Thursday of that same week
Jackson
"Let me get this straight, you locked her in a dark room, she's afraid of the dark but you had no idea and yet after finding out you didn't say sorry" The girl paced around the room
"That sums it up pretty well" Jackson nodded
"So you didn't apologize" She had a confused look on her face as she crossed her arms
"No" The green eyed boy shook his head
"Why on earth would you not apologize? And please don't tell me it's because she had a bad attitude because I will kill you with my bare hands" She was mad, very mad, and seemed to want to throw a rock at Jackson
Jackson thought twice about answering, his sister would attempt to his life if he did say something stupid. Although anything he could say would probably be used against him.
His sister had a three day break from school and their grandmother preferred she stayed with Jackson than alone, despite her being almost 15.
"Because I don't regret it Isa" Well that was probably the stupidest reply he could've given Isabella
"It's not about regretting it or not, it's about accepting you did something wrong" She shook her head in disapproval
"But I told her I did something wrong" Jackson sat down on the counter of the small kitchen
"So why didn't you apologize, you were already halfway through the apology all you had to say was sorry!" She groaned
"Because I didn't regret it so my apology wouldn't mean anything, it would be a lie" No, THAT was the worst thing he could've said to his sister
"I am literally done listening to your bullshit. Seriously man, it's three simple words: I am sorry" As she said the words, Isabella took off her hearing aids and set them on the counter where her brother was sitting
"But I still told her that I knew I did wrong and it wouldn't happen again" He got off the counter to face his sister for her to see him sign
The only person in the household that hadn't learnt sign language was their grandmother, she knew a few words but could barely form three full sentences
"Jesus Jack, your problem is not even admitting you did something wrong. It's just saying three words: I am sorry. If it makes someone else feel better why not just say it? It won't kill you" Isabella was signing with more energy she usually used, it was like she was yelling at him
Jackson stared at her with a confused look. He was really trying to figure out why he had to say sorry in order to apologize, wasn't accepting what he'd done wrong enough?
"Tell me you're sorry" Isabella sighed as she signed
"But for what?" Now that was confusing
"For being the most insufferable big brother this earth has ever known"
"Fine. I'm sorry for making your life miserable" Jackson signed reluctantly
"See, it's not so bad. You told me you were sorry, I felt better and you're still breathing" Isabella gave him a smile
"It doesn't bother me, but it's a lie"
"It doesn't matter whether you understand or not why you need to say you're sorry. You already take accountability for your actions by admitting you did something wrong and try to fix it, now you just need to say you're sorry"
"Fine, I'll say I am sorry, but how am I even supposed to know I have to say I'm sorry. I'm not going to start apologizing for anything and everything" In his opinion, apologies lost meaning when they were repeated often without being meant
Isabella
"Look, If you feel the other person feels bad and you wouldn't do the same action again after seeing how it unfolded it's a pretty good indicator you should say you're sorry"
This man will be the death of me, I am not even kidding. I love him but god is he stupid. Literally just had to say three words but no he had to fuck everything up. If he wasn't my brother I would've bashed his head in with a hammer.
Isabella was the only one, apart from Ms Smith, that knew the conditions Jackson struggled with and if it hadn't been for her, he would probably have even less awareness of the emotions of people around him.
"Got it" Jackson gave her a small smile and a thumbs up
"Now what was the other stupid thing you did I wanted to kill you for?" Isabella thought for a few seconds
"Right. WHY THE ACTUAL HELL WOULD YOU TELL HER YOU HAD YOUR EYES ON SOMEONE ELSE?!" Isabella yelled that out, didn't bother signing it just straight up yelled and hit him at every single word of that sentence
"Ouch! I don't know!" Jackson signed before rubbing where she'd hit him
"The hell you mean you don't know! You could've just said you weren't going out with Val, but no, you HAD to say shit" She was back to signing despite it looking very agressive
"I don't know! I mean I do know who I was thinking about but I don't know if I was thinking about her like that" Her brother fiddled with the ring in his hand.
Who could he even like? Valeria? Yeah, no, that ship sailed last year. Once again an example of his stupidity, I would've jumped to the opportunity of dating that girl. Anybody from the club? No... Oh no, not her, he's got to be kidding me...
"If the name Anastasia comes out of your mouth and I will shove the first thing I find up your ass" Isabella didn't like Anastasia, her vibe was just off
Anastasia was a girl from another judo club, she was at the top of Beatrice's category. She was 18 and in the U21 category, but she did Senior and was ranked very high, maybe even first in the senior category and second in U21. If Isabella had to be honest she was kind of a bitch. She was a pretty girl, straight light brown hair and hazel eyes, it was hard to picture her destroying someone on the mat; she looked delicate to say the least.
