Two Weeks Later

I got back to New York five days ago and still haven't heard anything from Jackson. Or Ryan. Neither of them handled Everly's death very well. Understandably, so. When Jackson and I had returned from getting ice cream and she had passed, he lost his mind. He and Ryan both were extremely distraught and angry.

The first few days that followed, I tried to help as much as I could. I made sure they had something to eat, I made sure Jackson's place was clean. The day after she passed, all of us we're in shock. The following day is when it hit the boys the hardest. Ryan had called his dad to tell him the news and they got into an argument when his dad said he couldn't fly out for the service because of work.

Ryan had stormed out of Jackson's apartment once he hung up the phone. I tried to calm him down, but it was like he couldn't hear me. Jackson had spent most of that day locked away in his bedroom. I knocked on his door a few times to check on him and barely got a response.

After Ryan had been gone a few hours that night, I started getting worried. I was getting worried about both of them. I went and opened Jackson's door when I heard a crash. I'll never forget the sight I saw...

I paused as soon as I stepped into Jackson's room. My mouth dropped open as I took in the sight in front of me. There was broken glass littered around the room, things thrown everywhere. It looked like a tornado had come through here.

I heard water running from Jackson's bathroom and carefully tiptoed my way around the glass in that direction. I opened his bathroom door and he was leaning over the sink. I gasped as I saw the bleeding cut on his hand.

I immediately grabbed a cloth and pushed it against the wound on his hand. "What happened?" I asked him.

He let out a sarcastic laugh. "Life happened. It's so fucked up. She- She was..."

When he didn't finish, I placed my hand on the side of his face and gently turned him towards me. He opened his eyes and I could tell he had been crying.

I cleaned up his wound before I covered it with a bandage. He obviously had cut himself on some of the glass. In that moment, I wanted to take away every single ounce of pain that he felt. But, I knew I couldn't. There was only one thing I could do at the time. So, I stepped into his body and wrapped my arms around him.

He kept his arms at his side as he asked, "What if Ryan walks in and sees?"

"I don't care," I answered honestly. And I didn't. For some reason, I felt the extremely strong urge to comfort Jackson.

After he hesitated for a moment, I felt his arms wrap around me and he buried his face in my neck. We stayed like that for awhile; and I could slowly feel some of the tension leaving his body. We went to the bed after that; I sat against his headboard and he stretched out next to me, putting his head in my lap.

I started stroking his hair and it didn't take him long to fall asleep. I think this is the first time he's actually slept in a while. While he was sleeping, he wrapped his arm around my legs, pulling me closer as he whispered my name is sleep.

The timer of my microwave went off, bringing me back to the present as it let me know my dinner was ready. I pulled out the leftover pizza I was heating up and sat at my table. Thinking back on that night, a wave of unknown emotions went through me. Something happened in London between Jackson and I. After that night I comforted him, it was almost as if he crawled back inside himself.

Ryan had finally returned to Jackson's apartment the following morning. He told me that he had gotten extremely drunk and spent the night at a woman's house. I'm just glad that he was okay. After he had showered and put some food in his stomach. The three of us went to Everly's house.

We packed up her house in silence. She had a small home and it didn't take us very long. Jackson wanted to put most of her things in storage. There were a few sentimental things that Ryan wanted to keep for himself, to remember her.

I rubbed my temples after I took another bite of my pizza. Ever since I got back to New York, it's like I have a headache I can't get rid of. My mother won't stop being my mother. She's already selected a date for my bridal shower and did not give me any input in it. She also managed to pick out my wedding dress while I was in London. That really made me mad, considering both she and Ryan's mom told me I could pick it out.

Speaking of Ryan, we hadn't really talked since we've gotten back to New York. He's had his own issues with his parents and was still having a hard time after everything. I've been texting him and trying to call him to see if there was anything I could do. Still no response.

A knock at my door let me know that Laney had arrived. She texted me early this morning and invited herself over for a girl's night. Basically, she knew I was upset and wanted to comfort me with ice cream and romance movies. I was down for that. My only request was that instead of bringing romance movies, she brings scary ones.

I opened the door and she held up two bags with a smile. "I got ice cream and our favorite movie snacks. And we can start our movie marathon with Friday the 13th or the Saw movies."

She came inside and we got comfortable in front of the TV in my bedroom. We decided to start with Friday the 13th and she handed me a pint of Haagen-Dazs.

"So," she started as she took a bite of her mint chocolate chip ice cream, "still no word from Ryan?"

"No," I sighed. "I'm probably going to go over there tomorrow. I'm worried about him."

She nodded as she glanced to the TV. "From what you told me, he was pretty close to Jackson's mom. He must be going through hell." She was quiet for a moment before she asked, "How is the Greek God, by the way?"

How was he? Who the hell knew. He didn't come back to the states with Ryan and I. He chose to stay in London for a while, promising he'll be back for the wedding. I had no idea how he was. I had no idea if he was doing okay. If he was having trouble dealing with the loss of his mom. I didn't even know if I was going to see him again.

At first, I tried to deny that I cared. But as the silence went on, I couldn't ignore the truth anymore. Not knowing if he was okay, was driving me crazy. I was constantly worried about him.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Lanie. We haven't spoken since London. I hope he's doing okay."

"Me, too. I know this is probably harder on him and it doesn't help that he's over there alone. Did he say why he didn't want to come back with you and Ryan?"

"Not really. I mean, he said he needed a little time. He said that he needed to get some of his mom's things squared away and to figure some stuff out." I shrugged as I took a bite of my ice cream. "He was vague. I mean it's understandable, after everything that's happened. I guess I was just hoping he knew he could talk to me."

That's something that both he and I should know. We've told each other that repeatedly. Sometimes I felt like he was the only one I could talk to about somethings. Of course, I had Lanie, but I just felt completely comfortable and safe with Jackson.

Lanie stretched out on the bed. "Look, Harp, I'm sure he's fine. I know you're worried about him and it's understandable. I think he just needed some time to himself. It's hard for us to relate to exactly what he's going through, you know?"

She wasn't wrong. My parents were still here, selfish people that they were. But still, it would hurt if I lost them. Maybe he just needed some time. After all, it hadn't really been that long since I had seen him or talked to him. I guess I just got so used to seeing him so frequently that these six days seemed much longer than they were.

A knock sounded at my front door and I groaned. "That's probably our Chinese food."

Lanie and I ordered Chinese food when we got a case of the munchies earlier. With all of our talking about Ryan and Jackson, I had forgotten about it.

"I'll get it," Lanie said as she got to her feet and headed out of my bedroom.

When she didn't return right away I got worried and got up from the bed. "Lanie?" I called as I stepped into the living room.

I froze in place, not making it another step. Lanie wasn't in my living room. Someone else was.

"Hey, Princess."