Chapter 2 – (I'm falling apart)

Grace had been sleeping in Jack's room for two weeks now, and he couldn't be happier. All of the nightmares and thoughts in his head seemed to go away, but when she wasn't with him, they seemed to terrorize him and he couldn't do anything about it. Sometimes he was scared to step outside. He looked down at his cast and he immediately felt angry. He felt like the cast was a symbol of weakness. And if it was, then what did that mean for him and Grace? Jack wanted to be her protector, but he wondered if she ever thought of him as a protector. How could she? He thought to himself. She probably thought that he was weak and that he needed to be taken care of, but Jack didn't want that from her. He was supposed to help her, not the other way around.

"Jack?"

Jack had barely noticed that he was downstairs and about to make his way to school. Tom was staring at him and he forced a smile on his face, "Hey Tom! How's it going?"

"It GO-ing ok." Tom sighed.

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Just ok?"

"TAM-my called." Tom rolled his eyes at this and Jack found himself chuckling.

"Well what's wrong with that? Just yesterday you were moping around about how you didn't have anybody."

"She called to say that she is hav-ING sex with someone else." Tom pouted at this and Jack rolled his eyes.

"Well maybe it's for the best. She is your ex for a reason."

"Gwace was your ex, but you still backk with her," Tom accused.

"Grace and I...we're complicated alright?"

Tom looked at him with a smirk on his face and Jack rolled his eyes even though he was smiling, "Look I've got to get to class Tom. Good luck with Tammy."

With that he started making his way to the door again. He had barely put his hand on the door knob when Tom called him again.

"What is it Tom?"

"How are your NIGHT-mares?" Tom questioned, simply curious.

Jack didn't want to think about that. What was he supposed to say?

"I really need to get to class Tom." And with that Jack walked out the door and then slammed it. He was angry at everything today and he didn't know if it could be helped. As he walked towards his car he didn't drive for a minute. Instead he just stared out his car window, knowing he would regret this if he was late.

"God...why did this happen to me? I know I'm not exactly the greatest Christian, but why did it need to go this far? Every day I wake up I'm scared. Every time I go to sleep he's there. He haunts me in my dreams and in my thoughts and I don't know if I can handle this. You always say that you're going to be there, despite what we do. But dammit, I don't think you're here anymore!"

He waited for a sign from God, anything to let him know that God was responding to what he said. He got nothing, so he sighed and started driving to school hoping that he wouldn't be late.

...

At school Grace was trying her best to focus on what the teacher was saying. She knew that she couldn't let what happened to Jack get in the way of her education. However, she thought it was strange. Even though she had been sleeping in Jack's room for the past two weeks, she had noticed the distance that he created. Whenever she wanted to talk to him, he was busy. She knew that he didn't want to talk about what happened, but she couldn't help but try. Talking was healthy and helpful and that's exactly what Jack needed. He needed help. He couldn't keep living in worry.

Grace barely noticed that the bell had rung. Her math teacher walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Grace, the bell rang."

She looked up at her teacher and then quickly shuffled to her feet, "Oh I'm sorry!" She grabbed her bag and was ready to head to lunch when her teacher called her name.

"Yes?" Grace said.

"Grace...your grade has been slipping lately. That Calculus test you took yesterday bumped your grade down to a C minus. It was worth 150 points and you failed it."

Grace was surprised but at the same time she wasn't. With everything that had gone on lately, she hadn't had much time to study. She sighed, "Can I retake it?"

The lady sighed, "Grace, it's not supposed to be-"

"I really need this grade Mrs. Sergeant." Grace looked at her with pleading eyes and the teacher sighed. Mrs. Sergeant had noticed how hard Grace had been working in the class, but she couldn't go against the rules.

"Grace I can't just break the rules. I know you've been going through a lot but...you can't retake the test. I'm sorry."

Grace sighed, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. She had worked so hard on her GPA and so quickly everything had been ruined.

"Ok...alright I understand. Thanks anyway."

