Jealous Eyes

[Nicom]

Chapter 13

Martha sat in her car, fiddling with the keys. What had just happened in the hospital? Why was she feeling so weird around Callum? She felt like she wanted to smile politely all the time, she felt like she wanted to be extra nice to him, shouldn’t she still be feeling a little bit mad? Sure, she’d forgiven him for what he’d done, but she still had the right to be angry, he’d been an idiot after all.

“You need help with putting them in the ignition?” Callum joked. Martha suddenly realised that she’d been sat in the car in silence for about 5 minutes, just playing with the keys. She blushed.

“Sorry.” She said, putting the keys in the ignition and hearing the engine start. She slowly drove off through the gateway of the hospital exit. Callum sat smiling at her, watching her mind fill up with the frantic thoughts. He too shared the same idea, that something strange was going on between them, but unlike Martha, he wasn’t fighting it, he knew that when his feelings were involved that he’d always get his own way.

Jack tried to keep the conversation flowing and away from Martha or Callum, but Lucas was having none of it.

“What’s going on there then?” Lucas blurted out. Tony gave him a sharp look, but Lucas ignored it.

“What do you mean?” Jack asked, acting stupid in the hope that Lucas would get the hint. Unfortunately he didn’t.

“I mean with Martha and Callum. I know you saw it. We all did.” Lucas stated. Jack looked towards his dad, hoping for an outraged and confused expression displayed on his face, but much to Jack’s disappointment, Tony looked like he was agreeing with what Lucas said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. They’re just friends.” Jack said in an assertive voice. Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Yes you do. Don’t lie Jack, it isn’t going to help.” Lucas commented.

“Oh and I suppose acting as if there is something going on, making a stupid, incorrect assumption will?” Jack yelled. Lucas looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing going on between them, I trust Martha.” Jack stated. Lucas and Tony slowly nodded. They could see how worked up Jack was becoming, and their eyes kept flickering towards the machines that he was linked up to. They didn’t want to work him up, just in case. Shortly after, Lucas and Tony left Jack, as the awkward silence was almost unbearable. Each one of them wanted to say something to do with Martha, but each one also had their own reasons why not to. Jack was both relieved and unhappy that they’d left him alone, he didn’t have to talk about Martha, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

“Knock Knock” A friendly voice came around the corner of the door, smiling widely. “You look rough mate!” Peter complimented, pulling up a chair next to Jack’s bed.

“Thanks.” Jack mumbled sarcastically, still lost in his own thoughts about Martha. He didn’t want to feel this, he didn’t want to suspect anything more than friendship existing between Martha and Callum, but he couldn’t help it. The picture of them kissing had been re-born in his mind; the picture that he thought had disappeared about 6 months ago when he supposedly got over the whole ordeal.

“Hello?” Peter said, waving his hand in front of Jack’s face. “Humm, lights are on but nobody’s home.” Peter commented, whilst eating a piece of Jack’s chocolate. Jack snapped from his gaze

“Sorry mate.” He apologized. “Help yourself by the way!” Jack laughed; Peter gave a cheeky grin as he swallowed. “You heard from Claire?” Jack asked. Peter slowly shook his head.

“No mate. The last time we talked was when she yelled abuse at me in our old flat. Lovely sweet words.” Peter sighed sarcastically. Jack laughed.

“Don’t worry mate, it’ll all work out in the end.” Jack said. Peter shook his head, as he reached for another square of chocolate.

“Nah. It’s over. I’m not really that bothered, I’m over her now.” Peter smiled, then chucked the square of chocolate to the back of his mouth.

“What actually happened between you two?” Jack asked curiously. After Jack and Martha got together, Peter and Claire did visit, but their visit was very short. Peter had recently came back, and declared that him and Claire had split up. Jack had never pressed for details because he thought that it had been too soon for Peter, and that maybe he was still grieving over their break-up. Now Peter was giving Jack every reason to believe he was fine about discussing it, so Jack could now bring out his nosey side.

“Well,” Peter began. “Me and Claire hadn’t been having the best of times before the second undercover investigation. We hardly spent time together, and slowly we grew apart. We stayed together because we thought we loved each other, but now I’ve realised that I don’t think we did.” He explained.

“Why didn’t you spend time together?” Jack asked, confused.

“Work. It got on top of me. I had to stay over in my own time alot. The sad thing is, I didn’t have to, I don’t have to do the work in my own time, I could have found a way around it, but I didn’t. That’s how I know that I was never really in love with Claire, because I didn’t try my best to be with her. You wouldn’t do the work if you were in the same situation with Martha, would you?” Peter said. Jack looked down guiltily. He hadn’t fought the whole over-time issue; he just accepted it and carried on, even when it meant losing time with Martha.

“So who split up with whom? Was it because you weren’t spending much time together?” Jack asked. He was starting to relate his situation with Peter’s, after all, it was sounding extremely similar.

“I split with her, but the over-time work wasn’t the direct reason.” Peter stated. Jack looked at him, forcing him to go on and explain. “She had an affair.” Peter admitted. Jack sat in shock.

“Wow. I’m so sorry mate.” Jack said, sitting up and putting his hand on Peter’s shoulder. Peter smiled.

“It’s fine. Thanks.” Peter breathed heavily. “I guess I led her to it, I was a rubbish fiancé.”

“Yea, but still, you didn’t deserve that.” Jack said.

“Well,” Peter said, changing the topic. “Make sure you don’t make the same mistake with Martha, okay?” Peter laughed. “These things can easily happen, me and Claire were engaged!” Jack suddenly looked up, catching the last word. How could he have forgotten? The ring! It was in the draw of his desk!

“Peter! Can you please do me a favour?” Jack began.

[Nicom]

lol, thank you!

Next chapter up soon..

Chapter 14

“There!” Martha smiled, resting the final box onto the shelf. She stood back and placed her hands on her hips, admiring the many boxes that her and Callum had now shifted into the storeroom, neatly organised in rows. Callum held his hand out, offering a hand for her to lean on as she stepped down from the wooden crate she’d now climbed on, to assist her with reaching to the high shelves. Martha just hopped off the crate, ignoring the hand. Callum slowly returned his arm back to his side and smiled at Martha.

“Well, as a thanks, why don’t you buy me a beer?” Callum suggested. Martha smiled.

“Sure. A nice friendly beer.” She agreed.

Callum watched her as she passed him a bottle of beer. He’d missed her so much the last 6 months. He’d dreamt about her so many times that his dreams had been the happiest hours of his days, they were the only time when he could see Martha. Well, that had been the case for the first 4 months. He couldn’t stay away from her, he loved her too much to only exist on their meetings in his dreams. He had to see her. Watch her. And now, talk to her. The four months without her were like the months after his wife’s death. Unbearable. However, the circumstances with Martha were different to the ones with his late wife, he still had the possibility of marriage and a happy life with Martha. As Martha passed the bottle, their hands brushed, sending a tingling sensation through Callum’s body. His eyes looked up to meet Martha’s. He held her eyes in a lock, holding on tight to her gaze. She couldn’t move due to the two piercing eyes that were persistent in trapping her stare. That’s how she felt - trapped. His hand was still wrapped around the neck of the bottle, and his fingers gently covered her hand. She gave a quick tug to release her hand, releasing herself from the grip of his hand and eyes. She hadn’t found the quiet, moment with Callum gazing into his eyes romantic at all; she felt no connection, unlike Callum. Callum assumed that she’d felt the same loving feeling that he had, and that she was just fighting it because of Jack. He took a sip of his drink, not taking his eyes of her as she pulled up a stool next to him.

