Thanks To You
Acquaintances.
We stayed in the Barakat’s country house until lunch. Jack had brought only marshmallows so we were starting to get starving.
He was weird since the morning, he seemed to be a little nervous with the idea of meeting my parents. I gotta say, I was nervous too, really nervous. I knew that, in the beginning, my dad wouldn’t accept, but I also knew he only wanted me to be happy. I guess the biggest problem would be the age, but it wasn’t even such a big difference, I was 16 now, he was 20, it was only 4 years.
I already had met Joyce and Bassam, so I thought it was fair he met my parents too, it doesn’t matter how nervous he was.
We agreed Jack would stay the rest of the day at my house, but when he dropped me at home, he tried to escape.
“Thank you babe, it was the best New Year’s Eve of my life.” He smiled.
“Mine too.” I whispered, kissing his trembling lips softly. “Come on now, we still have something to do.” I smiled and opened the door, motioning to the house with my head.
“What do you mean?” He said, turning his head to the dashboard, I sighed and moved closer.
“Why are you so scared Jacky?” I whispered against his neck, wrapping my fingers in his hair. “Don’t you love me?” I whispered again, now staring at him, he nodded, with a worried look on his face. “So would you please do this for me?” I said.
“Ok Alex.” He sighed, leaving a quick peck on my lips. “It’s just that… don’t you think this is awkward?” He started to get out of the car, I did the same thing. “Like, I’m gonna meet them through a web cam, it’s, weird.” He chuckled hesitantly, hugging my shoulders.
“At least if you say shit, my dad can’t punch you through the screen.” I laughed.
“Thanks Alex, things got a lot easier now.” He laughed back, rolling his eyes.
We first ate our lunch with Rose and Charlie. I told them about me and Jack and while Charlie only nodded and smiled, Rose almost burst into happiness.
When we were all finished, Jack helped Rose with the dishes – as always – and I went upstairs to log into Skype.
Mom was online and she called me immediately. At least she wasn’t so desperate to talk to me as before, I talked to her every week now.
“HEY DARLING.” She still shouted a lot though, every, single, time. “Sorry, just testing the mic. So… any news? How was New Year’s Eve?”
“Hey mom.” I said, the internet was crashing a lot. “It was good, and yours?” I smiled, remembering how good my New Year’s Eve had been.
“It was good too, all the family came over, they’re all glad your dad is ok, and they also miss you a lot Alex, you need to come back soon.” She said, she seemed excited.
“Just six more months mom.” I forced a laugh. It was when I noticed how nervous I was, if possible, even more nervous than Jack, mom seemed to notice it.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” She whispered, raising an eyebrow. Damn mom.
“Well… actually yes. Where’s dad?” He obviously needed to know too.
“Oh, he’s not home now darling, he’s still doing some exams the doctor asked.” She said, he looked really happy that dad was ok. “Why?” She asked.
“Oh nothing, I can talk to him later.” I decided to go straight to the point. “So mom… I’m dating.” I said, blushing and staring at the ground.
“OH MY GOD.” She shouted, almost falling of the chair. “What’s her name?” She smiled. Oh shit.
“Well… it’s not her name, it’s his name.” I smiled at her, she made a weird expression, but her smile wasn’t gone.
“Oh…” That’s all she said, oh. “What’s his name then?” She asked.
“It’s Jack. We’ve been together for two months, he asked me out yesterday.” I grinned.
“How romantic.” She laughed. “So, when will I get to meet him?” I was glad things went well with mom.
“Oh… he’s downstairs acually, helping my host mom with the dishes.” I smiled.
“And you should follow his example.” She laughed again. “Why are you here on the internet while he is helping YOUR host mom with the dishes, eh?” She said, we both laughed. “So, tell me about you two, is he from your class?” She seemed interested, I got nervous again.
“You know May, right?” She nodded. “So, he’s her… older brother.” I smiled, I heard steps on the staircase.
“How old is him?” She asked still smiling, Jack now entered the bedroom with a worried smile on his face.
“He’s 20 mom.” I said, hesitantly, Jack stayed by the computer so he wouldn’t appear on camera. My mom just smiled, turning to a serious expression.
“Alex darling, listen now.” She said, really serious, I started to sweat and moved closer to the screen. “I’m proud of you, I really am, I can imagine how hard it must be for you to tell you’re dating a boy, don’t deny it, I know you’re nervous, but I hope you know what you’re doing. You are young, he’s older, but he’s still young, and you two are going to go through so many difficulties because of this choice… yes, I’m talking about your dad too, you know he’s stubborn, you know he’ll hate this idea, but I want you to face it, I want you two to face it and don’t give up of it just because… whatever, you get it. I just want to see you happy Alex.” As she finished, the smile reappeared on her mouth. “But where is this Jack? Were there so many dishes?” She laughed.
