fragile | jelix

chapter 16

it had only been three days, but it felt like it had been an eternity since i last saw him. i was being forced to lay low and not leave the house as much as i was so that i didn't get in trouble with my dad. i didn't want to get grounded again because i knew the punishment would be ten times worse.

when i entered jack's room, his face lit up, and he beamed at me. was he really that happy to see me? i smiled back at him and sat in the same chair i always sat in, the wooden one which i had moved near his bed, just before the line.

"any more arguments with your father?" i shook my head, and for once i wasn't lying about that. we hadn't argued since he first grounded me which was incredibly shocking as normally we would argue every couple of days.

"has your mother had any say about what happened?" when he said that word...mother...an instant chill washed over me. nobody had brought her up for ages. i had tried to forget about her as much as possible, i didn't want what happened with her effecting my life, so i had pushed her to the back of my mind. now i was going to have to retrieve it from that dark, dark place.

"my mom's not home." i simply stated, praying that i wouldn't get emotional and make a fool out of myself.

"where is she?"

"i don't know. all i know is that she's gone and she's never coming back." he fell silent and so did i. i didn't dare say another word. i didn't really know what to say. it was an awkward and uncomfortable subject for me to talk about. he shuffled slightly closer towards me, still sitting on his bed. he shuffled for about two seconds before wincing, seemingly in pain, and then he stopped.

"i'm sorry about that. but, maybe someday she will come back." i shook my head and looked down at the floor.

"she won't. she hasn't come back for nearly 6 years so why would she just turn up?" he sat in a silence that lasted longer than the last one as he thought of something to respond to my comment with.

"you never know...crazy things happen in this world."

"yeah, tell me about it. one day i'm being taken home from school by my mom, the next day she's packing her bags, the day after that she leaves...and i don't have a mom anymore. crazy, isn't it?" i put my head in my hands, too emotional and uncomfortable to even look at jack, let alone make eye contact with him.

"well...why did she leave?"

"again, i don't know. maybe i wouldn't feel so shitty about the whole thing if she at least explained herself, but she didn't even leave a note or call us or send a message. she just vanished. my dad thinks she left because of me and ever since she left we haven't gotten along. before that happened he actually loved me and treated me like his son." i finally looked up to see jack staring at me with wide eyes. he was shuffling back to his previous position on the bed.

"i'm really sorry about that. i am. and i'm sorry you feel so...shitty...about it."

"it's alright." i said, hoping those would be the final things said on the matter.

"my mother always tells me that everything happens for a reason. so even though your mother leaving is a horrible thing that's happened to you, maybe it's for the best. maybe if she didn't go something even worse would have happened. so if nothing else can make you feel better about the whole thing, maybe just keep that in mind."

everything happens for a reason;