"She's nice to me" He knew that didn't mean anything, he just appreciated having her company at competitions
"She's a bit too 'nice' to you for my liking" Isabella frowned
"So she brings me snacks and stuff, what's wrong with that?" Her brother loved food, that wasn't new information. You could kidnap him easily with candy
"The way she looks at you is wrong, the comments she makes about and to you are completely out of line, and in case you hadn't noticed, she's a bitch to everyone else on the team"
"She doesn't look at me in any way and I don't know which comments you're talking about" Jackson had a genuine confused look on his face which made Isabella sigh
"I won't discuss that girl any longer, but don't think going out with her is an option. And by the way, if she touches you again in any way I don't find appropriate and she'll never be seen again" Isabella stared daggers at him
"What even are you talking about? Again?" The green eyed boy crossed his arms waiting for an answer
"Oh don't act like a fool, I saw- Actually we ALL saw how she kissed you goodbye last time. Hadn't you moved your face that kiss wouldn't have been on your cheek"
Sure, Jackson had pulled Anastasia away slightly when she'd given him a longer hug than he would tolerate, yet it didn't mean she wasn't a bit... insistent.
"It would've not" Jackson huffed and looked away
Is he really that naive?
"I won't discuss this any more with you, just thinking about her makes my blood boil" She shook her head and walked to take her hearing aids
She still had a bit of hearing in her right ear but her left one was completely dead. She wasn't born deaf, but her hearing deteriorated fast once she reached the age of four.
"Now, I will go watch The Office. Feel free to stay here thinking about everything you did wrong Monday" Isabella put her hearing aids back on and opened the couch to turn it into a bed
"I'll bring blankets and pillows" Jackson decided to drop the topic and not be stubborn
Not even three seconds after she turned on the television, three knocks were heard in the door
"Are you expecting someone? Did you skip school?" From what Isabella knew, Jackson had the day off from school to gather all of his things for the competition for which they were leaving early Friday.
"I'm not expecting anyone. Maybe it's the coach, just open the door please" Jackson spoke from his room. He was gathering everything they needed to make the couch more comfortable
Isabella opened the door to find a curly haired girl standing with, what appeared to be documents in her hands. She eyed the girl up and down.
"Hi. I might have the wrong apartment, I apologize" The curly haired girl said as she looked through her documents
"Jackson you liar!" Isabella yelled in the apartment and then looked back at the girl
"Charlotte Torres, right? Don't worry you've got the right apartment. I'm Isabella but you can call me Isa" Isabella gave her a smile and motioned her to come in
The number of times she'd heard his brother talk about that girl made it impossible not to immediately recognize her, despite never having met her. However, Jackson had never specified she was quite good looking, he even made it seem as if she was a troll. But that was her brother for you, always exaggerating
Charlotte
Who is this? She looks surprisingly like Jackson. Same curly hair, same skin tone, same freckles, same everything except her eyes; they are... grey? Blue? It's literally him but in a girl version. That's not even the important part, how does she even know me?
"Yeah, I'm Charlotte. Who are you?" Charlotte had a curious look in her eyes
"She's my sister. What are you doing here Torres?" Jackson asked surprised about seeing Charlotte standing in his apartment, and she couldn't blame him; it was something she too never thought would happen.
The boy put down the pillows and blankets he was holding in his arms on the couch before standing right beside Isabella. Someone had gotten the tall genes and the other not so much. If Charlotte had to guess, Isabella probably stood at 5'3 (162 cm)
"Oh don't be so rude, you have a guest. At least offer her to come in or a glass of water" Isabella gave Jackson an elbow punch
"It's not necessary, Mr Martin just needed me to have him sign some documents for the competition" Charlotte wasn't planning on staying any longer than she needed to, she wasn't even supposed to be in that residence
"You heard her, she doesn't wanna stay. Give me the documents, Torres, I'll sign them" Jackson was going to grab the papers but his sister was faster at it
"Oh but I insist. Charlotte why don't you sit down?" Isabella motioned to one of the four chairs in the dining room
"Que piensas que estás haciendo Isabella?" (What do you think you're doing Isabella) Jackson lowered his voice and looked at his sister. Charlotte had no idea what he'd said but he certainly didn't look happy
Jackson
What game is she playing now? I don't want Charlotte in my apartment. She isn't even supposed to be there, she could be in a lot of trouble if someone found out. Not only is she in the boy's part of the residence but she is not allowed in the Raven's residence
"Encontrándote una novia, y si no funciona yo sería feliz de que fuera la mía" (Finding you a girlfriend, and if it doesn't work I'll be happy for her to be mine) Isabella gave her brother a mischievous smile
"Acabó con tu vida, te lo juro Isabella" (I'll end your life, I swear Isabella)
Isabella rolled her eyes at him "I have heard so much about you Charlotte, honestly I don't know how you put up with him. I've been with him for three hours and have considered murder 10 times" Isabella sat down right in front of the girl
Ok this is bad, really bad she better shut up or I'll wish never to have been born
"Oh yeah, I consider murder about as many times. It's part of my routine" Charlotte gave Jackson a quick glance
"Yeah well you know he's rude and everything but he's actually just a teddy bear. Did you know he sleeps hugging a pillow and will not fall asleep unless he has his sloth plushie? It even has a name" Isabella was enjoying herself so much right now, it was obvious
"Alright you're done, you're sleeping outside tonight" Jackson grabbed his sister by the shoulders to get her to stand up
Isabella stood up without much resistance "Oh and his comfort show is Tom and Jerry. Also did he ever tell you he wasn't able to sleep for two years after watching Zootopia? Yeah the otter scared him to death" The rambling continued, did she have nothing better to do than embarrass him?