What she said had brought tears to my eyes, I had my head down so she wouldn’t see it, I wiped the tears that accidentally fell and turned my head to stare at Jack, he wasn’t there anymore, he was walking around the room, still without showing up on camera, he had his hand covering his mouth, surprised look.
“Jack, come here.” I said, and he started to slowly walk closer, so I pulled his arm. “Mom, this is Jack, Jack, this is Isobel.” I said, smiling.
“Hello Mrs. Gaskarth.” He said, getting on his knees on the floor by my side.
“Hello Jack.” She said, with a funny voice.
“I’m gonna let you guys talking for some time while I go get a sweater downstairs, is that ok?” I said, the room was getting colder and I wanted to let them get to know eachother.
“Yeah babe.” Jack whispered, giving me a quick and shy peck.
I went to the kitchen, got the black and white sweater Jack gave me as an early Christmas present, and I got to my bedroom again, stopping by the door to hear their conversation.
“… actually no, but I’ll take care of that.” Jack said, and they both laughed. What the fuck had my mom told him?
“Jacky, it was really good talking to you.” Jacky? “But Peter just got home and I need to turn this off, we can talk later ok? Take care of my Alex.” She said.
“I will.” He said, and when he was ready to turn off the computer I ran into the bedroom.
“Is mom still there?” I asked.
“I think so, we just said goodbye, your mom is pretty nice though.” He laughed and I ran to the computer, luckily, she was still there.
“Hey mom, leaving without saying goodbye?” I said, but I was interested in my dad getting home.
“Your dad is home darling, but don’t worry, I’ll talk to him ok? You don’t have to worry about that old man.” She said, getting up.
“Ok mom, love you.” I said, smiling, her reaction made me really happy.
“I love you too Alex.” She said, getting closer to the camera. “He’s hot.” She whispered, we chuckled a little bit and turned the cameras off.
Jack had to leave early that day. He was telling me they – Jack, Zack and Rian – wanted to sign a contract with a local record label, called Emerald Moon, so he needed to get some things done.
I spent the rest of the afternoon alone, I didn’t want to bother Jack with texts, and he didn’t text me either, so I just listened to music all day long.
I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or not. Everything was ok, my mom really liked Jack, and she was going to talk to dad, so everything was going to be ok. Jack’s family liked me, so I guess they would accept me. Everything was fine. But what next? What would happen when I had to leave?
Lost in my thoughts, my phone rang. I got up of the floor and got my phone that was by the computer, checked the number, it was a weird number. Only Jack and May called me, and I didn’t remember giving my phone number to anyone else, so this call should be important.
“Hello?” I said, everything was quiet on the other side.
“Alex darling?” It was my mom. And she was… crying?
“Mom? It’s me mom, is everything ok?” I asked, I was getting worried, she was sobbing now.
“Your father Alex… he…” She couldn’t talk anymore.
“What’s wrong with him mom?” She was getting me even more worried, what the hell was happening?
“Your father went to the doctor today, I told you this right?” She asked, but I couldn’t say anything, I just wanted her to keep talking. “He brought these exams home… and the doctor told him he only…” She stopped, again, dammit mom.
“Mom calm down, just talk, I’m listening.” Her voice was so painful my eyes were starting to fill up with tears.
“You father only has six more months… of life. The doctor said it is around six months but he wasn’t sure.” What? I thought my dad was cured. “And he asked me about you, since you were going to spend six more months there.” I was going to spend? I AM going to spend. “And I told him about you and Jack… and he… Alex, he went crazy, he wants you to come back to Essex right now.” She was know crying really loud.
“What? Why?” I asked, and started to cry, I didn’t know why I was crying, if it was because my dad was dying or because I had to leave Jack.
“Peter won’t agree with your relationship Alex. He wants you to come back, he wants you to stay away from him.” She answered. “And more than anything, he wants you to stay by his side while he fights for his life.” She said, fast.
“I love Jack mom.” I said, sobbing, trying to find some air. “I can’t leave now mom, I know that sounds selfish but I need him mom, please let me stay.” I was now begging and crying like a child that just lost his puppy.
“Peter wants you to come back Alex. He is going to call your host family now, and you will have to come back.” She said. It was when I heard a male voice coming through the phone.
“What? He doesn’t won’t to come back? He is going to leave his father dying to stay with some faggot he just met?” The male voice said, it was my dad’s voice, I couldn’t believe my dad said that, I couldn’t handle that anymore, so I just turned off my phone and collapsed on the floor.
It was too much for a single day.
