Chapter 6 - ("I'm just trying to start over")
Jack had watched fight after fight and by the time he had finished it was an hour after midnight. He had just gotten home and was now being as quiet as he could as he stumbled into his parents house. Without Grace by his side, he felt like there was really no reason to go back to the Bowman's house. He pulled out his key and unlocked the door as he tried to sneak in. In an instant the light flicked on and he knew that it wasn't him who turned it on.
He knew that he'd been caught.
Sitting on the couch in the Stone's house was Didi Stone, Jack's mother.
He paused for a moment as he saw his mother look at him with an intense gaze. He cleared his throat, "Where's dad?"
"You know he tried calling you right? He went on a missionary trip today and wanted you to know he'd be gone for a few weeks."
Jack took that time to turn on his phone. There were a few calls from his dad and he looked back over at Didi, "Oh."
"Yeah...Oh."
As Jack continued to make his way upstairs his mother quickly stood up and blocked his way, "Hey, you think you can just go upstairs without talking to me?"
Jack sighed, "There's really nothing to talk about."
She snatched his phone from him as she rolled her eyes. She pointed to the time on his phone and looked at him with seriousness, "You see the time? It's 1:10 now. Where were you?"
For a minute he didn't say anything and Didi looked at him impatiently, "Well?"
"I was at the Bowman's house but I decided I wanted to sleep here for tonight."
She rolled her eyes, "Don't lie to me Jack. You never lie to me what's gotten into you?"
"How do you know I'm not telling the truth?" Jack exclaimed.
"I called Kathleen you know? She told me you haven't been at the house since you left for school. So, where have you been?"
He fell silent as he looked at the ground as she let out an exasperated breath, "I don't have time for all the games Jack! ...Were you with Grace?"
"Mom no! Grace went on a school field trip. I was just driving around. I needed to get my mind off of everything alright! These casts are killing me and I just...I didn't feel like talking with anyone about it."
At this his mother's face softened, and she pulled him into a hug, "I'm sorry honey, I know this is really hard on you but I hate not knowing where you are. After everything that's happened you can understand how worried I am right?"
Jack nodded, suddenly feeling guilty, "Yeah mom I know. I promise it won't happen again."
Didi smiled, "It better not. You look tired you should probably get some rest."
"Yeah." He yawned, "I think I should get some rest. Thanks mom."
As he tried making his way up the steps again his mother called him.
"Wait Jack!"
"Yeah?"
"How's Madison been lately?" she asked.
Jack shrugged his shoulders at this, "I'm not sure I haven't really talked to her."
"Well maybe you should."
Jack rolled his eyes, "Mom, you know Madison and I aren't going to start seeing each other again right?"
"Well she's certainly better than that Grace Bowman," his mother muttered.
"What?"
Didi smiled, "Nothing, nothing. I just think you should give her a call some time. She's been calling a lot and asking if you're ok. She wanted to come to the hospital when you were in a coma but she couldn't make it. You guys can still be friends you know."
He sighed, "Yeah I know. I'll give her a call tomorrow I guess."
"Good. Goodnight Jack."
"Goodnight mom."
...
It was dark, almost too dark. Jack didn't know where he was exactly.
He sat there, waiting for something though he wasn't sure what he was waiting for.
He saw someone walking and he knew that face from anywhere. It was Mike, staring him down with a hard glare that made Jack shift under his feet uncomfortably. And then all of a sudden there was another Jack. He wondered how that was possible. Was he a ghost watching himself? He must have been.
"Well look who's here, cast off and everything. You think you're stronger now?"
"I'm stronger than I've ever been Mike."
"Then why don't we test that out?"
The two suddenly went at it, and Jack was fighting back! His ghost watched from the background, surprised at the scene. But all too quickly his strength faded. The cast suddenly came back on, restricting him from doing anything, and that's when Mike took the opportunity to hit him again. He was on the floor, barely moving, and barely breathing.
Jack's ghost screamed out, trying to stop the fight, but he couldn't be heard. He couldn't touch them, he could only watch.
"AH!"
Jack woke up, completely shaken as he looked over at the clock. It was only 3:00 and he felt himself sighing. What could his dream possibly mean? It didn't make sense to him at all. He ran a hand through his hair. All of this was too much. He couldn't take it anymore! He just wanted these cast off! They were making him feel weak and useless. A few minutes later there was a knock on his door. He didn't answer, but the door opened anyway.
