Sorry Not Sorry

Chapter 37

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I finally pull away and Jack smiles down at me. Instead of reciprocating, I look around at all the people gathered around us. They create a sort of halo around the parking lot, making it difficult for me and Jack to have our "moment."

I spot Paige and her proxies standing at the very end of the line, and people everywhere are moving their gazes from her to me, and whispering to each other with baffled expressions.

It's wrong to feel smug at the current predicament, but I can't help it. I smirk at Paige as Jack lightly brushes my back, leading me over to our cars which are parked on the opposite end of the lot.

I hear a strangled cry from behind me, stemming from a voice I recognize as Paige's. But what can she do? If she tries anything on us, we'll release her affair with Mr. Vern and she'll be done for.

I let out a content little sigh as Jack unlocks his door. He gestures over to my car.

"Let's head over to your place, Amara should already be there. We have a lot to talk about."

I purse my lips and nod. "That we do."

I watch as Jack gets into his sports vehicle and smiles sincerely at me before revving up his engine and taking off.

I lean against my car for a moment, staring after him. I've never felt this way towards a guy before. Even back when I was crushing on Noah, I've never really felt so...I don't know...Attracted.

Maybe it's because I've grown closer to Jack in the short span of less than a month than I have ever been with Noah, or maybe because Jack and I have a lot more in common.

Even when I first set eyes on him that day in the halls, he looked at me like I was a person he'd met in a distant past and it was like he was going through some type of deja-vu.

And as I got to know him and the more I opened up to him about myself, he never really looked at me like I was some kind of kicked puppy. He looked at me like a new passenger aboard the same boat, and he was happy to have me on.

I bite my bottom lip and keep my eyes trained on the spot Jack stood just a moment before when something crashes into my side and I stumble.

I gasp and straighten up, bringing my hands in front of me in defense, but I quickly drop them when I see who it is. Astrix!

She grins and punches my shoulder. "Damn, girl. What was that all about?"

I pull back my hair and laugh. "You're not going to believe it..."

I let her slip into my car and tell her all about Paige and Jack and Mr. Vern, then I thank her again for the fake lab reports. She waves it away.

"Forget about that, just look at how perfectly things turned out for you!"

She sighs and leans against my car's seat. "I knew Jack had something going on. He wouldn't have broken up with her having the threat of the social security information. He waited till he was sure he had ammo before he threw it in Paige's pasty yellow face!"

Astrix smacks the palm of her hand with a fist and twists it. "That being said, I'm happy for the two of you. Truly."

I open my mouth to speak before she cuts me off.

"Jacklyn is going to need some serious romantic shit. Have you two even gone on a date yet?"

I shake my head. "We don't exactly-"

"Well, that's going to change! You've got this stuff all wrong. You don't kiss before the first date, it's the date, then the kiss, then the babies-"

"Stop," I say, holding back a burst of laughter.

"Shut up. Nothing of the sort is going to happen. Can you please let me live my pathetic life and not scare me out of my mind before I lose my virginity? Yeah? Thank you."

Astrix smiles coyly and then hesitantly gets out of my car. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two to it. I'll just...Stay behind and try not to get too lonely. Maybe I'll even hit up the club. Don't you worry about me!"

She smiles and I smile back before shutting the door and waving through the open window,  driving in reverse and out of the parking lot.

I make it back to my apartment in less than a minute, and by the time I'm there I see Jack standing outside the front doors looking immensely uncomfortable. His hair is tousled and his hands are shoved deep into his pockets.

I walk up to him and cross my arms. "Hey, what's going on?"

Jack shakes his head and stares at the floor. 

"The trial...It's tomorrow. They rescheduled because apparently there was a shooting in White Stream and their trial is on Sunday too."

I stare at a point over Jack's shoulder as I try to process what I've just been told. I swallow and shift my eyes over to look at him.

"T-Tomorrow? But we don't have a case! We have nothing."

Jack grabs my shoulders and looks at me sternly. "No, that's not true. Listen to me. Remember what we talked about last Friday? Make your experience come alive. Explain it. Explain everything. The judge will understand you and Delilah will stay in on irrefutable evidence from a first-hand witness."

Jack releases my shoulder and enfolds me in a hug. I lean against his chest and start to cry. 

My eyes turn pink and are soon swimming with tears. Jack awkwardly shuffles and averts his gaze.

"Please don't cry. I-I'm not good with...Look...If you don't want to use that we can always-"

"No," I say, wiping my eyes on my sleeve and straightening up.

"No, we'll use it. I can't run away from what's happened. It's been a full 11 years, they're redoing the trial and...Regardless of the difference of your father's influence...I'm doing it."

I sniff and run my sleeve over my face again. Jack presses his lips together and touches the side of my chin. His eyes study my face, skimming over my mouth and settling on my eyes.

"Hazel, you know you're not forced to-"

"I'm not forced to do anything," I say, stiffening.

"I want to do it, I insist."

Jack nods and smiles a little. "Of course...Now we should probably get upstairs, Amara will get worried..."