One Night- Chapter Eight

It was the loud silence that eventually woke Jack.

Unwilling to open his eyes, he pulled the quilt tighter around him and reached out towards Chloe, needing just a few more precious minutes with her before reality came crashing down and snatched her away.

When his hand failed to make contact with anything but air, Jack grudgingly opened his eyes, squinting against the morning sunlight pouring in through the newly dried windows.

A hollow feeling began in the pit of his stomach, slowing spreading its way through his body as he struggled to register the scene before him.

The bed beside him was empty, the covers thrown back as though in haste, Chloe's pyjamas haphazardly strewn across the pillow. It seemed that in the cold light of day, Chloe had had second thoughts about inviting him into her bed. Asking to hold her, so that just for once his dreams would be less painful, had only served to make things worse. It had been a completely selfish question, succeeding only in scaring her further away.

Swallowing hard, Jack pushed back his own covers and swung his legs out of the bed, deciding that he had well and truly overstayed his welcome, not to mention pushed his luck. He had just grabbed his jeans from the floor when Chloe appeared in the doorway.

As their eyes met, Jack felt a lump forming in his throat. She was carrying a tray of food, just as she had the night before.

"I thought you might stay for breakfast," she offered shyly, walking into the room and placing the tray down on the desk. "I haven't made much but I thought you might be hungry seeing as you didn't eat last night."

Jack nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He was acutely aware of the fact that he was barely dressed, his jeans still crumpled in his arms. By contrast, Chloe was wearing a fresh t shirt and linen trousers, her damp hair tied back in a loose pony tail. She was seemingly unfazed by his dishevelled appearance, however, stepping past him towards the bed.

"You can have a shower… if you want," she continued, needing to say something to fill the chasm of silence between them.

"It doesn't matter, I'll be out of your way soon," Jack replied, watching as she smoothed the bedclothes down.

She hesitated, but quickly recovered, plumping each of the pillows in turn and folding her night clothes away under them. "Okay."

"But… a shower sounds good."

"Well, you know where everything is," she told him, refusing to look his way.

"Yeah, I do."

Finally Chloe turned round. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, about the night before, but her mind wasn't forming coherent sentences. There didn't seem to be any words to express what she felt. Something had changed between them, and it scared her.

Jack smiled sadly at her before turning and leaving the room, his head a jumbled clash of words and questions that had for so long remained unspoken but now so desperately needed to be said, if only he could find the courage.

…

He found Chloe downstairs in the hallway, unrolling the rug from underneath the front door and placing it back in its rightful position. She looked up as he approached, noting with relief that the tray in his arms was now empty of food.

"I found the clean, uh, clothes," he told her.

"Do they… I mean, are they okay?" Chloe felt herself blushing as she recalled hurriedly rummaging through her wardrobe for an old t shirt of Morris's that he'd left behind, as well as a clean pair of boxers. Somehow it didn't feel right, Jack wearing her ex-husband's underwear, considering how he was now probably wondering why the hell she still had them lying around in the first place.

"They're fine." Jack took the last few steps and joined her in the hallway. "I'll just rinse my dishes-"

"No, I'll do it." She took the tray out of his hands and began moving towards the kitchen, not waiting to see if he would follow behind.

The blinds were open, allowing the sun to filter in and warm the tiles beneath their feet. Jack perched on a chair, feeling decidedly useless as Chloe filled the sink with washing up liquid and resumed where she had left off the night before.

"Are you in work today?" he asked finally.

Chloe shook her head. "No. You?"

"Later."

"What time is the guy coming to look at the car?"

Her question threw him; he'd completely forgotten about his vehicle, ironic really considering that was the reason he was still there.

"He said about ten."

"Not long then."

"No."

"Will probably be better once you go anyway, I mean, you can't have enjoyed being cooped up all night with me," she babbled, glad that her back was to him so that he couldn't see the sheen of tears forming in her eyes. Angrily she wiped them away, leaving a trail of bubbles across her cheeks.

Jack took a shaky breath but didn't answer her.

Chloe forged ahead with the dishes, her vision becoming increasingly blurred as she fought not to break down in front of him. Just ten minutes, she told herself. Just ten minutes and then the guy from the garage will be here, and Jack will be out of your house for good. Then you can cry.

From his vantage point, Jack froze as he saw Chloe's shoulders shaking. Forcing himself out of his stupor, he got unsteadily to his feet and made his way towards the sink, stopping inches behind her.

She felt his hands on her shoulders, working their way up and down her arms as they had done hours earlier.

"I'm sorry," he choked.

"Don't."

Jack took a step back, hurt. "Chloe, I-"

"Why did you come back?" She shut off the water and turned to face him, soap suds still coating the side of her face.

"When?"

"Last night. Why did you come back?"

Before Jack could process the question in his already confused mind, someone began pounding on the front door.

As though on auto-pilot, Chloe walked away from Jack and out into the hall. "Alright, alright," she muttered, wiping her eyes and checking the hall mirror for any lasting traces of soap. Once satisfied with her appearance, she wrenched the door open to see a tall, dark haired man peering at her from behind a pair of strikingly inappropriate sunglasses.

"Have I got the wrong house?" He unclipped a notebook from his top pocket and flicked through it. "You're not… Mr Bauer."

"Obviously not."

The guy coughed self-consciously. "Yes, well. Is he here?"

"And you are?"

"I'm from Don's Motors."