Jack sat up sharply as he watched Peter enter his door.

“You got it?” He asked hopefully, but Peter’s face clearly showed the answer.

“I’m sorry mate.” He said sympathetically. “It’s gone.”

“Oh no!” Jack said angrily, wiping his face with his hand. “I’m such an idiot!” He exclaimed. “It was the perfect ring! Cassie and Matilda were the ones who told me that Martha looked in the window of the shop a lot, at this ring! She would have loved it…” Jack said. He was furious with himself for carelessly leaving it in the draw.

“Did it cost a lot?” Peter enquired. Jack turned his head around to him and slowly nodded.

“Yea. I had to use the money I was saving up for a car.” Jack explained. “But the price doesn’t matter, it just makes it worse. I really wanted her to have that ring! I wanted to see her happy face! I know that she would compliment any ring I give her, but I know that she would genuinely love this ring.” Jack mumbled. Peter sighed.

“I’m really sorry mate. Don’t blame yourself, you’d think a police station would be the safest place to put it.” Peter commented. “Don’t worry, I’ll do anything I can to get it back.” Jack looked up at Peter.

“Thanks.” He said, still filled with disappointment.

“I can’t believe you were going to propose though.” Peter grinned, gently punching Jack’s arm. “You must really love her.” A smile grew on Jack’s face.

“Yes. I do.” He said, now in full beam. “That’s why I wanted it to be special.” Jack explained.

“Well, you just wait and I’ll have the ring found, then you can give her the best proposal ever!” Peter smiled. Jack returned the smile as he thought of numerous ways that he could propose, each one more romantic and special than the next.

Chapter 15

Jack quickly forgot about his jealousy over Martha and Callum, he knew that Martha wouldn’t betray him so there was no need to feel any suspicions, it’d only get him worked up over nothing. Jack stayed in the hospital for a week after his accident, unaware of Martha and Callum’s closer growing friendship. He was now allowed to leave. He could walk out of the hospital and do what he liked, he could even go back to work, but would have to be excused from any hostage situations for a while, due to Martha’s strong objections. Hours and hours of silence had given Jack plenty of thinking time. He’d been given a second chance; and he wasn’t going to waste it. Peter’s story echoed in his head, perhaps it was a warning? He wasn’t going to let Martha go like Peter let Claire go. Sure, Peter did admit that Claire and he weren’t in love as much as they’d thought or hoped, and Jack knew his feelings were real and strong, he knew that him and Martha were meant to be, and that was why he was determined that nothing would get in the way of their love. He was going to do no more of Mia’s work. She’d have to finish it, or face up to the Serge. He hated to leave his partner with those options, but then again, she had put herself in that situation. After a few jokes with Nurse Julie, Jack left, bag swung over his quickly mending shoulder.

“Hey!” Tony exclaimed, surprised to see his son. “What are you doing here?”

“They let me out!” Jack smiled. A groan came from Lucas. “Shut it you!” Jack said, dropping his bag and quickly walking over to his brother, clearly on a mission to ruffle up his hair. Lucas, however, dodged Jack and ran behind his dad for protection. “Aww go over to daddy then!” Jack teased. “He’ll save you!” He laughed. Lucas turned bright red.

“I’m not going to dad for protection or anything…” He lied, scanning his eyes around the near by counter. “I wanted to get… um… an orange!” He exclaimed, picking up an orange from the fruit bowl. Jack and Tony laughed. Jack then looked at his watch and made his way to the door.

“I’m going to go see Martha.” He smiled.

“Okay, see you soon!” Tony called out. Jack gave a quick wave as he happily walked off to his car, and drove towards Noah’s.

When he arrived at Noah’s, Martha was nowhere to be seen. He then checked her flat, and then the Diner, but there was no sign of Martha. No one had seen her since she finished her shift at Noah’s a few hours ago, and her mobile was switched off. Jack decided to take a stroll down the beach, which was the only other place he could think of that Martha would be. He considered his options as he walked along the sand, his options concerning Martha. It was definitely time for him to propose. They’d known each other for years now, and been in love for the majority of that. He felt that he knew her back to front, so much that he could answer her questions before she asked them. They’d grown so close that sometimes it was hard for him to tell the differences between them. Sure, they were young; both in their early twenties, but that didn’t matter. Why should it? Why should they wait another 4 or 5 years to get engaged, it’s not like they’d gain anything from waiting - apart from a few wrinkles. Him and Martha had only been strong for 6 and a half months, but they’d been in love since their first relationship, now about 2 years ago. From appearance, his proposal wouldn’t be thought highly of, and probably frowned at, but he and Martha knew that they were ready; a couple of years would not increase their love further, just their age.

Jack noticed a woman’s silhouette coming from behind a great rock. Martha. He smiled as he watched her happily skip around the rock, appearing to be looking for something. As he made his way closer, he noticed that she was laughing. ‘Tasha must be there’ he thought, ‘or she’s just laughing at herself…’ He chuckled at the idea. He wouldn’t really disregard that option, as Martha could be pretty crazy sometimes. He guessed that she hadn’t seen him, as she was still happily running and laughing around the large boulders. As he got closer her definitions became clearer, and so did his.

“Jack?” She shouted, putting her hand up high, trying to shield the sun. Jack nodded.

“The one and only!” He shouted back smiling. She began to walk over to him.

“When did you get back-” She began to shout, but a sudden figure jumping on her prevented her from finishing her question. Jack looked on in horror as the man lifted her off the ground and carried her off amongst the huge boulders, kicking and screaming over his shoulder.

“MARTHA!” He yelled, now running as fast as he could up the beach, to where he last saw her being carried.

[Nicom]

Chapter 16

Jack frantically searched through the bush, where Martha’s muffled squeals had led him. He ran through the trees, solely relying on his hearing to guide his way to Martha. However, he could now no longer use this technique, as the squealing had stopped, leaving pure silence. Jack listened as hard as he could, but no clues were being given from the lack of noise, there was no way he could find Martha. Jack began to panic; what had happened? It was definitely a strong man’s build that carried her away, and now he’d taken her somewhere alone, away from Jack. Jack’s heart began to race and his whole body began to tremble through the fear of what had happened, or was going to happen to Martha. He desperately searched around, but it was no use, he couldn’t find her. His weak knees gave in on him and his heart began to ache. His eyes swelled up and he began to find it hard to breath. He collapsed onto the ground, propping himself up on a tree. He tried to breathe in, but he couldn’t. He could only achieve a faint wheeze. His head began to spin as the lack of oxygen began an effect; his bloodshot eyes were plunged into darkness as his eyelids forced shut. He rested his head back onto the hard, flaky bark of the grand tree. Something wasn’t right. His body was still trembling, and his heart was aching, but he started to believe that it wasn’t just because of Martha, something was wrong with himself. As he slowly drifted off into unconsciousness he heard a noise. It was Martha. The feelings rapidly disappeared from his body, leaving himself to follow the noise. As he ran, he slowly recovered from his abnormal breathing pattern, and his legs became much stronger. He quickly grew closer to the noise, it was static; Martha obviously wasn’t moving. Millions of thoughts rushed through Jack’s mind during his sprint, what was he going to stumble across? He could still hear her voice, so she was obviously alive, but whether she was injured or alone, he didn’t know. He crept up slowly; he could sense that Martha was just a few bushes away from him. He could hear her muffled voice, and also a man’s laugh. What was this sick creep doing? Jack took a deep breath and rushed through the bushes that were separating himself from Martha and the man. He stood in shock at what he saw. The man was laid on top of a wriggling Martha. Jack grew angry and forced the man off Martha, chucking him aside.

