Connie
It was very obvious at this point that Jac was not ok. Connie knew she wasn't ok, but she didn't know how to help, or even what had happened. She said that she had knocked the papers off trying to tidy up, and Connie had little choice but to believe her. What Jac couldn't hide, though, was how her hands shook as Connie took the papers from her. Her phone lay smashed in a corner on the floor, and Connie picked it up. She saw the picture of Disney World and the three missed calls that had come from Fletch two minutes ago. She put the phone in her pocket and made a mental note to give it back later. She also found a clean knife, why was it there? There was no way of talking about this to Jac right now, so she hurriedly put it next to the phone in her pocket and stood up.
'Ok good. Well, I came to ask about…..' Connie wasn't sure if speaking to Jac right now was a good idea. Whether or not something had happened, it was clear that Jac was spiralling quickly, and Connie's priority was to prevent that.
'I came to ask if you had anything to drink. Coffee? I'm going to stay here for a bit. It's pretty quiet right now, and I've sent Nicky home.' Connie had had every intention of being home in bed right now, but she was needed here. Regardless of whether she liked to admit it, Jac meant something to her, and if she wasn't ok then it was Connie's responsibility to stay with her.
'Oh, no that's fine. I don't need you. Everything is completely under control,' Jac spoke quickly and Connie noticed her voice was an octave higher than it normally was.
'Yes, but all the same I'd like to catch up. You don't come downstairs anymore when we need a CT consult, you send Kian. I've not seen you for a while. You'll hardly notice I'm here. It's fine. Besides, you're clearly understaffed. I'll clean this mess up while you go and make some coffee, ok?'
She noticed her mistake, sending Nicky home and then reasoning that they were understaffed. Thankfully, it went unnoticed. While Jac was gone, Connie sorted through the papers. Among the Darwin paperwork, she found letters about missed therapy appointments, dating back to February.
'Oh God Jac, what are you doing to yourself?' Connie murmured to the empty room. Jac's books had come loose from their covers and, try as she might, Connie had no idea where most of the forms went. Eventually, she left them stacked neatly in their respective piles on the desk and went to find Jac.
Lost in thought, Connie didn't notice her come back towards her office with two steaming mugs and as a result, walked straight into her. Coffee sloshed over the sides of the cups, but Jac held them steady so that little was lost.
'Sorry, Jac. Here, let me take it.' Connie carried the dripping mugs back into the office, flicked the lights on and kicked the door shut with her foot. Setting the mugs down onto the glass coffee table which immediately clouded with condensation, Connie sat next to Jac on the sofa and handed her coffee to her. Jac smiled and drank greedily. It was still too hot though, and she winced as the scalding liquid burned the back of her mouth. As she threw back her head, they both laughed at Jac's mistake. When she looked Jac in the eye for the first time that evening, Connie noticed her old spark was missing, dulled by the weight of whatever load she was carrying on her shoulders. The minute the laughter left her eyes, they glazed over and she stared into space, off in a world that no one could ever really wake her from. Connie didn't know what else to do, so she softly put a hand on Jac's leg.
'I know I left, but I'm still here, if you need me.' She put her mug down and looked at Jac worriedly.
Jac put her mug down.
And all hell broke loose.
Ooooooo, cliffhanger! Sorry not sorry, but the next chapter will be up this afternoon. Enjoyyyyyy! Xx