"Wait! There is something that you can do though."

Grace's eyes lightened up at this, "Oh thank you so much! I'll do anything, what is it?"

"It's a project. It's very long and complicated. I think I still have a copy of what you need to do." Mrs. Sergeant walked over to her desk and shuffled through some folders, "Here it is!" She walked over to Grace and handed her the paper, "Here."

"Thank you so much! You have no idea how much it means."

The teacher nodded and Grace exited the classroom.

...

Jack had entered his class late and the teacher immediately chewed him out for it. He really didn't care at the moment. He was eager to get the day over with. His psychology class never really interested him. He didn't even know why he took the class.

"Now today we are going to talk about different types of stress..."

Sitting next to Jack was Adrian Lee. Adrian joined the class because she thought learning about psychology would help with her desire to be a lawyer. She had noticed that many people had claimed to have psychological issues in order to get out of their punishment, and she thought that if she mastered all of the effects, it could help her win more cases. Adrian noticed that Jack looked a bit uneasy as the lesson continued.

"Now the stress we are talking about today is commonly known as a stressor. A stressor is when any event, experience, or environmental stimulus causes stress in the individual. This can alter how the person acts. Now these can be either physical or psychological but today we're going to go over the psychological issues..."

Jack was already tired of listening to this. More than anything he wanted to just walk out the door. He noticed Adrian looking at him and he immediately felt irritated. He was tired of everyone thinking that he was going to go crazy because of what happened to him.

"Can someone give me an example?"

Adrian noticed that Jack looked irritable but she didn't care. There was a change in Jack, and it was only going to get worse if he didn't get any help. Adrian and Grace had talked about getting Jack to go see Dr. Fields, but Grace was too afraid to ask. Well, Adrian would take matters into her own hands. She wasn't afraid of what Jack had to say about it. She raised her hand politely and the teacher smiled at her.

"Yes, you have an example?"

"Yeah...ok so let's say a person is brutally beaten. They have to be in a coma for a while, and when they get back, they're different. Would you suppose that that's psychological stress? Or physical?"

At this Jack practically jumped out of his seat. He glared at Adrian and grabbed his bag, not muttering a word as he walked out the door.

Adrian muttered a sorry to her teacher as she chased after him. As she walked around, she didn't have to go too far. Jack was sitting there at a coffee table, tossing a bitter smile at Clementine as he ordered a drink.

He sighed and took a seat, not even noticing that Adrian was there. It was only when he heard her voice that he looked up to see her standing there, paying Clementine for a latte and then walking over towards Jack. She took a seat and sighed, staring into her coffee.

"Look Jack I'm s-"

"Why the hell would you do that?" He looked up at her with angry eyes and Adrian was shocked. She had never seen Jack so upset before.

"Jack...I was trying to help you ok! I know maybe that wasn't the best way to do it, but it had to be done!"

"Whatever Adrian. You don't care about anyone but yourself do you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't you ever say that I don't fucking care about anyone but myself alright! I'm doing this for you! You walk around like a freaking zombie and it's affecting the people around you."

"What do you mean affecting the people around me?"

"Jack you're my friend...or at least I thought you were. I know what happened to you was tough but you have to keep living. Worse things happen to people everyday. They're affected by it, but they don't let it control their life. If everyone did what you're doing right now they'd be miserable. Grace and I have talked about you going to see Dr. Fields but she was too chicken to talk about with you. But let me be the barrier of truthful news, you need help Jack. You need to see Dr. Fields." Adrian rolled her eyes and picked up her coffee, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"I have to get back to class. And when you're done throwing yourself a pity party, why don't you give Grace a call and ask her how she feels about all of this? She told me you've been keeping distance from her. That girl loves you Jack, and if you screw this up, then I'll personally kick your ass for hurting my best friend." With that the Latina stormed off, and Jack sighed.

...

