Its A Kind Of Magic (Previously 'Deciding')

Chapter 22: Your secret is safe with me

I woke up in his arms on boxing day morning. My head pounding slightly from the amount of champagne I had consumed the night before. I rolled over and didn't realise we were so close to the edge of the bed. If it weren't for Jack's arm firmly planted around my waist, I would have surely fallen onto the wooden floor of his room. Then as if he was reading my thoughts, his arm loosened its grip on me and I felt myself slipping. I tried clawing at the sheets on the bed and then at his arm but to no avail. I landed on the cold, hard floor with a loud thud.

"Oommphh!" I moaned, rubbing my bum from where I landed on it. I looked up to see a laughing Jack; and when I say laughing, I mean full on, wetting himself, howling like a hyena laughing. I shot him a glare which just caused him to laugh even more.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He said trying to keep a straight face but failed almost instantly.

"Someone let go of me before I had chance to move further onto the bed!" I shot him another glare which made him howl even more. He better watch his back!

"Sorry I didn't mean to" he said with a straight face this time.

"Yeah you better be!" I said grabbing desperately at the air in front of me, before giving up on the hope of becoming a mime and flopping back to the ground like a sack of spuds. I groaned as my head smacked off the corner of his bedside cabinet and then the floor. I whined and cried out as the sharp thread of pain stabbed through me and made me go a bit dizzy.

"Jess... Jess are you okay?" Jack said, peering his head over the edge of the mattress. I struggled to keep my eyes open as the pain took over my head. "Shit Jess, are you okay? Say something..." I couldn't muster up any sort of strength to. "Stay with me Jess, don't fall asleep. Stay awake!" He yells but not to loud. The last thing I remember was him shouting for his Mom before I blacked out...

I awoke in a strange white room with a strange smell. While my eyes adjusted to the light, they flickered a few times. I heard some shuffling next to me and then something warm placed over my right hand. I glanced over to the side and saw that I was in a hospital bed in a small room; and there was Jack, fear running through his eyes and warmth running through his hand as he stroked the back of my hand with his thumb.

"Jess" he whispered. "Thank god you're awake". I mumbled in response.

"Where am I?" I said quietly.

"You're in the hospital, I bought you in after you hit your head. You must have really hit it hard cus you passed out"

"Oh. Why aren't I connected to any machines?" I said because that was a thought that came to me, when I could hear no beeping and feel no needle pricking my skin.

"Fortunately you didn't need them. They just said that you needed rest because of your concussion and you were welcome to stay here for a while just in case you get worse"

"Oh" I nodded. "You didn't have to stay with me you know. Its boxing day, you should be with all of your family"

"Well as a matter of fact they said that if I leave, and this part I quote 'the nicest, prettiest and friendliest' girl they'd ever met, they would have ripped my head off, and that came from Grandma Aggie" he chuckled. "Besides, I would never have left you anyway" he said still holding my hand.

"It seems like they like me then" I said with a chuckle.

"Yes, it would seem that way. I think you've made quite the impression on practically my whole family" he said with a smile. I let out a small laugh.

"Anyway I feel fine now, can we go?" I said like a toddler. He chuckled and went to find a nurse. A couple of minutes later he returned with a nurse who had a few pieces of paper tucked under her arm. She politely asked me to fill out some of the papers and I did so while she flirted with Jack, even though he was clearly a lot younger than her. I couldn't help but feel a surge of protectiveness and jealousy run through my mind. Why? I coughed to let her know that I was finished before I shoved then back to her across the table. She sent me a small glare and then shamelessly gave Jack a massive flirty smile and then winked at him. Before she had removed her eyes off of him he started to pull gagging faces and when she realised, she looked offended and outraged and stormed off, out of the room. We both broke out laughing and I slid myself off the bed, Jack immediately rushing to my side so I wouldn't stumble. Then I looked at my appearance. I was in pyjama shorts and a top that weren't mine, maybe Claires? And barefoot.

"Jack..." He looked at me. "How did I get into the hospital barefoot?"

"Oh right... yeah I carried you in" he said casually.

"Well how am I supposed to walk out?" I demanded, without realising the implications. He stopped and pulled me to a halt with him and then swooped me up into his arms, bridal style. I felt my cheeks turn a deep shade of rosy red as we got some adoring looks and some strange looks from passers by in the corridors. We got outside the hospital doors and I was finally glad that I could no longer smell that horrible, hospital smell. He carried me to a bench and sat me down while he dialled a taxi companies phone number. We waited for about 10 minutes before it arrived and he scooped me up again and placed me in the backseat beside him. The journey was fairly short and was mainly in silence. Until he spoke up about 5 minutes away from his house.

"Jess can I tell you something?" He said nervously; and I couldn't help but notice that the nervous and shy twinkle, that only appeared every once in a while, had took residence in his eyes.

"Of course Jack... you can tell me anything" I said rubbing his hand reassuringly. He nodded. Whatever he was about to say was obviously big and was no doubtably hard for him to say. "Come on Jack you can tell me" I said, just loud enough that he could hear me.

"Well... this is something I haven't told anyone... I don't know how to say this Jess... but... you know my dad left me when I was a kid? Well I have been trying to track him down for a while and well I think I have found him"

"Oh my gosh! Really?" I said, my mouth forming into the shape of an o.

"Yeah"

"Wow Jack... I'm so happy for you! I know you've always wanted to meet him" I say before I pull him into a big hug which I can tell he needs and happily returns burying his head in my neck.

"I know. But I'm not one hundred percent sure yet it is him yet" he said with a shrug.

"Well you're closer than you were"

"Yeah I suppose" he said with a small smile.

"Does your mom know?"

"No, please don't tell her either. I don't want to tell her just in case"

"Ok Jack... your secret is safe with me"...