Fallen

Chapter Twenty Four

After a long day at the café, I was relieved to finally put the closed sign on the door. My feet were sore from standing behind that till all day and I felt as though my brain was on 5%, trying its hardest to work despite not having a chance to recharge. It made my eyelids heavy and my bones even heavier. I'd been in this café every day this week and with seeing Blaine again and Maria for the last time, the sadness made sleeping an Olympic sport. The funeral brought back a rush of memories, happy ones that hurt when I thought of them. The problem was I had Blaine on my mind more often than I'd like to admit, and I wasn't sure how to stop it.

As I turned around with a long sigh, Mark appeared from the back room and let his smile fell when he saw me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded and rubbed at my temple as he approached me. He had his serious face on and his hands clasped the tops of my arms.

"There's something you're not telling us about," he stated. "Dee and I are worried about you."

I put on a smile. "I'm fine. Honestly."

"How are you sleeping?"

"Fine, I'm sleeping fine..."

Mark could sense my irritation and stopped pushing me. He knew me better than anyone, realising the more he pushed the slower he'd get through to me. He'd supported me during the toughest moments of my life, held me when my mum left, helped me revise for my exams at school, distracted me with trips to the park when Ellie and mum were screaming at each other in the house. Despite his own troubles, he never failed to approach me with a smile and some comforting words.

I began to relax a little when he pulled me into one of his warm hugs and stroked the back of my head. That was our silent signal that we were there for each other. I smiled into his chest and squeezed my arms around him. He was almost like the brother I never had.

We only hugged for a moment before the door flew open behind me, narrowly missing the back of my legs. I turned to see Jackson stood there glancing from me to Mark. His dark eyebrows were drawn together.

"Hey," Mark said, trying his best to break the awkward silence. "You okay, pal?"

Jackson stared at Mark for a few seconds before smiling. "Of course. I just came to pick up my lady. What are you two up to?"

"Mark was just making sure I was okay," I explained.

Jackson didn't reply. Thankfully, Danielle came out of the back room just in time.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said. Jackson was still staring at Mark.

"Are you ready?" Mark asked Danielle. She nodded and swung her bag over her shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Anna," she said.

"Have a good evening," I called before the door shut behind them. I told Jackson to make himself comfortable as I disappeared into the back room to get my things, but the door soon opened again behind me. Jackson appeared, watching me put my water bottle into my bag. He'd still not said anything. I put my bag on my back.

"Is something wrong? You're very quiet."

He met my gaze and opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly stopped himself. "Nothing's wrong. Just had a long day. Are you ready to go?"

I nodded and we left the café in silence. He carried on striding across the grass as I locked the front door so I had to practically run to meet up with him. I noticed his fists were tight and he looked angry. As we got into his car, I bit the inside of my cheek and quietly put on my seatbelt. Jackson was gripping the steering wheel and staring ahead of himself. I'd not seen him like this before.