A/N: I know I know. I never update. I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I'll try to do a better job of keeping up with this story(:
"You seldom listen to me, and when you do, you don't hear. When you do hear, you hear wrong. Even when you hear right, you change it so fast that it's never the same."
As time went by, Jack and I had completely settled in to our new flat. The walls were completely painted and the rooms were furnished. I happily cooked a ham as Jack sat in the living room reading the paper. I hummed to myself as I worked, gliding around the kitchen. I was in a chipper mood today, although I wasn't really sure why. I grabbed the oven mitt laying on the counter and slid it over my small hand. Reaching for the stove, I pulled it open and took out the freshly cooked ham. I smiled proudly as I took a big wiff of the scent. I was finally past my stage of not being able to eat pig. It took a while to get over, but I was finally okay with it. I knew that Jack enjoyed meat too much anyways, so not ever fixing it would torture the poor man. As I was taking out the dinner plates from the cupboard, the phone rang. Jumping at the sudden noise, I quickly sat the plates down and picked the phone up from the kitchen wall.
"Hello?" I spoke into the receiver.
"Hello, Angel!" A familar, warm voice said back. I smiled. Ralph. I hadn't heard from him in awhile. I peeked my head into the living room to see if Jack was listening. Seeing he was still content with his paper, I turned my attention back to Ralph.
"How've you been?" I asked. I hadn't heard from him since the last letter I had sent, which had been a little while. I had written my phone number down because, frankly, I thought it'd be a lot eaiser than waiting to receive a letter.
"I've been pretty good, I suppose. Keeping myself busy. How about you?"
"The same. I'm just glad I'm finally finished moving in. That was a nightmare!" It was true. I never knew moving could be so stressful. I switched the phone to my other ear and began twisting the cord around my finger.
"I could imagine!" Ralph laughed. "It wasn't pleasant for me either. I, however, didn't have the chore of putting up with Jack and his stubborness though."
I cringed. I hated when Ralph and Jack talked bad about each other. Ralph was my closest friend and Jack was my boyfriend. I couldn't find myself to say anything bad back. Avoiding the subject, I laughed and played it off cooly.
"It's not that bad. Can I call you back later? We're about to have dinner."
"Of course." Ralph said. We exchanged our goodbyes before I hung up the phone relieved. I didn't want to listen to Ralph talk about Jack. Shaking my head, I prepared tea and set the ham on the middle of the table.
"Jack!" I yelled. "Dinner's ready!"
Jack came into the room and wrapped me in his arms. Kissing my cheek, he turned to the table to see what I had prepared.
"Ham!" he cried excitedly. "My favorite!"
I watched as he hurried to the table to begin eating. I shook my head and chuckled to myself.
"You're like a little kid," I grinned. I pulled back my chair and causally sat down. "I've never seen someone get so excited over food."
Swallowing a big chunck of meat, Jack smiled. "You still love me though!"
"I know." I cut myself a decent sized amount of meat and dropped it onto my plate. Although I could now bring myself to eat pork, it still reminded me of the island too much. I absently chewed my food and sat quietly.
When dinner was over, I washed the dishes and put them back up in the cupboard. I jumped when I heard the phone ring again. From the other room, I heard Jack answer. Curiosity burning inside of me, I quickly finished the dishes and stumbled into the living room. I found Jack on the couch with the phone pressed to his ear. Smiling slightly, I took a seat next to him. He gave me a quick glance of acknowledgment then turned his attention back to the phone, his face a solemn mask.
"Who is it?" I whispered. I really didn't like that look on his face. Jack merely shook his head, avoiding eye contact with me.
"Nice talking to you again too," Jack said into the receiver. "Take care. Goodbye." He set the phone down with and blank look on his face and said nothing more.
"Jack, what's wrong? Who was that?" I urged. I took his cold hand into my warm one and held it tight. Jack's pale blue eyes bore into me and a name I never thought I'd hear again slipped out of his lips.
"Roger."
I felt my face pale. Not Roger. Anyone but him. "What did he want?" I asked, my voice high and weak.
Jack bit his lip. "He looked me up and found my number. He spent some time in a juvenile delinquency in his younger years. Now he wants to get back in contact with me."
I gulped. "What did you tell him?"
Jack sighed. "I told him I'd go get a drink or something with him. He doesn't live too far away, actually."
I stared at Jack in awe. He was seriously going to go have a drink with the sociopath who had killed Piggy and my brother some four years ago. I shook my head at him.
