Jack kept silent as the seconds ticked away. I didn't get much from him. He was too busy staring at the crumbs on his plate. Once I finished eating my bowl of cereal, I looked up at him but he hardly acknowledged me. It's like I struck a nerve – a really big nerve.
Since he wasn't in a talking mood, I told him that I'd be in my house. He barely nodded as I hopped down from my seat and went up the stairs to grab all the things I had from there. I got the dress I wore last night and grabbed my phone and keys that were on his bedside table. I was about to leave when I saw Jack's phone beside the digital watch on the table.
I needed to get some answers and if that meant I had to do it the hard way, then I guess I should just go figure. I took Zack's number from his phone and saved in mine. I know I really shouldn't be doing this but you know me and my lack of self-control. It's weird how I'm not one bit crazy yet. But don't take this the wrong way. I'm not gonna be running around like a hobo on the streets if this doesn't work out.
I placed Jack's phone right back on the table and went down with everything I owned. I made my down the house and through the living room. I walked to by the kitchen just to see Jack in the same position. He hardly moved. He didn't even look up when I passed by.
I started to regret asking him the question. Now everything was on the verge of awkwardness with him and that is a very bad sign. I'm not fortune teller or psychic but it's practically clear that that question blew him up and maybe sooner or later, we'll both drift apart.
But maybe I'm just thinking too much. Am I overanalysing the whole situation? Should I really regret asking that question or was it something that could help him in the long run?
I walked back to my house and unlocked the door using my keys. I shut the door once I got in and went up the stairs to change and fix myself up. I didn't really feel like taking a bath anymore since I did that last night so instead of taking a shower, I just brushed my teeth. After which, I brushed my wild, brown hair. Once I was through with that, I sat on my bed as I stared into my phone.
Should I really ask someone else? Would Jack get angry if he found out? Would he hate me for it? I found myself in an impossible situation but the longing for answers as to who broke Jack apart still lingered in my head.
I gave up on trying to be considerate and called Zack.
"Hello?" he greeted groggily.
"Sorry, Zack, did I wake you?" I asked distraughtly.
"Um, who's this?" he yawned.
"This is Brittany," I answered.
"Oh, hey," he said lightening up with the sound of my name. "What's up?"
"I was just wondering if you could meet me at Starbucks today so we could like hang out?" I bit my lip hoping that he wouldn't think it would be weird.
"Oh, yeah sure," he said sleepily. "Is Jack coming too?"
"Oh, um, no," I stuttered.
"You guys got into a fight or something?" he asked me and I just sighed.
"It's not really an argument. I'll just explain later okay?" I said sadly.
"Okay, I'll meet you there in fifteen?" he asked me pushing the question away. I was glad he knew how to be thoughtful. I needed someone like that right now.
"Sure," I said as I put down the phone.
I changed into something casual and spritzed some Victoria's Secret perfume on me. I placed some on my wrists and then rubbed them against my neck.
Once I thought I was ready, I grabbed my bag that had most of my stuff ready inside for going out and slipped my phone in. Luckily, I had a driver's license and there was a car in the garage. I made sure to lock everything up before I went into the garage.
I opened the steel garage door that led to the outside world from inside and then got inside the car. The keys were just inside waiting for me to put them into the ignition to bring the engine to life. Once I got the engine to start, I pulled out of the garage and let the garage door shut automatically.
I drove to the nearest Starbucks in town – the one Jack and I went to. I parked my car right outside the outlet and then got out of the car with my bag. Once I got out of my car, the heat hit my face. I hurried inside Starbucks so I wouldn't start sweating. I sighed once I got inside as the cool air comforted me.
Since Zack wasn't there when I came in, I went straight to the counter to get something to drink.
"Good morning, welcome to Starbucks, how may I help you?" The barista asked me as soon as I was right in front of her. She had this smile on her face that seemed forced and it saddened me that she was here on a day where she didn't feel very well. I'd totally call in sick if I felt bad but I guess not everyone thinks like me.
