The Complicated Jason McCann [on hold]

Chapter 7 - "Learning"

Hey readers, I'd love to thank you all for the votes and the encouraging reviews. I love you all and your reads, votes and reviews are one of the main reasons I've stuck to writing. You're encouragement means the world to me and are the reason I don't give up on my dream.
Thank you, <3

-Jason-

I pulled back the cream coloured curtains, just enough to look outside with one eye. I watched the police car roll slowly past the house and my heart raced. I quickly let the curtain fall back into place and I fell back onto my bed. They didn’t know I was inside, they were just patrolling, but the fact that they were so close made me nervous. I wasn’t scared, however.

“Jason McCann doesn’t get scared.” I mumbled to myself, twirling my phone with my fingers.

I had easily managed to track down Sophie’s number, which seemed to surprise her. She didn’t know what I was capable of. If she was shocked at something small as that, then I didn’t see her sticking around long.

“Jason?” Ralph peeked around the corner of the door.

I wasn’t used to being called Jason by adults; everyone seemed to address me by my last name. I didn’t know if it was a sign of respect or it just caught on. Considering Timothy Johnson was the one to call me that most I was leaning away from the respect option.

“Yeah?”

“Lunch is on the table, come on.”

I was starving so I nodded and followed him down the hallway to the kitchen. I liked staying here; it beats the warehouse any day.

“Looks delicious, thanks.” I nodded towards Ralph as I took a seat on the wooden chair.

I took a bite of the sandwich and sat silently, thinking to myself. Sophie was still on my mind. Having a friend was a weird unknown feeling but I liked it. I was trying something new. It was a risk but I loved a risk. Maybe that’s why she was on my mind; maybe it was the thought of something new.

More importantly, it got my brother off my mind and that’s all that mattered. She would help me get over the loss and I couldn’t be more appreciative I couldn’t bring myself to say any of this out loud; I wasn’t a feelings type of guy.

Keeping things bottled up was the way I was taught. Whether it was wrong or right, it was easier for me.

***

-Sophie-

I frowned at the text Jason had sent me. I couldn’t imagine the hurt he felt right now.

‘I couldn’t attend my brother’s funeral yesterday; it was the hardest thing I’ve had to do.’

I knew Jason didn’t like sharing his feelings so I knew how much it hurt him. It was painful enough for him to convince himself to text me. I didn’t need to ask him why he couldn’t attend the funeral, I already knew. He had to stay in hiding, which confused me a lot. Why did he risk his life by meeting me at the tree almost every day?

‘Do you want to talk to me about it, Jason?’

I leant against the frame of my queen sized bed and threw my phone aside, waiting for the familiar message tone to arrive. Why would he risk his life to see me?

Because I was helping him, right.

He was hurting and he needed a friend, that’s what it was.

‘Meet me at the tree in twenty minutes?’

‘Of course.’

***

I sat next to Jason who looked more upset than ever. This was finally getting to his head, he was finally realising that Alex wasn’t coming back.