𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞, gilinsky

Twenty-Three

Casey

Nate had told me everything. Every little detail I had to know. I was shocked to hear he was involved into the gang life as well, but it wasn't more surprising than when I found out Jack had joined a gang.

I just blankly stared at floor. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what was going to happen next, what's going to happen between Jack and I. After all, he's the reason I almost died in that creepy house.

"Casey, everything will be fine," Nate tried to assure me, but after all these years, I had finally realised nothing will be fine, "What happened to Sam?" I asked. Nate told me about how he took down the entire gang, but did that mean he murdered Sam as well?

"I told him to leave this town. Forever. He needs to clear his head," Nate informed me. I sighed dramatically, until Alex suddenly came to mind, "Alex? Where's Alex?" I asked, already starting to panick. Nate put a hand on my shoulder, "He's with Johnson, don't worry. I informed Johnson when you were still unconscious," Nate assured me.

"We don't deserve to be parents. We will only cause misery in Alex' life," I sighed, feeling like crying again, yet there were no tears forming in my eyes. We heard a door open and turned around, only to see Jack staring at us wide-eyed.

"I think I'll leave you two to talk, Casey, if you need me, call me," Nate gave me a serious look, before heading out the door. Jack walked closed and sat down on Nate's previous spot, "You're alive," He whispered, touching my face as if to confirm I was a real human. I noticed his red, puffy and swollen eyes, his knuckles were covered with blood and his shirt was dirty.

"I am so sorry, Casey, I never thought this would happen, I get it if you want to leave me for good now, I get it if you want to take Alex away from me. I don't deserve you or Alex, I don't deserve anyone, I only cause problems-" I cut Jack off by kissing him on the lips, slowly and passionately. I didn't know what had triggered the feelings I was feeling at this moment, but I felt like this was the right thing to do.

Jack didn't kiss back at first. I felt his muscles tense up, but soon his hands found my cheek and he returned the kiss. We kissed passionately for a minute, before pulling away to catch our breath. I stared at my fingers, "W- why did you do that?" Jack asked in shock. I could hear by the weak tone in his voice that he was tearing up. I forced myself to lock my eyes on my fingers, knowing that if I looked up and saw Jack cry, I would be an emotional mess.

"I had a lot of flashbacks when I was in that house, most of the flashbacks being with you and I realised something while I was mentally preparing myself to die," I started as Jack put his hand in mine. He gave me a soft squeeze, telling me to continue, "We're far from perfect. We're not an ordinary couple, arguing over ordinary things. But even through everything we went through, I wasn't able to say I didn't love you," I added, Jack stayed quiet.

"Despite everything, I still love you," I couldn't hold myself in anymore, a tear rolled down my cheek. I felt Jack lifting up my chin. His eyes were red and layered with fresh tears, but he was smiling through them. I smiled through my tears as well, through the pain.

"You're not just my husband or the father of my son, you're my best friend, my soulmate and I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone else," I finished as I placed another kiss on Jack's lips.

After our emotional moment, we decided to get ourselves together and visit Johnson as soon as possible. I don't know what Nate had told him, but I'm sure he was just as confused as I was before Nate explained - especially now Sam had left the town.

I took a shower and changed into the simplest outfit I could find. I waited for Jack to get ready and joined him in the car as we drove towards Johnson's apartment. I took one deep breath before knocking on his door. The door soon swung open, revealing Johnson with Alex in his arms, it was the cutest sight ever.

"You're fine," Johnson sighed in relief when he saw the both of us smiling at our son. He let us in and handed me Alex, a warm feeling shooting through my body. Alex' innocent eyes observed me, the biggest smile on his face, "I think he missed his mom, he wouldn't stop crying during the night," Johnson said to ease the tension in the room.

"I'm sorry for leaving Alex with you and I'm sorry for not informing you about what had been going on," Jack apologised, earning a sympathetic smile from Johnson, "Nate explained, I'm glad you're doing well," Johnson said, looking at me. I felt the urge to ask about Sam, but Jack beat me to it, "Did you hear anything from Sam?" Jack asked, Johnson's mood suddenly changing.

"He packed his bags and left, I don't know where. He told me it was for the best and that one day he might return," Johnson told us. Deep down I hoped he would never return. I didn't want to see him ever again, I had given him enough chances. I thought he had changed, but he was still the same psycho as in high school.

"I feel like we should celebrate you guys surviving," Johnson tried to cheer us up, "You guys can have your boys night, I think I want to spend my day with this precious, little baby," I said as I brushed my nose against Alex' nose.

"I'm not leaving you alone again, Johnson can come over to our place and we can have a movie night or something," Jack suggested instead to which we both agreed to. Everything seemed to fall back into place again, but I wasn't fully convinced of being safe. I think I would have to live with a constant fear of being kidnapped again or maybe being murdered again.

As soon as we arrived at our aparment, I put Alex to sleep and joined the boys as they were setting up a movie. I laid down next to Jack and cuddled up to his chest. He had his arm around me protectively and placed a kiss on my head, "You know, I've never seen a relationship stronger than yours and it makes me jealous sometimes," Johnson said, adding a chuckle, but his words made me freeze. Johnson noticed the sudden change in my behaviour, "But don't worry, I'm not Sammy 2.0," He assured me, knowing what I was thinking.

I forced a smile on my face and laid my head on Jack's chest again. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, but it felt too comfortable to open them again, so I decided to take a nap instead.

I was exhausted.

•

Aww, everything seems so perfect now. We're nearing the end, which makes me sad to be honest, because this means the end of the Zone series.

So no, there won't be a 4th book for those who were wondering. :(

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