Grabbing all of his belongings, Jack was almost ran over by some of the inmates he considered at least acquaintances, maybe friends - he knew if anything ever happened then they'd be there.
"Mercer! Can I get these cards?"
"Yo, man, let me get those chips."
"Take whatever you guys want." Jack offered all of his commissary since he wasn't going to need any of it anymore. He turned towards Dashawn who was snacking on Jack's moon pies. "Hey, if you ever need anything, here."
Jack handed him a small piece of paper with seven digits on it. "Just give me a ring."
A bright smile fell across Dashawn's face. "Really man? You sure? A lot of niggas don't do this when they get out."
Jack nodded his head. "I'm sure. I got enough money to help out and you said you got another month, so it won't hurt."
"Wow, thanks man. You a cool ass dude." He said, dapping him up with a small laugh.
"Mercer! Do you like it here this much?" Officer Noel shouted from the entrance door of the pod. "Let's go!"
Jack said his goodbyes to the people in his cell and then made his way out of the pod that he'd been dying to get out of. The only thing he looked forward to was seeing Dylan and Naomi, nothing else.
After completing no end of unnecessary paperwork, he changed into clothes that Selena had brought him then he was placed in a holding cell for ten minutes before being escorted out to the main doors then stepped out into the real world once again.
It wasn't exactly a smell of fresh air. It was humid and musky, but at least it was something familiar.
The rain fell in crazy chaotic drops as it washed Jack's face of sweat and dirt. Not bothering to pull his hood over his head, he walked towards the black Rolls Royce and opened the car door, quickly sliding into it.
Using the sleeve of his hoodie, he ruffled and dried his hair then sat his bag in the back. Jack leaned his head against the window, taking in the scent of strawberries from the girl that he refused to talk to.
On the radio, Etta James sings about how all she could do was cry. Jack watched raindrops race down the window as Selena hums to Etta, neither of them acknowledging one another.
The rain eases the both of them, though the both of them rather be out getting soaked than stuck in the car with each other.
Paying no attention, easily distracted by the blurry street lights in the Los Angeles soaked streets, he grows a bit impatient when Selena pulls in front of a pharmacy and parks, leaving him inside the car.
The longer he sat in the car, the more pissed he got. She could've came here after dropping him at home with the kids, he figured she was doing it on purpose and he held back from beeping the horn to hurry her up.
Naturally, Jack's heart skipped a beat when she walked out of the pharmacy and just in time, Freddie Jackson began singing, "You are my Lady."
Jack could never get past the fact that everything she did, she made it look like a photoshoot.
With her oversized shirt Eagles band shirt, her umbrella hanging over her brown pulled back hair, and her silver hoops dangling from her ears, - the rain fell around her perfectly.
Once she got inside the car, she sat the umbrella in the backseat and sat her purse next to her. As she started to drive home, Jack could see a white paper medicine bag peek out of her purse.
He almost asked her what was it for, but he just assumed it was for the symptoms of her pregnancy and didn't think much of it.
Pulling into the driveway, Jack's happiness was under the surface that was evenly mixed with anxiety. His molars bit the inside of his cheek as Selena turned off the car and he grabbed his bag of clothes.
Jack followed her to the door and waited until she unlocked it then walked inside and called for their kids. "Dylan! Nye!"
Selena put her hands behind her back and leaned against the wall. She watched Dylan walk down the stairs, completely focused on his boxing glove. "Mom, I think this glove has a hole in it."
"Dylan." Selena softly spoke, getting his eyes to meet hers then drift off to Jack's.
The boxing glove fell to the last step and Dylan didn't say another word. He only ran towards his father. Jack crouched down to his level and caught him in his arms just in time, holding him tight.
Selena started to call for Naomi again, but quicker than Flash himself, she was already down the stairs and in Jack's arms.
Selena smiled to herself then glanced down at Jack. "I'll be upstairs when you're ready." She said.
Jack looked up at her and nodded, knowing what she meant, but he was in no rush. Jack held them in his arms for a long three minutes without saying a word before he finally let them go.
