Fight Left In Me ✔

{3} Remedy

Jo wakes up happy the next morning. She feels well-rested and like she belongs. She quickly gets ready before walking downstairs to look for Jake. 

She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. He looks up at her with sleepy eyes and his hair all messy. She can't help but giggle at seeing him like that. The man that seems in control at all times, turns out to be a simple mortal like everybody else.

"Are you laughing at me, missy?", he asks as he raises an eyebrow.

 She pretends to look shocked. "Me? I wouldn't dare." 

She winks at him and walks away giggling to get herself a coffee. As she walks back in and sits down at the table, he folds the newspaper up and puts it away. He looks at her, while deep in thought and she doesn't dare to speak. It feels like it's better to wait till he is ready to start the conversation.

He starts to talk after a few moments of silence. "Um... I think I need to tell you something about myself. But I am not really sure how to start. And I haven't talked about it much..." 

He runs his fingers through his hair, suddenly looking very insecure. She is not sure what to say or do, or if she wants to hear what he is about to tell her. The pain behind his eyes is evident, so it has to be something bad. 

He takes a deep breath and starts talking while avoiding eye contact. 

"I think you noticed yesterday... I was a little emotional when you told me about your day and how you felt like you were meant to end up here... I was. Emotional I mean. There was such a big change in you, compared to when you stumbled in here for the first time. I was so scared for you when I saw you that day. And I thought I recognized something. Which made me even more worried..."

He takes a sip from his coffee and carefully looks up at her to see how she is handling his story so far. She looks at him with soft eyes and nods at him, trying to get him to tell her more about himself. He starts talking again, making sure he doesn't stop, because she needs to hear this. And he sure as hell needs to talk to someone about it. 

"I had a sister, Jenny. She was seventeen when she died." 

He hears Jo hold her breath and his gaze drops to the table, afraid of breaking if he looks into her eyes.

"She ran away from home when she was sixteen. Well...she ran to a guy when she was sixteen. I had a really bad feeling about this guy. But I was already working and living on my own at the time. And our mother.. well simply put, they weren't getting along. To be honest I wasn't the best brother I could have been around that time in my life either. Very busy doing my own thing. Not realizing what was happening until it was too late." 

He takes a sip of his coffee and Jo can see a lot of emotion in his eyes. She would love to hug him but is afraid it will stop him from talking. And he really looks like he needs to talk about this.

His voice cracks as he continues his story. "My mother called me a few times. Telling me she was worried about Jenny. But I wasn't really listening to her. Then one night when I was about to leave the house to go out for drinks with my friends, my phone rang. It was Jenny. She whispered an address and told me to hurry. My heart froze, I just knew she was in serious trouble. I raced over there and when I arrived...." 

A tear slowly slides down his cheek, "I found her laying on the floor of her apartment. She was gone. My little sister was gone. I was too late." 

His shoulders start shaking as he covers his face with his hands. 

Jo gets up quickly and wraps her arms around him, planting a kiss on his hair. This big, strong man looks so lost, that all she can think of is hold him tight. She rubs his back as he cries for a long time before finally taking a jagged breath.