Split

[-Jade-]

PART 24

Jack arrived at Martha’s apartment door. He had agreed to pick her up at 8:00 and he was exactly on time. He knocked and Martha answered. She was in a dressing gown and she laughed.

“I’m so sorry Jack! I just relaxed in the bath and lost track of time!” she looked him up and down, thinking how handsome he was, but she quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head. Jack laughed.

“I’ll be 5 minutes I promise.” She said moving towards the bedroom.

“5 minutes? More like 5 hours!” said Jack sceptically.

“Don’t get on the wrong side of me Jack Holden!” said Martha jokingly.

“Ok, ok I didn’t say anything!” replied Jack smiling. Just looking at him made Martha’s legs go weak but she held herself together and started getting ready as quickly as possible. Ten minutes later she emerged from the room wearing an emerald green wrap dress that hung beautifully on her, just passing her knees. She had her hair down and had teamed the dress with some strappy green heels and beautiful earrings. Jack just stared at her.

“It’s rude to stare you know!” said Martha smiling. Jack brought himself out of the trance that he was in.

“You look…great.” He said still taken away by how beautiful she looked.

“Oh I’m glad, it’s always good to get a friend’s opinion! So shall we go?” she said leading him out of the apartment.

Despite the fact that Jack was unsure of how Martha was acting they did manage to talk and laugh the duration of the drive to the surf club. They entered and spotted Tasha and Robbie.

“Hi!” said Martha, hugging Tasha.

“Hi, wow you look fantastic Martha!” exclaimed Robbie.

“Hey!” said Tasha and Jack indignantly. Jack realised his mistake. At that moment he had forgotten that they were no longer an item. There was an awkward silence. However, Martha pretended that nothing had happened and Tasha continued the conversation quickly after this.

“I don’t really think you should be saying that to other women do you?” she asked. Robbie smiled cheekily.

“But Tasha, you know that I think that you are the most gorgeous girl in the world!” he exclaimed. Tasha smiled.

For the rest of the evening the four of them talked, caught up, laughed and drank a little bit too much. As Jack and Martha walked across the car park Martha stumbled as she was a little bit tipsy. Jack caught her and sparks went flying through their bodies. They looked at each other. The attraction was undeniable but Martha turned away.

“So are you going to take me home or not?” she asked. Jack just smiled and held her around the waist to ensure she didn’t trip again.

[-Jade-]

PART 25

They drove home in comfortable silence and Jack was just feeling happy at being on friendly terms with Martha; even if he was a bit confused about her behaviour. Martha on the other hand was anything but at peace with the situation. She was really enjoying hanging out with Jack again, just like in old times, and she knew she could never take him back, but the chemistry was still undeniably there. Every time she looked at him she got butterflies in her tummy and every time he touched her sparks flew through her body. When he had helped her across the car park earlier there had undoubtedly been a connection when he held her. She looked over at him. She still thought that he looked gorgeous. She just wondered how so many things had managed to go wrong between them. She had thought that love conquered all. Apparently I was wrong, she thought to herself.

Jack parked and they both got out of the car. Jack still being the perfect gentleman walked Martha up to her door. Around them was darkness, it was so late that there were no lights on in any of the houses and many of the street lamps weren’t working. Martha and Jack faced each other.

“I had a great time tonight!” said Martha, putting on a carefree voice.

“Me too. Spending time with you has been great…” said Jack a bit less subtly. He looked at her and she looked at him. For a while they looked into each other eyes and for the first time Martha could see the pain in Jack’s eyes, over losing her. Jack leaned in slowly, tentatively and Martha raised her head towards his. Slowly their faces inched towards each other. Their lips were just about to touch when Martha quickly pulled away.

“What are you doing?” she asked angrily, taking a step back.

“I’m sorry…I thought…” Jack stuttered.

“Yeah well you thought wrong!” said Martha. She was feeling guilty but had to find someone else to blame.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to...” started Jack but Martha cut him off.

“Can you please just go.” said Martha bluntly. Without another word Jack turned and walked back towards his car.

[-Jade-]

Ok Here is the next chapter! Please tell me what you think!!!

PART 26

It broke Martha’s heart to see him so hurt and deep down inside she was hurting too. Because being so close to him tonight had been awful. She had wanted him as much as he had wanted her and she was confused, yet again.

