CHAPTER 2: JACK
Jack opened the front door to his house after returning from Miss Fisher's residence. He flopped down on the couch, and began to think about what he had just done "Phryne will be distraught…" he thought to himself "but I suppose it's for the best… I can't bear to go through that pain again. Plus, Dorothy will look after her"
He poured himself a whiskey and stared at it. Usually at this time, both of them would be standing in her parlour, drinks in hand, and indulging together after solving a case. Not tonight. That was all over.
He downed his whiskey and stared at the empty glass. He thought once more back to when he gave Phryne up. The look on her face said it all- she would miss him terribly. And so would he- but things got too complicated. He had an inkling that Miss Fisher saw him as more than a friend, and to be honest, he saw her in the same way, but he would never admit it to anyone. He knew that they couldn't complete an investigation without each other. But despite all this, he gave her up.
The feelings that Jack felt when he found out about the car crash were unbearable. He couldn't bear to live his life without Phryne in it. But he would have to now. He had given her up.
Jack realised that his eyes were welling up once more. He silently cursed himself for shedding more tears- there had been enough of that at the station after he received the message from Hugh. And he had cried after Phryne had caught him drowning his sorrows at the station alone- he had tried very hard not to cry in front of her at that point. But as he rushed to the car that night, he couldn't hold it back anymore.
There was a knock at the door. Jack managed to remove himself from the recap of events that was playing out in his mind and answered the door. It was Hugh. Jack was surprised at this "Collins… what are you doing here?"
Hugh looked somewhat shocked "umm… I know it's late but I'll be quick. I heard about what you said to Miss Fisher, Inspector… Dot telephoned me. She isn't in a very good state right now"
Jack couldn't help feeling somewhat concerned "I suspected as much, but she has Miss Williams to look after her, doesn't she?"
"Yes… I suppose she does… but the person she really needs isn't there"
"And who might that be, Collins?"
"Isn't it obvious Inspector? She needs you…" Hugh replied, suddenly feeling embarrassed- he was talking about the love life of his boss, after all.
Jack folded his arms. "Collins, now isn't the time to bring up such details. We both know how the misunderstanding hurt us, especially Miss Fisher and myself. It will take some time to get over. While this happens we need to keep our distance, hence the decision I made earlier. I know that Phryne won't be happy with it, and neither am I, but this is something that needs to happen. I have no choice, Collins…"
Hugh looked up at Jack- he saw tears running down his cheeks. He thought it was best to leave at this point and looked down at his feet. "Oh… okay then Inspector, I just wanted to let you know, that's all. Well, I'd better let you get some rest then… it's been an eventful day… so see you in the morning Inspector. I just hope you're doing the right thing"
Jack wiped the tears from his face, hoping that Hugh hadn't seen them "Goodnight Collins, see you in the morning" he managed to choke out. He closed the front door, and Hugh's last words resonated with him "I just hope you're doing the right thing". Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. He was too tired and sad to think clearly.
He didn't want to give Phryne up. But he felt like he had no choice. The message had hurt him. A lot. But he had just hurt her. But he couldn't go back. He didn't want to feel that pain again.
Jack sighed to himself, and walked into the bedroom and lay down on the bed. "I'm so sorry Phryne, but I can't, I can't do it anymore. It hurts too much…" he whispered to himself and drifted off to sleep.