He let them drag him into the living room and tell them everything that happened the last two months, which wasn't much but was too much at the same time, because after all they were kids.
Naomi giggled. "Grizzly missed you too, Daddy." She grinned with a missing tooth.
Jack patted the Rottweiler on it's head, letting out a chuckle. "Yeah, I can tell." He scratched the dog behind his ears then stood up from the couch.
Dylan's head snapped up. "Dad, where are you going?" He asked.
"Upstairs. Let me get settled in first and I'll be back down in a few and you guys can have me all to yourselves, I promise."
The both of them smiled and nodded. Jack gave them a peck on their heads and then left the living room to go to the bedroom.
Jack turned the knob and pushed the door open to see Selena set a book aside and kick off her boots. Jack took off his hoodie and then his shirt, throwing it to the side.
Jack waited until Selena dressed down into just her bra and panties to climb onto the bed and press his lips against hers for the first time in forever.
Her hands roamed across Jack's abdomen, careful not to touch any purple welts that he had endured from Officer Yates that day.
A breath shuttered out of Selena when she felt his hands somewhere they haven't been in a long time as his other hand took her hair out of the bow and let it fall past her shoulders.
Though the both of them weren't on speaking terms, neither one of them were bold enough to pass up sex. This was good enough to at least crack the ice between them.
Her breast press against his chest when his fingers do remarkable things, making her arch her back and let out soft moans.
After another moment of the building anticipation, the both of them are bare and only lust fulfills them.
Every kiss was made out of raw intensity. It was heavy breathing and fast movements. Tongues entwined and climaxes approaching.
Each time Jack re-enters, Selena's breathing matches his thrust and her nails dig deeper into skin. His lips attached to her neck, only pushed her further to where they both wanted to go.
With only a few more thrusts, the both of them felt the feeling that was deeply missed as their bodies tensed and released against one another.
Jack laid on top of her for a few seconds before rolling off and finally catching his breath. His hand patted around on the nightstand, not feeling what he was looking for. "Where are my cigarettes?"
Selena leaned over the edge of the bed and dug into her purse then handed him a new box of cigarettes and grabbed a lighter from her nightstand.
She watched him light up his love, his comfort, and consistency. Just as he removed it from his pink lips, he blew the smoke in the air carefully, not getting it in her face.
"How far along are you?" He asked, staring at the cigarette in between his fingers.
"Huh?"
Jack slowly looked over at her, his eyes widening just a bit. "How far along are you?" He repeated.
"Oh." Selena finally recalled her own lie. She glanced down at her stomach and laid her palm down on it. "Um, I guess a few weeks."
Jack suspiciously raised a brow. "You don't know the exact number anymore?" He snickered. "You used to know the exact day of how far along you were and now you don't...Not surprised though, it's not like you give a damn anyways."
Selena tsk'ed. "I'm not about to argue with, Jack. I'm not talking about this right now."
Jack sat up and crushed his cigarette against the outside of his ashtray. "No, let's fucking talk about why in the goddamn fuck, Adam answered your phone."
"Why do you think he answered? It's cause he knew you were calling and he wanted to piss you off."
"Well, where in the hell were y'all for him to answer it?"
Selena got out of the bed and went over to the dresser and pulled her satin slip over her body. "We were at work. In case you forgot, we are co-workers."
Not staring to hard in the mirror, she made sure that Leon's marks weren't visible for Jack to see. She got on top of the covers and reached across Jack to grab her book off the nightstand.
Jack seen a dark colored mark on the inside of her thigh and he felt his chest tighten into a knot and and sudden rage build inside.
"I'm gonna ask you one time, and you better not even think about lying." He started. "What's that on your thigh?"
Selena pulled the blanket over her legs and opened the book to the page she was last on. "I burnt myself with the flat iron the other night." She answered, casually.
"You're fucking lying. Your hair isn't even straight." He pointed out, his brows drawn together.
Selena shrugged. "That's because it didn't come out right, so I washed it."