Jack drove home with a permanent frown on his face. Had Martha not felt the attraction? She had leant towards him as much as he had leant towards her. He suddenly realised that he couldn’t take it any longer. He couldn’t take the confusion, the pain. He needed to confront Martha about how she really felt. It was late and there were few cars on the road so Jack quickly swerved the car around and started driving back in the direction that he had come.

Martha sat down on the sofa and to her surprise found some tears rolling down her face. She didn’t know what to do anymore. There was a knock at the door. She knew it wasn’t Alf because he was still in the city, so cautiously she opened the door.

“Jack??” she said in surprise “What are you doing here?”

“Have you been crying?” asked jack, suddenly concerned. Martha brushed away the tears roughly.

“Sad movie” she lied quickly.

“But you haven’t got the TV on...” started Jack.

“Just leave it alone.” said Martha angrily.

“Listen” he started, “I wanted to talk to you.” He said, entering the apartment properly. Martha remained quiet.

“Listen I know why you broke up with me, and I can understand because if I thought you had cheated on me I would have done the same.” He paused “But I can’t go on like this, pretending. I love you and I really didn’t cheat…I would never do that because I’ve never met anyone like you.” Martha was looking at him with a look of pure rage.

“DO YOU THINK I’M STUPID???” she shouted “Do you really think I’m that naïve? The pictures Jack! The pictures…I saw them; you and her….” She trailed off.

“It’s not what it looks like, she’s set me up! I never slept with her, you’ve got to believe me!” said Jack desperately.

“Jack, we’ve had this conversation before…” said Martha.

“Martha, don’t you feel it? Every time we touch…it’s like we’ve got a connection. I know you feel the same way, no matter how much you try to hide it and I swear I never cheated. I promise with all my heart, but all I know is that without you I’m nothing, I’m not happy, life isn’t exciting.”

“Jack, just give up now. There is never going to be another ‘us’. We’ve had our chances and it just wasn’t meant to be.”

i hope everyone is liking this fic *she aks hopefully* lol but if it's getting a bit boring or repetitive or there is anything i can improve then please tell me cos I don't want to bore the people who are reading it! thanks!

[-Jade-]

PART 27

The next morning, Martha drove her car into the Holden’s drive and got out. She grabbed a box from the passenger seat and walked up to the house. Ok Martha, she told herself, just act normally. She knocked and she breathed a sigh of belief as she saw Lucas come up to the door.

“Hi” said Lucas, looking at her curiously “What are you doing here?”

“Oh I just found a few more of Jack’s things in our flat and I thought I’d pop them around.” said Martha.

“Oh ok, come in then.” said Lucas gesturing towards the living room.

“Umm, well I’ve got a shift at the surf club and I really need to get going so can I just leave it with you?” she asked, begging him to understand.

“Jack’s asleep you know” he said bluntly “and it’s Sunday; the surf club only opens in the evenings on Sundays.” Damn it, thought Martha to herself. Lucas knew he had to say something and he thought that now was as good as time as any.

“Julia set Jack up you know. She stole his clothes and pictures off him and paid an actor to pose with her.” He said, looking closely to gauge her reaction. Her face remained blank. “She paid him, she’s trying to break you guys up and I’m going to prove it to you.”

“You know I had really better go…” said Martha quickly, edging towards the door.

“Why won’t you believe me?” asked Luke unhappily. Martha sighed.

“Because you’re Jack’s brother, of course you would want him to be happy.” She said.

“Exactly!” said Lucas “If you make him happy then why would he go and ruin that?” Martha didn’t answer, but Lucas strongly suspected that it was because she couldn’t.

“Who do you trust more? Julia or Jack and me? I mean Julia isn’t even his type! I can’t believe you don’t have more faith in Jack, he’s not a lying cheating idiot like most men.” Martha just shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry Lucas.” And she walked out of the house.

PART 28

Lucas decided to do something about the situation. When Jack had finally gotten out of bed and walked into the living room Lucas had pounced on him, requesting to know exactly where Julia lived. Jack had wanted to know why, but Lucas had only told him that he would thank him later. With the first part of his plan complete he had rushed out of the house and ran most of the way to Julia’s apartment, which actually wasn’t too far from their house. He was now at her door. He knocked. After a minute of waiting Julia groggily opened the door in her dressing gown. She looked at him, surprise registering on her face.

“I don’t really think you should be here.” She said starting to close the door. Lucas stopped the door and pushed it open, entering the flat. He ignored her and started to look around. After concluding that he wouldn’t find anything in the living room he moved towards the bedroom.