Of course it was his mother. She was standing there with a cup of tea in her hand. She put it on Jack's nightstand and kissed him on the cheek, "Are you ok honey?"
He huffed, "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine."
"I think we should get you to go talk to someone-"
"I said I was fine!"
Didi couldn't help but be surprised that he was snapping at her like this, but she quietly nodded, "Drink up and remember it's just a dream Jack." She quietly exited his room and fell back into his bed, but he couldn't close his eyes. As he was deep in thought he found himself praying to God.
"I'm really not sure if I want to talk to you at all God. I really don't even know if I'm happy with you or not. Why did you let all of this happen to me? Don't you care about me at all!"
He couldn't continue. He was mad, and scared, and sad. And more than anything he was wishing that Grace was by his side at the moment. He looked over at his nightstand, his eyes gazing past the tea and to his phone. He grabbed it and searched through his contacts list.
...
The first night had been great for Grace. They hadn't gone on their tour yet, but during their dinner a world-renowned doctor came and talked to them and Grace was so inspired. She felt even happier than the day that she had first came to Med Camp. Everything was starting to come together for her. Of course there was a bit of tension with Grant being here, but she was able to push past that. She couldn't help but thank God for the opportunity that she was given. As she was deep in sleep she heard her phone ring and she groaned. She checked the clock and noticed that it was around 3 o'clock and she wondered who could be calling.
She looked over at the other bed and saw Heather sleeping. She quietly grabbed her phone and made her way to the bathroom, hoping she wouldn't wake the red-head up. She answered the phone without checking the Caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Babe? Hey."
Grace felt herself smiling. It was Jack, but her smile quickly faded, "Jack! It's like 3 in the morning. What are you doing up?"
"Sorry did I wake you?"
"It's fine."
"I just couldn't get to sleep."
Her face softened, "I'm sorry Jack."
"It's not your fault."
"Should I just come back?"
"Grace don't get all crazy. Being a doctor has been your dream since the beginning of high-school. Don't blow it all for me. I really just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you."
She quietly chuckled, "I missed you too...Even though it's only been like a day."
"I guess that says something about us."
"What? That we're extremely needy and maybe a little crazy?"
"Or that we're in love."
She froze for a minute. Jack always said that he loved her, but for some reason this time felt different, "Are we really?"
"Well I don't know how you feel, but I'm pretty in love with you Grace."
"How can you tell?"
"Because you're that one girl who sticks around with all of my crazy. You're that one girl who puts up with me when I'm being a complete asshole. And we're the type of couple that is crazy enough to try our relationship over and over again because we don't want to let go of it."
"So we're stubborn?" Grace giggled a little.
Jack found himself laughing, "Yeah, a bit."
"We're definitely a unique couple."
"Definitely. Thanks for waking up at the crack of dawn to have this stupid conversation with me."
She smiled, "You can call me anytime Jack. I just want you to know that."
"Thanks Grace. Goodnight, I love you."
She couldn't help the grin on her face, "Goodnight Jack, I love you too."
She hung up and she found herself smiling like an idiot as she walked out of the bathroom. When she walked out she practically jumped upon seeing Heather was there, and that the light was on.
"Oh gosh! You scared me!"
Heather giggled, "Either you've been holding your pee for so long that you were happy to go to the bathroom, or something amazing just happened."
Grace felt herself laughing as she took a seat in her bed, "I was just talking to my boyfriend."
Heather gave her a sad smile, "What's your boyfriend like?"
"He's a little crazy sometimes, but I love him. We're both crazy I guess. We've been through a lot together but for the most part he's supportive of me."
"I would kill for something like that," Heather sighed.
"I'm sure you'll find it one day."
"Yeah, maybe I'll meet some rich handsome guy and they'll want to have to deal with all of my baggage."
"Heather?"
"What?"
"Are you still involved...in your baby's life I mean?"
For a minute Heather didn't say anything as she stared at the bed, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.
"I'm sorry! Forget I said anything really."
"No, it's ok," she muttered softly, "And no, I'm not in her life."
"You had a girl," Grace smiled.
Heather smiled as tears fell down her eyes, "The prettiest baby girl I had ever laid eyes on. Then I just handed her off to some strangers who told me it was best if I wasn't in her life."
