Guts
Chapter Thirty-One: Here I Am
"Alright. This is everything," Chris said when he returned with the last of Jackie's things.
"Thank you so much, Chris. Have you heard from my mom lately?" I asked.
"Yeah. She actually called the other day, asked if I'd seen or talked to you. Of course, this was before you'd called me," he said.
"Oh.. How is she?" I asked.
"Good. A little upset that you haven't talked to her in two years, but hey, no one did," he said. My cheeks heated up in shame, but I ignored it.
"I'm sorry, it's just... stuff got rough," I said quietly, "I'd met this guy, and I liked him a lot. Turned out he was partners with Brandon. Found that out a year after we started dating, that's when Jack found me, and I dumped him, and other things, but yeah." Chris looked at me, bewildered.
"Wait.. Brandon?" He asked.
"You know..." I said, cocking my head in Jackie's direction. He raised his eyebrows.
"Ohh," he said, and I nodded.
"Well, thanks for letting us take her. We both appreciate it," I said, and Jack agreed.
"It's not a problem. I'm gonna miss that girl for sure," Chris said, and I smiled. I walked him back to the door and he left. I closed the door, and returned next to Jack.
What now?
"Jack... let's go set up her room," I said.
"Yeah. C'mon, Jackie!" Jack exclaimed, and he picked her up. We all made our way upstairs; me with some of Jackie's things, and we entered the room right across from ours. It was completely empty except for the bed frame and mattress that was pushed against one wall. The wood floor had a thin layer of dust, same with the windowsill. The curtain was a little ratty looking, but we'd replace it with something Jackie liked.
"So.. Okay," I said, setting what I had down. The room was big, but not bigger than Jack's and mine. There was a closet along one wall with two sliding doors, both with mirrors. The walls were an off-white color, which definitely had to go, in my opinion.
"You wanna call the guys up and ask for some help?" Jack asked, looking at me. Cleaning this room up and decorating it for a four year old girl would be more difficult than you think.
"Oh yeah," I said, and Jack handed me his cell phone. I phoned up Alex and Stephanie first, because Alex's name was first, obviously. Then Rian and Cassadee, and finally Zack. They were all willing to help us, which was amazing.
They all showed up within five minutes of each other.
"So, this is Jackie?" Alex asked, and I nodded.
" Yep. Look, she likes you!" I said as Jackie laughed and ran over to Alex who crouched down to her level.
"Jackie, what color would you like your walls?" I asked.
"Pink!" She exclaimed, and I smiled. Of course she does.
"Lex, Steph, can you go get some paint? Anything that's a light shade of pink, not a dark one. And don't forget primer and brushes, and a roller or two," I said. They both nodded and headed off to Home Depot... or some other store. Zack had showed up after them, and was willing to lift anything heavy, but we had nothing heavy, except the bed that we'd be removing so we could paint. I had him move it into the hall, pressed up against the wall so we could still access the bathroom.
Rian and Cassadee would be getting easier jobs: to sort out Jackie's clothes and put them on hangers and to hang them in the closet. Then they'd help all of us paint. While Alex and Stephanie were gone, Jack and I put all her toys in our room while Zack played with her.
About three hours later, the room had been primed and painted, but we still had to do trim. Alex was smart enough to get paint with primer in it, so our job was a little easier. We were all strewn about the living room, Jackie and Zack playing together once again. To say we were exhausted would be an understatement.
"Thanks so much for helping guys," I breathed out a few minutes later.
"It's no problem. We'll come back over tomorrow to help finish the job," Alex said from across the room, and the rest of them agreed.
"God, I love you guys. I can't believe I left you," I said.
"If you hadn't have gone, we probably wouldn't be here right now with Jackie, so don't say that again," Stephanie said.
"Fine. I do love you guys though," I said.
"We love you too," Jack said, and he kissed me softly.
I had the best friends in the entire world.
"Thank you so much, Chris. Have you heard from my mom lately?" I asked.
"Yeah. She actually called the other day, asked if I'd seen or talked to you. Of course, this was before you'd called me," he said.