“Do you mind?” said Julia outraged as she quickly followed him. He went quickly to her drawers and started to search through them. Julia grabbed him firmly.

“You could get arrested for that.” She said her voice suddenly becoming sinister and cool. But Lucas was angry and he had strength, he pushed her away, she stumbled backwards and he kept looking. As she was getting up he came across and folder and by Julia’s gasp he could tell it was what he was looking for. Julia immediately ran to the door and blocked his way.

“Lucas” she said “I’m warning you, don’t mess with me otherwise I promise you that you will regret it.” But Lucas pushed past her. She was strong but Lucas was stronger and he just managed to pass. After that he ran. Through the living room, out of the door, down the stairs of the apartment block and down to the beach. He finally stopped and was happy to see that Julia hadn’t followed.

Lucas entered the house breathless and started shouting Jack’s name.

“JACK?!” he said loudly “JACK?!”

“I’m coming I’m coming! What’s with the shouting Lucas?” said Jack as he entered the living room. Lucas thrust the folder into Jack’s hand.

“I got it from Julia’s apartment. It can prove that she set you up. Well at least I think it can.” said Lucas quickly. Jack looked at him.

“Wait a minute? You stole this?” asked Jack. Lucas didn’t reply. “Luc! You could get arrested!” Lucas looked at his brother guiltily.

“Listen, we’ll think about that later but right now you need to open the folder.” Jack looked at Lucas and made a quick decision. He opened the envelope. He knew that using this, knowing it had been stolen, could cost him his job; but in the end Martha was worth it.

[-Jade-]

PART 29

Jack tipped the contents of the folder on the kitchen table. Lucas looked at the stuff and then started to laugh. In the middle of the table was a collage in the shape of a heart with pictures of Jack inside.

“Umm how old is she exactly?” asked Lucas still in hysterics. Jack remained silent. He picked up a piece of paper and there was a telephone number. He then noticed that there were bits of ripped up photos.

“These are ours!” he said “They’re the one of me and Martha!”

“Yea I know; she stole them.” said Lucas. Then Jack’s face turned into a frown. He picked up some pictures and looked at them.

“This is what she saw wasn’t it?” asked Jack, pushing the photos into Lucas’ hand. Lucas looked shocked. The photos were really explicit.

“That’s not me.” said jack quietly.

“Exactly! So I’ll give you one guess as to who’s number that is.” Lucas looked at his brother smiling; finally they were getting somewhere!

“It’s that guy’s number.” replied jack pointing to the pictures.

Lucas gasped suddenly.

“What is it?” said Jack immediately.

“I have just found out how to prove your innocence!” said Lucas triumphantly.

“You have?” asked jack excitedly.

“This guy has a small tattoo on his ankle. You can’t see it that clearly but it’s definitely there.” Lucas said happily.

“Have I ever told you that you are the best brother ever?” said Jack, a huge smile on his face.

Martha started walked away from the beach. She decided that she was going to go to Tasha’s and see how she was doing. Just as she was approaching the road she saw a couple, obviously arguing. The man walked into the road and from nowhere he was hit by the car. It all happened in slow motion as Martha saw the car impact with his body, and saw him flip over the car. The woman screamed. Before she knew what she was doing Martha ran to the guy and immediately checked his pulse. But when she felt nothing she suddenly didn’t know what to do. Everything that happened next happened in slow motion. She saw the woman run towards her. She saw his pale face.

“Is he OK??” said the woman through tears; she was now trembling with fear. Martha didn’t know what to say.

“I’m so so sorry.” She said slowly, her voice practically getting stuck in her throat. She watched the woman completely break down in front of her.

“We were arguing! The last thing I did was tell him that I hated him because I thought he had cheated on me. And now I look at him and I know he didn’t but it’s too late…”. The woman was crying so hard that she had collapsed. Martha couldn’t believe what had just happened.

[-Jade-]

PART 30

After Martha had finished comforting the woman she went to the beach and then she walked to her favourite place: the cliff where her and Jack had first kissed. She sat down near the edge and looked out at the beautiful scenery. The wind was blowing her hair around her but she couldn’t feel it. Suddenly she just knew. In her heart she knew.

There were footsteps behind her and she turned. Jack was standing there. For a while they just stood and looked at each other. Jack was the first to talk.

