Cassandra’s P.O.V
It had been two nights since Valarie had left and Jack spent every one of them drinking. He didn’t talk to anyone but Alex when he was sober and he talked about her in his sleep. I was keeping in touch with Valarie. We called each other every day. She didn’t seem to be coping that well either.
“No, Alex. I’m fine,” Jack groaned as he stumbled through the bus and fell over.
I helped Alex lift him up onto the couch. His breath reeked of beer and I really didn’t want to know how much he’d been drinking. He’d been carrying a book around with him since Valarie left. I hadn’t had a close look at it but I knew it said Valarie on the front cover.
“Simon is my only friend,” Jack shouted as Alex threw a blanket at him.
He held up Valarie’s book to show us the stick figure he’d drawn. It had a massive head with tiny arms and legs. Its eyes were bulging and blood shot and a massive arrow that said ‘Simon’ pointed to it. Jack hugged it and snuggled under the blanket Alex threw over him. I sat at Jack’s feet and absentmindedly rubbed his legs comfortingly through the blanker.
“I miss her,” Jack mumbled, “When is she coming back?”
I didn’t say anything and looked up at Alex for an answer. He looked from Jack, to me, and back to Jack.
“One day,” Alex replied softly.
“Soon?” Jack asked, his voice suddenly filled with excitement.
“Maybe.”
Jack’s face dropped a little and he sighed. I sat with him as he slowly fell asleep and started saying Valarie’s name in his sleep. He tossed and turned a lot before slowly curling himself into a ball near my legs. I stood up and tucked him in properly before getting my phone from the counter and dialing Valarie’s number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Val. It’s me Cass,” I murmured, trying not to wake Jack up.
“Hey,” Valarie mumbled.
It sounded like she had been crying again.
“You okay?” I asked.
“No, not really,” She replied, her voice shaky.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
I sat down at the dining table and waited for her to reply.
“I really miss him, Cass,” She said and I could tell she was crying again, “I want to come back, but I don’t know if I should.”
“You should come back,” I replied, not sure whether I was about to give good or bad advice, “He misses you too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he talks about you in his sleep.”
“No I meant should I really come back?” She clarified.
“Yes. You two need each other, there is no reason you should be apart.”
“Where are you guys?” She asked.
“We’re heading to Atlanta,” I replied.
“Can you tell Jack to meet me in Atlanta?” She asked.
Jack stirred behind me and I looked around to see that he was sitting up and staring at me.
“Who is it?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“Valarie.”
Jack’s eyes lightened up as I handed the phone to him. He stared at it for a few moments before holding it up to his ear and saying nothing.
Valarie’s P.O.V
“Hello? Hello?”
I rolled over on my bed so that I was facing the roof. I nearly jumped into it when I heard his voice on the other end.
“Valarie?” jack asked.
“Jack?”
“Val?”
“Jack?”
“How are you, are you okay?” He gushed.
I could help myself. I started balling my eyes out into the receiver; not giving a single fuck that he could hear me. Hearing his voice again sounded amazing. I didn’t realize how much I had really missed him until now.
“Don’t cry,” He murmured, “I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” I mumbled through tears, “Can you meet me in Atlanta? I’m coming back.”
“Really? Yes! When?” he gushed
“I’ll leave now. It’ll take me at least twelve hours to get here, so leave tomorrow.”
“Okay. I love you,” He whispered.
“I love you too.”
I hung up and grabbed my unpacked suitcases from under my bed and headed out to my car. Mom didn’t stop me and I just guessed she knew where I was going. I climbed into the front seat of my car and pulled out of the drive, making my way through the back streets of town until I found myself on the highway that went straight through Atlanta.
I wished I could touch Jack again, to feel how warm he was.
Car lights sped past me in the darkness and I stopped at the stop light at an intersection. I pulled the visor down and checked out my face in the mirror. My eyes were red from crying and my mascara and eyeliner and smudged all over my face. I looked terrible. The light went green and I flipped the visor back up before putting my foot on the accelerator pedal.
An ear splitting crash burned my ears and I felt myself be thrown sideways. The sound of crunching metal pierced the air and my windscreen shattered, glass cutting through my skin. I screamed in agony as my care was throw across the intersection. I felt my head knock into something and the hot sticky trickle of blood down my neck before I blacked out completely.