Jack's Last Summer

Part 16

When Jack returned, things changed.

If his face were the sea, reflected Skylar, the group would be lost sailors in that vast ocean.

David wheeled him into the house slowly, as if every bump pained his son whose face was white as a sheet. There was a blanket draped over his legs and a pallid sheen to whatever skin was showing.

“Jack!” Skylar ran to him from where she sat reading the semi-archaic stories of H.P. Lovecraft.

“Hello!” He smiled faintly and returned her gentle peck on the cheek.

“How are you feeling?” David gave the couple a quick glance over and left the room, running his hands over his stubbly chin as the thought. Jack took Skylar’s hand in his and mulled over his response in his head.

“Alright, I guess. Honestly I feel like an old man. My body doesn’t do what I want it to do anymore. They said I might have another high, or at least a plateau. But hey, I’m no expert. I’m just a patient little patient.” He winked at Skylar, who tried to remain stern but gave a tiny, breathy laugh.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” She asked him, cowering a little at the thought of carrying him.

“I guess that would be nice. Grab some snacks though, will you? You can tuck em in here, I’ve got a little pocket for assorted goodies.” He winked again.

Skylar returned, slipped some food into a small fabric slip in the wheelchair and began pushing Jack towards the creaky narrow stairwell. He gave a little ‘hmmm’ of thoughtfulness and tapped his lip with his fingertips. Together they assessed how the weak girl could help the weaker teenage boy up the stairs.

“There’s no way around it I spose.” Jack shrugged and grasped the stairway handrail, making a move to heave himself out of the chair.

“Jack! No! I’ll go get your dad, or Seth and Kyle.” Skylar scolded him in a panicked voice.

“Nah, nah, I’m still a functioning human,” He wrapped his fingers around the railing and began to slowly make his way up the stairs. “Plus,” Added Jack as he rested on the fifth step, “I want to spend as much time with you as possible.”

Slowly, ever so slowly, they made their way up the stairs, with Skylar both dragging the wheelchair and watching over Jack like a hawk lest he fall backwards. Ten… Nine… Eight... She counted the remaining stairs in her head to keep calm. Seven… Six… Five…. Four…. Three… Jack took a deep breath and a short break before continuing. Three... Two… One…. Blastoff. Quickly Skylar slipped the wheelchair onto the final landing and helped Jack sit back into it.

At the top of the stairs they both caught their breath in shallow breaths, and Skylar resumed pushing Jack along the hallway and into his bedroom. The wheelchair creaked loudly when he shifted his weight and settled down once more. Beyond that, the screams and splashing of the rest of the gang was audible down at the beach. Ghost barked as loudly as a tiny puppy could, and Skylar imagined him running back and forth along the sand, too scared to wet more than his paws yet enough of a self-imagined hero that he was ‘saving’ his people from the huge ocean monster that rushed over the sand with a roar.

Skylar gave Jack a steadying hand as he climbed onto the fluffy top blanket of his bed, turning weakly to arrange the multitude of pillows into a backrest with shaking hands. Skylar clambered slowly onto the bed to sit facing him, legs crossed. She folded her hands in her lap nervously and took the apple that Jack offered her and they sat together, the air unbroken by spoken words. Ghost continued barking in the distance and a soft breeze floated through the partially open window, bringing with it the fresh smell of the seaside. After a while Skylar moved to the pillows beside Jack and began nibbling on her apple.

“I’m glad I found you.” Jack broke the silence, making eye contact.

Skylar closed her eyes and took his hand.

--

Skylar woke when Jack stirred, his arm brushing hers gently as he pushed the hair from his eyes.

“How long was I asleep?” She asked drowsily. There was a wet patch on the blanket just beside her elbow; the half-eaten apple had rolled from her grasp and now lay on the colourful patterns, juice leaking from the bite marks. Gross.

“About an hour. You were making funny noises.” He replied in an amused tone.

“Oh, great, yeah, nice.” Skylar groaned.

Jack watched her sulk for a while, smiling a little before deciding to relieve her suffering. He reached to ruffle her feathery hair and pointed to the rocking chair. A paper bag sat in the padded seat, the shape of a rectangular box inside.

“I’ve got you something.”

Skylar looked at him with her bright eyes, analysing his expression carefully.

“Go on, I’m not gonna be getting up anytime soon.” He teased.

She ruefully smiled and slid off the bed, crossing the floor in a few quick steps and returning with the box in her hands. The brown paper crinkled between her fingers loudly. Jack winced a little when her miniscule weight on the bed shifted his frail body.

“What is it?”

“That would spoil the surprise, wouldn’t it?”

With a groan Skylar pulled a rectangular box from the paper bag.

“How?” She didn’t even open the box before laughing in disbelief. Her hands hovered uncertainly over the package, as if in denial that it was hers.

“I have my ways…”

Skylar laughed and wrapped her arms around Jack. There was a lump in her throat; choking her and making tears spring to her eyes even as they scrunched tightly closed, pressed against Jack’s hair. He hugged her back tenderly for a few moments.

“C’mon then, I wanna see it on you!” Jack waved Skylar from the bed and with a smirk she disappeared into the bathroom to change.

Try as she may, she couldn’t halt the tears from trickling down her cheeks.