Start Again

Part 15

"You wanted to see me and you haven't said a word to me yet."

"I know, I'm sorry. I just... I want to take a minute to just look at you." Jack said, sitting across from Stevie at a small café they had agreed to meet. It was a public place and people were definitely whispering, but Stevie was too nervous to notice any of them. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. Didn't I tell you that we'll see each other again?" Jack smiled, placing his hand over Stevie's. She didn't pull it away.

"To be honest, I didn't believe you." Stevie admitted something they both already knew. "It's... I'm not sure how this makes me feel." She showed between them. 

"Well, I know it makes me happy, being here with you right now."

Stevie breathed out heavily as she crossed her arms over her chest and her gaze shifted from Jack. "Why did you come back? What do you want from me? Do you have some sort of expectations?"

"Did I make a mistake, showing up at your doorstep?" Jack frowned, sitting back in his seat. "Doesn't seem like you've missed me at all."

"Of course, I have." Stevie hissed. "But you broke my heart, when you left, Jack. I just... I tried to forget you. I thought you and I were serious. I loved you and I never truly loved anyone after-"

"After Lindsey, yeah, I heard about it a thousand times."

"You couldn't have come back at a worse time." Stevie said, shaking her head slightly. 

"What do you mean by that? What's going on?"

"Lindsey and I are working on us. Were maybe, I don't know." She shrugged, sipping her latte that had gone cold by now. "He's got no idea who you are, but I know him, I know he already sees you as a threat. He's going to be jealous again and everything will get ruined."

"You didn't tell him that we used to date?"

"I haven't really told anyone about us. That's why things were great between us. And speaking of Lindsey, you told him we were a thing. That stung by the way. A thing, Jack?"

"I'm sorry, I was taken aback too, seeing him at your house. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to tell him that you and I were engaged." They both grew quiet for a moment, before Jack was the one to speak up again. "I'm sorry for showing up again, Stevie. Clearly, you've got someone else on your mind. I just thought that maybe, you know, that there still was something left between us. I think it's best if-"

"I didn't say there wasn't still something left between us..." Stevie admitted, however she said it so quietly, Jack wasn't sure he heard it right. "Don't look so surprised."

"Well, I am." Jack gave a shrug of his shoulders. "It wasn't easy for me either, Stevie. In any way. You weren't the only one who cried, when I had to go. You weren't the only one nervous coming here today. I barely slept last night, thinking about seeing you again. I didn't know what to expect from this meeting and no, I had no expectations. I just wanted to see you to begin with." Leaning over the small table, Jack cradled her hands in his. "Stevie, I didn't stop loving you. I want you to know that, but again, you don't owe me anything. If you and Lindsey are trying to resolve your issues, great. I'm happy for you. You told me, you loved me. You said yes, when I asked you to marry me, but..." Smiling sadly, Jack added. "But I'm not an idiot, I've always known that Lindsey will always come first to you."

"I loved you, I really did." Stevie said, after a minute of silence between them. "I had given up on Lindsey by then. You were the man, who showed me that maybe I could be happy with someone else. You were the only man I allowed to get so close. I trusted you, Jack. And then you left."

"And it hurts me to this day that I had to, Stevie. I'm so so sorry I had to leave." 

"Did you have though? Or did you want to leave?" Stevie sniffled, wiping under her eyes with the back of her hand. 

"Stevie... we've been over this so many times. I thought it was the right thing to do, baby."

"No, don't call me that." She shook her head, glaring at him. She softened up quickly. "You're right, it was something you felt you had to do. And you had to. I shouldn't blame you for anything and I shouldn't be angry at you over it, just... I thought, I might get my fairy tale ending at last." She looked at him tearfully and it broke his heart to see her like that. "I think, it's best if I go." Stevie stood up, ready to head outside, where Karen was waiting for her the whole time.

But Jack grasped her hand before she got too far away from him. "Is this... over? I mean-" He stuttered, unsure of what else to say. "Is this a goodbye? Can I see you again and really talk? To at least get some closure?"

Stevie lingered for a moment longer, then walked away, without an answer to any of Jack's questions.