"Um, can I get a tall Java Chip Frappucino?" I told her and she nodded and typed it in the register.
"Can I get your name?" she asked grabbing a tall cup and a sharpie.
"Brittany," I replied and got some cash to pay for the drink. I gave it to her as soon as the digits flashed on the small screen.
She wrote it down and then accepted the cash before telling her co-worker what I ordered. She handed me a receipt before I grabbed the table nearest to the counter to wait for my order. I checked my phone to see what time it was. It was 10:43 which meant only ten minutes went by before I spoke to Zack.
My name was called after a while and I stood up and grabbed my drink. They gave me a napkin and a straw and I accepted it with a simple 'thank you'. Then, I went back to my seat and waited for Zack.
I didn't really know what I was going to ask him. I mean I wanted to know more about Jack's life but I didn't want to seem too desperate. I looked out the door and watched all the people passing by. It didn't take long until I saw a familiar face. I checked my phone again as I sipped my Frappucino and saw that he was half a minute early.
"Hey Brit," he said taking the seat right in front of me. His brown hair was dishevelled but it looked good on him.
"Hey," I replied with a smile. "Aren't you going to get anything to drink first?" I asked and he nodded before he got up and went to the counter.
The girl seemed happier when he came into view and ordered something. Maybe his handsome face cheered him up. I chuckled at the thought as Zack turned to me and raised an eyebrow. I shook my head before checking my phone again trying to make myself look busy.
Unexpectedly, I received a text from my brother. I opened it quickly to see what he wanted from me. Weirdly, he asked me how I was doing. That was very odd coming from my brother but then again, maybe he really was worried or maybe Mom just wouldn't stop bugging him.
I told him that I was doing okay and asked him why he wanted to know. I looked back up to see that Zack was already sitting waiting on me.
"So, what's up?" he asked sipping his cup of hot coffee.
"Well…" I trailed off not knowing how to start the conversation.
"Wait let me guess," he said placing his cup on the table and leaning forward. "You're worried about him since he's acting weird and he's acting like a kid all the time and-"
"No it's not his behaviour I'm worried about, I know some people like him," I said with a light chuckle. "I just want to know more about him," I said looking down at my drink.
"Did you overhear us talking this morning?" he asked hesitantly with some kind of shock instilled in his voice.
I looked up at him and nodded as he heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, it's just that he woke me up," I said with teeth clenched in worry.
"Its fine, I guess but I'm not sure I'm the one you're supposed to be asking about all this," he said sipping his coffee.
"Please?" I begged, "I just want to know what happened so I can understand why he's acting this way," I said. Okay, mission 'try-not-to-sound-desperate' was a complete failure but I just needed to get this out of the way so I can clear the air.
"Fine but if he knows about all this and asks me, I'm gonna be blaming you, okay?" he said and I laughed.
"Okay," I assured him and waited as he thought about where to start.
"I guess I'd have to start with the whole move," he said sipping more of his coffee. "The whole reason for his move was because of his ex-girlfriend," I said almost spitting out some of my drink. He laughed at my reaction as he continued, "You see, his girlfriend was the kind of girl who wasn't contended with anything that was given to her,"
"So you're saying that Jack wasn't enough for her?" I interrupted and he put a finger up signalling me to wait.
"She wanted the whole world in her hands and Jack just couldn't give her that. She was pretty materialistic and she didn't give a shit about the band and the music we were making. She was pretty ungrateful about everything and Jack had to find ways to make her happy. He tried his hardest but in the end, she just crushed him into itty bitty pieces.
"I tried to help with the situation but even my ideas didn't work. She was too much for anyone to handle. She wanted too many things from Jack and whenever Jack told her that he couldn't provide it for her, she'd blackmail him by playing the break-up card." He said as I leaned back on my seat with my Frappucino in hand.
"Why did he choose to stay with her then?" I asked him and he smirked. I bet he knew that that question was bound to come out from my mouth.
"He was blind," he told me and I furrowed my eyebrows in query. "He set his mind into thinking that she was the one for him and that they'd probably grow old together or something stupid like that. She was practically the only one who turned him from being a really fun and wild boy into someone serious or in other words a freakin' buzzkill." He said in disgust and shuddered at the memory.