He was weird since the morning, he seemed to be a little nervous with the idea of meeting my parents. I gotta say, I was nervous too, really nervous. I knew that, in the beginning, my dad wouldn’t accept, but I also knew he only wanted me to be happy. I guess the biggest problem would be the age, but it wasn’t even such a big difference, I was 16 now, he was 20, it was only 4 years.
I already had met Joyce and Bassam, so I thought it was fair he met my parents too, it doesn’t matter how nervous he was.
We agreed Jack would stay the rest of the day at my house, but when he dropped me at home, he tried to escape.
“Thank you babe, it was the best New Year’s Eve of my life.” He smiled.
“Mine too.” I whispered, kissing his trembling lips softly. “Come on now, we still have something to do.” I smiled and opened the door, motioning to the house with my head.
“What do you mean?” He said, turning his head to the dashboard, I sighed and moved closer.
“Why are you so scared Jacky?” I whispered against his neck, wrapping my fingers in his hair. “Don’t you love me?” I whispered again, now staring at him, he nodded, with a worried look on his face. “So would you please do this for me?” I said.
“Ok Alex.” He sighed, leaving a quick peck on my lips. “It’s just that… don’t you think this is awkward?” He started to get out of the car, I did the same thing. “Like, I’m gonna meet them through a web cam, it’s, weird.” He chuckled hesitantly, hugging my shoulders.
“At least if you say shit, my dad can’t punch you through the screen.” I laughed.
“Thanks Alex, things got a lot easier now.” He laughed back, rolling his eyes.
We first ate our lunch with Rose and Charlie. I told them about me and Jack and while Charlie only nodded and smiled, Rose almost burst into happiness.
When we were all finished, Jack helped Rose with the dishes – as always – and I went upstairs to log into Skype.
Mom was online and she called me immediately. At least she wasn’t so desperate to talk to me as before, I talked to her every week now.
“HEY DARLING.” She still shouted a lot though, every, single, time. “Sorry, just testing the mic. So… any news? How was New Year’s Eve?”
“Hey mom.” I said, the internet was crashing a lot. “It was good, and yours?” I smiled, remembering how good my New Year’s Eve had been.
“It was good too, all the family came over, they’re all glad your dad is ok, and they also miss you a lot Alex, you need to come back soon.” She said, she seemed excited.
“Just six more months mom.” I forced a laugh. It was when I noticed how nervous I was, if possible, even more nervous than Jack, mom seemed to notice it.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” She whispered, raising an eyebrow. Damn mom.
“Well… actually yes. Where’s dad?” He obviously needed to know too.
“Oh, he’s not home now darling, he’s still doing some exams the doctor asked.” She said, he looked really happy that dad was ok. “Why?” She asked.
“Oh nothing, I can talk to him later.” I decided to go straight to the point. “So mom… I’m dating.” I said, blushing and staring at the ground.
“OH MY GOD.” She shouted, almost falling of the chair. “What’s her name?” She smiled. Oh shit.
“Well… it’s not her name, it’s his name.” I smiled at her, she made a weird expression, but her smile wasn’t gone.
“Oh…” That’s all she said, oh. “What’s his name then?” She asked.
“It’s Jack. We’ve been together for two months, he asked me out yesterday.” I grinned.
“How romantic.” She laughed. “So, when will I get to meet him?” I was glad things went well with mom.
“Oh… he’s downstairs acually, helping my host mom with the dishes.” I smiled.
“And you should follow his example.” She laughed again. “Why are you here on the internet while he is helping YOUR host mom with the dishes, eh?” She said, we both laughed. “So, tell me about you two, is he from your class?” She seemed interested, I got nervous again.
“You know May, right?” She nodded. “So, he’s her… older brother.” I smiled, I heard steps on the staircase.
“How old is him?” She asked still smiling, Jack now entered the bedroom with a worried smile on his face.
“He’s 20 mom.” I said, hesitantly, Jack stayed by the computer so he wouldn’t appear on camera. My mom just smiled, turning to a serious expression.
“Alex darling, listen now.” She said, really serious, I started to sweat and moved closer to the screen. “I’m proud of you, I really am, I can imagine how hard it must be for you to tell you’re dating a boy, don’t deny it, I know you’re nervous, but I hope you know what you’re doing. You are young, he’s older, but he’s still young, and you two are going to go through so many difficulties because of this choice… yes, I’m talking about your dad too, you know he’s stubborn, you know he’ll hate this idea, but I want you to face it, I want you two to face it and don’t give up of it just because… whatever, you get it. I just want to see you happy Alex.” As she finished, the smile reappeared on her mouth. “But where is this Jack? Were there so many dishes?” She laughed.
What she said had brought tears to my eyes, I had my head down so she wouldn’t see it, I wiped the tears that accidentally fell and turned my head to stare at Jack, he wasn’t there anymore, he was walking around the room, still without showing up on camera, he had his hand covering his mouth, surprised look.
