Dazed & Confused

Four

4.
"Dad? What are you doing?" A small Jack stood in the shadow of his father as he looked out the window. Light tear stains wear seen on the mans face.

Jack being a confused child, tugged at his fathers jeans hoping he would turn around and tell him what was going on.

"Jack. One day. Perhaps soon. I won't be around. I just want you to know that I've always loved you and that it was never your fault okay." As the man finished his sentence. He finally turned around, crouching to get at the same height as his son. He placed his hands on Jacks shoulders.

"Why won't you be here?" Jack asked, sorrow laced in his voice. He didn't want to loose his father. He loved him very much.

"One day you'll understand why I had to do what I'll have to do. Don't be mad or impatient. You'll be okay without me. Your mother will look after you and your sister will be by your side." He tried to explain. His eyes glazed over as he watched his sons eyes brim with tears.

"But I don't want you to go!" Jack said. His father wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

"Don't worry Jack. I'll always be watching over you. I'll never leave your side. I'll be in here always." He pulled back. Tapping on where Jacks heart would be.

"How about we get you back into bed shall we? What story haven't you read yet? His father tried to lighten the mood but it didn't work. Jack was still confused by the situation. Maybe a book would solve it.

"I haven't read Peter Pan yet!" Jack said. A weak smile planted on his face. His father picked him up and closed the door behind him.

"Great. I haven't either." The father smiled trying to lighten his son's mood. They walked into Jacks room until everything started fading darker. And darker.

"Jack??" A sweet voice was heard in the darkness. Pulling him to a light. "Jack." It repeated. Sounding familiar.

"JACK?" He finally opened his eyes to see the source of the voice. His phone. He finally remembered back to last night/ this morning when he called Elsa and she said she stay on the line. He didn't think she'd keep her promise.

"Elsa?" He replied to the voice. Hearing a loud sigh of relief from the other side.

"Finally. You were whimpering in your sleep like something was wrong. Are you okay?" She asked generally concerned about him.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I had a dream about my dad is all." He said simply. Kind of embarrassed that she had to hear him whimper in sadness.

"Anyway, it 11 am. Wanna do something. I'm kinda bored." She said with a huff of boredom causing a smile on Jacks face.

"Sure. How about you come to mine. I have some games we could play. Plus it would be nice to have some company over here for once." He said his idea. Hoping Elsa wouldn't refuse.

"Sure. That would be nice. I need a brake from my house anyway. I think my sister wants some alone time. Where should I meet you?" She asked. A brake would do both of them kindly.

"I'll meet you at the start of the coffee path. My house isn't far from there. About 10-15 minutes. Is that okay with you?"

"That's great. But tell me. Do you have hot chocolate at your house??" She asked with curiosity making out that it's an importance.

"Who do you take me as. Of course I have hot chocolate." He said in a dumbfounded/ sarcastic way. Chuckling straight after.

"Okay. I'll be there in about 20 minutes." She said ruffling was heard on the other side.

"That's fine. Just wear something warm. It's said to be very windy today. Apparently a storm might be coming. Just be safe." He said with slight concern. This weather was always the worst for sickness.

A light okay was heard before she hung up on him to get changed. 20 minutes. That gave him enough time to clean.

As he got dressed and made his bed. He still had 15 minutes to kill. So, he grabbed his coat and started to walk.

Time skip -->

Elsa had just arrived when she saw a light haired boy walk towards her.

"Hey Jack" she said, meeting him half way. He greeted her the same as they started to walk the direction he was coming from.

"So what games to you have?" She asked. From the first time he said games. Her mind wondered to what. Hoping they wouldn't be something stupid like monopoly or something.

"Chess. Checkers. Playing cards cause why not. We're a boring house that love the classic/ old fashioned games." He said. Poker type games were his favorite. His sister was always a cheat but he was able to out smart her and always win.

"There decent games actually. I'm good at chess. My dad taught me when I was little. He thought it was an important skill to have" she said with a smile. Remember back to when her dad used to teach her skill in like.

"Yeah my dad taught me too. He wasn't really that good and I was always able to beat him. But it was a good skill to have." He said also going through his memory's of being a child.

"So what do you do with the playing cards?" She asked. Curious if he played poker or maybe eights.

"We usually just make up a game that makes sense. No rules attached." Sighing. He gave Elsa a weak smile. Still sad about the memory of his father plus the dream he had this morning.

They soon arrived at a little cottage/ modern type house. It was small but Jack didn't mind. He lived in the loft with his own built off bathroom while everyone else had their own room downstairs. He decided to move upstairs once his step father moved in. Thinking he'd be in the way.

"Well this is me" he gestured to the house that stood in front of them. Elsa's eyes wondered to the surroundings. Jack lived in a forest like road. Only a few other houses like his stood but they were further apart. The fence that was joined by a tree each side was white, wrapped by a variety of different flowers. Well cared for.

"It's.... Beautiful" she said. Admiring how the house blended so perfectly into the background.

"Shall we go in?" He opened the gate looking at Elsas face. It lit up once he said that.

"Yes please" inspiration hit her like a tone of bricks. His house would go so well in one of her stories. The windows with diamonds and the thatched roof. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

As they walked through the door, every room had its own colour theme. His hall was wide. Straight ahead laid the kitchen attached to the back living room and a Conservatory. The the left from the front door was another living room and the right a dining room. The colour scheme was blue and white while the rest of the house was crimson and black. Apart from the kitchen that was lime and white.

The left side of the hall also had another room. As Jack opened it a corridor lead to three more doors while a small curved staircase cascaded from the loft to my right.

"I live up there" Jack pointed to where the stairs lead. A smile appeared on his face. "How about we make some hot chocolate and play a random game with the playing cards" he suggested. What could be better.

"Sounds fun" Elsa replied. Walking towards the kitchen. Jack following close behind. Today was going to be fun.
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