“Ja-” Martha began, but Jack was oblivious due to the overwhelming anger his body that he was experiencing. Jack followed the body that was now scrambling to get up, using a tree stump to lift himself off the ground. Jack sent his hands to the back of the man’s shirt, and pulled him from the tree stump, and onto the floor. He dived on him, trying to secure him to the floor. Jack didn’t know what he’d do after he had gained control of the beast, but he knew what he wanted to do. Jack and the man rolled around the small area, both fighting to win. Eventually, Jack came out on top, thanks to a few police skills. He raised his fist as the temptation had just grown too much, and he raced it down to meet the man’s cheekbone. However, he was stopped by Martha’s scream.

“NO! JACK!” She yelled, reaching out to hold Jack’s clenched fist back. Jack froze just before he planted his fist into the man’s cheekbone.

“What?” Jack shouted back, confused. Martha pushed him off, with an angry look on her face. Jack fell off the man; the confusion had knocked him into another world. His head was in a spin at how Martha had just reacted.

“Are you okay?” She asked Callum, ignoring Jack’s question. She sat close beside Callum, and lifted his head. She gently swept her hand across his face, removing the soil that had been pressed into his skin. He blinked for a couple of seconds.

“Just…a…bit…winded.” Callum said slowly, trying to force a smile. Martha hugged him tight, rubbing her hand up and down his back for comfort. Callum breathed in her beautiful perfume and rested his head against Martha’s.

“You idiot!” Martha yelled, as she slammed her keys down onto the worktop. Jack shut the door of the apartment and followed her into the lounge.

“How was I to know it was Callum? I didn’t know what had happened!” Jack shouted back, he couldn’t understand why Martha was getting so angry. “What the hell were you doing anyway? You must have heard me shouting you, following you. What did you think was going through my head? A man had just grabbed you and took you off into the woods!” Jack shouted.

“A man? It wasn’t a random man was it? It was Callum! Why would Callum do anything to hurt me!” Martha said angrily.

“I didn’t know it was Callum.” Jack stated. Martha nodded slowly.

“Oh..” She sighed.

“Are you going to stop shouting at me now?” Jack joked, but Martha didn’t find it funny. It only worked her up again, as the pain of being wrong hit her.

“No! You still shouldn’t have gone to hit him! I can’t believe you’d do something like that!” Martha shouted in disgust. Jack looked surprised.

“I was angry!” Jack shouted. Martha folded her arms and looked the other way, her face red with anger. “Why are you acting like this?” Jack asked confused.

“Me? I’m not the one who’s acting out of character here! What has happened to you? When did you suddenly get so violent? I thought you of all people would realise that violence solved nothing!” She said, gesturing to his shoulder.

“That’s different Martha.” He mumbled.

“No, it’s not. You could have really hurt Callum!” Martha exclaimed. Jack looked up at her.

“Hang on, we were both fighting on the floor! I don’t remember him saying anything like ‘stop, it’s Callum.’” Jack argued. “Why are you so bothered about him? You haven’t told him off for fighting with me!” Jack was getting wound up. Martha tutted, as if the answer was obvious.

“Because you started it! You jumped on top of him!” She said.

“What, like when he jumped on top of you? What were you doing anyway? I should be angry with you! I didn’t know what had happened to you! I was running around the god damn bush looking, and you were too busy with Callum, messing around on the floor! I’m sorry that I interrupted you two!” Jack yelled. Martha looked at him in disgust. Jack would have done anything to take back what he’d just said. He didn’t know why he’d even said it; it had just slipped out.

“What are you implying?” She asked slowly. Jack sighed. She shook her head and looked towards the door. “Get out Jack.” She said. Jack reached out for her arm, but she snatched it away. “Fine, I’ll go.” She said brushing past him, grabbing her keys and mobile on her way out. She slammed the door hard, sending vibrations through the room. Jack put his hands to his head.

“Damn.” He said aloud, collapsing on the sofa.

After Jack finally forced his body off the sofa and out of Martha’s flat, he drove home, with an idea planted in his head. Him and Martha didn’t often have arguments, so he’d not really been in this kind of situation before. Martha was clearly upset at him, he couldn’t blame her - he had implied that he thought something was going on between her and Callum. Jack felt really guilty about it, but most of all, he felt guilty about shouting at her. If he hadn’t of shouted at her then he wouldn’t be in this mess right now. If he had just apologized instead of getting worked up and angry, then Martha wouldn’t have left angry with him. At first, Jack became worried that their argument my cause her to dump him, but after a good long thinking time, he decided to stop thinking so negatively, and try and do something positive.

[Nicom]

Chapter 17

“I can’t believe how he’s acting!” Martha said, placing her head in her hands. Callum sat silently, watching and listening to her ranting about Jack. “He should trust me! But he totally acted as if he didn’t. I can’t believe him.” Martha went on. She lifted her head up after yet another silent reply. “You can say something you know.” She said to Callum.

“No. I can’t.” Callum replied. “I don’t want it to sound as if I’m trying to stir up trouble.” He explained. Martha smiled.

“No, you won’t be. You’re my friend, I need your opinion.” She said, “That’s your job.” She waited anxiously as Callum took a breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say.

“I think that Jack’s Jealous.” Callum said. “I think he’s a fool. He should trust you, but he obviously doesn’t. I can’t see how he can truly love you if he doesn’t trust you.” Martha sat looking up at him, taking in his words. He was making a lot of sense.

“So you think that he doesn’t love me?” Martha asked, hoping that she’d got it wrong. Sadly, she hadn’t. Callum nodded.

“When was the last time he told you he loved you?” Callum asked. Martha stared out to sea. When was the last time he’d said it? Callum noticed that she was becoming upset, as the truth had suddenly dawned on her. He reached out for her hand.

“Okay, well maybe you just don’t remember, hey? Erm, when was the last time you said it to him?” Callum asked.

“When Jack woke up from the operation.” Martha answered.

“Did he say it back?” Callum asked. Martha thought back carefully.

“No.” She eventually replied, tears forming in her eyes. “No, he didn’t. Now I come to think of it, he seemed to be avoiding saying it.” Martha ran her fingers through her hair, brushing it away from her face. “How could I have been so stupid?” She snivelled, a single tear escaped from her watery eyes. Callum sighed.

“Martha, don’t cry.” He said, wiping away the tear. He put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, slowly soaking his shirt with her tears. “This doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. He could just …forget to say it to you.” Callum said unconvincingly. Martha smiled at his attempt to cheer her up, and snuggled closer, looking into the waves.

A few hours passed, and the beach gradually became less busy. Martha and Callum were still sat, side-by-side on the beach. Callum still had his arm around Martha, and Martha was still snuggled up next to him, looking for comfort from a friend.

“You better now?” Callum asked, as Martha slowly sat up from her comfy resting place.