Grace's nature took over and she found herself walking over to Heather's bed as she pulled her into a hug, "It's ok Heather. You did what was best. There was no way you would have been able to offer her a good home."
"I know...It's just, I can't imagine what it's going to be like for her when she finds out. You know they didn't even let me name her?"
"I'm sorry Heather."
She drew in a shaky breath as she ran a finger through her hair, "We should get to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us."
Grace nodded as she made her way to her bed, truly feeling sorry for the girl. She turned the light off and whispered to Heather, "Goodnight."
Heather smiled, "Goodnight Grace."
...
Jack didn't have anymore nightmares after his talk with Grace and he was glad. When he woke up it was morning time. His tea had been long forgotten and he made his way downstairs, deciding to get breakfast. Today he didn't have his classes until afternoon, so he was going to take the opportunity to enjoy himself. As he made his way downstairs he saw that his mother was already there. She was cooking pancakes as talked on the phone with her husband. She moved the phone from her ear for a second as she looked at Jack and smiled, "There's some pancakes on the table if you're hungry."
"Thanks mom."
He made his way over towards the table and dug right in. The doorbell rang, interrupting his meal and he practically groaned. He got up to answer it, still in his pajamas when he saw a man that he was unfamiliar with standing outside the door.
"Can I help you?" Jack asked.
The man chuckled. He was wearing a brown suit and his bald head was so shiny that it almost made Jack want to laugh. In his left hand was a brief case and in his other hand was a cup of coffee, "Sorry, maybe I should introduce myself. I'm Mr. Rogers. I'm a lawyer and I saw your case on TV one day."
"Oh," Jack muttered awkwardly, "And so you just found out where I lived?"
"Well of course I had to contact someone first. I got a hold of your mother actually, and I told her I would be coming over. I guess she failed to mention this to you. Is she here?"
"Samuel Rogers!" Didi exclaimed as she pushed past Jack and gave the man a friendly hug.
Jack glanced back and forth from his mom to this Samuel guy. He wondered what was going on.
"Come in," Didi smiled.
The lawyer made his way inside and they all took a seat. Didi served the man some breakfast and they ate in silence.
"So...why are you here exactly?"
Samuel laughed, "Well. I talked to your mother and of course I would need your consent but have you ever thought about suing the school for what happened to you?"
Jack's jaw practically widened in surprise, "What!"
Samuel's face grew serious, "You never thought of that? Think of all the pain they put you through. If there would have been better security then none of this would have ever happened to you."
"The school didn't mean for this to happen," Jack said, suddenly defensive.
"Sure they didn't mean for it to happen, but it did happen, and it happened because of them."
For a second Jack pondered the thought. Was this guy right? Was it the school's fault?"
"It's just something to think about boy. You'll also get a huge benefit from this."
"Benefit?"
"Yeah son, think of all the cash you can get. And besides, this is bigger than you. I've had my eye on this school for a while. And I've found out some really interesting things."
Didi cut in this time, "Interesting how? Like this happened to more than one person?"
"Not exactly this but," he put his brief case on the table for a second and pulled out a paper, "Do you guys know who Ally Johnson is?"
"Never heard of her," Jack responded.
"Well a few years ago, Ally Johnson was raped by someone at that school. A pimp."
"Was it the same pimp?" Jack questioned, completely astonished.
"We're not sure. She never said. She was going to file a report but she suddenly dropped her charges."
Jack didn't even know what to say for a second, he was completely shocked.
The man closed his brief case as he looked at Jack and Didi, "Call me if you decide that you want to file a case against them. I know this is your school and you probably thought that they would do anything to keep you safe, but they are not doing everything that they can Jack. It's their fault that you got attacked by that pimp and it's their fault that Ally Johnson was raped. Your mom told me that you were an amazing football player."
"I still am," Jack said.
"Well who knows? You haven't had your cast taken off. They might have ruined your chance to ever play football again." Samuel didn't say another word as he made his way out the door.
Jack looked over at his mom nervously and she patted his shoulder gently. They were both in disbelief.
A/N: And cut! I want to give a shout out to lemmanuel1 who gave me the idea of having Jack sue the company. It really gave me this whole idea. Thanks for everyone who reads and reviews my stories! It means a lot.