You Broke Me, You Saved Me (Jalex)

Chapter 17: Forget About It

Jack's POV:

I FaceTime Zack, and luckily, he picks up right away.

"Hey, how a- oh my god, what happened?" he asks, seeing my puffy eyes.

I tell him everything that happened in the past hour and a half. He listens intently, and when I'm finished, he doesn't say anything. He looks completely lost in thought.

"I just don't know what to do," I say, my voice breaking.

"Alex obviously had a reason for it," Zack says matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but what?"

"What happened to him while you were talking to your mom?"

"He went upstairs."

"Where was your dad?"

"What are you implying?" I ask sharply. My dad is one of my favorite people in the world, and I don't want to see him differently for no reason at all.

"Calm down, Jack. I'm just trying to think of people who could have talked to him in that short period of time. But his dad could have called him."

"Oh my god, that's it. His dad said something to him. I have to get him out of there."

"Woah buddy, don't go jumping to conclusions. Maybe give him some space for a few days to breathe, and then try to get to the bottom of this, okay?"

I groan. "Fine, I guess."

"It's late, so I'm gonna go to sleep. I'll talk to you later, goodnight."

"Goodnight," I reply, hanging up. I shoot him a text afterwards, thanking him for talking to me. He was always so nice to me, no matter what.

-=+=-

We switched seats in math, pushing Alex completely across the room from me. He gave me a sad glance before taking his seat, facing the front of the room. I'm seated next to a kid I don't recognize, but I'm not in the mood to introduce myself.

"Hey," he says quietly. "Can I, uh, have help on this problem?"

I sigh, taking the paper from him. I show him how to do it and he nods, thanking me.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Jack."

"I'm Rian, pleasure meeting you."

I allow myself to smile before turning my attention back toward the front of the room. The bell finally rings, and I pack up my things as quickly as possible. I start making my way to my locker when I feel a light tap on my shoulder. I turn around, facing that Rian kid.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, but you seem really down. And I know you just met me and this is probably annoying, but I'm here to talk if you need someone," he says, giving me a small piece of paper with his number written on it.

I smile at the kind gesture. It's kind of funny how you can find the nicest people in some of your darkest times. I hug him quickly, thanking him for being so nice. I start to walk away, seeing that Alex had seen the whole ordeal.

He walks away quickly, as if he didn't see anything, but I know he was hurt by it. Why? I thought he didn't want me anymore.

I shrug it off. I'm not going to let a stupid teenage boy ruin me, even if that stupid teenage boy was the one who had my heart.

Alex's POV:

I walk home, feeling nothing. Normally, I'd walk home with Jack, but I obviously can't do that anymore. It's cold, but I don't even feel it.

The only thing that's keeping me from seeing Jack is his safety. I know his dad won't hesitate to punish Jack if he's seen with me. Besides, Jack seemed fine at school today. He's making new friends, he doesn't need me.

Soulmates don't have to be romantic. Your soulmate can be your best friend. They understand you more than anyone else and are always there for you. I believe in soulmates, but I also think that sometimes, you aren't your soulmate's soulmate. Does that make sense? Someone can be your soulmate, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are their soulmate. I think that's what's happening with Jack and I.

He obviously doesn't need me, or maybe he's just respecting my wishes? No, he doesn't need you. That's what it is.

I'm snapped out of my daze when my phone vibrates. It's a text from Jack.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Alex, you can tell me what's
going on. What made this
happen? We were just
gonna work out. Talk to
me, we can get though this
together.

Forget about it

I don't think I can forget
about it, Lex. I really care
about you

Well, I don't

Fuck, I hate myself for that last text. I turn off notifications for our chat just so I won't have to see his response. I continue walking home, a lump forming in my throat, but I won't cry. I needed to do this, and I wouldn't let it weaken me. I have to be strong to keep Jack safe, and crying wouldn't help.

I swallow the tears and walk in the front door, seeing my dad sitting in the living room watching TV.

"I thought you had work today," I say, closing the door behind me. He already reeked of alcohol. I shouldn't have initiated conversation.

"I have my own life, Alexander. I can do whatever the fuck I want," he growls.

"Okay," I say, walking upstairs. I half-expect him just to leave me alone, but that wasn't going to happen.

He pushes me onto the ground immediately, kicking my back, which is already bruised. "Did you and your little boyfriend break up? Is that why you're here and not there?"

I stand up, sick of this shit. "That's none of your damn business," I say. I connect my fist with his face as hard as I can, which isn't very hard because I haven't eaten properly in weeks, but it was enough to anger him even more.

"You're gonna regret that," he roars. He punches me in the face, making me black out immediately.