Jack barked a laugh and shook his head. "You really expect me to believe that bullshit? You fucked another fucking guy in my house while I was locked up, and you have the audacity to act like I'm stupid? You're really something else."
Selena groaned, tired of the accusations. "Jesus, Jack! We didn't have sex! The only thing that happened was we had a few drinks and he ate me out, that's it."
Jack then felt his ears grow hot as she opened her own Pandora's box. And he knew from now on, there would be no logic in this argument, it'd only be intentional pain towards each other.
"He ate you out, and you say, 'That's it?'" He let out a scoff. "And you always play victim, but while I'm locked up, you bring someone here and cheat. You know what, I don't even give a damn, Selena. You haven't meant a fucking thing to me since you said what you said that night."
A heavy silence then covered them like a heavy blanket. The rain pounded against the window as Selena focused on her fidgeting fingers, avoiding to meet the eyes that were burning a hole through her.
Jack's words continued to spur on. "What the fuck are you doing drinking anyways?" Are you trying to kill the baby?" Jack asked, only getting a small head shake from her, making he grow frustrated. "Look at me." He ordered.
His hand grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Surprisingly, he didn't feel a bit of guilt when he seen tears sliding down her olive toned cheeks.
Selena looked into Jack's cold and rigid eyes, and decided to come clean. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled a shaky one.
"Jack, um..." She let out another struggling breath and then finally held eye contact with him again. "I'm not preg...pregnant. I lied so that we could stay together."
Fury boiled deep in his system, but he didn't explode just yet. He clenched his jaw and dragged his hands down his face, taking his time to register everything in his head. This was all coming at him to fast.
Selena watched as Jack dropped his hands into the blanket covering his lap and give her heart stopping glare that she never seen before, her breath now hitched in her throat.
"First you tell me that it might've been a mistake that you married me, then you cheat, and now you aren't pregnant?" Jack chuckled bitterly. "Selena, I will gladly die before I try to work things out with you again."
Without a second thought, Selena threw her hand across his cheek, slapping him as hard as she could, leaving a red mark on his cheek, not feeling guilty one bit.
Jack barely reacted to it, though it hurt like hell. He only listened to what Selena started to say.
"For years you cheated on me. You slept with girls nearly every night you were on tour, and don't even try to deny that you did, because I'm positive you did. And I let one guy just show me the slightest bit of attention I deserve. Someone who actually has treated me better in the year that I've known him than you ever have in the fourteen years we've been together."
"The slightest bit of attention that you deserve is eating you out? Do you know how desperate you sound?" Jack shook his head then threw his hands in the air. "Okay, whatever. We're done and this is it. Fuck us, fuck the fourteen years, fuck the marriage. We can file for a divorce and co parent and move on with other people. That's what's gonna happen cause I can't do this anymore." Jack mumbled as he got out of the bed.
He stepped into his boxers and jeans, getting ready to leave. This was not the time to stick around - they been here billons of times and he knew better that it wouldn't end well.
If he stayed, then he'd break her down into a sobbing mess. He'd stab at her deepest pains and poke at her weak spots - she was an easy target, but he chose not to do that to her.
"We're not getting a divorce, Jack." Selena protested, following him then snatching his shirt out of his hands. "How many times have we said this and it never happened? Grow up and learn how to deal with shit without walking alway from it."
"Selena, you always say you want a divorce. Never have I ever said that shit to you, because I know I wouldn't mean it, but right now, I do." Jack grabbed his hoodie and pulled it over his head and onto his body, forgetting the shirt. "I'm not staying with someone who isn't sure whether or not I'm the person she's supposed to be married to and then proves her point even more when she gets head by someone her husband hates while he's in prison for her ungrateful ass."
Selena then blocked the bedroom door. "So you're really just gonna leave? We can't even have a civil conversation? You're out, just like that?"
"We already got past the sex part didn't we?"
Selena hummed a bitter laugh then opened the door for him, allowing him to leave, positive that he wasn't coming back.