Chapter 7
Jack didn't lose Brooke's number in the rivers of blood at the hospital that night. He just forgot he put it in the pocket of his Armani suit's jacket, a suit he only wore at special occasions. Therefore, he thought he had lost it. He didn't dare to ask Patrick for it, and made a thousand excuses for not to. What's the use? She lives in New York anyway and she's way younger than me. She must date models or guys like that… I'm better off alone…
The truth is he wasn't. The last ten years had been hell for him. Well, not the whole ten years, to be fair. When they got rescued after two years on the island, he actually started a new life. A happy life. It was perfect, actually, till two years ago, when his world collapsed again. But he didn't want to think about that, at least not at that very moment.
He looked at his watch. 4:23 pm. He had the evening off at the hospital to drive his mother to the airport. He and Margo had been really close since he came back from the island. Margo worked hard to straight things up with her son ever since, and she never felt happier than the day she knew Jack was alive.
Margo was going to visit her sister in Philadelphia. She insisted Jack to come, telling him it would be a nice vacation for them, but Jack turned her down.
– You ready? –he asked Margo, grabbing his car keys.
– I am.
– Okay, let's go.
He pulled over at the airport and helped Margo with her bags. Once in there, she gave her son a big hug.
– Take care, honey.
– You'll only be gone for a week, mom. It's not like you're leaving forever.
– Well, you never know…
The whole "One day you might get on a plane and never come back" thing was a sensitive subject for them, so Margo changed it.
– I almost forget. I got your black suit to the dry clean and they found this in your jacket –she said, handing Jack a business card, Brooke's.
Jack's eyes opened widely. There it was… He remembered Brooke all of the sudden, like she was some from above. – Thanks mom.
Margo didn't ask him anything about the card or whose was it, and she walked to her gate.
Jack thought of grabbing a bite and walked out the airport. On his way to the exit, he watched people go by. He saw a man getting out the international arrivals' gate. A woman jumped the man. His wife, he thought. She looked extremely happy of seeing her husband again. They held each other for what seemed forever to Jack, and then they walked out together, holding hands.
Then Jack realized he felt really lonely. He missed that. He missed having someone to love, to love him back, to hold hands with. He thought of Brooke again and why he didn't call her. He stared at her card, still in his hand. Then he looked up. He couldn't believe his eyes. Brooke was there.