“Yea.” She smiled. “Thanks Callum.” Callum smiled back.

“It’s fine. So, do you want to stay here for a bit? We could watch the sunset?” Callum suggested.

“Yea, I’d like that.” Martha smiled. She jumped as her mobile began to ring in her back pocket. She plunged her hand in and took out her mobile, then looked at the Caller ID. “Jack.” She read to Callum. She watched it ring as she contemplated what to do.

“It’s up to you.” Callum said. Martha sighed as she accepted the call, and held it to her ear.

“Hey! Martha! You picked up!” Jack said, surprised.

“What’d be the point of me owning a phone if I don’t pick up? Anyway, what do you want?” Martha snapped. She didn’t know why but after hearing his voice, she’d turned onto stubborn, angry mode.

“I was just wondering if you’d come around to my house. To talk and stuff.” Jack said, trying not to let Martha’s comment affect him. Martha looked towards Callum, who was oblivious to their conversation.

“Sorry, can’t. I’m busy.” Martha said. Jack gave a disappointed sigh.

“Please Mac. I really want to talk to you.” He pleaded. “Please.” Martha couldn’t refuse after he literally begged her. Even though she didn’t want to see him, as she was hurting from her and Callum’s conversation, she didn’t not want to either. “Martha? You there?” Jack asked in response to the long pause. Martha snapped out of her thought.

“Fine. Whatever.” Martha said, trying to sound as if she didn’t care.

“Great. See you soon.” Jack replied happily. Martha ended the call and looked towards Callum.

“I’m going to go talk to Jack.” Martha said. “Wish me luck.” She got up and started to walk towards Jack’s house, along the beach route. Callum watched on as Martha walked to Jack’s house, to probably go and make up with him. It hurt him inside, but on the outside he couldn’t let it look like it affected him, because then he’d look suspicious. He just waved goodbye and encouraged her, as he thought of a plan.

[Nicom]

Chapter 18

Jack was pacing around the empty house. He’d begged Tony and Lucas to give him and Martha the evening alone, so they could straighten things out between them. They’d eventually agreed, seeing how desperate Jack really was, and left without asking him too many questions. Jack then set up lots of pillows on the sofa, and a tray of snacks on the coffee table; for him and Martha when they watched their movie. He knew that they’d have to talk before, but he was hoping that the soft pillows, lovely chocolate, and the comedy film would prevent any malicious attacks and arguments. At first he’d thought about a meal, then he changed his mind, considering the combination of Martha’s temper and the sharp cutlery. Pillows were definitely the way to go for this occasion. Jack took one final look at the lounge. He’d tidied it up and made it look beautiful, with flower petals littering the surfaces. He looked at his watch. He’d rang her 30 minutes ago, she should be here. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. ‘Calm down, she’ll come.’ He assured himself. ‘I’ll just get a beer as I wait, to steady the nerves’ He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle. He leant against the large fridge, staring at the door. It felt like he’d been staring at the front door for hours when Martha actually came. He jogged to the door and swung it open, revealing Martha in a beautiful outfit. She’d got changed since meeting Callum, which explained how long she’d taken to get here.

“You look great.” Jack smiled, as he looked at her clothes.

“Oh. Thanks. You look good too.” She complimented. “So, what do you want?” Martha asked. Jack signalled for her to go in, and shut the door behind her.

“Wow.” Martha said. “It’s so cool!!” She laughed, jumping onto the pillow covered sofa. “And there’s chocolate!!” She squealed, picking up the large Cadburys chocolate in the centre of the tray. Jack laughed as he sat beside her.

“It’s like watching a kid at Christmas…” He smiled. Martha smiled back at the joke, until she suddenly realised why she was there. She stood up, swallowed the chocolate she’d stolen, and straightened out her skirt.

“We need to talk.” Martha began, but Jack interrupted by pulling her back down onto the sofa.

“I know we do. That’s why I invited you here.” Jack said. Martha nodded.

“Well, let me speak first.” Martha ordered. She knew this was going to be hard and heartbreaking for her, which was why she had to do it quick, so she wouldn’t have chance to chicken out. “I was thinking, that a relationship without trust isn’t one worth being in.” She blurted out. To her surprise, Jack agreed.

“Yea, you are completely right.” Jack nodded. Martha’s heart sunk, she couldn’t believe how happy he was about this. It wasn’t like he even cared! Jack took her hands, as he saw her face drop. “It’s a good job we have trust, eh?” Jack said, Martha looked up and laughed at him.

“You’re joking right?” Martha said. “We don’t have trust! You think that I’m off with Callum!” Martha shouted. Jack slowly shook his head.

“No. I don’t. I just got a bit angry, and it came out of nowhere. You and Callum did look quite strange to someone who didn’t know what was going on, but I don’t think for a second that you’re cheating on me.” Jack said. “I trust you Martha; I’m so sorry.” Martha looked into his eyes. She couldn’t stay mad at him! She loved him so much, and a simple plea was all it took to win her over. As they gazed into one another’s eyes, her conversation with Callum faded away, leaving only her love to Jack. Jack watched as her mind slowly blanked. He could see in her eyes that she didn’t want to fight, that she wanted to forgive him. He was right, and he knew it. She began blinking quickly, and took a deep breath in, breaking their stare.

“Sometimes sorry isn’t good enough.” Martha stated, sitting up straight. She knew for Jack it was, she normally couldn’t resist not forgiving his apologies, but this time she was determined to do so. Jack began to chuckle.

“Stop being stubborn.” Jack laughed, resting his head on the palm of his hand, connected to the elbow that he’d propped up on the back of the sofa. Martha looked at him shocked.

“Excuse me?” She asked.

“Stop. Being. Stubborn.” He repeated, smiling. Martha sat in utter shock. ‘Shouldn’t he be begging for forgiveness?’ she asked herself. She watched as Jack still chuckled away to himself, studying her face. She was completely confused, which amused Jack. He was right; she was being stubborn. He’d examined her eyes before, and knew that she was ready to forgive, but it was her stubbornness that was stopping her. Sure, it was annoying to most people, and on rare occasions her stubbornness annoyed him, but most of the time, he just found it cute. He waited for her to fold her arms, and give out a short huff, which she always did when she was angry with him. He didn’t have to wait long, as it came right on cue, followed by a question.

“How am I being stubborn?” She asked. Jack couldn’t help but smile; it was comical to watch for him. This made Martha angrier, and her face grew hot with fury. She stood up, and put her hands on hips. “What’s so funny!?” She demanded. Jack couldn’t help but laugh, even though he knew that Martha was getting more worked up than usual, and it wasn’t the best idea to laugh at her as it only made her angrier. His eyes filled up with tears as he tried not to laugh, but when he opened his mouth to apologize, a long laugh escaped.

“Fine!” She yelled, swinging around and heading to the door. Jack reached out for her hand, pulling her down onto the sofa again. She fell upside down, looking very comfy amongst the pillows. Jack stopped laughing at her, but continued to dreamily smile at her. He wasn’t smiling because he found her amusing; he was smiling because she looked beautiful amongst the different coloured pillows. She looked up at him staring at her, admiring her. She watched as he leant forward, and kissed her. She didn’t fight, she didn’t squirm - she kissed him back.

[Nicom]

WEeeeeellll people. I'm going to add another on now. Because I'm not too sure if I'll be coming back on tomorrow (Because it's my birthday!!!! I'm only a tiny bit excited, aren't i? lol). If I do, I'll put another chapter up. But now, I'll leave y'all with chapter 19.

