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Chapter 4

New Routines, Old Habits

Jamie's visit was short, but enjoyable. It took a little while but Jack had managed to figure out the family. The older woman was Jamie's aunt, and the young girl was his cousin. Jamie was dropped off to visit for a few days, while his parents travelled nearby to visit someone else. The little rabbit was now curled up on Jamie's lap. Jack watched on as the two kids caught up with one another; it wasn't often they got to see each other. The girl's family lived here since her Dad worked for a company nearby. The Mother did work on her computer, writing stories. Jack had tried to read over her shoulder, but found the stories were rather boring, just lots of large words he didn't care to learn. It was helpful for Jack as well, he was able to catch up on Jamie's life. He had lost a tooth recently, and thought he might have broken his arm playing hockey but was lucky it was just a sprain. The weather outside wasn't the best for playing outside so the two kids played in the house; they had board games, and lots of books, as well as some card games Jamie had brought along. Jack enjoyed the last day of Jamie's visit the most, the children were able to go into town.

An older man drove a truck out to the little house and picked the kids up, leaving the mother home. Jack thought she must be happy to have some time to herself, the two kids were a handful. He followed the children about the town, enjoying the time the two spent together. He had grown closer to the girl and her mother, in his own way and much like the child people seemed to forget he still was; he had allowed himself to think they felt the same way. The young girl was called Olivia, the mother's name was Victoria, and they had decided on the name Hoppers for the little bunny. It was in the little diner in town, that Jack felt his heart ache. Jamie and Olivia were enjoying a hot chocolate each while watching TV in the diner. Jack was seated at an empty booth nearby. He had stretched himself over one of the seats, his feet resting on the table. He was watching the news as well, enjoying how quiet and relaxed the diner was, when the top news story started.

"In a tragic accident earlier today, an elderly couple and their grand daughter have been airlifted to a hospital after their car swerved off of the road. The suspected cause of the accident was a patch of ice in the road, though the cause is not official as of yet." Jack was looking outside, looking at the road han ran outside the diner, and out of town. He tuned out the reporter on the TV, and left the diner. He felt the road beneath his feet; it was cold but grainy, covered in salt, a precaution the people had to take because of the ice; because of him. Fear was crushing Jack's chest and it wasn't until he watched the two kids arrive back at the house, that he finally felt it was okay to leave. Jack watched them go inside the little house, and saw the door shut. He knew the house would be warm during the night and felt comfortable leaving the children there, they would be safe. What Jack wasn't comfortable with was the feeling in his stomach; an emptiness that had recently been hollowed out again.

Jack could not fly, he could not be picked up by the wind carried away anymore, so he walked, wanting to create distance between him and this small family he had decided he was a part of. He walked for an hour or so, away from the house when he realised his hands were empty. The two halves of his staff were still in the house. Jack looked back at the direction he had come. He had to decide what to do; keep walking and leave the staff, or walk back to collect it. Jack compromised to himself. He made the walk back a quick one and luckily the house was dark; the children were asleep so the pain in his stomach wouldn't become worse seeing them play. He collected his staff, waved at Hoppers, and left the house again. He was quick, to keep himself from thinking about all of the time he'd spent there. Time he had enjoyed.

He didn't wander far. Jack spent his time exploring the town, and the surrounding areas, then would visit the house every few days. It was a comfortable routine he found himself in, and he began to enjoy his walks through the town. He wished he could bring stuff back to the family; he wished he could bring them whatever they'd like. A nice bed for Hoppers, all of her own. He'd get a nice chair for Victoria to use when she was reading, or working on her laptop. He wasn't sure what to get for Olivia. She wasn't a sporty kid like Jamie; she enjoyed dolls, and board games. Jack was walking through town when he saw a little clothing shop out of the corner of his eye. It was a cute little store; it was almost all white, with tiny triagnles of fabric on a string that hung upside down across the window. The little triangles of fabric matched the colours in the display window; darker coloura like navy, and deep greens and browns. Jack a little jacket in the corner. It was a smaller jacket, made of a bright purple fabric, with white fur on the edges of the hood. Jack leant against the window, staring at the little jacket; it was the perfect size for Olivia. That's what he'd get her, a nice new coat so she'd feel safe outside in the cold. Her fall had shaken her, she was hesitant to go outside, and Jack knew she had been thankful that the poor weather had been there as an excuse.

He hated the idea that she was frightened of going outside; he hadn't figure dit out if it was the cold, the ice or simply being near where it had happened that frightened him. Jack shut his eyes tight, holding back tears. He felt so helpless; he had been chosen, hadn't he? The Man in the Moon had chosen him to help protect children, and he was doing a poor job of it. Jack shook his head, the Man in the Moon had made a mistake; everyone did time to time. Jack turned away from the window, and continued his walk through town. It wasn't a large town and jack could easily walk from one end to the other in a half hour or so, less if he didn't dawdle. It was a brilliantly sunny day, which had brought more children outside than he usually saw in the little town. While Jack would usually jump into the fun, despite being unseen, he simply didn't feel like it today. The winter spirit left town, walked through the woods for a short time, before heading back in the direction of the little wooden house.

He knew deep down he was not a part of their little family, how could he be, nobody could even see him. He ignored that part of him, and didn't allow it to sink into his head, though it was difficult some days. Jack sat by the front door and looked up the sky, noticing how truly bright the stars wre out here. Jack realised he hadn't a clue how long he had been at that house for, how long since it had been since the fight in the Warren. He desperately wanted the Guardians to know what happened but another part of him, a louder part, was mad that they had believed so easily that he had betrayed them. Had they betrayed him them? Jack shook his head, he wasn't sure what to think. He was tired of these thoughts nagging at him; he wasn't sure what he had to do to make them just stop.