"You're not considering this, are you?" I asked him, my voice becoming threatning.
"I don't see why not," Jack said, his voice becoming just as grave. "I haven't seen him since I was seventeen."
I took a deep breath. My frustration was getting the best of me. "What if he hasn't changed? What if he's the same sociopath that we knew before?"
"Well I'll never know if I don't go now, will I?"
He made a good point, yet I still didn't want him going. I didn't want Roger to corrupt my Jack. The new, soft Jack that I had come to fall in love with. Not the power hungry savage from before. I had a feeling, a burning dread, in the pit of my stomach that the inner savage in him still lay deep within. I watched Jack as he threw on his jacket and grabbed the car keys from the table.
"I'll be back in no time, okay? You'll see that he's not as bad before. I'll be home around 9 o'clock." He kissed my cheek and flung the door open.
"Okay. I love you," I called back.
I heard a muffled reply as the door swung closed, leaving me home alone. With a deep sigh, I sulked to the bedroom to change into my silky nightgown. Quickly throwing it on, I went back to the living room and turned on the tv. I stared blankly at the screen, my mind off someplace else. Jack being with Roger again worried me to no extent. I didn't want Jack to become like Roger again. Bitting my lip, I reached for the phone. Quickly dialing, I pressed the receiver firmly to my ear.
"Hello?" I heard. I smiled. I knew Ralph would help me calm down.
"Hey," I said softly, my voice unsteady.
"Angel?" He asked. "You sound nervous about something."
My hands nervously tangled the phone cord. "Roger," I choked out. "Jack is at the bar with Roger right now."
The other end of the phone fell silent. Finally, after an uneasy pause, Ralph spoke.
"How did he find you guys?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "My best guess would be the phone book."
Ralph paused again. "This isn't good. There isn't much we can do right now though. Call me tomorrow and tell me everything Jack tells you, okay?"
I nodded. "Okay. Will do."
"We'll figure something out."
Even though I couldn't see him, I dectected a smile with the last statement. I had never realized how much I had missed Ralph until now. He was my best friend and I hadn't seen him since school. I said my goodbyes to him and promised to call again tomorrow with the details. Setting the phone down, I yawned loudly and fell back onto the couch. I rubbed my eyes and moaned. Was I seriously this tired already? Being almost twenty, I felt as if I were in my forties right now. My energy was completely drained, like I had just run a marathon. I wearily rose from the couch and stumbled into the bedroom. The clock of the nightstand read 7:35 in red block letters as I squinted at it. Maybe it was the stress that was wearing me down. Hoping sleep would help, I crawled into the big, empty bed and raised the covers up to my neck. Turning the lamp off, I stared off into the darkness, waiting for sleep to consume me.
I was held against a tree by vines as I watched Jack and Roger sharpen their spears at both ends. They exchanged malicious smiles as Jack ran a finger over the sharp point. Jack approached me as I struggled to free myself. The last thing I saw were his malice filled eyes. Pure savage shone in them as he raised his spear over his head and came down hard.
I jolted awake in a panic as I awoke from my nightmare. I tried to slow my heavy breathing as I looked around the dark room, confirming I was no longer asleep. Feeling beads of sweat dripping across my clammy forehead, I raised my shaky hand to wipe it away. When my hand came back down onto the bed, I noticed I was still the only one in it. My tired eyes glanced to the clock. I gasped when I saw it was nearly midnight. Where the hell was Jack? He was supposed to be home three hours ago! I sleepily sat up in bed and stared blankly into the darkness, worry building up inside me. No sooner than I had sat up, I heard the front door slam. Laying back down, I patiently waited for Jack to come to bed. I heard his heavy footsteps before I saw his tall silhouette appear in the doorway. He crawled into bed next to me without saying a single word. I turned the lamp back on and sat up.
"You wanna tell me why you're three hours late, Jack?" I asked, evident anger in my voice.
His bloodshot eyes met mine. "Roger's a really cool guy," he slurred. "We went back to his house for awhile and caught up." Jack's face fell into the pillow and his body relaxed against the bed.
"And you didn't even bother to call me? You know how worried I've been? You said 9 o'clock, Jack!" I swallowed and tried to keep my cool, but I wasn't very successful. I waited for Jack to answer me, but he never did. Tilting my face next to his on the pillow, I found he was fast asleep. Groaning, I clicked off the lamp and lay back next to him. I knew Roger would be a bad influence on him. I also knew that I had a bone to pick with Jack first thing in the morning when he was awake and sober.