A little too late

Chapter 53

I sit on Jacks lap quietly and wait for him to speak. He looks at me completely serious. When he doesn’t say anything, I turn around and start watching more and more of his videos. The more videos I watch, the more I just fall in love with him.

He stays completely silent the whole time as I watch video after video. Hours have to have passed and he hasn’t said a word. He doesn’t laugh at the funny parts or even smile when something ridiculous happens. To be honest, I don’t even think he’s watching the videos with me. Every once in a while I turn over and I’ll see him looking at me and not the video. But even when I look at him, he still doesn’t say anything.

Once I’ve finally watched the last video, I turn around and look at him so that he’s forced to look me in the eyes. I stretch my arms out wide and yawn.

“What time is it?” I finally ask him. He moves his head to look behind me on his computer screen.

“About ten thirty” He replies to me. I nod my head.

“I guess I should go home, it’s getting pretty late” I tell him.

He lifts up his shoulders cutely, “You can stay here if you want?”

I give him a little smile, “Nah, I think my parents would freak... Can you give me a ride home?”

“Yeah, I guess” He tells me. I nod once again and then stand up. He stretches out his legs once I’m off him. They must be so sore. I sat on him for over three hours straight.

He gets up off the chair and walks to his walk in wardrobe. He pulls out some clothes and starts to put them on. While he does that, I take a quick look at what I’m wearing. I can’t go home in this. I’m wearing his shirt with no bra underneath plus a pair of his boxer shorts. I think my parents, or even my brothers, would kill Jack if he bought me home in this.

“Uhm Jack, have you got like some pants I can borrow?” I ask him. He turns around and reaches into a draw before he pulls some pants out and throws it in my direction. I put them on and look at myself in the mirror. At least this looks a bit better than what I was wearing before. You can still tell that I’ve got no bra on but I guess this will have to do.

As if he could read my mind, Jack comes up to me and puts a jumper over my head. He slides it down so that it covers my chest.

“Thanks” I tell him.

He grabs his car keys off his desk and walks to his door. He pulls on the door and holds it open for me. I look at him silently for a moment.

“Jack?” I ask him. He looks me directly in the eye and waits for me to continue. I take a breath and say, “Are you pissed off at me?”

He takes a sigh and says “No, Stella I’m not”.

“Then why are you so quiet?” I ask him. He lets go of the door and walks up to me. He puts his arms around me and takes me in for a cuddle.

He starts to whisper in my ear, “It’s hard for me to talk about them... It takes its toll on me Stella”.

I grab on to him tighter, “It’s just me Jack”.

“I know baby, but, it’s just... talking about them to anyone in general is so hard” He tells me.

I look at him with sad eyes, “I’m sorry”.

“Not your fault that my family’s so fucked up” He says back to me. My heart aches for him. He doesn’t blame me for any of his pain and that’s so beautiful. I give him a little kiss on the cheek and he just closes his eyes. I move forward and kiss his lips gently. His eyes stay closed but he responds into the kiss by returning it.

“I love you Jack. Never forget that” I reassure him. He nods his head and kisses my nose. A little smile comes to my lips and I grab on to his hands.

“Come on, take me home” I instruct him as I pull him towards the door. I open it up and walk outside with him. I lead him down the stairs and towards the front door before I stop in my tracks. I have an idea and Jack can’t know about it. I quickly think of a plan to get away from Jack.

I turn to face him before saying, “wait here, I just want to get a drink of water”. He lets go of my hand and leans against the door. I walk away from him and into the kitchen. Once I’m out of his sight, I frantically start looking around. I look on the kitchen table for a phone number or something that will help me out. Nothing.

I look on top of the fridge and in the cupboard quickly. The door makes a little squeak and I start to panic. I turn my head as I hear Jacks voice.

“The cups are in the top cupboard Stells” He shouts. I look to find him and he is still standing at the door. Thank God. He can’t know what I’m trying to find.

“Thanks babe” I shout out. I open the cupboard and grab out a cup. I walk to the fridge and put a little ice in my cup. I at least have to pretend that I’m getting water otherwise he’ll get suspicious. I’m about to turn around and get some water from the fridge when a business card catches my eye. I’ve finally found what I’m looking for. I take a good look at the card.

Rebecca Frayn

Screenwriter and Novelist

Office 1, 15 Bay Street, London

I snatch the card from the fridge and shove it in the underwear line of the boxers. I quickly walk to the sink and open the tap. I let the water run and then I throw my ice in the sink. With that, I walk back to Jack and pretend like nothing had happened.