"Fine. I'll just get Jack for you." She put the door on the latch and disappeared back into the house, taking a few moments to lean against the wall for support. She knew this moment would arrive, that the mechanic would turn up and Jack would drive away… she just hadn't expected it to be so soon.

To her horror, Jack was just mere footsteps away from the front door, watching as she fought an ever losing battle to keep her emotions in check.

"The mechanic is here," she muttered, standing up straight and looking him in the eye.

Without a word, he walked towards her, a pained expression on his face. For a wild moment Chloe wondered if he had been crying; from where she was stood she could see a mist clouding his normally clear blue eyes. But she instantly dismissed this as a figment of her imagination, as Jack bypassed her completely and stepped out of the house.

She slipped into the lounge and watched from behind the net curtain as Jack and the mechanic leaned over the car, deep in conversation.

…

"What are you telling me?" Jack looked from the bonnet of the car to the dirty face of the other man and back again.

"There's nothing wrong with it. Nothing."

"But… but it wouldn't start!"

"I'm telling you, man, the engine is fine."

Jack risked a look over at the house, but the window was empty. Sighing, he pulled out his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

The guy waved his hand. "Forget it. I didn't do anything."

"Come on. I called you out."

"And I didn't do anything."

Too tired to argue, Jack put his money away. "Well, thanks anyway. I tried five times to get this thing started. Even had a look under the bonnet. I'm not an expert with cars and it was dark but…" He trailed off.

The mechanic gave him a sympathetic look. "Relax, man. Just be thankful it didn't cost you. Visiting the girlfriend, were you?"

Jack felt his hackles rise. "Excuse me?"

"N-nothing… so, I'll be going then." He dropped the lid of the bonnet back down and picked up his bag of tools.

"You do that."

Jack waited until the younger man had gotten into his truck and driven away, the sun glinting off the vehicle's metallic finish. He then turned his attention back to his own car, walking round to the driver's side and turning the key, just to convince himself.

It started first time.

…

Chloe left the door on the latch for him, but was surprised to hear it close only ten minutes later. She followed the sound of Jack's footsteps into the lounge, where she found him staring blankly at the sofa.

"There was nothing wrong with it," he told her quietly.

"But-"

"I know." He looked up at her. "I just tried it. It started first time."

"But how?"

Jack rubbed at his temples. "I don't know, Chloe. I just don't know." There was no anger, no annoyance in his voice. Just sheer defeat.

"Well, I guess that's something," she offered.

He laughed bitterly. "Yeah."

"Jack, before you go… I… I didn't mean to get mad at you."

"You have every right to be mad at me."

"Well I'm not. Just so you know."

Jack smiled. "I'm not going to convince you, am I?"

"No."

He moved away from the sofa, car keys in hand. "I guess I better… I mean…"

She nodded. "Mr Buchanan will wonder where you are."

Any other time, it would have been easy to part ways, even those times when neither was sure they would ever see the other again. But now, Chloe's legs were rooted to the spot, tears once again threatening. Jack couldn't take his eyes off her, a long forgotten emotion burning inside him with renewed energy, something he'd feared he would never again feel.

"Thank you, Chloe. For letting me stay."

She shrugged as though it meant nothing to her. "It's alright."

"Okay, so I'm going. I'll see you in work, right?"

"Right."

They stepped out into the hall, Chloe standing in the door way while Jack jogged across the road to the car, neither of them verbally acknowledging his departure. He paused before unlocking the driver's door, looking up one last time at the house.

…

Chloe closed the door, unable to watch him drive away. She managed to get to the sofa before bursting into tears, curling up into a ball and clutching a cushion to her chest. If she shut her eyes tight enough, she could still feel his arms around her…

"Go away," she whispered, as the front door once again came under attack.

"Chloe?"

The sound of his voice calling her name sent a jolt through her body, her senses screaming at her to go to him.

"Jack?" Chloe wiped the tears from her cheeks and straightened her hair, her heart pounding and hands shaking as she let the door off the latch.

He stepped silently back into the hall, ignoring the door as it slammed shut behind him.

"Please tell me you felt it too," he whispered.

Biting her bottom lip, Chloe nodded slowly, watching the relief flood across his face.

"I couldn't walk away from you. I've done it too many times. You've seen me do it too many times…"

"I know. But you always come back."

"You don't know that I will! Neither of us do!"

"I trust you," she said simply.

It was what he needed to hear. In one movement he closed the gap between them and lifted Chloe off her feet, pushing her up against the wall and kissing her desperately. She responded to him immediately, sobs escaping her lips as she felt his urgency match her own.

Jack pulled away suddenly, although he didn't relinquish his hold on her. "You deserve someone who can be here for you," he said quietly, resting his forehead against hers.

"I don't want anybody else. They're not you," Chloe retorted.

"I will always come back to you."

"I know that."

"I need you, Chloe. I want you. I… damn it, I love you."

The passion in his voice stole the breath from her throat. She gasped, feeling tears leak from the corners of her eyes to collect on his cheek.

"I love you too, Jack. I always have."

He frowned. "Then I hope I'm not too late."

"No." She placed a small kiss on his forehead. "I want to wake up every morning in your arms."

"So… shall I drop by here after work? Say around nine?"

"Sounds good to me."

He reluctantly placed her back down on the ground and uncoiled his arms from around her waist.

"Oh, and Jack? I don't have a spare room." Chloe bit her lip and looked coy.

"Oh, really?" He paused halfway to the door and turned back, a grin on his face. "I think we'll be able to come to an arrangement."