Ask Jack and David Part 2

The Tourist

   Jack and David awkwardly ate and drank, their movements a tad odd as they tried to get used to the unusual method of eating.
   "Thank you, after all that talk of food, I had gotten very hungry," Jack chuckled.
   "Soooo..."
   "Oh, yes, the American tourist, I believe Catherine mentioned him once before, his name was Liam," Jack explained. "He was with a group of friends from his college back in Florida, they had decided to go on a trip to England as a sort of spring break retreat," Jack continued.
   "How did you meet him?" David asked.
   "Catherine and I decided to search for a better alleyway to squat in, and we came across one near the hotel Liam and his friends were staying at, he saw me rooting through the trash at a local restaurant for Catherine and I's next meal and well... He took pity on us."
   "How so?" David continued prying for information.
   "Told his friends to run along without him, he gave me a few pounds and invited me into the restaurant with him, I told him I had a sister to feed and he gave me his leftovers to bring back to her, even let me keep the money, I guess he spotted me heading into the alley and took it upon himself to greet Catherine and I everyday. One day, there was a really bad storm, and without so much as a greeting, he rushed into the alley and demanded we follow him into the hotel for safety. At that point we were not really in any position to argue, and I wanted Catherine to feel safe, so I agreed. We were content with just hanging out in the lobby, but the staff did not seem to enjoy the idea... Liam let us stay in his room for the night," Jack hummed a bit in nostalgia, only causing David's unease to intensify. "Before you say anything about stranger danger, I was cautious, practically put him through hell to make sure he had no ill intent, and in the end, I did not sense anything bad, and Catherine seemed to love him. I tried being as respectful as possible, but I had to apologize for Catherine's... Eccentric behavior multiple times, he just laughed it off... After he had let us shower and borrow some clothes, he voluntarily gave Catherine his bed, opting to sleep on the floor instead. He wanted me to share it with her but..."
   "You didn't want to take advantage of his charity?" David guessed.
   "Exactly, I slept on the floor as well. Catherine had managed to fall asleep fairly quickly, but I could not sleep, so Liam stayed up with me. We just talked, he told me about his life in America and I told him a bit about the streets of London, he told me about all his friends and how they would be incredibly confused to see us walk out of his hotel room... It was a nice conversation. It evolved into me... Opening up about my past, something I had not really done with anyone, and he just calmly listened, I broke down a little and he..." Jack paused, his pointed ears twitching a bit. "He just put his hand on my shoulder and smiled at me..." Jack sighed. David was very tense, but managed to ask,
   "So... What was your relationship?"
   "Ha well... I do not feel like it would be very professional to go into too much detail, but let us just say I may have snuck into his hotel room a few nights more after that. Unfortunately, we both knew he had to leave, but we made a deal, if he could find his way back to England after he graduated from college, then we would... Meet up again, however it has been many years since then and I sort of learned to let go for the sake of my own sanity," Jack finished. David stared holes into Jack for a moment. He felt... Angry? Heartbroken? He wasn't quite sure what the feeling was, but he didn't like it. The feeling must've shown because he let out an involuntary whimper that got Jack's attention. "Is something wrong David? I recall the question saying something about you being annoyed upon my mention of Liam?" Jack frowned.
   "It's... Nothing, sorry, just... Tired I guess," David lied.