Fighting the Stars - A Jack Harries Fanficton

Chapter 24

“Sophie, Sophie,” Someone was calling my name as they jerked me awake. “Sophie,” I let out a moan of exhaustion and swatted their hand away. I pulled the bed sheets further over my head, blocking the sunlight that was peeking through the curtains. 

“Sophie, they found him.” the person said. This caused me to open my eyes and sit up immediately. Jack was standing over me. “They found James,”

I didn’t have to be afraid anymore. James was in custody. He could no longer hurt me, at least not physically anyways.

“Sophie,” Jack’s eyes fell serious. He cupped the side of my face gently in the palm of his hand, careful not to aggravate my tender bruises. “He’s dead.”

Everything in the world seemed to have stopped. The rotation around the Sun stopped. People walking in the park stopped. Cars driving and planes flying all stopped. Even my breathing stopped for a moment. James Hadsbury was…dead. It couldn’t be real. I was dreaming. That was it…I’m dreaming.

But the incredible amount of pain that raced it’s way through my veins reminded me otherwise. Jack held me as I began weeping into his strong shoulder. Weeping isn't exactly the same thing as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it’s over, you feel like you don’t have any bones or muscles to hold you up.

“How?” I choked out. I searched for a clue or a hint in his eyes. He let out a deep breath, as if the next words he was about to say would change the entire course of the world.

“He was murdered.”

And maybe they did.

No matter how terrible and awful the last few months James put me through were, we still had an incredible love for each other. Deep down, at least. He was my first love. He was the first man I ever gave my heart to. And although he returned it ungraciously, bruised and broken, he’d still held it in the palm of his hand. And once your heart comes in contact with another human being, a part of it belongs to them. But that small piece of mine that belonged to James, seems to have died along with him. Because now my body is numb, and I feel that I may never be whole again.

There were many things that James deserved, but to be killed was not one of them. But there was still one question lingering, the one question that had yet to be answered.

“Who?” I asked. Suddenly, my body filled with a new kind of hatred. And it made me realize that I’d never truly felt hate before. 

“They…” Jack stuttered. “They don’t know yet. But they want to interview everyone close to him.”

Except for cases that clearly involve a homicidal maniac, the police like to believe murders are committed by those we know and love, and most of the time they’re right. But it’s a chilling thought, when you sit down to dinner with a family of four or five. All those potential killers passing their plates.

Of all the times that I wanted James to disappear, to be gone from my life, I never thought that he actually would. Not like this. This was never my intention. No one was supposed to get hurt except for me. 

My emotions are so confusing right now. I miss James dearly, and I will be mourning over him. But, a small part of me in thankful that he is gone.  He won’t be out of prison in a few years and come back to finish what he started. He can’t.

I got a hold of myself long enough to ask Jack yet another question. “What happens now?”

He wiped off a few of my tears with the pad of his thumb. “We wait,”

“Why am I so sad, Jack?” I asked, gasping over the tears. 

“Because you loved him, and that doesn’t go away.” he answered. I can hardly remember my life before Jack. It feels as though he’s always been there, even before we met. He’s my beacon, and I would be lost without him.