Chapter 19

“I hate you.” Martha giggled, as she sat rested in Jack’s arms on the sofa. She swatted him with a pillow, releasing the feathers inside. They scattered around the sofa, covering Jack’s face in a blanket of white feathers. They laughed. Martha sat up and began to sweep the feathers away with her hand, revealing his smiling face. “Err…” She joked, once she’d revealed his cheeky grin. “I don’t like it!” She laughed, picking up a pillow and pushing it on his face. The pillow burst off his face as he jumped up, and began to hit Martha with it. She squealed as she picked up another pillow from the sofa, and plunged it to the side of his cheek. They began their pillow fight, slowly covering the room in a white layer of feathers.

After they ran out of ammunition, meaning pillows, they retired to the sofa. Jack and Martha lay on the sofa cuddling together, whilst watching the film. Martha had now moved the chocolate to her side, so she didn’t have to sit up to eat a piece. Jack would often steal the chocolate and try to keep it from her, but Martha was very determined when it came to chocolate, and would always get it back. As he held his arms around her tightly, he watched her scoff the chocolate and gaze dreamily at the film. Martha felt his eyes on her, so she leant back onto his chest and tilted her head up, and smiled at him.

“What’s up?” She asked. Jack smiled.

“Nothing. You’re so beautiful.” He whispered. Martha smiled.

“You’re pretty damn good looking yourself you know.” She laughed. Jack was oblivious to the joke however, as he was staring at her beauty. Martha’s laugh faded away as she gazed back at him, her head still rested on his chest. Martha sat up slowly and swivelled around to face him, careful not to fall off the sofa.

“I love you so much Jack.” Martha said quietly. Jack smiled at her. No matter how many times she said that, it would never change how special it made him feel. Jack and Martha’s faces moved slowly closer together, due to Jack’s hand lightly pressed on her chin, pulling her towards him. The distance between them quickly closed, and so did their eyes. Mere centimetres apart, Jack spoke up.

“I lo-” He began to whisper, but the phone disturbed them from their moment. Martha flew back in surprise of hearing the phone from the quite surrounding, and fell off the sofa, hitting her head on the coffee table. Jack dived down next to her body on the floor.

“Mac? You okay!?” He asked, slipping his hand underneath her head. Martha slowly sat up, giggling.

“Yea…Fine.” She giggled. Jack began to laugh at her. “Hey! What happened to the caring Jack that just literally fell down after me to check I was okay?” Martha smiled, rubbing the back of her head as she slowly leant against the sofa.

“Well, now I know you’re okay, I can call you a fool!” Jack laughed. “Loser.” He teased, lifting his hand to form an L shape on his forehead. Martha and Jack laughed until they heard Tony’s friendly voice come from the answer phone.

“Hey, you’ve reached the answer phone of Tony, Jack and Lucas Holden. We’re not in right now but if you could please leave a message, we’ll get back to you. Cya.” The speaker rang. By the end of Tony’s statement, Jack and Martha were passionately kissing by the sofa. Neither of them had the slightest intention of giving the person leaving a message any of their attention; but the accent, tone and familiarity forced them to listen.

“Hey guys! Hope I’m not interrupting anything! Just called to say that Martha left her mobile and keys with me on the beach earlier. I’m in Noah’s now if you’d like to pick them up, if not then…you can ring me and I’ll meet Martha somewhere later. Okay then. Cya.” Jack and Martha had broken away, and were both staring at the answer machine. Jack didn’t know what to feel. Well, he knew what he was supposed to feel. Nothing. But to his worry he was feeling something inside, a rather strong something in his stomach, working its way to his chest, choking him inside. He looked towards Martha, who had been staring at him ever since he pulled away.

“What’s wrong?” She asked slowly, fearing the answer. Jack took a deep breath in.

“Nothing.” He said, forcing a smile. Martha grinned with happiness and accepted his lie, leaning in for another kiss. However, Jack found himself slowly leaning back, away from Martha’s lips. Martha looked at him, confused and hurt. Why was he rejecting her? Unknown to her, Jack wasn’t even sure of the answer. He just didn’t feel like kissing her at that moment. This was an extremely rare feeling that he hadn’t experienced with Martha before.

“Maybe we should get your mobile and keys?” Jack suggested, trying to come up with an excuse for his weird behaviour. Martha nodded, desperately trying not to look effected by what had happened.

“Yea. Sure. Good idea.” She managed to get out. She took one final look at Jack, and stood up with a sigh, making her way to the door. Jack too sighed as he slowly stood up, trying to figure out what was going off in his head. As he paced to the car he was smothered by his thoughts, and images of Martha’s face of hurt at what he’d just done. What was happening to him?

[Nicom]

Thanks for the 'Happy Birthday' guys! I had a great day.

Here's chapter 20... Hope you like..

Chapter 20

The short drive to Noah’s was a very quiet, awkward one. Neither of them knew what to say, as they were both embarrassed and confused at what had occurred at his house. Jack often glanced over at Martha sitting in the passenger seat, staring out the window. He felt like an idiot for rejecting her kiss, if he’d have just kissed her then she wouldn’t be so confused and hurt. Then again, he did pull away for a reason, and even though he didn’t really know what that was, he knew he wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t big and important.

“You were with Callum then?” Jack finally spoke up, breaking the silence. He was trying to act as if it was a general question, and that he wasn’t too bothered what the answer was; but he was extremely bothered.

“Yea. We were sat on the beach for a while.” Martha answered, still staring out of the window.

“A while? You mean like 15, 30, 40 minutes?” Jack asked, still trying to sound distant from the question.

“No. Erm, since I left the flat, till you rang me.” Martha told him. Jack stared straight through the front window; adding up the times in his head, then shot his gaze back at Martha.

“That was hours!” He said, surprised. She turned around at the dramatic change of tone.

“Yea. And?” Jack looked back at the road in front of him.

“Nothing. Just saying...” He replied, indicating and pulling into Noah’s car park. He pulled the hand brake hard, summoning the car to a halt. Martha hopped out the car, shutting the door carefully after her and wandering to the door, when she turned back around to see Jack still sat in the car. He was still slowly taking the keys out; he was in a deep daydream. He couldn’t get over how long Callum and Martha had spent together. He assumed that Martha had either gone for some quiet thinking time after their argument, or gone to Tasha. Why would she choose Callum over Tasha? It didn’t make sense. He’d now made it out of the car, and was shutting the door. He pushed it gently, waiting until it clicked. He inserted the key into the designated hole, and whilst he slowly turned the handle of the key, the answer what he’d been fearing had arrived into his brain. When he left the house, after he rejected Martha’s kiss, he was wondering why, why would he automatically inflict that much hurt on Martha. Well, he now knew. He was beginning to grow jealous.

“Oi!” Martha shouted. “Anytime today Jack!” Jack spun around, woken up by her yell. He forced a smile and walked over to her.

“Sorry.” He sighed, walking past her and through the doors. He just wanted to get this over and done with; he needed to be alone to think.

Callum smiled to himself as he saw Martha and Jack walk in, clearly not on the best of terms. He could sense the awkwardness and weird feeling between the couple, which was an added bonus to Callum. He stood up, welcoming them to his table. Jack put his hands in his pockets, and watched Martha as she overtook him and happily sat with Callum. He soon realised that he’d randomly stopped in the bar, so walked over and sat on the remaining seat.

