What is this? Another chapter being posted so soon after the last?! ;) Hope you like this one - sorry it's so short. Thank you SO much for the reviews. Can't believe there are folk out there still reading this, and I just love that you guys still care about the show and about these two as much as I do!
Chapter 7
Jack got home about an hour after he'd dropped Kate off. He shut the door behind him harder than he needed to, and threw his car keys on to the side table. His apartment was dark in the evening winter light. Without thinking, Jack headed through to his kitchen - lightly stocked, as he had only moved in the day before - and opened the one cupboard door that did have something behind it. He scanned the surfaces impatiently for a glass but couldn't locate one at first glance, so took a large swallow of scotch straight from the bottle.
The McCutheon(?) clattered against the surface as he set it back down. His apartment was quiet, no noises from outside or from the neighbours. He exhaled heavily, running his hands over his face, rubbing his palms against his eyes in frustration. "Shit." He took another swig of scotch, and then roughly loosened his collar, undoing the top button and untucking his shirt from his trousers.
His anger was irrational, he knew that. He wasn't angry at her; he was angry at himself. He should've given her space, let her handle this on her own - like she always had.
Jack pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. No messages or missed calls. He chucked it on the kitchen surface. It made an ugly noise against the silence of the apartment and the low glow of the evening light. He picked up the scotch and headed through to his living room, stepping over the empty box that his TV had arrived in.
The couch sank beneath him as he collapsed on to it, sighing and stretching his back as he did so. He switched the TV on so as to escape the silence, and the bright lights that emitted from it flashed against the walls as the pictures changed. The tinny laugh of the audience on the screen rang dead in his ears, and he didn't really watch the screen; rather, his head filled with faces - Jin's face, Michael's face, Charlie's face. He could hear Boone's words in his head - "I'm letting you off the hook..."
Jack woke up at around noon the next day, still on the sofa with his clothes and shoes on, immediately recognising the signs of an oncoming hangover. He groaned as he sat up straight, light now streaming in, and noticed the two-thirds empty bottle of scotch on the floor. Wincing against the light and the voices coming from the TV, he got up to pull down the blinds and turn down the volume. Then he padded through to the kitchen, putting the scotch back in its cupboard, and located his phone. He had a message from Hurley, and also from his mother. She was reminding him that they'd agreed to meet with Jack's aunt for lunch.
Son of a bitch.
The next day, Jack was out at the local store, collecting groceries to stock his cupboards (his mother had insisted). As he queued to pay, he noticed the couple in the queue next to his whispering; felt their eyes on him. He looked over at them, and they stopped whispering, fake smiles plastering their faces. Jack gave a small polite smile in return and turned away. The lady at the cashdesk started to scan his items, and Jack didn't even notice that she was talking to him until he realised she'd stopped scanning his food.
"I'm sorry?"
"I said, I bet you get that all the time," she repeated, nodding towards the next queue of people.
Jack puffed out his cheeks, stuffing his groceries in a bag. "It's not so bad."
"Could be worse," the woman said chirpily; so chirpily that it caused Jack to look her in the face. She was giving him a coy smile, then averted her eyes to the screen in front of her, pressing some buttons. "That'll be $42.80."
He opened his wallet and pulled out some cash. The woman bit her lip as she took it from him, and he raised an eyebrow in amusement. She handed him back his change, and he smiled politely, picking up his bag of groceries.
"Thanks."
"See you around."
Jack held back a chuckle as he walked away, bag tucked under one arm, and pulled out his phone.
Hey, a message read. You wanna get coffee? I'll make up for Tuesday. Kate
And for the first time that day, a real smile broke out over his face.