“I can prove that I didn’t cheat on you.” He said quietly. Martha looked at him and felt guilty. She felt guilty for not believing him; for making everything so confusing.

“You don’t need to.” She said simply. Jack looked at her, wondering what she was talking about. “Because today I saw a woman lose her partner. They had been arguing. And that was when I realised that I couldn’t lose you, not when I knew deep down in my heart that you wouldn’t cheat. The thought of losing you scared me too much. I’m just so so sorry that I didn’t have faith in you, like I should have.” Jack looked at her in amazement.

“Can you forgive me? Because I love you and I don’t want to give up what we have…” she asked tentatively. Jack was still silent, trying to work out what she had just said. He still couldn’t quite believe that she believed him. He had seen the photos himself and he had to admit that they had been convincing. He hated Julia because they were so realistic. If he hadn’t known it was not him he would have believed them too. He was just lost in his own thoughts.

Martha was upset. He obviously couldn’t forgive her and it broke her heart. He hadn’t said anything and he was obviously angry because he was frowning.

“You know what, I understand, I would hate me too if I were you.” She said and with that she started to walk away.

[-Jade-]

PART 31

“Martha wait!” said Jack as he grabbed her wrist. She turned around and he saw that she was starting to cry. The fact that she was so upset made him feel worse. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t answered her. He had just been so caught up in his own thoughts. He looked at her.

“I don’t hate you” he said softly. She looked up, suddenly hopeful.

“I’m so sorry Jack, I’ve been such an idiot. I just… I love you so much and when I thought you had cheated on me it just hurt . It just hurt too much. But I don’t want to lose you and I’ve realised that now.” She said, praying that he would take her back.

“You have nothing to be sorry for!” He said

“But…” started Martha; but Jack stopped her.

“I love you too.” He said smiling.

Martha smiled tentatively.

“So you’re not angry?” she asked.

“No way! I’m ecstatic. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you to say that you want me back. I could never say no to you.”

Martha smiled and took a step towards him. He mirrored her action.

They were now standing with their faces inches apart and he slipped his arms around her waist. Martha couldn’t believe how good it felt to be close to Jack again; to have his arms around her. She smiled.

Despite their desires, neither of them had given in yet. There was a silent battle of wills going on to see who would lean in first. Eventually Martha couldn’t wait any longer and she tilted her head upwards. Their lips finally met and the kiss was so tender and sweet that it was almost painful. It had just been so long.

Martha was now turning weak at the knees and she put her hands around his neck to support herself. He pulled her in tighter towards him. Neither of them wanted to stop and the passion mounted. Finally it was Jack who pulled away breathless.

“I’m so glad I got you back.” He said to her. She looked into his eyes.

“So am I. Otherwise I’m sure someone else would have come along and realised how amazing you are.” She said smiling. She then paused.

“I treat you so badly; I don’t know why you keep coming back.” She said quietly. She then continued. “First with Corey and then with the incident with my dad. I just don’t deserve you.”

“Martha, I love you! You are the most amazing, beautiful woman I know and just that makes me feel like I’m the luckiest guy alive to have you.” She smiled.

“You are everything to me, you know that don’t you?” she said, looking at him.

“You are everything to me.” He said.

“Would you like to move back in?” asked Martha, “it’s been lonely without you…” she said, hoping that she would like his answer.

“I’d love to.” He replied. He started to sit down and pulled her down with him. She sat on his lap and they looked out to the sea, happy that finally everything was as it was meant to be. Finally they were together.

THE END

********************************************************************************

******

Well that's it...the end! It' s a bit sad really *sniff sniff* lol I'm actually going to miss writing it because I've been doing it for so long, what with Arranged and this, the sequel! In total the two stories have come up to around 60 chapters so i'm really pleased!

Ok now onto the thanks....

Firstly, I would like to thank all the readers, especially those who have reviewed as they have kept me going! Secondly I would like to thank Nicole who has read every chapter in advance and given her valued opinion! Thirdly, I would like to particularly thank all the people who have actually PMed me with their opinions on the story - that was much appreciated!

I was considering doing a third story to add to arranged and split, partly because I knew that i would miss writing them but i decided against this (but it's still an option for the future!). Instead I'm going to start a whole new fic. I haven't decided on a title yet but look out for it! I think I'm going to post it this weekend and i would really appreciate it if you read and commented on it!

Thanks again to everyone who read Arranged or Split or both! lol

jackandmartha!!!

xoxox

Link to comments thread