Page 45 of Jackson
14
Summer
I’d watched Jack for a while as he lay at the water’s edge. He looked exhausted. I’d hoped he would have stood and walked back to the house, but after an hour I went to him. I’d thought on his words the whole time he had been running. I needed to explain what I was disgusted with but it was hard; I wasn’t entirelysure.
I heard the shower running and waited some more, fully expecting him to join me on the balcony. When he didn’t, I walked to his room. He was lying on the bed with just a towel around his waist and his arm slung across hiseyes.
“Jack?”
“I need some sleep,Summer.”
I was unsure at first what to do. He was dismissing me but I wasn’t about to be. I walked to the edge of the bed and climbed on beside him. I curled into his side and placed my arm across his chest. He didn’t speak, he didn’t move, and we laystill.
I heard his breathing deepen and knew he had fallen asleep. I studied the tattoo on his wrist, it looked sore, he hadn’t covered it like he had mine, and I guessed the salt water must have stung likehell.
As I lay, I saw his phone light up, it had been on silent but Dexter was calling, his name was displayed on the screen. I picked it up and stood from thebed.
“Hi, Jack’s asleep, Dex. He’s had a rough hour or so,” I said as Ianswered.
“Okay, he left here on a mission and I was worried. What happened last night,Summer?”
I went through the previous evening, omitting most, just hinting at the sex. I heard my voice catch numerous times and more so when I got to recalling our earlierconversation.
“I don’t know what to do to help him?” I said. Tears had pooled in my eyesagain.
“By being with him, you are. I’ve been thinking about him all afternoon. He needs a normal relationship; he needs to break the cycle he’s in. If he can do that, I think we might be halfwaythere.”
“I’m not here long enough for that,” Isaid.
“Then perhaps he might need to gohome.”
“It’s his dad though,” Isaid.
“I know. I need you to help me, Summer. I don’t know if you’re able to do that, but he’s spiralling out of control. You are the catalyst, but we needthat.”
“What do Ido?”
“He needs to be at the bar tonight, we’re opening. Come with him. I want him to have a few days of normal. And then we’lltalk.”
“Iwill.”
We said our goodbyes and I quietly crept back to the bedroom. I replaced the phone on the table and climbed back on the bed. Jack stirred; he turned on his side to face me. I snaked my arm under his head and held him to mychest.
“I love your tattoo,” Iwhispered.
“Thank you, I want something to remember you by,” hereplied.
“Can I cometonight?”
“Of course, although I don’t know how much time I’ll have to spend with you, it gets prettymad.”
“I’ll just sit at the bar in the corner, it’ll befun.”
He sighed and I kissed the top of hishead.
“We need to eat, then getready.”
He rolled away from me and I missed him in my arms. In one way he was so vulnerable, in another so brutal. He was a contradiction. His highs and lows had left me exhausted and my headspinning.