“Let me buy you two a drink.” Callum smiled, standing up.

“It’s okay mate, I’m going soon.” Jack said. Martha looked towards him sharply.

“I’m sure you have time for a drink.” Martha said, gritting her teeth. Jack forced a smile.

“Yea, you’re right. Beer thanks.” Jack told Callum. He didn’t want to fight with Martha, and could tell that she was getting angry and short tempered towards him.

“I’ll have-” Martha began, but Callum signalled for her to be quiet, by raising his hand in the air.

“A beer?” He and Martha laughed. Jack looked at them both.

“What’s funny?” He asked, confused. Callum broke away from laughing to answer Jack’s question.

“We spend that much time together, I’ve started to finish of her sentences!” He chuckled, moving off the table and towards the bar. ‘That much time together.’ This quotation rang through Jack’s mind on a loop. ‘What did that mean?’ he thought.

Jack continued to feel the 3rd wheel, as Martha and Callum shared their own private jokes that they’d experienced whilst Jack was in hospital, and when they were in Sydney. Martha had noticed Jack’s quiet behaviour, but hadn’t said anything because she didn’t want to start of another fight, as she feared where their next one may lead. However, the temptation proved too much, and she just had to say something.

“What is up with you Jack?” She blurted out. Jack looked towards her.

“Oh, so now I’m involved am I?” He spat out. Martha shook her head, a look of disgust and disappointment flushed onto her face.

“Why are you acting like this?” She asked. In response Jack looked towards Callum, then back at Martha, making it obvious that he had the problem with Callum. Jack then stood up, taking the last mouthful of beer.

“I’m going to the loo.” Jack mumbled, as he walked off. Martha was furious with him, if he hadn’t of been going to the toilets, she would have probably followed him and continued their argument. Callum spoke up from the silence that Jack had created.

“I’m sorry.” He said. Martha looked confused.

“Why? It’s not your fault he’s being an idiot.” Martha said. Callum sighed.

“I think I best talk to him.” He said, getting up and walking to the men’s room.

Jack splashed the cool water on his face. He wasn’t proud of what he’d just done to Callum, he felt bad now, but in there he couldn’t help himself. He’d apologize to Callum the next time they were alone. Sadly, that was closer than he thought.

“Jack.” Callum nodded, walking over to the sink next to Jack. Jack took in a deep breath, preparing himself for his next sentence.

“Mate, I’m sorry for being an idiot in there.” Jack said, gesturing to the bar. “I’m not having a good day, that’s all. I shouldn’t take it out on you.” Jack apologized. Callum stood still, his facial expression not even moving slightly.

“You’re right, you shouldn’t.” Callum said. Jack stood in utter shock. He wasn’t expecting that response. Callum looked down towards Jack’s hands, which he was now shaking dry. His eyes seemed to be attracted to the right hand, due to the red colour glowing from the knuckle area. “What happened there?” Callum asked, pointing to it. Jack looked down at the hand Callum was pointed at.

“Oh. I just did it on the toilet door.” Jack laughed. “It kills.” Callum smiled. He’d guessed that it had happened fairly recently, as the swelling and soreness of the knuckles were a very big giveaway to him. Jack watched as thoughts processed through Callum’s mind, he desperately wanted to know what he was thinking.

“Well, I’ll meet you at the table.” Jack said, breaking the awkward and suspicious moment and walking out the toilet door. Callum turned to the man who’d just walked out of a cubicle behind him. Callum’s idea came almost instantly after he’d seen Jack’s hand, and now it seemed that he had everything he needed to carry it out. He slowly walked towards the large man, getting his money out of his pocket whilst he walked. When he reached the man, his sneaky, evil grin was still on his face.

About next chapter - Okay, it's pretty damn obvious what is going to happen. lol. You people will now see just how far Callum's willing to go, to get Martha to himself. *mwa ha ha* (that was callum, not me. lol)

[Nicom]

Okay, this chapter is quite long. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 21

Martha sat, staring into her glass. She sighed as she rested her elbow on the table, and picked up the salt pot from the centre. She hated the arguing, the fallouts, the whole relationship. Okay, maybe not the whole relationship, as she loved Jack dearly, and loved the time they spent together, the time without Callum. It was just his attitude when Callum was around, or when Callum’s name was mentioned. She couldn’t understand why Jack was being so jealous, so idiotic, so untrusting. What had she done for him not to trust her? Had she ever cheated on him? No. Her and Callum were friends, Callum was only ever friendly to her, and she was the same to him. Friends. That’s all they were. So why was Jack seeing more into it? Why couldn’t he just accept that Martha was being friendly with another man? Her and Callum had history, he’d helped her get through the awful period where she was being held against her will by a loony, during which time she thought Jack was dead. It was the most upsetting, heartbreaking, and tragic time in her life, which Callum helped her get through; so why should she just refuse to be his friend because Jack lacks trust? It aggravated her just thinking about it, thinking about Jack. Not only did she hate the way he was acting; she hated the things he thought. Her body rippled with disgust as she wondered what was going off in his head; did he actually think that Martha liked Callum in a more-than-friendly way? Did he think Martha would so easily give Jack up for Callum? She decided that she should end the thoughts, as it was winding her up further.

“Stop it Martha. It’s just a phase, he does trust you.” She assured herself. “Jack will soon realise that it’s him I want, not Callum.” She slowly grew quieter with each word she said, noticing the stares she was receiving. ‘I just hope he does it soon, before he really goes and messes things up.’ She continued in her mind. She looked up; Jack was walking through the bar, caressing his hand. She fought the smile that was beginning to creep onto her face. Just seeing Jack made her happy; she loved him so much. She didn’t enjoy fighting with him, but sometimes it had to be done. Her and Callum were friends; she had never intentionally tried to get Jack jealous, all she’d done was be a good friend to Callum, and if Jack couldn’t deal with that then… well she didn’t want to know what would happen.

“Mac I’m sorry.” Jack said, as he sat down next to her. “I really don’t want us to keep arguing. I lo-” Jack began, but stopped when Martha darted up from her seat and ran past Jack. Jack sat, in a state of bewilderment. “What the hell…” He said to himself, turning around. He saw Martha fussing over Callum by the toilet door, who had now been ushered to a chair. Many people were now starting to crowd around him, preventing Jack from seeing what was going on. Jack walked over to see what all the fuss was about, and was shocked when he saw what had happened.

“Callum! You okay mate? Who did it to you?” Jack asked, pushing his way through the people and by Callum’s side. Callum looked up at Jack, he had a look of disbelief on his face.

“I can’t believe you.” Callum said.

“What?” Jack asked, confused.

“You have the cheek to ask me that when you know damn well who punched me.” Callum shouted, holding up the tissue to his bleeding nose. Jack was still very much confused as he was before.

“No, I don’t.” Jack insisted. Callum gave out a loud, fake laugh.

“You did!” He said, pointing to Jack’s red knuckle. Jack looked in horror as he pieced up the two. Callum was setting him up. Jack looked towards Martha, who too shared the same look of horror on her face; however, hers was for a very different reason.

“I can’t believe you…” She began, but Jack interrupted.

