Saving Eternity: A Jack Gilinsky Fanfic

32. Eyes Are Open

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

I stood outside my house, immobile. Jack knelt down to my eye level and spoke softly into my ear, "You can do this." He faintly nodded his head, giving me the confidence to step foot inside. I abruptly grabbed his face with my hands and planted a kiss directly onto his lips, just in case this was goodbye. 

"Stay here. I'll go by myself. I'll give you two a signal to come in when it's time." I picked up my bag that was laying on the cement and swung it loosely around my body. 

I carefully made my way up to the front door. All though I had been gone for less than a week, it felt like I had been gone for much longer. I took one more deep breath and gathered enough courage to open the front door. All the lights in the downstairs were off. I began to make my way up the stairs, tip-toeing so I didn't wake anybody. My skin crawled when I saw a dark figure emerge from the corner of the staircase. It spoke softly, as if it was in disbelief. "Anna? Is that you?" It was my Mother's voice. She flipped on the light switch. 

I watched as the pupils in her eyes grew vigorously. The skin of her tanned face briskly faded into the color of an egg shell. I noticed that her hands began to tremble at an ungodly rate. "Mom!" I exclaimed. I ran up the rest of the stairs and earnestly threw my arms around her fragile body. My mom was paralyzed from astonishment; she couldn't even manage to return the hug. 

I pulled my arms away from her body and looked at her worringly. She resembled a ghost. I placed one of my arms around her back and ushered her to the closest couch. I assisted in sitting her down. "Mom, are you okay?"  She softly nodded her head. Her eyes closely examined my every move. She looked traumatized. 

"Anna, I thought you were gone. I thought I was never going to be able to see you again. I thought you had abandoned me." A few small tears emerged from the corner of her eyes and proceeded to fall swiftly down her colorless cheeks. Seeing my Mom cry was the single handily worst thing to ever witness. Knowing that I caused all of this pain that she was feeling made me feel like a repulsive person. I too began to cry.

"I can explain, I promise." My Mom's sorrow frown slowly transformed into a dazzling smile. She pulled me in tightly to her body. The color in her face began to reappear. The warmth of her skin radiated. 

"You don't have to explain anything. It's okay, Anna. I'm a horrible Mother. I understand." The emotion in her voice was unbearable. I had never seen her so vulnerable before.

"No, Mom. I want to explain. You are the last thing from a horrible Mother. You're the best Mom in the entire world. And I realize that now." I said. I wanted nothing more than to make my Mom happy again. 

"Okay. I'm all ears. Go ahead." She leaned back in the couch and carefully wiped the tears that were wildly flowing from her eyes. 

"Jack and I went to Florida." I stated abruptly. I closed my eyes as if I was preparing to ear an array of shouting from her. To my surprise, she didn't say anything. She nodded her head, signaling me to continue my story. "Jack got a call from some lady that worked at the Boca Raton county jail." I paused again, waiting for her to say something. She spoke no words. She nodded her head again. "Long story short, Jack's twin brother who he thought had died ten years ago was in Jail and we took a bus to Florida to bail him out." I blurted. 

She stared at me with no expression. Her mind looked vacant. I expected her to be furious with me, but she wasn't. "Anna. Tell me the truth. Do you love Jack?" I could tell from the tone of her voice that she was seriously genuine.

"Mom, I never knew what love was until I met Jack. You know me, I'm not stupid when it comes to boys. Jack is different. He makes me so happy. I'm never happier than when I'm with him." I said, hoping to persuade her to see the good in Jack. My Mom's lips curved into a faint smile.

"That's exactly how I felt about your father. Where is he now?" She asked, tilting her head to the left. 

"Uh, Jeremy and him are actually in the front of our house." I said. I was shocked that she asked me.

"Jeremy?"

"His twin brother." I replied.

My Mom's eyes looked up the ceiling of our house. I figured she was staring at something, like a spider or a hole in the roof. "What're you doing?" I casually asked.

"I'm thinking." She pressed her finger on her cheek and tapped it gently. "Bring them in. I owe Jack an apology." She blurted. I uncontrollably let out a ginormous smile. She immediately returned one, as if mine was contagious. 

I reached across the couch and gave her a tight embrace. "I love you so much." I whispered into her ear.

"I love you too, Anna."

I tugged away from the warm embrace and proceeded to run eagerly down the stairs. My happiness in that moment was undefinable. My smile was permanently plastered across my face. I opened the front door and skipped down the driveway to find Jack and Jeremy sitting down, chatting to themselves. "Come on boys!" 

They stood up in the blink of an eye. "She actually is letting us inside?" Jack asked, his mouth was hanging low to the floor. I nodded my head and grabbed both of their hands, guiding them to my Mom who we found patiently waiting on the couch.

"Take a seat." She stated sternly. I peered at Jack who was noticeably nervous.

I rubbed his arm and whispered underneath my breath, "Breathe. It's okay."

I grasped Jack's hand firmly and sat down next to him on the couch. Jeremy took a seat on the floor. "First of all, Hi Jeremy. I'm Anna's Mom." 

Jeremy nodded his head and said, "Lovely to meet ya." 

"Second of all. Jack, I'm sorry. I was extremely rude to you. I don't expect you forgive me. But just know that I am so incredibly sorry about the way I acted towards you. It was irrational and in the spur of the moment." She stated. I glanced over at Jack who had a glimmer in his eyes. 

"Mrs. Porter, no need to apologize. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me for going against your rules and having a romantic relationship with your daughter without your knowledge." Jack took a short pause and redirected his attention towards me. He continued to speak. "Just so you know, Mrs. Porter, your daughter is the love of my life. She's the reason I smile everyday. Thank you for raising such a beautiful girl." 

My Mom watched as Jack softly pressed his plump lips onto my cheek and wrapped his arm securely around my body. She radiantly smiled. "I guess this is the part where I offer you two a place to stay."  She said, looking back and forth between the twins. Jack cleared his throat.  

"Mrs. Porter, that would mean so mu-" He began to speak, but my Mom interrupted. 

"Consider it a done deal." She said as a large grin grew widely across her face.

Do you know what happiness is?

Happiness is that.

Happiness is being surrounded by unconditional love.

Happiness is being back with my family who I missed so dearly.

Happiness is being with Jack, my boyfriend who I was so incredibly in love with.

I was happy. 

A/n: Hi all! Thank you for 6k reads. That's sooooo cray cray! Hope you're still enjoying. Please remember to comment and like :) I'm thinking about ending this fanfiction on chapter 55 or 60. There's still plenty more drama in store, trust me..