"Oh.. How is she?" I asked.
"Good. A little upset that you haven't talked to her in two years, but hey, no one did," he said. My cheeks heated up in shame, but I ignored it.
"I'm sorry, it's just... stuff got rough," I said quietly, "I'd met this guy, and I liked him a lot. Turned out he was partners with Brandon. Found that out a year after we started dating, that's when Jack found me, and I dumped him, and other things, but yeah." Chris looked at me, bewildered.
"Wait.. Brandon?" He asked.
"You know..." I said, cocking my head in Jackie's direction. He raised his eyebrows.
"Ohh," he said, and I nodded.
"Well, thanks for letting us take her. We both appreciate it," I said, and Jack agreed.
"It's not a problem. I'm gonna miss that girl for sure," Chris said, and I smiled. I walked him back to the door and he left. I closed the door, and returned next to Jack.
What now?
"Jack... let's go set up her room," I said.
"Yeah. C'mon, Jackie!" Jack exclaimed, and he picked her up. We all made our way upstairs; me with some of Jackie's things, and we entered the room right across from ours. It was completely empty except for the bed frame and mattress that was pushed against one wall. The wood floor had a thin layer of dust, same with the windowsill. The curtain was a little ratty looking, but we'd replace it with something Jackie liked.
"So.. Okay," I said, setting what I had down. The room was big, but not bigger than Jack's and mine. There was a closet along one wall with two sliding doors, both with mirrors. The walls were an off-white color, which definitely had to go, in my opinion.
"You wanna call the guys up and ask for some help?" Jack asked, looking at me. Cleaning this room up and decorating it for a four year old girl would be more difficult than you think.
"Oh yeah," I said, and Jack handed me his cell phone. I phoned up Alex and Stephanie first, because Alex's name was first, obviously. Then Rian and Cassadee, and finally Zack. They were all willing to help us, which was amazing.
They all showed up within five minutes of each other.
"So, this is Jackie?" Alex asked, and I nodded.
" Yep. Look, she likes you!" I said as Jackie laughed and ran over to Alex who crouched down to her level.
"Jackie, what color would you like your walls?" I asked.
"Pink!" She exclaimed, and I smiled. Of course she does.
"Lex, Steph, can you go get some paint? Anything that's a light shade of pink, not a dark one. And don't forget primer and brushes, and a roller or two," I said. They both nodded and headed off to Home Depot... or some other store. Zack had showed up after them, and was willing to lift anything heavy, but we had nothing heavy, except the bed that we'd be removing so we could paint. I had him move it into the hall, pressed up against the wall so we could still access the bathroom.
Rian and Cassadee would be getting easier jobs: to sort out Jackie's clothes and put them on hangers and to hang them in the closet. Then they'd help all of us paint. While Alex and Stephanie were gone, Jack and I put all her toys in our room while Zack played with her.
About three hours later, the room had been primed and painted, but we still had to do trim. Alex was smart enough to get paint with primer in it, so our job was a little easier. We were all strewn about the living room, Jackie and Zack playing together once again. To say we were exhausted would be an understatement.
"Thanks so much for helping guys," I breathed out a few minutes later.
"It's no problem. We'll come back over tomorrow to help finish the job," Alex said from across the room, and the rest of them agreed.
"God, I love you guys. I can't believe I left you," I said.
"If you hadn't have gone, we probably wouldn't be here right now with Jackie, so don't say that again," Stephanie said.
"Fine. I do love you guys though," I said.
"We love you too," Jack said, and he kissed me softly.
I had the best friends in the entire world.
Notes
Chapter Thirty-One!
Title Cred: Bryan Adams
So the song title is actually from the movie Spirit.. if you haven't seen it, you should search it up because it is a FANTASTIC fucking movie. Just Google this: Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron full movie, and you should get it. :3
ANYWAY, leave your wonderful comments down below!
Shout Outs:
@emilypfletcher
@Rebecca.Troy
Thank you to all forty-two of you! Oh my gosh!
@Tell My Voice What It Takes
No problum !
3/30/15