Chapter 12

Will sighed as he literally dragged his feet up the stairs. He had waited for the elevator for about 10 minutes but after no sign of it and the light staying on the 12th floor, he decided to walk up the stairs, something he now began to regret and with every step his feet felt heavier. As he climbed the stairs, he tried to clear his mind of everything that had happened but he couldn't escape what Jack had said to him.

"How do you have a future?"

Will had played over a thousand times in his head how his and Karen's relationship could ensue and no matter what grand miracles he thought up, the ending was still the same. It couldn't work. They couldn't be together.

He felt sick. Will stopped moving and sat down on a step, resting his head in his lap. He had to think of something…there must be a way…but there wasn't. Unless he woke up tomorrow and Stan was gone and Grace and Jack were happy for them, there was nothing.

"Goddamn it!" he suddenly shouted and slammed his fist into the concrete floor. Pain soared through his hand like fire and tears formed in his eyes but it wasn't his hand he was grieving over.

"Will? Oh my god, what's wrong?"

He looked up and saw Grace running down the stairs towards him. He froze for a second, panicking but as she grew closer he wiped his eyes and stood up.

"G...Grace? What are you doing here?" He stuttered out, trying to act normal despite his throbbing hand and breaking heart.

"Well, I've been stuck alone all night, haven't I? So I was just going to pop across the street to get some more ice-cream and the elevator's stuck again so…I took the stairs, but forget about me, what the hell's wrong? Were you…crying?" she hesitated slightly.

"Me? Um…no!" Will tried to smile and laugh it off but his face was flat and his laugh was hollow. Grace desperately wanted to know what was wrong, this was her best friend and he was obviously distressed about something.

"Will…" she said softly "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Grace, so will you just drop it?" He snapped causing her to jump back slightly with alarm. "I hurt my hand and that's it, ok? You finished snooping now?" he couldn't stop himself. He could hear himself saying the words but he couldn't control them. What was happening to him?

"Snooping? What the hell are you talking about, Will? I was only trying to…"

"Save it, Grace. I don't care. I'm going to bed."

"Will?" she shouted after him. "Will!"

But she was left again, feeling confused, hurt and even more alone than ever.

Meanwhile, Jack was ringing Karen's doorbell. His anger, although still burning slightly, had subsided greatly and the speech he had planned to say to Karen seemed…just wrong. 'Well, Jack,' he though to himself, 'looks like you're going to have to improvise this one'.

The door opened and a tired looking Karen stood before him.

"Jack? What's the matter?" She had known something was wrong when Will had sent her a text saying 'remember, whatever they say…I love you.' about 10 minutes ago which had woken her up. She hadn't understood it at the time but now, it had just become much clearer. Someone knew. And from the look on Jack's face; a mixture of fear, anger and sadness, she knew it was him.

"I…umm, can I come in, Kare?"

"Of course, poodle. You know you don't have to ask."

Karen stepped aside and Jack walked slowly past her as she shut the door.

"So…what's up?" she asked, as brightly as she could, trying to mask her own fear that she felt.

"I think you know." Jack answered quietly, bowing his head.

"Oh." She whispered. "How did you…?"

"I saw you both tonight. You were getting in the limo and I was across the street."

Karen simply nodded and sat down in a near by chair, resting her head in her hands.

"Why didn't you tell me, Kare? I'm your best friend…or at least I thought I was…"

"Of course you are, Jackie! And you always will be! Oh, you don't know how many times I wanted to tell you but I couldn't!"

"That's what Will said. And I suppose I understand why but…but it doesn't stop it hurting, y'know?" He sat down at the opposite end of the room.

"I know, honey." And she did. Maybe not of the pain Jack was feeling, but she knew too well of the pain she felt at lying to him, betraying him. Of the sickness she felt at the pit of her stomach when she thought about all the people she would hurt if they found out. "Believe me, I know."

They were silent for a few minutes before Jack spoke again.

"I mean, it's not as if I would tell anyone if you asked me not to. I ain't gonna listen to Will, that's for sure, but you…I'd listen to you. I love you, Kare."

"And I love you too, Jack."

"But just not in the way you love Will."

"No." she answered quietly but truthfully. "Not in the same way."

They were quiet again but it was Karen who spoke first this time.

"Does…umm…"

"No, Grace doesn't know, and I don't know if she's going to. Will made me promise not to tell her. I wanted to, don't get me wrong, she deserves to know. But I didn't for you."

It was only then that Karen realised just how much she had meant to Jack and how much she had hurt him. Although she knew he liked her, there was always a small part of her that often wondered if it was all just a show, all for the money she spent on him. But now she realised just how wrong she was and it killed her.

"Jack, I'm…I'm really sorry." she sighed, trembling as she felt the tears run down her face.It felt like she was apologising notjust to Jack, but to everyone she was hurting, even though they couldn't hear or, in most cases, even knowwhat was happening."I don't know what else to say to you."

Jack watched her and realised it was the first time he had seen her cry and not try and hide it. He couldn't stand it any longer and left his anger behind as he stood up and rushed to where she was sitting, pulling her towards him with his arms wrapped tightly around her small frame. "It's ok, Kare." He whispered and for the first time that night, he felt like it was possible. It would take a while, but he knew, eventually, everything would be ok again.