The green eyed boy pushed Isabella until they were in his room, she was looking thing so hard "I don't even want to talk to you right now"
"Awwn you're all flustered, how cute" Isabella mocked him
"Shut up, I'm closing the door please don't touch anything and give me the documents" Jackson was fairly aware his face was red, he could feel it
"Not even you sloth?" Isabella asked with a pout as she handed him the sheets of paper
"Especially not him" Jackson rolled his eyes at her before closing the door of his room and going back to where Charlotte was
How could she even say all of that? None of it are lies but that doesn't mean they should be revealed to anyone, particularly not Charlotte!
"Excuse her for whatever that was" Jackson shook his head and sighed, grabbing the first pen he saw so he could sign the documents
"No, I find it quite funny. I've never seen her around the school, is she new here? I mean I didn't even know you had a sister" Charlotte still had a small smile on her face, perhaps was it from the whole scene Isabella had just made
"No, she's just here for the weekend, she's going back home after the competition" Jackson sat down in front of Charlotte and read through the documents quickly.
It was always the same things 'I accept any injuries are not the responsibility of the judo federation...' and whatnot
"Oh ok, talking about the competition. The coach told me you could lend me an uniform, can I find it at the dojo ?" The curly haired girl leaned back on her chair
"He said what now?" Jackson looked up at her quickly
What the hell did the coach mean by him lending her an uniform. There was no way in hell she was wearing one of his uniforms
"Something about a jacket with the team's logo" The girl shrugged
"No I know, it's just... Whatever, it's fine. Here, I'll go grab it" Jackson handed the documents signed back to her and decided to drop the matter
He wasn't in the mood to argue over an uniform that didn't even fit him anymore.
Jackson went to a small closet in the hallway that led to his room and looked where he had all his old uniforms. He tried to find one that might fit her, after a minute or two he found the one he had when he first started at the school; it looked like it would fit her just fine.
"It should fit you, the pants too. You have to wear it all the time so they can know where you're from. Try not to lose it Torres, there is my name on the back and the sleeve but I still lost like three of them"
Jackson was trying to figure out why the coach had asked him to give her an uniform but then he remembered how the rest of the team members didn't keep their old uniforms. Now he regretted having kept it
Charlotte
"So I am meant to walk around with your name on my back for the entire weekend" She took the uniform in her hands
"Apparently, yea. I'm not happy about it either so try not to do anything stupid, the jacket will associate you with me and I'd rather not" He moved the curls from his face
If Charlotte paid attention, his hair was messier than usual which didn't necessarily suit him badly. He didn't have his uniform on and from what she could tell was probably still in his pyjamas. Well not a pyjama per se, just sweatpants and a hoodie.
"I'm not the stupid one between the two of us" She rolled her eyes and stood up, it was time she left
"Yeah right " Jackson crossed his arms and rolled his eyes right back at her
"I'm not the one scared of the otter in Zootopia" She said crossing her arms like he did
"Well I'm not the one scared of the dark" Yeah he couldn't let one opportunity pass, could he?
And I'm not the one who needs a plushie to sleep" she had to admit that fact was kind of cute
Jackson
"Funny coming from someone who probably needs a nightlight to sleep" as he said that a weird feeling struck him... Maybe now would be the right time to apologize about locking her in a dark room
"Well you're one to talk but whatever, say bye to your sister for me. Shes actually nice" Charlotte said looking to see if she saw Isabella anywhere
"Right, um before you leave, I wanted to... well apologize for locking you in a dark room"
Come on just say you're sorry, you've filled the two criteria, you wouldn't do it again and you made her feel bad
"I am sorry and like I said it won't happen again" He was now fiddling with his ring as he spoke
"I'll consider the apology, but I'm still mad at you for that Power" Charlotte said with a small frown
"Fine..." He groaned
I apologized and the words, wasn't that supposed to be enough? People were so confusing, no, Charlotte was confusing
"We are leaving at five tomorrow, don't be late" Charlotte said taking the documents and heading to the door
"You were mad because I didn't say 'I am sorry' but now that I did, it didn't change anything. Why? I mean it and the same thing will not happen again. So why is it you don't accept my apology?" It was a serious question he was asking
"Maybe it's just because you're not my friend, so it takes me more time to accept your apology" She shrugged, she didn't even seem to know "But I appreciate it, if that's of any help to you"
Jackson stopped listening after 'You're not my friend' he didn't know why, but those words coming from her mouth kind of stung. He knew they weren't friends, they were just classmates, yet it didn't seem quite right.
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Hello!
I hope you are all well! I just wanted to tell you that I truly appreciate your support and that it gives me the motivation I need to keep writing, if it weren't for y'all I would've give up on this book three chapters ago.
Thank you again! And have a great day/night!
P.S: My friend gave me a challenge to write a story about a: Doctor x Police Officer x Love at first sight. Would anyone be interested in reading something along those lines??