If Only..(Part 1 And Part 2 Included)(Under Edit)

Chapter 41 - The Mirror

Madeline walked out of the door of the department in a pace faster than usual and crossed the street. She started panting heavily as she got inside the car and held the corners of the passengers seat.

Jackson: Hey! Hey, hey, what's wrong?

Madeline did not reply. She kept staring out of the front glass.

Jackson left the wheels and turned towards her.

Jackson: Wanna go get some fresh air? Maybe, a good coffee? Or a river side? Somewhere calm?

Madeline: *exhaling sharply*I want to go home.

Jackson twitched his lips, gave an assuring nodded and turned back towards the wheels.

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As, the car pulled over Madeline's house,

Jackson: There you go.

Madeline turned towards Jackson.

Madeline: Thank you, for being by the(chuckles) pathetic mess of me. I am...sorry, you had to bear all these.

Jackson: I did what I had to do. What happened to you then?

Madeline seized her smile and rolled her eyes down. Jackson realized her denial for answering.

Jackson: Umm... do you feel better now?

Madeline looked up at him and nodded with a subtle smile.

Madeline: That day, wasn't in any one's favor. Jake died....(holding her tears back)because of me. You know, he...he asked me to stay back. Maybe, he had the bad feeling. I insisted him, that I won't. I did...I did not know that(quivering voice) this would cost me his life.

Jackson: You were no where at fault. Stop blaming yourself. (cupping her cheek and rubbing her tears with his thumb) Think it straight. Anyone would have done that, I know if you were him, you would have done the same. At least you stayed up to his trust. He believed that YOU can do it. Wherever he is, right now. He must be sitting with a hell of a pride weighing up his chest.

Madeline kept her eyes on him and softly smiled at him. Jackson mirrored. They both shared a brief hug before Madeline bid him goodbye and walked inside her house as Jackson's eyes followed her track and started the ignition as she closed the door behind her.

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The following day;

It was 8 in the morning, when the sun rays peeping in from Jackson's window, woke him up. He sat up in his bed rubbing his sleepy eyes. He turned his face towards the window, and remembered his brief talk with Madeline. He smiled to himself and searched for his phone. When the screen illuminated, the smile in his face vanished at once. Multiple missed calls from Madeline from the night before topped his notification list. Panicked by the notification, he tried calling her number, several times, but it went into voice mail. After getting no reply from the either side, he kept his phone on the bed table near him. He leaned his head on the wall above his head and took a deep breath.

"Well, fuck!"

After 2 hours, he reached near Madeline's house, with a box of colorful doughnuts. He took a brief moment while he stared at the closed door being inside his car.

Jackson(exhales): Okay, this is it.

He got off the car with the transparent box of doughnuts and walked up to the door. Before he knocked, he realized that the door was open. Madeline never keeps her door open, at least not as much he learned about her. Confused by the unusual experience he slowly walked in the house, scanning through the corners, calling out her name. But, there was no response from the other side. He walked past the living room, inside her bedroom when the shattered mirror in her bed room caught his attention. The box of doughnuts fell off his hand and he pulled out his gun, assuming a probable threat. As, he walked up to the bathroom door, he felt something beneath his shoe. He looked at the floor to find a broken vase with pieces scattered all over.