"So how did they end the relationship then?" I asked Zack who was finishing up the remains the coffee left in his cup.
"Well, practically, the whole time they were dating, she was seeing other people," he said and my eyes opened up wide. "And when I say other people, I mean three other guys," he said as I dropped my jaw.
"What a careless, ungrateful slut hoe!" I exclaimed. Zack shushed me as people stopped to stare at me.
My cheeks flushed red as he started to laugh at my reaction. I couldn't help it. How is someone capable of actually doing that to someone who didn't deserve to be treated that way?
"How did she manage to keep all that from Jack?" I asked him as soon as I composed myself.
"Well, she wasn't really around most of the time and she never really joined us when we left for tour so I guess while we were away, she forgot about Jack for a certain period of time and got with other guys," he said.
"When did Jack find out about this?" I asked with a tone filled with concern.
"When they got together and Jack left for tour," he stated and I raised an eyebrow.
"So you mean he just knew?" I asked rubbing the back of my neck trying to figure it out.
"No, when he came back home and tried to surprise her by coming home one day before, she ended up surprising him with a take home guy from some bar she went to," he said and I smirked at his choice of words. "But after that, Jack forgave her. I didn't know why he did what he did but he told us that there was something in her that seemed to be calling out to him."
"Okay?" I said finding it weird that Jack actually though that about her.
"That same situation happened multiple times and he gave her more than three chances to change but that never happened and Jack was just never the same after that," he said sullenly as he reminisced. "It took him months to recover from that relationship but when he did, he decided that it was best to move and find a new place so that he could forget about her.
"Jack's still really torn apart about the whole situation even if it happened about a month ago but then he met you," he mentioned making me look up at him in surprise.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked him casually as I sat in an upright position.
"He met you and he told me that his whole mind set changed. He told me that there really is someone out there who's right for him and that his ex-girlfriend was nothing but a wall that distracted him." He said meaningfully.
"So you're saying-"
"He told me that he's still in search for the right one so I'm making no promises," he said and at first I didn't really catch his drift but I guess all he was trying to say was that Jack didn't say that I was the one he was looking for.
"Okay," I said contented.
He watched me intently for any trace of sadness or unhappiness. He thought that what he said upset me but I'm good at hiding my feelings so I'm sure he won't be able to find anything out of the ordinary.
"You're not upset, are you?" he asked cocking an eyebrow. I just laughed at him.
"Of course not," I lied. "I mean I totally get it now,"
"Mmmhmmm," he said not believing anything I said. I just rolled my eyes at him.
I was about to say something when his phone started ringing. He held up a finger as he got up and answered the call outside.
I thought about everything he just told me and felt bad about rushing Jack. He needed time – lots of it to be exact. While Zack told me everything, I couldn't help but feel guilty about trying to get this all out of Jack. I mean I thought it was something light and easy to deal with but this whole thing was really hard to process.
Jack didn't need to say anything and he made the right decision to just stare at the crumbs on his plate when I asked him. I bet it hurt him a lot. I should really go apologize to him later.
Zack came back in after a while with a worried look on his face. "Hey, uh, Brit, I'm really sorry but I kinda have to go. I totally forgot that we had band practice today," he told me and I chuckled.
"It's okay, you should go," I said grabbing my bag which was on the chair beside mine.
"Why don't you just come with me?" he invited and I looked up at him. "I mean you're not doing anything today, are you?" he asked me and I shook my head.
"But won't I be some kind of disturbance or something?" I asked awkwardly not really knowing why I was making excuses.
"Nah, c'mon, we need an audience member to cheer us on anyway," he said with a wink and I laughed.
I got up and got into my car and he got into his. We decided that since we both brought a car that I would just tail him until we got to Rian's house where practice was going to be held.
The whole drive there, I kept thinking about how I would act towards Jack knowing all of this new information about him but it was hard to think so I don't know, go figure?
