sofia's pov +

one month later

entering the living room, i picked up my bag and phone in a hurry.

"i'm leaving!" i announced.

"hey, buy me a pack of smokes" jordan popped his head into the room. "i'll get you next time".

at the front door, i roll my eyes at my brother, "that's what you always say, jordan".

"but it's not like you don't smoke them either" he pulled on his t shirt. "so be a good sister and buy me a pack".

refusing to start any sort of argument before i had a long shift at my weekend job, i let out a quick huff.

"fine".

i received a pleased smile from him as my mother tiredly walked in, wrapping a dressing gown around her.

"have a good day at work, sweetheart" she yawned.

"yeah, yeah" i muttered in response. i opened the front door until i realised i had forgotten my keys on the kitchen counter.

i rushed in there, trying my best to get around my family who all happened to be in our tiny kitchen at the same time. spotting my keys, i grabbed them and headed back to the door.

"get me some smokes too" my dad placed himself on his usual spot on the couch. "and for your mother".

"no way" i instantly denied.

"hey! i'm the one who got you that fucking job" he retorted, cracked open a beer at 9am.

thousands of comebacks played through my head to insult him with, but he wasn't worth my time and energy right now.

"okay, whatever" i reply and with that, i closed the front door behind me before anyone else could ask me to spend money on them.

i searched through my bag to make sure i didn't forget anything again but just as i looked up, i was quickly taken aback by who stood at my gate.

jack stared back at me with a hesitant smile trying to project onto his lips.

it was weird having him in front of me for the first time in over a month. after that night where we travelled to the northside, jack just upped and left for his dad's without telling me.

he managed to stay longer than expected and throughout it all, not once did he text or call. it was if we'd suddenly become strangers.

"hey" he opened the gate and came a little closer. i looked down at him, still frozen at the top of the porch.

i know that four weeks doesn't seem that long to other people but for jack and i, one month instantly felt like six.

"you look good" he complimented.

"yeah? well my boyfriend thinks so" i didn't hesitate to say.

"boyfriend?" jack's eyebrows raised. i could tell that he was surprised but he tried to hide it with the deep chuckle he released.

"a lot can change in four weeks when you don't bother to contact people" i folded my arms.

"well, visiting my dad didn't go the best. turns out they're all a bunch of fucking snobs who wanted to get rid of me" he shrugged. "i didn't go without leaving them a surprise though".

i pursed my lips, wondering what he was talking about. i was still so mad at him and even though a part of me wanted to give him the biggest hug right now, i didn't want to act too interested.

"a surprise?" i questioned.

"smashed up a couple of things with this baseball bat they had, then i managed to get my hands on some stuff".

"like what?".

jack laughed, "fuck knows, just looks expensive as hell and we could get a lot from it".

i bit back a smile at his words. this was weirdly enough one of the things that i like about him and can't help but be attracted to him by.

"well except for one of his wife's gold necklaces" he mentioned. "i thought of you when i swiped that".

i frowned in confusion, "nothing about me really screams gold".

"well, it was beautiful" jack commented, catching me off guard.

he knew exactly what he was doing by that and i had to fix my clothes to act like i wasn't blushing and holding in a smile from his words.

when i finally composed myself, i remembered that i was still upset and completely confused by his behaviour over the past few weeks.

i shrug my shoulders in the silence, "so what do you want, jack?".

"i got back last night and you're the first person i wanted to see" he informed. "i missed you".

i shakily let out a small breath and tried my best to not let the tears in my eyes escape right now.

the one thing i didn't want to do is cry in front of him, especially since i'm in a relationship now and frankly shouldn't care whether jack thought of me or not.

behind me, my front door opened and tommy walked out in a small hurry. i wiped my eyes just to be on the safe side before tommy glanced at me, then jack in surprise.

"damn, gilinsky?" he recalled. "where have you been hiding all month?".

"just been busy" jack told him.

tommy touched my lower back as he pecked my cheek.

