Jack POV

I dozed off soon and fell into a weird, hazy sleep. It contained not really nightmares but the dreams were very weird. I dreamed of floating up in the air, the street below me. The street. I heard sirens wail, people scream, but I was floating above it and just kind of detached. It wasn’t bad.

When I woke up again, I felt someone lightly touching my hair. It seemed like Alex was playing with it. I turned around to face him.

“Hey Jay,” he said softly. He was wearing a shirt now and I suddenly remembered that I was naked. My arm. I needed to put on the hoodie I had borrowed again. I scrambled to get up and to my hoodie but Alex held me back.

“Shh, stay here,” he said. However, I didn’t want to, I needed to cover my arm instantly. I was panicking a bit now actually. Alex let go of me and I darted out of bed to get the hoodie. I put it on quickly and went back to bed. I lay down again and Alex snuggled close to me.

“Jack… Why were you so panicked about getting the hoodie?” he asked quietly. I didn’t reply so he continued. “Is it because of your scar?” he whispered. I felt sick. I didn’t want him to know. But I guess I had to tell him at some point and he had already seen it anyways.

“Yes,” I confessed. He breathed audibly.

“May I ask how you got it?” he inquired softly. I felt anxiety rising up. I couldn’t even deal with these memories on my own, how was I supposed to talk about them? I shook my head.

“I… I’m sorry, I can’t tell you,” I replied quietly. He nodded.

“I understand. Can you at least tell me whether it was an accident or not?” he asked. I thought about whether I should tell him for a bit.

“Yes, it was an accident,” I finally said. That was the truth. But I didn’t allow myself to remember anything consciously. It was all safely locked away now after the recent events.

He nodded again. “If you are ever ready to tell me, I’m here for you,” he offered. “I’d love to know, but I won’t pressure you.” He started rubbing my back carefully.

“Thank you so much, I will keep it in mind.”

We cuddled for some more but I couldn’t really enjoy it. I didn’t say anything though. Alex obviously loved cuddling. He snuggled close to me. He rubbed my back for some more and I could feel myself relax a bit. After some time, he propped himself up on his elbows.

“Now, how about you show me how to cook as lovely as you do?” he said with a smile. I smiled too, I actually loved cooking. I had some recipes still memorized and cooking would help me feel better too.

“Let’s go,” I said with a little smile.

Notes

What are your guesses about Jack's incident? Tell me! :)

-Laura