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Chapter 60 - my dad wouldn't wake up

"You alright?" Jack's voice caught Jess' attention as she made her way down the corridors of uni.

Everywhere seemed weirdly busy today and that meant getting anywhere without finding yourself stuck behind slow walkers seemed almost impossible. However, Jack had somehow managed to find Jess among the sea of people and swept in beside her.

"Oh, hey!" Jess turned to catch that small smile on his face, one that was a little more refreshing than his usual cocky one.

It seemed as though her trip home with Jack had released a lot of tension he had previously been feeling. As a result, some of the barriers he had been holding up had seemed to dissolve.

Jess had seen a huge part of Jack's life while being in his home and she had quickly realised how tough it was. The past year hadn't been easy and getting to grips with his mum passing away had negative impacts on the whole family.

"I didn't see you yesterday, I was hoping I hadn't completely scared you off." Jack teased however, Jess could sense the edge of seriousness to his voice.

He was worried that exposing her to his family life back home had truly scared her off. He had never shown anyone else that side of him and therefore, hadn't been prepared for what would follow. However, Jess really was far from scared and instead she felt a desperate need to be there for him.

"No, you didn't at all. I didn't have uni, so I just cooped myself in my room trying to get some reading done." She replied, while providing Jack with a warm smile to try and clear the nerves that were still clearly lingering. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm good."

Even though Jack forcefully tried to hide the weird mood surrounding him, he had failed in Jess' mind and she read right through it. Studying Psychology was due to a personal choice of interest however, that wasn't the only reason, she was also incredibly good at reading people.

"What's wrong?" She asked, hoping to urge it out of him but it wasn't going to be that simple.

"Nothing, I'm good. Why?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"You seem a little... I don't know... like, not yourself."

Jack began unexpectedly chuckling as he looked to the ground before back to Jess once again. 'Not himself' implied he wasn't acting like his usual cocky and annoyingly flirty self, and he knew she probably saw that as a good thing.

"It's just home stuff. That's all."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jess asked cautiously, knowing this was a sensitive subject for him however, now she had been in his home and witnessed it for herself, she felt like she understood a lot better.

"Nah, it's fine. Don't you have a lecture to be in or something?" Jack's eyes dropped to the notepad Jess had hugged to her body.

Looking down to it, she then looked ahead to the lecture hall she had previously been heading for.

"That's not important. Let's go and talk somewhere."

Taking hold of Jack's arm, she began guiding him towards the street cafe with no intentions of stopping. She knew he was about to try and prevent her from doing so however, she could also tell he really needed someone to talk to.

"Jess, you shouldn't skip your lecture." Jack muttered, as he just stood beside the table she had claimed for them.

"Oh, since when did you become so insistent on attendance, Jack Lawrence?" She teased, watching a smile form across his lips.