“No, I didn’t! I swear Martha! Please, believe me! He’s set me up!” Jack protested. Martha looked towards Jack’s worried face, then to his hand. The evidence was all there, Jack wasn’t happy with Callum, she knew that, and now Callum had come out with a punched nose, and Jack with bruised knuckles; so why was she starting to doubt that it was the truth? She looked helplessly at the two of them. Who was she supposed to believe?

Jack saw the look on Martha’s face, the confused look as she contemplated both stories. This gave him hope, and also a warm feeling inside, as he knew in which direction the evidence was heading, so she must have been following trust to believe that Jack might be telling the truth. Unfortunately, Callum had also spotted the look on Martha’s face, and began to involve yet another lie to ensure that she’d chose himself over Jack.

“Martha, don’t believe him, he’s making a fool out of you!” Callum pleaded. “He punched me, even Colin was there to witness it!” Callum said, gesturing to the same large man that was in the toilets. The man nodded.

“Yea, it’s true, sorry love. They were having a pretty nasty argument about something, then I came out just in time to see this youth punch him.” Colin said, in a very low voice. Martha looked down at her hands. She had no option but to believe Callum. The evidence was clearly in his favour. She looked over at Jack, preparing herself for whatever argument that was going to come next, but when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. She was staring straight into Jack’s deep brown eyes, and they were staring back. He had given up in defending himself now, he was just relying on Martha’s trust to help her through, but he was slowly realising that it wasn’t going to help in this case, that it wasn’t strong enough to beat Callum. Jack sat silently, staring into Martha’s eyes, and watching her slowly deteriorate into tears in front of him. When she couldn’t hold their gaze any longer, she ran out of Noah’s, leaving both men behind. Jack jumped up, ready to follow her, when Callum held out his arm, and held him back.

“Doubt she’ll want to see you, mate.” Callum sneered. Jack pushed by, ignoring him, and ran out of Noah’s, searching for Martha. He saw her sat on the beach, the wind blowing through her hair. He slowly walked behind her and sat beside her curled up body. She didn’t move her gaze from the lapping ocean, because she didn’t need to - she knew it was Jack.

“Please, believe me Martha.” Jack begged. “I wouldn’t do that. I apologized to him.” Jack explained. “I trapped my hand in the door, Callum knew that! He set me up, honestly.” Jack pleaded for Martha to believe him, but she still remained silent. She took a deep breath in, and began to speak.

“Sorry Jack.” She began; Jack now knew what was coming.

“No Martha. Please don’t do this.” He begged.

“It’s over.” She finished, tears forming in her eyes. Jack sat in disbelief, slowly shaking his head. He picked up her hand from the sand and laced his fingers through.

“No Martha-” He began, but Martha simply pulled away, freeing her hand from his gentle grasp. Jack sat in silence, as he tried to come to terms with what was happening. Martha had just broken up with him.

“Please, just go Jack. I’m not going to change my mind.” She cried, still staring out to sea. Jack wished that she’d look at him, turn her vision to his direction so she would see the pain that he was feeling, the pain that was clearly displayed on his face. But she didn’t; she continued to gaze out onto the waves. Jack sat for a moment; that’s all he could think to do. He didn’t want to move, just in case he’d miss an opportunity of getting her back. With her it felt right, and he knew that if he went now, he’d regret not doing everything in his power to get her back.

“I’m not leaving.” He stated, still burning holes into the side of her face with his persistent stare. “I love you and I’m not letting you end us.” Jack added. Martha slowly shook her head and laughed at herself. “What?” Jack asked. Martha finally turned around to face him.

“When was the last time you said you loved me?” She asked. Jack didn’t see the point of the question, but he was willing to answer any question of hers, as long as they were together and talking, he was fine. He thought back. ‘When was the last time I told her?’ he thought. He slowly realised that he hadn’t said it as often as he’d liked, and that Martha had picked up on it. Martha read his face, telling her the answer he’d found. “I thought it had been that long too.” She said, looking back into the sea.

“But you know I love you, don’t you?” Jack asked. Martha looked back.

“No. I don’t think I do. The only time you’ve said it is when you think that it can get me back.” Martha answered.

“You should know I love you Mac.” Jack said. Martha let out another light laugh.

“Why should I? Oh, by the dates you cancel, by the days we went without seeing or talking to one another, or even by the way you haven’t told me you loved me in, months?” Martha said, obviously getting worked up and upset. “Jack, we haven’t been going well for a while, I’ve been trying to fight it, ignore the bad times claiming that we’ll just get over them, but I don’t think we can. Maybe you not telling me you love me, or cancelling dates is a subconscious decision in your head, that maybe you aren’t as in love with me as you and I both wish.” Martha said, as a tear had now fallen down her cheek.

“No. Martha I really love you.” Jack argued, but Martha shook her head in response.

“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have gotten so jealous and punched Callum.” Martha answered.

“I didn’t!! Fine. I admit I got a bit jealous. I’m not proud of it, but I couldn’t help it. You two get on so well, and apparently he’s quite good looking.” Jack explained.

“So what? I hang around with Robbie, I get on well with him!” Martha argued.

“Yea, but you two haven’t kissed before have you! Every time I see you two together, or think of you two together, I can imagine that kiss. The kiss that was led on by Callum’s twisted lies. What’s to say he won’t do it again? In fact, he’s already done it! The punch - it was a lie! He’s trying to break us up Martha! Please, believe me.” Jack stood up to be face to face with her. Martha shook her head.

“Why should I, when you don’t even trust me?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“I do. I just don’t trust him.” Jack said. Martha tutted as she looked away to the sea, that was now on her right hand side. “Martha.” Jack began, reaching out and touching her arm. “I trust you, now you’ve just got to trust me. If not, then I’ll go now, and not pester you. But if you do trust me, then we can be stronger than ever!” Jack said, looking for a response. Martha turned around to him, and stared into his eyes.

“I don’t believe you and I don’t trust you. You’re not even worthy of my trust or love.” She said in a monotone voice. Jack’s heart sunk; it was over.

“I love you.” He whispered, slowly stepping back. He remained looking at her as he took his paces back, hoping that she would withdraw what she just said. But she didn’t. She just stood with her arms crossed, staring at him walking backwards. As soon as Jack turned around, and slowly walked off the beach, she fell to the ground in tears.

[Nicom]

The next few chapters are just going to be Jack and Martha coming to terms with their break-up, and also other things I thought I'd throw in there to make it worse. So enjoy! lol

Chapter 22

“Right, we’ll tell Jack when he gets in.” Tony agreed. Lucas nodded.

“I definitely think there’s something going on there, he needs to be informed, and then he’ll know what to do.” Lucas added. Lucas and Tony were sat around the table in the Holden kitchen, talking about what they’d both seen earlier on the beach. They’d waited a while before returning home, because of their instructions from Jack, but after they drove by Jack and Martha who were heading towards Noah’s, they decided to go back to the empty house.

They’d been discussing what to do for the last hour, contemplating every option they had available. Sadly, they had realised quite quickly that there weren’t many options, as Martha and Callum both looked very snug on the beach earlier when Jack had not been around. At that moment, Jack wandered in, closing the door slowly behind him. He put his keys on the side, and began to walk in the direction of his room; he was clearly in a trance. In such a trance that he hadn’t even noticed Lucas and Tony sat at the table, both looking towards him.

“Jack?” Tony shouted, grabbing Jack’s attention.