"i've gotta go babe, see you after work" he gave a quick wink. he jogged down the steps and soon disappeared down the street.

"work? what, has he been hired as a hit man?" jack joked, but i wasn't in the slightest bit amused.

"he works at that garage in shawcross, actually".

he nodded with a small chuckle, "so tommy's the boyfriend then. really?".

"just fuck off, jack" i muttered without caring if he heard me or not. he takes everything as a joke and after all this time, i'm frankly not bothered anymore.

i walked down the porch steps to continue my way to work too until jack held me back. i froze, looking down at his hand on mine.

"look, i did think about calling or texting you. a lot" he told me. "but i just thought you were doing your own thing now which you clearly are".

"that was after i realised that when you said you had feelings for me too, it was just more bullshit rolling off your tongue. right?".

his lips moved slightly but no words came out. he gave up and pulled his hands down his face, projecting a deep sigh.

i shook my head, releasing from his hold, "exactly. i have to go to work".

i pulled my bag over my shoulder and started to walk away from him. it was hard because i've missed his voice more than anyone can imagine, but getting to work, being paid and saving up to leave this shit hole is my main priority.

"wait, where do you work?" jack called out but i refused to turn around. "can we catch up on your break?".

"none of your fucking business, gilinsky" i responded, raising a middle finger and not having to turn around to know that he was smirking my actions.

+

with my luck, after dealing with a few angry customers at the local diner, i came back home to jordan comfortably sharing a joint with jack on the couch.

i dropped my bag at the door whilst they kept their distorted focus on the tv.

"for fucks sake, what is he doing here?" i complained.

"what does it look like?" jordan answered, releasing the smoke from his lips. "did you get my pack?".

i took out the three requested cigarette packets and threw one to him, then chucked the other two on dave's usual seat.

"and you, out" i demanded to jack.

he took the joint from my brother and purposely took his time inhaling before shaking his head.

"not until you talk to me".

"so what am i doing right now?" i raised my voice a little.

"you know what i mean, sof".

i huffed, running my fingers through my curly hair, "fine".

i opened the front door, signalling for jack to follow me. i leant against the porch banister as i waited for him to close the door behind him and say something.

"so you're really tommy peravich's girlfriend?" he asked.

i quickly pull my brows together at the question.

"is that really what you wanted to—" i stopped my hot-headed reaction and took a quick breather. "yes".

he shrugged, "so what changed over the past few weeks?".

"are you seriously asking me that? you just left, jack. you told me you had feelings for me, kissed me then i don't see you until today" i explained. "the next day, i had to hear from fucking johnson that you disappeared for your dad's".

he scratched the back of his head, clearly unaware of how to respond. i rubbed my arms as the sunset breeze hit me.

"i just don't get it" my voice softened. "why couldn't you have just said goodbye or called at least once?".

"my head was just all over the place after that night. i was tired and confused and—".

interrupting, i scoffed at his lame explanation and inability to even apologise. i didn't even want to stand here anymore and give him the time of day.

"you are unbelievable and to think that i wasted..." i drifted off into a mutter as i thought of everything that's happened since jack was away.

if only he knew of the things that i did for him during spring break whilst he was gone.

"look, i get that you tried spending time with your dad, but you still did exactly what everyone has been doing to me for as long as i can remember" i told him. "just getting up and leaving".

"sofia" he reached out to me.

he showed every bit of empathy that he could until i retrieved my arms back to stop him.

i shook my head in disappointment and rushed back inside the house.

shutting the door and leaning against it, i cursed under my breath. it shouldn't be this hard to turn away from people that hurt you the most.

"you okay?" jordan questioned. he looked at me in confusion even though i knew he was clearly holding back from creating a discussion about jack.

"yeah" i nodded, brushing it off. "i'm fine".

-

i love this story but boy is it hard for me to keep up with updates

sorry ily if you're still reading

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