{Did You Notice?} COMPLETE ✅

~Day 18~

Jack POV

What do you do when something you love is fading away?

Do you run and cry and grab for any fleeting loose ends to hold onto; pull them back desperately with aching arms and an aching heart? 

Or do you let them sink, watching them pool at the bottom until you can't see them anymore? Until they are the darkness, and the thing you loved is barely a trace of dust in the wide spectrum of things. Like you can blow the carnage away with a heavy breath and off it goes into the night until nothing- nothing is left of them. Is survival futile? It escapism a fad? Can you truly save those who are truly broken? 

She's still here, but she isn't really. She's like translucent silk- there in reality but not there really. Not when you look close enough. She's quite happy. I can see it in her eyes. It makes my heart crumple. Why?

Because she looks like she's been offered eternal happiness, but the man who offered it to her was the devil.

Yet, she smiles and she laughs and jokes around with us like she isn't hanging on by a loose thread. Her collarbones jut painfully and her skin is pale as snow but she still smiles at us like we are her angels sent to offer her hope. In a way, perhaps we are. I just hope we have enough strength to hold her in case she topples and falls and we can't catch her in time.

I don't know why I'm worrying so much- I'm probably going crazy. Maybe she is recovering. I'm not used to seeing recovery- it's going to look strange to me. Jace has mentioned nothing out of the ordinary about her recently so perhaps I really am going crazy. I turn to her next to me in the last lesson of the day- we're watching some documentary, and she flashes me one of her classic grins. It's playful and mischievous. It looks so real. It has to be real. Be happy Jack.

Be happy for her.

Me and Jace have been looking out for her constantly, but she seems to be getting better. Maybe she's getting help. Maybe now she's finally ready to face the world. It brings a smile to my lips. Maybe we can all be strong together now.

We walk home together today, and it's quite possibly the most fun I've had in months. We're buzzing with energy and excitement for finally kicking our exams in the ass. We laugh and reminisce old times- the good times, and we toast with coca cola cans raised to the great times to come. We're going to make it. This is it. We're getting there at last.

At last we reach the gate overlooking her grandparents' house, and she hugs both tight so we feel her speeding heart beneath her chest. It's almost desperate, but I think she can feel this energy too. She pulls away and smiles adoringly at us both with a large beam. "My boys. What wonderful specimens you are." She smiles and a haze forms in her eyes before she shakes it away. "Take care will you? The first exam is tomorrow. Be ready."

Jace laughs and looks at her fondly, a deep rooted emotion swirling in his cobalt eyes. "We will. You take care too alright?"

She nods with a confidence in her eyes that I have never seen before. I smile. "Oh I will. Goodbye boys," she calls before retreating through the door, waving to us one last time before shutting it behind her. We wave back, simply standing there for a second.

"Since when does she goodbye?" Jace asked jokingly, but it's laced with an undeniable hint of worry. We can't help but worry a little bit. I chuckle, but it comes out nervous.

"I don't know, but we're worrying like overbearing parents. Let's go."

Jace laughs at that softly. "Yeah. She's supposed to be our mum anyway," he remarks, and we both chuckle.

It's all going to be okay.