ears.

Nothing I could do would help. We were stuck in this endless loop.

I gave up. I couldn't take it on anymore. I had tried so hard. All my energy had gone into Jack the past month and a half and I was so fucking tired.

My eyes lingered on him before I turned around to enter the kitchen. It was too much work to make myself a cup of tea, and I wasn't going to have coffee if my intention was to go back to bed. So, I settled on a glass of water.

The glass was cold to the touch as I slowly sipped its contents. I wondered about my future. It was starting to look so much different than I had planned. The plans had changed so many times, but I never thought this could have been a reality. I knew there'd be challenges, but I didn't think they'd be able to break us.

I didn't even notice Jack coming back inside again.

"Oh," he greeted as he closed the door behind himself. "Morning. I hope I didn't wake you up."

I shook my head briefly, but gently, acknowledging his question, yet not looking in his direction. My focus stayed on my water, a knot in my throat already forming. Jack didn't seem to mind much and approached me. When he went to kiss my cheek, I recoiled from the touch and took a step away.

"Jace?" he frowned, stopping in place.

I didn't respond and put my glass down on the counter instead. His presence was too close to me. Before I got too overwhelmed, I decided to remove myself from the situation. I woke up wanting to go back to sleep, so that was exactly where I was heading.

Before I could get out of reach, Jack grabbed hold of my hand in an attempt to prevent me from leaving. I shrugged his grip off of me, pulling my arm back to my side.

"Jacie..." he sighed.

And then I snapped. All the pent up frustration and anger from the past two months erupted straight to the surface. I turned around, finally making eye contact with him. He looked so confused.

"This fucking sucks, Jack!" I yelled.

He was taken aback, the confusion tripling. "What?"

"This wasn't supposed to fucking happen." The tears were already prickling my eyes as the words tumbled out. "We just had our wedding. I was supposed to go to London and do some really cool shit. Things were supposed to be looking good for us. I wasn't supposed to fucking get pregnant!"