“Where’s Amelia?”
Jack said as he looked at Cassidy, Rachel, Thomas, and Samuel.
Immediately, the last three avoided his gaze and instead turned toward Cassidy with uncomfortable looks.
Jack noticed their reactions but didn’t think much of it. As he looked at her, he tilted his head slightly to the side, waiting for an answer.
Cassidy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened them and started, “Amelia left.”
She stared at Jack’s face as it went from curious to confused.
Knowing that what she had said wasn’t clear enough, she slowly recounted what had happened since he fell unconscious, every change Amelia had gone through, and how her mentality quickly deteriorated, only to shift again from one day to the next.
The more Jack listened, the more vacant his gaze grew. His breathing became ragged, his heart beat faster, and cold sweat matted his back.
Even minutes after Cassidy finished recounting everything, she, along with Rachel, Thomas, and Samuel, who had remained silent the entire time, stared at him, but he showed no sign of movement.
His face looked as though it had been frozen in time, forever unchanging.
Rachel gently elbowed Cassidy, worry clearly written in her eyes. She had never seen Jack react that way. In fact, none of them had ever seen him in such a state and they didn’t know what to do.
Cassidy glanced at her and shook her head slightly, motioning for her and the other two to stay quiet and wait.
And so they did.
Ten minutes passed, but they did not pass quickly. They were ten long minutes spent in a quiet bedroom, where the silence sounded louder than the loudest noise they had ever heard.
During this time, Jack hadn’t moved at all, but his facial expression went through many changes.
At first, he was lost.
He had no idea what to think about the situation as it sounded like a nightmare made real, and he had neither the means nor the understanding to deal with it.
Then, as his mind quickly processed everything Cassidy had said, he began to accept it, or at least, he tried to.
It was impossible for him to wholeheartedly accept Amelia’s decision, not after such a short amount of time. He thought back on the time he had spent with her, all the memories they had made together, the promises, the vows, everything they had shared. But in the end, he couldn’t find a reason for her departure.
Much less come to terms with it.
Never in his wildest dreams did he think she would leave him. And even if that belief was nothing more than wishful thinking, he was certain this would not be the way she would leave.
All of this… happened because I fell unconscious.
That thought surfaced in his mind, grabbing hold of him and stirring his once-still heart. It was like an oasis in a dry desert, a thought he wanted, no, needed to anchor himself to in order to retain a bit of rationality. If he didn’t, he would plunge into an abyss of darkness, forever blindly searching for an answer.
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Nothing would’ve happened if I hadn’t trained that day.
It’s all the training’s fault.
Training made me lose her.
Training…
Jack pushed all his dark feelings, all the possible reasons for Amelia’s departure, onto that single thought and, in a last-ditch effort, managed to retain some semblance of himself.
But that semblance… was only that, a semblance.
Jack’s eyes regained some clarity, though they still appeared somewhat unfocused.
Seeing this, Thomas took a step forward and, as he raised his hand to pat him and offer a few comforting words, Jack smiled at them.
The smile was hollow. Any emotion that would usually lie behind it was currently absent. So much so that, instead of reassuring Cassidy, Rachel, Thomas, and Samuel, it made them worry even more.
“Amelia left. I understand. Is there anything else? If not, I’d like to spend some time alone.”
Jack’s voice rang out. It was calm, too calm for the situation. So calm that it stunned the four of them, whose eyes had not left him for over ten minutes.
Samuel couldn’t help himself and said softly, “There’s no need to appear calm and hold yourself back. We’re all close friends here.”
Jack’s reaction made Samuel feel as though they were a group of strangers, people he couldn’t truly open up to, forcing him to maintain a careful image instead. It hurt to see his friend acting this way, but…
Jack kept his smile in place. “I’m not acting calm. I am calm. You must’ve spent a lot of time looking after me, but as you can see, I’m better now, and there’s no need to keep doing that.”
As he finished, he patted his chest lightly.
“Are you sure—” Thomas began, but Cassidy interrupted him.
“Alright. Since you’re feeling better, there’s no need for us to stick around today.” She looked deeply at Jack, trying to discern whether his words reflected his true feelings or were merely a fa?ade. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call any of us, okay?”
Jack nodded with the same hollow smile. “I will.”
“Mhm. Then we’re going.” Cassidy shot a glance at the other three, and one by one, they each said a few words before leaving.
Jack stared at the door, and once he was sure they weren’t coming back, he muttered to himself, “I’m sure she’ll be back if I don’t train.”
/////
“Why did we leave? Shouldn’t we have stuck around? We could all see from a mile away that he’s obviously faking it,” Thomas said as soon as they left the room-like apartment and started walking toward the village’s exit.
Cassidy sighed. “Stuck around and do what, exactly?”
She turned toward him and continued, “Right now, what Jack needs most is some time to himself. Us staying after he made himself so clear would’ve only made things worse.”
“Are we supposed to do nothing and wait?” Thomas frowned.
She nodded. “Yes. That’s exactly what we need to do, until he’s ready.”
Unconvinced, he looked at Rachel and Samuel and asked, “Are you two okay with this as well?”
Rachel took a deep, defeated breath and said, “Even if we wanted to help, there’s no way we could make the situation better when Jack doesn’t want it. We can only hope he asks for our help as soon as possible.”
How could they help someone who refused to be helped? Trying would only make things worse, and nobody, neither them nor Jack, would benefit from it.
And worse than that, how could they help someone who didn’t even know he needed help?
From what they had seen earlier, Jack truly didn’t seem to think he needed any sort of help. It was as if he had already made peace with losing Amelia, but that was something they found hard to believe.
Even so, offering their help was one thing, pushing someone to accept it was another.
The former was kind and, even if not accepted, would still be appreciated.
The latter, however, would only backfire on them. Rather than risk that, it was best to remain ready and wait for the moment when they were needed.
Samuel patted Thomas on the shoulder and said, “They’re right. We told Jack the truth and offered to help, that’s the best we can do without his consent. Anything beyond that would only sour our relationships.”
Thomas looked crestfallen, but then Cassidy’s voice reached his ears.
“Don’t forget, we might not rank as high as Amelia in Jack’s eyes, but there’s someone who’s possibly even higher than her.”
“You mean…?” Thomas’s eyes shone, as if he’d found light at the end of the tunnel.
“Nova.” Cassidy nodded. “Convincing Jack to let us help him will be easy once Nova talks to him, so…”
She swept her gaze over the three of them and finished, “We only need to worry about any drastic measures Jack might take until Nova is back.”
Thomas’s hands clenched tightly, his lips tugging into a smile. “You’re right. How could I forget about that?”
Rachel smirked. “A few days, and Jack will go back to being our old Jack.”
“Mhm.” Samuel nodded.
A few days… If only it were that short, Cassidy thought to herself but she didn’t say anything out loud.
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