The third chapter! This is From Jack's point of few, what he saw and what made him get Tony a pardon…
Thanks all of you that have read this story. Maybe I write more soon, we see. Sorry this took so long, but I have been busy lately. The school is ending and I had lots of tests… But summer brake starts soon and then I'm free to write as much as I want! But the last chapter, here you are!
He tries to avoid my eyes, I can tell. He looks down, and every little movement told clearly that he didn't want to be here. Not with me. "Why you game?" he asked, still looking down. I wanted to see him, but he didn't even look at me. His face was in the shadow, he had decided not to look at me, or even show his face. I saw when he closed his eyes, or turned his head, but I didn't see where he was looking, or did his face look tired. "Michelle called you, didn't she?" He asked again, and I hear his sad voice when he mentioned Michelle. "Yeah", I answered to him. I hoped that he would look at me, but he doesn't.
Silence. Both of us didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say, where to start. We had never spoken about private things. All that we had spoken had been about work, only rarely we spoke something personal. I tried to find words, but what should I say? That Michelle is afraid that he will kill himself? I heard her voice in my head. "He doesn't last till next visit Jack, I'm afraid he tries to… try to kill himself." I tried to look at him; I tried to tell was she right. I could tell that he was depress, but I didn't see anything ells. Maybe if he wouldn't look down, maybe then. But it was hard to tell. I couldn't believe he had given up.
"Michelle is worried about you", I said. In the end, it was the reason I had come. But if I was honest to myself, I really wanted to see him, see if he was okay. He laughed. "Really?" he said in bitter voice, nothing ells. He didn't take his eyes of the floor. It started to bother me… Why did he look at the ground?
"Look at me Tony." I asked, I wanted to see his face, something wasn't right. Tony closed her eyes for a second and didn't do anything. "Look at me." I said, louder this time. He sighed, and finally he shows his face in the light.
His face look's horrible. His eye is black, there is deep scar in his face and I can see couple of stitch in his frontal. I don't know what they have done to him, and I'm afraid he has many more scars and bruises I can't see. He was already here when I came… I look at him, terrified of what he has gone true. I can only guess.
He still doesn't want to look at me in the eyes, like then he really would admit I was right there. I hadn't seen him for six months; I had almost forgotten how much I cared about him. It was easy to forget someone when you just try to move on by yourself, and you don't see him everyday. Now I realised what mistake I had made, I remember how close to friends we were. Maybe we didn't speak about personal things, but we did understand each other. In the end, he is the closest friend I have, even if I haven't seen him for a long time. I have forgotten him, so long time ago, and left him standing alone. But I'm here now.
Then he finally looks at me, looks straight to my eyes. I don't almost recognise his face and eyes anymore. Where is the strong man I use to know, where is his smile? All I see in his eyes is pain and fear. Then he looks away, and I can see tears going down his face. "Don't even think about telling Michelle how I look." he says in a whisper. I'm too shocked to answer. I didn't think he really would be given up. That he was felled in the bottom.
"What happened?" I ask, but I know already that he won't tell. "Nothing", he said, shaking his head. I tried to ask, even if I knew it was pointless. "Don't lie to me. You haven't just accidentally felled in your face or something like that…" He looked at me; he looked so tired, so weak. Like every inch of his strength has been used. "It doesn't matter. It has happened. Just don't tell Michelle, please, she has to forget me", he says. I still know little of what he thinks. Always placing everybody ells above himself. I won't ask if he don't want to tell me. I understand if he doesn't want to tell me. I see it would just hurt him more.
"Why you game Jack? I said I don't want to see anybody. Why you made me come to see you?" He didn't understand. I didn't understand him. I could tell he just wanted to fell in somebody's arms. But he locked everybody out. In someway, he was still strong.
"I came to help you", I said in a whisper. Now I saw what Michelle meant, I understand why she sounded so sad; I understand why she wanted me to come. I would have never believed that Tony had given up, not without seeing him. Now I believe.
"What could you do for me? I don't need help." He said, looking at me. It was hard to look at his eyes. He didn't believe anything would save him. He reminds me of myself after Teri had died. I just hoped he was strong enough to climb back, like I.
"I get you a pardon." I said, and he froze. He hadn't seen that coming, and I saw it hurt him. But it was the only way, just like Michelle had assumed. He really needed that pardon if he wanted to stop falling. He closed his eyes, and I saw single tear falling down his cheek. It was weird to see him crying, even that little.
"You are too late Jack. Why you came now? Why you didn't come six months ago? "He asked, and it hurt me. I didn't know. Why I hadn't come? Why I had let it come to this? I had tried to get him a pardon, yes, but it had been a lame try. I could have done better. I just thought I had more time, or something like that. I don't know. I'm mad at myself. Why I let him down?
Tony shook his head. "I said goodbye to Michelle. I said I don't want to see her again. Do you know how much that hurt? Do you know how much I hurt her? Do you know how it feels to watch the only one you love, crying because you let her down? And now you say I will get back to her… What should I think?" He said his voice braking. I felt so guilty. "I don't know Tony, but I can't leave you here." I said, I didn't want him to be here another second. He had opened my eyes, and I didn't want to see him falling. "So now you can't leave me here? But last six months it was just fine?" He said, yelling at me. He looked like he wanted to get up, but finally decided not to. I saw him looking at the security camera at the corner. For a second I saw fear in his eyes, what they had done to him?
"I'm sorry Tony, I should have come sooner. I didn't now what you were going true." Please Tony, why you can't be just happy? I will get you out. I won't leave president in peace before he gives you a pardon. "No Jack, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be angry to you. I just… I didn't think I would ever get out of hear." He said to me, I saw that he felt little guilty about what he had said. He shouldn't.
"Time's up", said the guard who had just came in. Tony looked at the guard in silence; I didn't see any emotion in his eyes when he looked at the guard. I didn't want to leave him hear, but I had to. But he wouldn't stay here for long, not anymore.
I was ready to leave now, I had said everything. "I will get you out", I said to him when the guards came to him. He looked at me and smiled. It wasn't real smile, but it was close. "Thanks Jack", he said and got up. Maybe he would get back to light; maybe freedom was all he needed. I looked as they cuffed him, and I saw him closing his eyes as the lock made a sound. Sound of cage. I watched how they took him out in handcuffs. I couldn't help noticing that he limbed his left foot.
"I really thought that everything would be fine after I get you out. But life isn't that easy. I know they did you something, something that will always hound you. Maybe you would have survived even then, if you just wouldn't keep everything inside. I should have come sooner. I hope you will forgive me someday. I'm so sorry."