A Different Path

Chapter 50 - Discovery.

Criticism spot! :)

This chapter will be VERY short (compared to my other ones), since it just takes place in pretty much a single day. Thank you so much for reading.

Crutchie's POV

I woke up with a smile, part of me in disbelief that it was our last day here. Jack was smiling as well, moving my hair from my face. I tensed up a tiny bit when a bit of pain hit me, making me close my eyes and clench my jaw.

"Pain?" Jack asked, and I nodded. "I'll grab your clothes, just take a few deep breaths," he stood and I sat up, putting my head in my hands so I could do as Jack had said. 

I got changed and kept sitting for a minute or so, eventually getting up. Jack walked over and pulled me in, running his fingers through my hair as he kept me against his chest. I wrapped my arms around him, looking up to meet his gaze.

"Ready?" He asked, and I nodded. "After we sell, we'll eat dinner here and then everyone wants to play some games with us. Oh, and I told Race, Davey, and Les that they can meet us at the bottom of the penthouse once we finish playing for a more private sendoff." I nodded, again, smiling. 

We set out to head to the square, meeting up with Romeo and Race as we always did. I could tell that Race was already feeling sad the moment he saw us, but since he's always worried about how others feel, and tried his very best to hide it. After we had finished selling we met up at the bottom of the ladder, Jack's face lighting up the moment he saw me. I sat down beside him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Did you say bye to Medda?" I asked, looking up at Jack.

"Mhm," he nodded, then sighing. "It still feels like a dream," he began to play with my hair, his smile growing.

"It really does. I never thought I'd leave this place," I sat up a bit so I wasn't laying on Jack, and he grabbed the dinner he had gotten us.

"Me either. Let's eat quick so we don't keep the fellas waiting," he handed me my share of the dinner, both of us beginning to eat.

Just as planned, we went right into the lodging house once we were finished, everyone already rowdy. The way everyone was acting reminded me of the first game night I had ever been to, except now, I was actually able to join in instead of sitting there, staying silent. The hours flew by, and before we knew it, we were saying our goodbyes to everyone. It took forever, but we eventually made it through everyone, leaving the lodging house with Davey, Les, and Race. The second the door closed, Les hugged Jack, making everyone chuckle a little.

"You're way more fun than Davey," he teased, Davey jokingly rolling his eyes. 

"Don't let Davey boss you around too much," Les backed up and Jack ruffled his hair, causing the boy to giggle. 

"Don't start any strikes while you're there," Davey joked, everyone laughing a bit. "Crutchie, if he starts anything, make sure to shut it down."

"Oh I know, trust me," Jack nudged me, the five of us still laughing for a moment before Davey sighed.

"Well, we should get going. Make sure to write us the second you get there, okay?" Davey hugged each of us once before standing beside Les, getting ready to leave.

"We will, I promise." Jack said, the two heading off into the night. Once they were out of sight, we turned to Race, who had tears in his eyes. Jack immediately pulled him in to a tight hug, Race holding him close. 

"I'm gonna miss you," he said through his tears, Jack also beginning to cry.

"I'm gonna miss you too," Jack said back, trying not to make it clear he was crying. They backed away from one another and Race didn't hesitate to pull me in, and I hadn't even noticed I was crying as well.

"Thank you so much for everything," I said as he held me, his breathing quick.

"You've got nothing to thank me for. I was just bein' a friend," he spoke into my shoulder, clinging to me tighter. He then let go, smiling sadly at us. "You should go. You're gonna be late for your train."

"We love you, Race," Jack said, picking up our bags.

"I love you guys too," he said right back, and we began to walk away. "Remember to write!" He called out before we turned the corner.

"We'll write to you as soon as possible!" I called back, and Race went inside the lodging house.

Jack took one last look at the place he had grown up at before we officially left, being silent the entire way and taking in our last sights of the city. We barely made it to the train in time, heading to our car and sitting down. I rested my head on Jack's chest, more than ready to start our new life in Santa Fe.

Thank you for reading.

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(word count - 850)