✓SEASONS [JAKE GYLLENHAAL]

èr shí sì.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

二十四

𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲. . .

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

JAKE is calling!
ACCEPT | DECLINE

JAKE is calling!
ACCEPT | DECLINE

JAKE is calling!
ACCEPT | DECLINE

"what?"

"i did something
stupid!"

"don't you
always?"

"seriously,
rose!"

"what did
you do, jake?"

"i tried to teach
hugo how to ride
a bike today. . ."

"what the fuc—"

"i know."

"you're not supposed
to force him to do
stuff he doesn't want
to do, jacob! what
part of 'kids with
asperger's are not
very physically
coordinated' don't
you understand?"

". . .he won't
stop screaming."

". . ."

"rosalie?"

"just had to cancel
my meeting that
would have
happened in
ten minutes.
on my way."

"you don't have
to do that. just
talk me through. . .
tell me what
to do."

"nonsense. i'd be
there for my boys in
a heartbeat even if
it means i'll
lose my job."

"thank you. . .
i'm sorry."

"yeah, okay. i'll be
there in five."

"rosalie, i l—"

CALL ENDED!

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

A tired sigh escapes from Rosalie's lips as she unties her hair that was previously in a neat bun. After calming Hugo down with a promise of dumplings and with Jake helping Levi with his homework, she was left sitting by the foot of the bed in their bedroom.

Rosalie had been feeling a little. . .uneasy ever since Jake admitted that he wasn't sure about his feelings for her. She felt so tired and insecure in her own skin thinking that maybe it was something in her physical appearance or whether it was something she said or did way back when—retracing her steps gave her a headache. But, avoiding Jake, the person who she used to bare her soul to, gave her a slight ache in her chest.

Was she insecure with her looks? Probably.

Did Jake mean what he said? Most likely.

Was Rosalie hurt? No doubt about that.

"Hi." Jake greets her as he exits the bathroom. Rosalie gives him a tight smile and a brief look before she proceeds to take off her jewelry.

Presently, they were walking on thin ice—to her at least. Rosalie was too scared to say or do anything that might make Jake love her any less. She was pissed at first but then she was worried shitless. Jake was a huge part of her life and she honestly would be lost without him.

Jake coughs and takes a seat on the edge of the bed, right beside her. Rosalie turns to look at him with eyebrows furrowed in worry. She moves towards him and gently places her hand on his forehead.

Rosalie sighs and declares, "I'm making you some chicken noddle soup." Before she stands up, Jake gently grasps her arm and pull her back down to sit.

She gives him a confused look and Jake's eyes look like they were close to tears. "Stay."

"Jake, you have a Broadway play in a few da—"

"Are you leaving me for Nigel?"

Rosalie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Jake didn't mean stay in the room; he meant stay. don't leave me.

A scoff emits from her mouth as she stands up from the bed and paces the room. Her hands run through her jet-black hair as she says, "Nigel Norin? God, that manchild?"

Jake doesn't answer as his eyes go straight to look down. Rosalie shakes her head. "He asked me out to lunch because he needed a career boost. Nigel wanted to be an ambassador for UNICEF and I declined him because I knew he was in it for the wrong reasons."

Rosalie clicks her tongue as Jake's silence continues. She gives him her back so he couldn't see the tears pooling in her eyes and threatening to spill, "My, my. You really have some nerve asking that kind of question, Gyllenhaal. I'm not the one who's unsure of their feelings here."

"Rosalie, I love you! I really do." Jake's voice rises as he does, stepping closer to his partner—one he labeled as his ride or die. "But I need you to need me back. Why didn't you tell me you were going to the child psychiatrist? Why didn't you tell me that you saw Nigel again? Why aren't you letting me in anymore?"

"You love me?" Rosalie asks, her voice cracking. She turns to face him only to see that he also had tears falling down his face. "The question, Jake, is for how long? You already told me you weren't sure about me—about us anymore."

Jake falls to his knees and encircles his muscular arms around her waist. He had never felt so vulnerable and desperate in his entire life as he clings tightly to Rosalie and not giving a shit whether her pink dress would be tear-stained or not.

"I know." He says, his voice barely above a whisper. "Baby, I had doubts bu—but when I look at our boys, the uncertainties are gone. They're a part of you and a part of me. . .nothing can ever compare to that."

Rosalie inhales sharply as she feels her heart sink again. She searches for a way out of the moment and remembers a tradition she and Levi have.

"I—I have to read Levi his bedtime story." She gently pries his arms off her waist and exits the room without another word.

In the bedroom, Jake sits on the floor and wonders if his words were enough to make her stay. While, outside the bedroom, Rosalie's back hits the wall as the tears flow right out of her eyes because she also wondered if getting her heartbroken by the same man over and over again was worth it.