Jack POV

We walked to his apartment complex. It was hard to walk for me because it was still painful from falling earlier and also I hadn’t moved in some time now. I felt guilty about having Alex do this for me. But at the same time I was so incredibly happy to spend a night inside on a sofa.
I forced myself up the stairs, it hurt a lot. When we reached the door I was panting and about to black out. He unlocked his apartment door and let me in. It was so warm and it smelled of something I hadn’t smelled in years: a home.

“Please take off your shoes. I’ll give you shoes for the house if you want some,” he offered. I obliged but declined the shoes; I didn’t want to use more than necessary. He led me to his couch and laid out a blanket.

“Do you want to give your blanket to me? I will wash and dry it,” Alex said. I didn’t really want to give it away but I trusted him and I guessed it was a good idea to wash it. I held tight onto my notebook. It was the most precious thing I owned. Alex took the blanket and carried it away into another room. I heard him do some things.

Meanwhile, I looked around. It was not a big flat but it was nice. He had made it cosy and it was colourful and well furnished. The couch was big and looked nice and soft. I could see a bit of the kitchen; it was small but enough. When I looked through the window I could see other buildings lit up by the streetlamps.

I approached the glass and lightly touched it with my fingertips. Seeing the streets from behind a glass wall felt so good. Being in the warm while it was icy outside was so unusual for me. I breathed against the glass, watching my breath condense on it. Suddenly, something wet was on my cheek. I was crying.

But before I had time to ponder it, Alex called.

“Jack, I got some things for you,” he said, dumping all on the couch. I walked over to inspect it, quickly wiping away my tears. Jack had laid out a par of sweatpants, a new t-shirt and a big, fluffy jacket for me as well as a disposable razor and a toothbrush with a tiny tube of toothpaste.
“Get yourself into the bathroom; I already started running a hot bath. Use all you want except for my razor maybe,” he explained, winking at me. I almost started crying again; so much kindness was something I wasn’t used to.

“Thank you,” I squeezed out, trying not to choke on tears. I gathered the stuff laid out on the couch and set off for the bathroom.

Inside, I locked the door behind me. I set down the things on a chair standing around and decided to check my appearance. Horrible. I was ugly. I needed to shave.

I got undressed and put one foot into the bathtub. It was very hot; something else I wasn’t used to. I carefully slipped inside. It was almost too hot, slightly burning my skin but nevertheless it felt amazing.
I shaved my beard and some other hair on my body before just being in the warm water, not caring about anything else. I soaked up the warmth, letting it seep through every single cell in my body. I felt so much better already.

Notes

Hope you like this chapter too! Have you all seen the announcement of the places they'll play at on their A Love Like Tour? Will anyone be going? :3

Please give me fedback on the chapter! c:

-Laura