Tattooed Tears (A Jack Gilinsky Fanfiction) ❤︎

27

*Jack's POV*

Recap:

"Danielle. Who broke you so badly?" I asked her and she looked up at me.

And at that moment, I saw the life leave her beautiful brown eyes, even if she was not dead.

She was quiet for about 16 seconds. I know that because when someone's quiet, I usually count how long it takes them to talk. I have some OCD in me.

Then she spoke. It was a broken speak but still a speak.

"About 9 years ago, I was 7 years old. I was just....living life like a 7-year-old. I was with my parents just like a normal family. One big happy family." She smiled at herself and I watched her intently. A smile really is a good look on her.

"My aunt called my mom one day and she was a mess. She was crying, she was just so hysterical. She had been trying for a baby. She had a boyfriend named James and they were going to get married. Then, after a lot of trying, she found out she was pregnant. She was beyond happy. I remember her coming over for dinner and she was crying with happiness. We were all so happy for her. Then, a month or two later she called my mom and she was crying again. She told her that James broke up with her because he wasn't ready to be a dad and wouldn't stay if she had the baby. She couldn't stop crying and my mom invited her to stay with us for a couple days or a week or two. She agreed and came over. She stayed with us for about a month. Throughout the course, she slowly became sadder every day. She really liked James. We all never thought that James would be the kind of guy to just leave a pregnant lady. But we were wrong." 

Danielle gulped down her tears and continued on.

"My aunt started seeing a therapist. She saw him for a while and eventually, she was diagnosed with depression and it was all because of James. She acted like she was okay but I think she was just trying to be strong for the baby inside her. She just went on with her life and acted like she wasn't a victim. Like she could handle all this, but she couldn't. And then it got worse. She didn't feel her baby kicking inside her for a couple days, so she went to the doctor for another ultrasound. She lost her baby that day to a miscarriage. That just made her depression worse. She never talked, she never ate. She told my parents that she wanted to go home but my mom said that there is no way she is going home. So my aunt stayed with us and grew sadder every day."

Dani fiddled with her cross necklace and then spoke again.

"My Aunt Belle really wanted a baby. My mom suggested that maybe she try for another. But my aunt said that she is done with men. She told my parents that she was thinking about adopting a child. My parents thought it was a brilliant idea. But my parents didn't want my aunt living alone with a child for safety purposes they told me. My aunt was still unstable. So that's what my aunt did. She adopted a 9-year-old boy and he lived with us. It was me, my mom, my dad, Aunt Belle, and Billy, her new son. She really loved him as if she gave birth to him herself. We all really liked him. He was a good boy, a nice kid" Dani gulped.

"Then...." Dani's voice shook. "Then one day, about a year later, my mom was driving to the west side of Chicago. And, if you don't know, that's a pretty bad area...She was shot 3 times in her head and died immediately."

"The police called us and told us we need to go to the hospital. We were all confused and super scared. We got to the hospital and some nurses pulled us into a room and did that thing, you know, the thing they always do in movies. Where they sit you down and tell you that they are truly sorry but we lost a family member. We were all crying, even Billy. Billy grew close to my mother too. My family got so much sympathy from everyone in town. It was terrible. I hate sympathy. Like, sure you're going to say that you're sorry for our loss but it's not like you can bring her back. And that's what everyone wanted. My dad was still my normal dad. He was just quieter and sadder. Same with my aunt. I didn't want to go out with my friends anymore because even though I was only 8 years old, they pitied me also. And I don't like pity parties. So I stayed inside most of the time. I went to school and then came right home. I only played with Billy and I only talked to my family. I isolated myself from the world and I felt like an outcast. I was so sick of people looking at me and whispering "that's the girl who lost her mom'. I only hung out with Billy. He was 10 and I was 8. I wanted a friend. A true friend. And Billy was the only one who really listened to me. He was my best friend. He talked to me, made me smile and laugh, he just really knew how to make me a happier person."