At school, Grace was just waiting for the bell to ring so she could go home. She had looked over the assignment from her teacher during lunch and she was honestly stressed. The project was meant to be for three people, and her teacher wanted her to get all of it done in a week! Once the bell rang she raked a hand through her hair and got up to leave. As she walked out of the halls of Grant High she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She was surprised to see Jason standing there.

"Jason! Hey!"

Her voice was full of happiness. Jason was a friend of hers that she personally met at Med Camp. It was awkward seeing him after Med Camp because they kissed when she was there, but she decided to put all of that past her. Jason was a good friend, and she had so much in common with him. She could never talk to Jack about being a doctor because she felt like he didn't share that same passion, but with Jason she knew that he understood where she was coming from.

"Hey, it's been a while hasn't it?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen you around much. How are you?"

They made their way outside and she noticed that Jason was waiting for a ride.

"I've been good Grace. My grades are up, and my sister hasn't been as annoying as usual so..." He chuckled and she laughed with him.

"How have you been Grace? I heard about what happened to your boyfriend. He is your boyfriend still right?"

She really didn't want to talk about Jack right now, but she faked a smile, "Yeah he's still my boyfriend...And he's been doing as best as he can I suppose."

"How is it affecting you?"

She was surprised at his question. She sighed, "I've been fine with it really. I'm just happy he's alive..." He nodded at this but she knew he didn't buy it.

"Honestly, I've been worried about him though. It's been really bringing my Calculus grade down."

"Wow I'm sorry. What's your grade now?"

She rolled her eyes,"A C minus! And now I have to do this stupid project in a week or else it won't go up." He asked her what the project was about and she handed him a paper. His eyes widened at this. It really seemed like a lot of work.

"Well maybe I could help you with it."

She smiled, "Really?"

He nodded, "Of course Grace. Just call me whenever you need help."

"Well...are you busy today?"

"Today?"

"I'm sorry it's just...I really want to get started on this! This whole C minus thing is just killing me and-"

He chuckled, "Alright Grace, calm down. Sure I can swing buy today."

She smiled and unexpectedly hugged him, "Thank you so much Jason!"

...

Jack had taken the time to think about what Adrian had told him. Maybe it was time he started shaping up. He told himself this but he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to go see a counselor. That would be like reliving everything. He opened the door to the Bowman's house and made his way inside. Usually he didn't come to their house until nighttime, but he needed to talk to Grace. His curiosity grew when he could hear giggling from the living room. He set his bag down on the kitchen chair and then walked into the living room, surprised to see Grace and Jason sitting there. They were giggling and smiling and for some reason that annoyed Jack.

"What's he doing here?"

Grace turned her head around quickly and saw Jack standing right there. She was surprised to say the least, "Jack? What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you. But I can see you're a little preoccupied." He rolled his eyes.

Grace frowned. She was getting so tired of Jack's bad attitude. Before she could open her mouth and say something, Jason had already started gathering his stuff. Grace placed a hand on his arm, "Wait, Jason where are you going?"

"I think you guys have some issues to talk through so I'll see myself out...We can work on this tomorrow Grace." He gave her a quick hug and then looked over at Jack for a brief moment. After that he walked out of the door, shutting it lightly.

Grace stood up and glared at him, "What the hell is your problem Jack!"

Jack had come here to talk to her and settle things so that they could be happy again, but now he didn't want to.

"What the hell is my problem? When were you going to talk to me about you and Adrian thinking I need to see Dr. Fields?"

She grew quiet, and her expression softened, "Jack...look I just think-"

"You just think I need some type of help right? Because I'm so messed up."

"Jack that's not what I said-"

"Whatever Grace. I don't need you." He walked towards the kitchen and grabbed his bag, then left the house, slamming the door in the process. Those three words had never hurt so much, and Grace had not expected things to get worse than this.

A/N: That last scene really hurt to write lol. I'm so used to writing Grace/Jack fluff and romance so it was something different. I hope you guys enjoyed. Sorry if this was a bit of a boring chapter, but it was necessary for the story. Thanks for reading!