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Chapter 36 - almost impossible

Jess:

"I had a good day." Jack began as he hovered in the doorway while Jess took a seat on the edge of his bed.

She couldn't help but let her eyes wander around his room, still fascinated at how empty it all felt. There was no heart to its decoration and no inch of it showcased his personality in the slightest.

She knew that student houses were usually a little on the rough side and it took a lot of work sometimes to get them looking even remotely decent however, Jack hadn't even tried.

"Yeah me too." Jess finally looked up at him as he closed the door behind him and took a seat on the bed too. "Your brother is adorable."

"He can be." Jack chuckled and there was a moment of silence that caused the butterflies to come swarming back.

Nothing about this moment felt uncomfortable, it just felt intense, causing Jess to feel as though she needed to say something.

"I bet you missed him..." she began. "...he definitely missed you."

"Yeah, I did." Jack nodded as he turned to look at her and feeling his eyes on the side of her face, she briefly glimpsed his way. "It's just a shit situation because of my mum."

He didn't need to explain himself as Jess knew exactly what he was referring to. Brooklyn had been in tears when he found out their mum wasn't with Jack, because in his mind, that's where she had been all of this time.

"I bet it's difficult. He is so young."

"None of us help either. Me, Conor and my dad all dealt with it badly it's had a knock on effect on him."

Jess had the urge to smile in this moment, not because of what he was saying but because he was actually saying it. She'd heard what Conor had said to Jack about getting someone to talk to Brooklyn and she'd noticed how reluctant he had been at the whole idea however, was happy that he felt comfortable enough to bring this up with her.

She didn't expect him to come to her for advice or expect her to know all the right things to say but talking to anyone was always such a beneficial thing. Having someone there to just listen could be such a huge healer and she felt like that was exactly what Jack needed.

"Do you all talk about her much?" Jess asked and he began nodding his head.

"We try to... we want to keep her part of everything but it's not always easy because Brooklyn then starts asking questions."

"That I'm guessing you find difficult to answer?"

"Exactly." Jack replied as a small smile reached his lips. He appreciated how much she seemed to understand. She didn't throw her opinions his way and try to solve everything, she just understood. "I need to talk to my dad... Conor thinks we should get a professional to talk to him because we can't do it."

"I think that's a good idea." Jess reached out to place her hand on Jack's. "You shouldn't be too hard on yourself... all of you. None of what you went through was easy, so having to be supportive and do the right thing for your little brother was never going to be simple."

"I know... thank you." Jack gave her hand a squeeze before lifting it to his lips. "Next time I go home, you should come with me. My family needs someone like you around."

Jack's family home consisted of his dad and two brothers now that his mum was no longer around. They had other family not too far away but considering the Lawrence's were male biased, it didn't help the situation. They needed some female presence around for the comfort and gentle souls. They needed that naturally caring and maternal voice and love that was obviously being craved for.