Hopelessly Broken

18. Communication

4.25.20

Devon's POV

He lead me up the front path to his house, and I wasn't hopeful at all. For all I know, his dad could chew me out again for just stepping foot on the property. "Alright, be as quiet as you possibly can. We just need to get you into my room," Jack instructed before pushing the door open.

He walked grandly into the living room, and I heard him announce, "Hi, Dad. How was your day?" I slid past the doorway to the living room and snuck up the stairs while praying that the old wood wouldn't creak under my weight.

I was on the third step when I heard Lincoln's voice declare, "I'm going to go check on your mom in our room. Last I observed she wasn't feeling so well."

My heart rate shot up in my chest, and I moved as swiftly and silently as I could into Jack's room. Just as I stepped across the threshold, I heard the heavy feet of Lincoln climb the stairs and go into Jamie's bedroom. Jack walked into his room a few moments later and grabbed a key like piece of metal off of the bedside table.

"Come on," he whispered softly before grabbing onto my hand and dragging me across the hallway. He used the metal to unlock the door to his sister's room before shoving me in in front of himself.

As soon as both of our bodies were into the room, he turned back around and locked the door once more. I spun on my toes to see the most beautiful room I had ever seen. The bedsheets were still crisp as if they had just been washed and put back onto the bed a few days ago. My gaze shifted to Jack's for permission to look around, and he nodded at me.

I stepped onto the pristine gray carpet as if just my presence was going to destroy the room before looking around. When I walked through the door, the bed was directly to the right, and the rest of the room opened up to my left. When I turned directly towards the left, I found a white desk with a small lamp and a rolling chair. When I approached the desk, I found that there was still math homework sitting on the desk half finished. Directly to the right of the desk, there was a book shelf with numerous stories lined up as if this were some kind of library. I ran my fingers over the spines of them as I continued walking forward until I was faced with a window overlooking the back of the house. The only thing that was on that back wall was a set of two windows, so I bypassed it.

On the wall below the bed, there was a closet door that I opened up to find it as anyone would expect a teenaged girl's closet to appear. There were numerous outfits and more shoes than I could count, and there was even a small mirror in the closet for looking at her appearance. I left the closet and stepped up until I could see the nightstand. The item on top of it almost made me release the tears that I was holding back.

When I picked up the stunning picture of Jack and his sister smiling in the town's park, I finally understood his pain. When I looked at this little 13 year old's face, I didn't see any single bit of sadness. I saw a form of Jack that I had never seen before; the genuinely happy version. The way his sister had him hugged up against her was so loving that I could feel it even now, at least three years after this picture was taken. Even though Jack was trying to push away from her in the image, his broad grin let me know that he didn't hate the contact from his sister.

I looked up when I heard a loud sniffle from the opposite side of the room. "I haven't been in here since she died. I miss my sister so much, Devon," he sobbed. I set the picture back exactly where it came from and transversed the room until I was stood by his side. I hugged him tightly against my body, and soon I began to cry with him. I didn't cry for me, though. I cried for what he's been through with the rest of his family.

"When my dad got into that car accident with her, he also hit his head really hard against the steering wheel. It wasn't hard enough to leave a lasting effect on his health, but he was always slightly different after that day. He became colder, and he would do things to protect us when in fact he was hurting us more. My father tries, Dev, he really does, but sometimes he goes too far. This is one of those times. I want to ask you one last time, and if you want to answer the same way, I'll have to accept that." He pulled back from the hug with eyes rimmed of red before continuing. "Will you please give him one last chance? For me and my mom?"

"I... Yes, I will," I responded.

"Great, now let's be weak with each other real quick so that we both get some of this excess emotion out of our systems, yeah?"

I nodded before allowing myself to sink deeper into my emotion. It didn't feel as difficult when he was right beside me crying as well. "What was your sister like when she was alive?" I asked.

Jack simply smiled before launching into his explanation. "She was always so kind even though we were three years apart in age. Even though most people that far apart would end up ignoring their younger siblings, Mag never did. She would always be there if I had a bad day to listen to me, and I would do the same for her. That's why I got so attached to you when you let me talk to you about what had been happening to me. Sure, we had our moments because those are bound to happen in relationships, but we would move past them together. I just... I really, really miss her, Dev," Jack admitted. "Now tell me one thing... How do you feel?"

"I honestly don't know," I responded honestly. "I'm heartbroken that I've gotten this far then gone and messed it all up for myself again. Now that my mood has worn off, I'm frustrated at myself for treating Blake that way even though he's always been there for me. I shouldn't have been so stupid as to try and drop him just for the popularity. I guess overall I'm just done. I'm tired of putting myself out there and getting hurt from it. I'm tired of ruining relationships over minor issues. Right now, I just feel comfortable. I mean, in this moment we're both putting ourselves on the line by talking to each other, so it doesn't feel as weird."

"Well, can I tell you now that communication is the most important aspect of anyone's life. For example, how much better do you feel now that you've talked to me about what happening in your mind?"

"A lot."

"Devon, you don't need to be scared of me. Sure you have a reason, but you don't need to. I love you as my brother, Dev, and I will not betray you or your trust. Not now, not ever."

"I think... I think I trust you more than I have anyone ever before, Jack."