Unscripted (Jack & Crutchie)

Chapter 21 - Trying

"How much more time though, Jack? A week? A month? Or is it going to be years? Next thing I know, I'm going to die without being able to fucking walk," I was crying hard at this point, both from the pain and frustration. 

"Crutchie..." His voice was soft as he stared at me. "C'mere." He went to hug me, and normally I'd let him. However, I felt so angry, that I pushed him back. "Sorry," he said quickly, backing up.

"I-" I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "I just don't want to be touched right now. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking angry," I said, starting to ramble.

"I know, I know. It's okay. I should've asked." He sat down now, continuing to look at me. "Do you want me to go for a bit?" I stared at him, unsure if that was what I wanted. Part of me wanted to say yes, but I knew that the second he left, I'd wish he was here.

"No, I want you to stay. I'm sorry, I'm just..." I put my head in my hands, feeling out of control of my feelings.

"Don't say sorry, it's okay. Take your time to breathe. I'll be here." I kept my head down as he talked, not wanting him to see my face. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I kept my gaze off of him. He always knew what to do, so after those minutes of silence, he quietly asked, "do you want to talk about it?" I took my head out of my hands, looking at him.

"I don't even know what I feel right now." I started. Jack nodded, showing that he was listening. "I... I feel angry about not being able to walk, but I feel sad at the same time. Not to mention it fucking hurts so bad," I laughed a little at myself, looking at my leg. "And I yelled at you," I trailed off, feeling awful. "Which I'm sorry for. I just... I wasn't thinking."

"You don't have to say sorry, Crutch." He gave me a smile, We sat in silence for a few more moments as we both thought.

"I knew I was right about something being wrong," I said, looking at Jack.

"Hm?" He scooted closer to me, but still not touching me. 

"Remember when Tommy stomped me and I kept saying something was wrong?" He nodded, and so I continued, "Well, I was right." I sighed, looking away from him. We sat in silence once again, as Jack probably didn't know what to say. He eventually put his arms out, turning his body to me. I fell into them almost right away, crying on instinct from everything. 

"Do you want to go to bed?" Jack asked quietly, running his fingers through my hair. I nodded silently, and we moved over and laid down, snuggling each other.

I fell asleep pretty fast, emotionally exhausted. I wasn't sure how long I was asleep for when I was woken up by Jack getting up. I looked around, noticing it was still night. 

"Hm..?" I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. I couldn't really see Jack, but I could that his breathing was heavy.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." He was turned away from me, and I could tell he was wiping his face. Was he crying?

"It's okay, what's wrong?" I stretched a little bit, my eyes starting to adjust. 

"Nothing, nothing. Just go back to sleep." I noticed then that his voice seemed shaky, sounding as though he had been crying. 

"Are you sure..?" I kept my voice down, growing worried. He stayed silent for a moment before I heard him crying. 

"No." He still faced the other way, crying harder yet.

"Hey, come here. Let's talk," I desperately wanted to help him and it hurt so bad that I couldn't reach him.

"No. I- I don't want to talk about it. Just go back to sleep. I'll be fine." I sat there for a minute, unsure if I should keep pushing or not. He looked at me, noticing I hadn't laid back down. "Crutchie, I'm okay. Really. Just go back to sleep. Okay?" He seemed calmer now, which was enough to convince me to do as he said. I closed my eyes, yet I stayed awake until he came back and laid down, which was a while.