Alex POV

I was worried about Jack. He had seemed so scared and nervous when I had confronted him about the scar. I didn’t want him to feel bad but I was just so curious what had happened. He was working in the kitchen and I had just shortly excused myself for the bathroom. I was standing in front of the mirror, looking at myself. I was wearing sweatpants, a t-shirt and a grey hoodie. My hair was standing up but I just couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it. I looked better than when I had met Jack. Happier. But I also looked like I was more scared. Maybe the memories haunting me again?

I returned to the kitchen to assist Jack. I gave him an apron. He smiled and put it on.
“Thanks. Okay, so the dough for the gnocchi is done, I used up all the potatoes you had left. I need you to help me roll them and put them into the pot,” he explained, pointing at a pot with boiling water. I nodded.

“I’m ready when you are,” I said. He instructed me on what to do and for a while we just stood there, rolling little rolls and forming them. Suddenly, he started talking.

“Alex… I’m so thankful you didn’t pressure me for an answer earlier. I might be ready to talk about it very soon and you will be the first one I’ll tell,” he said. He was pale.

“Don’t worry about me; I just want you to be happy. I’ll wait until the end of time if I have to,” I replied, smiling at him. He smiled back and I fell in love with him and this smile all over again. He was so amazing.

“Thank you so much, you are great,” he said and leaned in for a little kiss. It seemed that cooking really did make him happy.

We put all the gnocchi into the pot. Jack started browning the butter to put them in afterwards. He already knew where all the things in my kitchen were. He added some dried sage leaves and waited for the gnocchi to swim up. A heavenly smell filled the kitchen and I noticed how hungry I really was. When the gnocchi were ready, he carefully got them out (but he unfortunately burned himself a little bit) and put them into the butter. He tossed the gnocchi around. I laid the table and waited for him to come over. He gave me a scoop of the little potato dumplings and himself too. I put a bit of parmesan on them and he did too.

They tasted incredible. As if someone had tried to capture the essence of summer. I closed my eyes to indulge in the taste.

“Mhm. Jack, you cook so well. You are now the cook in this kitchen,” I said. I winked a little bit and he blushed.

“You are too kind,” he replied shyly.

“I mean it,” I said.

“If you insist,” he answered, blushing a bit more and lowering his head but I could see a smile on his lips. I smiled too. He was just so perfect.

Later, we were cuddling in bed again. Calling in sick had been a good idea. Jack was snuggled to my chest.

“Alex, I think you should know something,” he said. He looked up to me and I could see some tears shimmering in his eyes.

“Tell me,” I said softly. There was a pause.

“I… the scar is from an accident which is the reason for why I’m homeless.”

“You were homeless,” I corrected. He ignored it.

“Everything just went downwards after it and I did some really dumb things,” he continued. “I know how it is to lose someone close.”

“How do you know?” I whispered. My eyes burned a little.

He just shook his head, buried it in my chest and started trembling a little. He was crying and I tried to comfort him by rubbing his back, it had always seemed to help before.

After some time, he calmed down and his breathing got slower. I carefully took a look and saw that he had fallen asleep. He looked so innocent and adorable in his sleep. I was tired too and soon, I was in the land of dreams too.

Notes

We're getting closer to knowing what happened to Jack... Just a little more patience.

-Laura