CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
TWO DAYS LATER
Jack looked at the message on his phone from Megan. She was having a good old whinge because he wasn't spending anytime with Grace. She knew that Martha was going through a rough time at the moment, and that he needed to be there for her, but Megan didn't seem to care. He erased the message; he couldn't even be bothered replying to it.
Jack looked at the clock, and realized that it was 10:00 am. Martha wasn't even out of bed yet. He hadn't heard a peep out of her all morning. He thought that maybe he should go check on her. He slowly made his way to her room, and when he reached the door, he was certain that he could hear Martha crying.
"Martha," he knocked on the door.
"Go away," Martha cried out.
Jack ignored her orders and opened the door to her room. He wanted to know what was wrong. She was sitting on the middle of her bed, with her sheets bunched all around her. There were photos scattered all across the bed in front of her.
"I thought I told you to go away," Martha sniffed.
"And you actually believe that I would do that?" Jack said to her.
"Guess not," Martha shrugged.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked as he sat down next to her. He looked down at the photos, and most of them were of Martha with Ray.
"I was just looking at some pictures of me and dad," Martha started. "I probably shouldn't because it makes me feel worse. I still can't believe that he's gone," she said.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jack asked as he reached for her hand.
Martha shook her head. "No," she answered, and pulled her hand away from his grasp. "What's the point? It won't change anything," she told him.
"Martha," Jack looked at her with sad eyes. "You can't keep it all bottled up inside. You need to let it out. Talk to me; let me help you," he pleaded with her.
Martha shook her head again. "I can't. It hurts too much," she started to cry.
"Hey, it's okay," Jack soothed, as he pulled Martha into a warm embrace.
Martha welcomed the hug, and she fell into him; wrapping her arms around him tightly, and resting her head on his chest. Jack could soon feel her warm tears seeping through his shirt; but he didn't care.
"I want him back," Martha sobbed. "I just want him to come back".
They sat like this for a while; until the sobs that wracked Martha's body, subsided. Jack looked down into Martha's face, and realised that her eyes were closed. She had fallen asleep. Jack gently fell back onto the pillow; bringing Martha down with him. If he tried to untangle himself from her arms; she'd probably wake up. And he didn't want that. So he would just lay with her, until she woke up.
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By the time Martha woke up; Jack was asleep. She looked at the bedside clock, and she realized that it was now 11:30 am. They'd been asleep for nearly an hour and a half.
Martha had to admit that waking up in Jacks arms again was amazing. She had missed waking up with him. He was so warm and he made her feel safe. She snuggled back into his arms and rested her face back on his chest. She wished that they could stay that way forever, and not have to worry about anybody else except for themselves and their baby.
It was then that Martha noticed that one of Jack's hands was resting protectively over her stomach. It made her smile, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. Jack always managed to give her the butterflies: even if it was just with a look, a touch, or a smile.
Martha knew that she had to get up soon. Alf would be arriving home in a few hours and she wanted to tidy the house up a bit before he got home. Not that it was messy; Jack was always making sure that the apartment was being kept tidy.
Martha gently pried herself from Jack's arms, and slowly moved off the bed; hoping not to wake Jack. She knew that his nights had also been quite restless; and she knew that it was because of her. He would stay up worrying about her; and it would stop him from getting any sleep. He had actually admitted that to her; and it made her feel a little guilty.
She walked to her cupboard and pulled out some clean clothes. She turned and looked back at Jack. He looked so peaceful. She then quietly left the room and headed towards the bathroom for a quick shower.
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"Grandad," Martha threw her arms around Alf as soon as walked through the door.
"Hey love. How are you feeling?" Alf hugged her back.
"I'm okay," she said softly.
"Thanks for staying here with her," Alf then looked at Jack.
"No problem" Jack told him.
"So, how was everything at the farm?" Martha then asked Alf when they sat down at the dining table.
"It was very quiet. Your brothers were doing their best to stay strong," Alf said truthfully. "I met some of the locals while I was there, and they only had great things to say about your dad, and your family".
"I can't wait to go back for a visit," Martha sighed.
"The funeral service was beautiful. I felt quite privileged to be there. And I'm glad that I went," Alf told her.
Martha smiled. "The farm's great, isn't it?" she said.
"Your brothers took me around and showed me all the places that you used to go while you were growing up. Now that I've seen them: I feel like I know you even more," Alf smiled at her. "Now, Macca told me to tell you that he will be living up to his promise. He's booked his ticket, and he'll be here in four days. He was going to come back today, but he had a few things to take care of first," he explained.
"I'm sure I can wait a few more days," Martha exclaimed.
"How about I make us all a hot drink and you two can talk a bit more," Jack suggested, as he got up and walked into the kitchen.
"Maybe I should hire him full time," Alf joked.
Martha laughed. "Maybe," she said.
"It's good to see you smile," Alf then told her.
Martha didn't know why, but she felt bad every time she smiled or laughed. Her dad had only been gone for a week, so she felt that she shouldn't be doing either. But she knew that her dad wouldn't want her moping around. He would want her to get on with life.
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NEXT CHAPTER: Macca's back.
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