“Jack, come here.” I said, and he started to slowly walk closer, so I pulled his arm. “Mom, this is Jack, Jack, this is Isobel.” I said, smiling.
“Hello Mrs. Gaskarth.” He said, getting on his knees on the floor by my side.
“Hello Jack.” She said, with a funny voice.
“I’m gonna let you guys talking for some time while I go get a sweater downstairs, is that ok?” I said, the room was getting colder and I wanted to let them get to know eachother.
“Yeah babe.” Jack whispered, giving me a quick and shy peck.
I went to the kitchen, got the black and white sweater Jack gave me as an early Christmas present, and I got to my bedroom again, stopping by the door to hear their conversation.
“… actually no, but I’ll take care of that.” Jack said, and they both laughed. What the fuck had my mom told him?
“Jacky, it was really good talking to you.” Jacky? “But Peter just got home and I need to turn this off, we can talk later ok? Take care of my Alex.” She said.
“I will.” He said, and when he was ready to turn off the computer I ran into the bedroom.
“Is mom still there?” I asked.
“I think so, we just said goodbye, your mom is pretty nice though.” He laughed and I ran to the computer, luckily, she was still there.
“Hey mom, leaving without saying goodbye?” I said, but I was interested in my dad getting home.
“Your dad is home darling, but don’t worry, I’ll talk to him ok? You don’t have to worry about that old man.” She said, getting up.
“Ok mom, love you.” I said, smiling, her reaction made me really happy.
“I love you too Alex.” She said, getting closer to the camera. “He’s hot.” She whispered, we chuckled a little bit and turned the cameras off.
Jack had to leave early that day. He was telling me they – Jack, Zack and Rian – wanted to sign a contract with a local record label, called Emerald Moon, so he needed to get some things done.
I spent the rest of the afternoon alone, I didn’t want to bother Jack with texts, and he didn’t text me either, so I just listened to music all day long.
I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or not. Everything was ok, my mom really liked Jack, and she was going to talk to dad, so everything was going to be ok. Jack’s family liked me, so I guess they would accept me. Everything was fine. But what next? What would happen when I had to leave?
Lost in my thoughts, my phone rang. I got up of the floor and got my phone that was by the computer, checked the number, it was a weird number. Only Jack and May called me, and I didn’t remember giving my phone number to anyone else, so this call should be important.
“Hello?” I said, everything was quiet on the other side.
“Alex darling?” It was my mom. And she was… crying?
“Mom? It’s me mom, is everything ok?” I asked, I was getting worried, she was sobbing now.
“Your father Alex… he…” She couldn’t talk anymore.
“What’s wrong with him mom?” She was getting me even more worried, what the hell was happening?
“Your father went to the doctor today, I told you this right?” She asked, but I couldn’t say anything, I just wanted her to keep talking. “He brought these exams home… and the doctor told him he only…” She stopped, again, dammit mom.
“Mom calm down, just talk, I’m listening.” Her voice was so painful my eyes were starting to fill up with tears.
“You father only has six more months… of life. The doctor said it is around six months but he wasn’t sure.” What? I thought my dad was cured. “And he asked me about you, since you were going to spend six more months there.” I was going to spend? I AM going to spend. “And I told him about you and Jack… and he… Alex, he went crazy, he wants you to come back to Essex right now.” She was know crying really loud.
“What? Why?” I asked, and started to cry, I didn’t know why I was crying, if it was because my dad was dying or because I had to leave Jack.
“Peter won’t agree with your relationship Alex. He wants you to come back, he wants you to stay away from him.” She answered. “And more than anything, he wants you to stay by his side while he fights for his life.” She said, fast.
“I love Jack mom.” I said, sobbing, trying to find some air. “I can’t leave now mom, I know that sounds selfish but I need him mom, please let me stay.” I was now begging and crying like a child that just lost his puppy.
“Peter wants you to come back Alex. He is going to call your host family now, and you will have to come back.” She said. It was when I heard a male voice coming through the phone.
“What? He doesn’t won’t to come back? He is going to leave his father dying to stay with some faggot he just met?” The male voice said, it was my dad’s voice, I couldn’t believe my dad said that, I couldn’t handle that anymore, so I just turned off my phone and collapsed on the floor.
It was too much for a single day.
Notes
Just stopping by to say thank you for the subscriptions and the rating <3And I ALSO would like to say, this fic is almost finished, just some more chapters, I don't know how many, but I can let you guys chose between a sad or a happy ending haha And I would like to know if you guys would read a new fic I'm thinking of writing, I'm still organizing my ideas, but is going to be Jack's POV.
Bye <3
Update: I totally cried.
Again.
1/15/15