Page 65 of Don't Leave Me

We both stood up and walked out of my bedroom into the dark living room. Billie still wasn’t home and I dreaded having to catch her up on everything; I didn’t want to have to go through all of those emotions again.

“Pleasecall me later,” Emily raised her eyebrows at me.

I nodded as we stood in front of the front door. “I will,” I assured her.

“K,” she gave me a quick hug. “I’ll see you later. I love you!” she said as walked out the door.

“Love you,” I repeated to her, watching her walk down the hallway.

I sighed as I closed the door behind me. I went and retrieved my phone in my room and quickly texted Jack, unable to stand the thought of being alone: “Hi. Come over.” He responded swiftly: “On my way, love.” I smiled and got ready for his arrival.

Jack had never been to my apartment so I was eager to have him over in my own space. I shrugged on a comfortable sweater and leggings, my fluffy socks keeping me warm, when I heard the front door open;Billie’s home.

“Hello?” Billie called out.

I headed towards my bedroom door and leaned against the door frame.

“Hey,” I said, folding my arms, my hands and arms cold.

“Hey…what’s wrong?” she questioned worriedly, setting down her purse and keys on the dining table.

Jeez, she can really read me well.

I shrugged, giving her a small smile. “Nothing. Jack is coming over right now,” I answered.

Billie’s eyes widened. “Jack?”

I nodded, walking to the couch and sitting down with my knees to my chest.

“Michael and I sort of…went downhill. Pretty quickly,” I explained quietly, looking down at my hands.

Billie sat down next to me, focusing all of her attention on me. “What happened?”

I shook my head slowly. “I pushed him away,” I laughed to keep myself from crying. “I told him I loved him and I couldn’t stand it when he didn’t say it back to me,” I admitted, ashamed.

I looked up at Billie and she was frowning. “I’m sorry, Han,” she said gently.

There was suddenly a knock on the door. I jumped up and hurried to the door, quickly opening it and finding Jack standing there with his hands in his jacket pockets and looking at me with lust; there were butterflies everywhere in my body.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he greeted me with his crooked smile.

“Hi,” I breathed, quickly lifting my arms up and around his shoulders, giving him a tight hug.

Jack hugged me back, his strong arms around me, putting his nose into my neck. I already recognized and loved his smell – he smelled clean and faintly like paint. We parted and I took his hand, leading him inside and closing the door behind us. Billie still sat on the couch, peeking up at us while she had her phone in her hand in front of her.

“Hi, Jack,” she smiled, looking a little shocked that Jack was there.

“Hey, Billie,” Jack said politely.

I looked between the two of them. “We’re gonna go in my room,” I announced, then pulled Jack into my bedroom and shut the door.

Jack glanced around my room, eyeing my bookcases and the hundreds of books and records that were neatly stacked on each shelf. I hopped on my bed and watched him as he observed the space, smiling at the collection of Yoshitomo Nara paintings and drawings above my bed.

“Yoshitomo Nara fan?” he asked, smirking at me before he sat down next to me.

“Just a little bit,” I shrugged with sarcasm.

Jack made himself comfortable as he laid across the bed on his side, pulling me down with him. As his light blue eyes stared intently into mine, I forgot about all of my troubles, all of tears I had shed earlier in the day, and I could only think about how much I adored this man. He had the kindest, most adorable smile as he gazed at me, clearly happy just to be in my presence. I realized that whenever I was with him, I knew that I could be myself. He passed no judgment…he understood. He had that darkness deep within him that I could relate to and it somehow bonded us even closer in an unspoken way.

---