Do It Jakey! //Jake Kiszka

Chapter 4

We are getting into the stoory! Hope you enjoy:)

A few weeks go by, Julia and Jake see each other every Tuesday and Friday. Julia is almost done with college, she just needs to pass three exams and then it will be over. She is pretty proud of her grades and what she is studying. She likes it. she doesn't have many friends. A couple at college, some from her childhood and high school, and Sarah. Well, Sarah is a friend of a friend and when Julia needed a roommate, Sarah went to live with her. She is not her kind of girl, a little too full of herself, but Julia has learnt with time to live with it and now it's perfectly fine. Until something happens.

With Julia being completely submerged by her college classes and studying, she doesn't see many people, except from college friends and the boys and girls she is tutoring. It's Jake who gets to see her on the worst week of her life.

It's Friday, Jake gets to Julia's apartment for their tutoring hours, as for the past few weeks. But when she opens the door she doesn't smile. And that is unusual, Jake thinks. Julia always smiles, it's what Jake likes about her the most. Her usual braid on her left shoulder is messy, she has puffy red eyes and her nose is red as well. Like she has been crying.

"hi", she greets him politely. But her eyes are sad.

Jake doesn't know if he can ask her, if she would appreciate it, but he does that anyway. She's always been so nice to him that he feels bad not asking.

"are you alright?". Julia looks at him in the eyes. Then she tries to smile, failing miserably.

"yeah, I'm fine. I just have these terrible allergies, you know". Jake doesn't question that, and they walk to her room as always.

While they study together, Julia seems distant. She is not funny and chatty like the other times, and jake notices. It's when he asks her if he can use a specific formula for an exercise and she doesn't reply, looking absently outside the window, that he decides she is not alright.

Jake puts down his pencil and closes the book. "what's wrong?", he asks looking at her.

Julia looks away from the window. "what?"

"what's wrong?", he asks again. "you are clearly not fine. I made a mistake on purpose before and you didn't even notice".

"sorry", she simply says looking away again. But then Jake sees a tear running down her left cheek. Julia breaths deeply and wipes it away.

"hey", Jake says moving his hand on her shoulder. They never touched before, there was no need. She is the girl who explains him math, not one of his friends. But Jake thinks maybe a friend is what she needs right now.

He gently brushes her shoulder and her upper arm, and she smiles a little. "can we see each other another time?", she whispers. I really need to be alone right now.

"yeah sure", he says putting his books in his backpack. "Tuesday?".

But she doesn't reply again. He touches again her shoulder gently. "I'm sorry, I really don't know. I'm not in the mental state to do tutoring. It's been the worst week of my entire life and..."

And then Jake pulls her in a hug. She doesn't expect it at all, but he holds her and maybe that is what she needs right now. She leans on him and he lets her cry on his shoulder.

It's been impulsive of Jake to hug her, they don't know each other that well, but she needed someone. He can tell that at first she was surprised, but then she leaned into the hug, and now Jake is holding her tight. He was right, the first time he saw her. He thought she looked soft, and now he can tell she actually is. But that's not bad at all, jake thinks.

After a while, Julia breaks the hug and dries her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I'm really sorry".

"don't be", Jake says. "do you want to.. talk about it?".

Julia looks at him. she really needs someone to talk to. But is Jake the best person for it? they don't know each other, she is tutoring him.. but hell.. he is there now and she really needs someone.

"do you remember we had to finish earlier on Tuesday?", she asks him and Jake nods. "that was because I was supposed to visit my parents, with my brother as well. I went to his apartment and picked him up with my car to go together. And when we got there, my parents announced they are getting divorced".

She closes her eyes at this point, trying to take back the tears. Jake brings his hand to hers, but he doesn't hold it, just places his on top of hers. "turned out my father has been cheating on my mother for the past few years", Julia continues. "my brother and I were shocked, we didn't expect it at all. We all got into a big fight and we left early. I was driving to my brother's apartment and I was so angry and sad.. and we got in a car crash".

Julia opens her eyes, but looks down at her lap. Jake decides to hold her hand. "the car is completely useless now, I took my brother to the hospital because he hit his neck, and then I got home. I was supposed to spend the night at my parents, as I always do when I visit them, but I was back a day earlier. And...".

And she starts crying again. "and I found my own boyfriend cheating on me, right here in this apartment, with that damn girl with whom I share it".

Jake looks at her. He feels bad for her. It's too much at the same time. the only thing he can do is hug her again and let her cry until she is fine. And she does so, but she doesn't cry as much as Jake thought. She just stays in his embrace long enough for her to feel better.

"I'm so sorry for all of this". She says looking slightly better.

"don't worry", he replies. "how is your brother?".

"fine now, thank you. he is home. we are lucky none of us got injured badly". She stands up and starts walking around her room. "I need a new car", she says almost laughing. "and a new apartment. I hate her, I hate him".

Jake is surprised. Julia seems angry, and he has never seen her like this. But he can't understand how she is feeling right now. He wants to say something to comfort her, but he can't think of anything. The only thing Jake is able to say is "I didn't know you had a boyfriend".

She stops looking at him. and then she laughs quietly. "is that so hard to believe?"

Jake freezes. That came out the wrong way. "I .. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way". for what he has experienced with her, Jake knows she is clever, kind and funny. She is a cute girl, even if she doesn't mirror the beauty standards society holds.

"he didn't even say he was sorry", she continues. "they were right there on the couch when I got in. They were both surprised when they saw me, but none of them said anything". Julia sits down on the edge of her bed. "when I asked him why he was doing that, why he was cheating on me, he simply said 'look at you'".

That hits Jake hard. People can be so rude. "I'm so sorry, really". She lays down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. Jake looks at his watch, it's time for him to go. But he doesn't really want to leave her like this. She is not fine, and Jake can't act as if nothing has happened. How can he do something for her? How can he make her feel better? His math tutor, who's always been so kind? And then something pops up in his head.

"what are you doing right now?", he asks all of a sudden.

Julia sits up on her bed, looking at him confused. "what?".

"what are you doing now?". She raises a brow at him. she can't understand where he is going. "study, I guess", she replies.

"seriously? It's almost dinner time and you had a terrible week".

Julia laughs. But this time is a genuine laugh. He is right, she knows it. "what am I supposed to do?".

Jake walks to her bed and pulls out a hand to help her stand up. She takes it and then he says, "go out with me".