“Yea?” Jack answered, slowly.

“Me and Luke have something to tell you. Why don’t you come to the table with us?” Tony suggested. Jack slowly nodded and gradually made his way to the table, where he sat down and released a long sigh. Everything Jack was doing was in slow mode; he couldn’t possibly go any faster, as the thoughts that were hogging his mind prevented him to focus on anything else but Martha. He was still in shock after his break up with the woman he loves. The woman he thought he’d spend the rest of his life with. The woman he thought loved him as much as he did her. Lucas and Tony hadn’t really noticed Jack’s strange behaviour, as they were too busy preparing to make the awkward speech.

“We think there might be something going on between Martha and Callum.” Lucas blurted out. Tony gave his youngest son a sharp look, scolding him for not wording it more gently.

“We think.” Tony repeated, emphasizing the word ‘think’. “It’s not that we don’t trust Martha, we just find her actions a tiny bit suspicious, and felt it best to tell you.” Jack remained silent, staring at the fruit bowl in the centre of the table. Tony and Lucas decided to go on, whilst Jack was listening and calm.

“Well, you know when Callum and Martha went outside the hospital room to talk, when you woke up?” Lucas asked, even though he received no answer he persisted with his story. “Well, you sent me to go get Martha, and when I saw her in the staff room, her and Callum were holding hands on the sofa. Then, when I walked in, she flew to the other end of the sofa, which looked pretty suspicious.” Lucas paused, searching Jack’s face. He was hoping for an explanation to come out of his mouth, but of course there wasn’t. The only movement Jack made was from his chest, as he gently breathed in and out. Lucas looked towards his dad for him to continue. Tony reluctantly agreed.

“Today, after you kicked us out the house, we went for a surf. We saw Martha and Callum on the beach. Together.” Tony hesitated. He didn’t like doing this, but he knew it was best for Jack. “They looked pretty snug mate. Me and Lucas were there for a while, a little further down the beach, and he had her arm around her for a good few hours.” Tony said. Lucas nodded.

“Yea, his arm around her. She had, like, her head, snuggled into his chest.” Lucas added. Tony and Lucas looked towards Jack, who still hadn’t moved his gaze from the fruit bowl.

“We felt it was best that we tell you. There’s probably nothing going on, but I guess we wanted to warn you.” Tony said.

“It’ll be okay Jack. You and Martha are strong; you’ll be together forever.” Lucas said, trying to make his brother feel better, but it made him feel a whole lot worse.

Jack pulled out of the trance that his mind had buried him in, and looked towards Lucas and Tony with two, watery eyes.

“You okay mate?” Tony asked, responding to how clearly upset his son was. Jack looked up at his dad; the answer was ringing in his head. No he was not okay. He didn’t look okay, he didn’t feel okay, and he was definitely not okay. Martha had left him, that was bad enough, but now he had reason to believe that Callum had been making moves on her whilst they were together. At first, he didn’t know why Callum would do such an evil thing as to split them up, but now it made sense; he likes Martha.

“No. I’m not.” Jack snapped. His fury was building up fast - too fast for him to handle. He pushed the table; forcing his chair back. He stood up and grabbed his keys. He swung the front door open, and slammed it shut behind him. Tony stood up and followed his son.

“Jack, wait! This isn’t going to solve anything!” He shouted, but by the time he’d opened the door, Jack was reversing off the drive at an unbelievable speed. “Stop!” Tony ordered, but Jack ignored him and drove off, swerving around the corner. Lucas had now joined his dad at the doorway, watching as Jack quickly turned the corner. They both gave a horrified look to one another, wondering what he was going to do.

[Nicom]

Here's the next one, because neither of these are that eventful

Chapter 23

Jack pulled up diagonally, taking up two car park spaces. He jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut. He ran through the double doors of the Noah’s building, through the games room, and to the bar. He frantically looked around the seating area, and then found himself at the chair where Callum had been sitting, when he fed Martha and the town the lies about him. He was still receiving some dodgy looks, but he didn’t care about them, he just cared about Martha.

“Woah!” Beth screamed, as Jack banged into her, knocking her into the bar.

“I’m sorry Beth!” Jack apologized, whilst looking around the room. “Where is he?” He mumbled to himself.

“Where is who?” Beth asked, clearly concerned about Jack’s behaviour. Jack ignored her and continued to run through the building, looking for Callum. He couldn’t think of anywhere else that he’d be. He didn’t know where he lived, and he knew he wasn’t at work; that was one of the things they’d discussed whilst having a drink. Jack had found himself back in the bar area. He placed his hand to his head, and pushed it through his hair. He closed his eyes. He hoped that when he opened his eyes, he’d find himself in bed, with Martha sleeping silently in his arms. However, when he did open his eyes, he didn’t find himself in that situation at all, he found himself in a very different one. Everyone in Noah’s bar was staring at him, all thinking the same thought. ‘What is wrong with Jack?’ Their most loved cop was acting like a loony, but if they knew about himself and Martha, they’d have fully understood, and probably expect nothing less. Everyone knew how much Jack loved Martha. Ever since they split the first time, his feelings towards her were obvious, and also admired by the bay.

“Jack. Please, you’re worrying me now.” Beth said, walking closer to him. “Tell me what’s up.” She had a calm, slow voice that cooled Jack’s furious face. He looked at her.

“Where’s Callum?” He asked, ignoring what she’d just said.

“Jack, I’m not telling you unless you tell me first.” She ordered.

“But I need to find him!” He cried, his eyes were slowly watering as he realised that he could do anything more. Beth looked up into Jack’s eyes.

“I’ll meet you on the beach in 5 minutes, okay?” She smiled, rubbing her hand up and down his arm. This immediately calmed Jack down, and also made Beth’s demand friendlier and more appealing.

“Okay.” He whispered. His voice had been reduced to a whisper, due to the dramatic change in emotions he’d experienced in the last 10 minutes. Jack took a deep breath and strolled out of Noah’s, walking towards the beach.

The combination of the nurturing, caring Beth beside him, and the gentle lapping sea was enough to calm Jack down and force him to explain what had happened. Beth carefully listened through what Jack had to say, giving the occasional nod, and a rub on the back when Jack began to get wound up.

“Oh my God.” Beth said, covering her mouth with her hand. Beth felt sickened by the lie Callum had told - just to split Jack and Martha up. “I’m so sorry Jack.” She said, putting her arm around his back. Jack sighed.

“I wanted to hurt him so bad. When I stormed into Noah’s, I was looking for him, to confront the sick, evil face of his.” He explained.

“But what would you have done?” Beth asked, concerned. Jack shook his head.

“I don’t know.” He sighed. “I guess it’s a good job that you calmed me down.” He smiled. “Thank you Beth.” Jack added, placing his arm around her, and resting against her. “Mattie, Robbie and Scott are so lucky to have you, ya know?” Jack complimented. “I’d like to think that my mum would have been as nice as you.” Beth blushed.

“Thanks Jack. Tony’s very lucky to have such a caring, sensible boy as you.” She said, returning the compliment. Jack gave her a tight squeeze and then they both released their grip, and put their arms to their sides.

“Well, I’m going to go. I guess Tony and Lucas will be worried where I am, and what I’ve done.” He laughed, remembering what a state he’d left his father and brother in. Beth nodded, as she stood up with him.

“Yea. I think that’s best. If you ever need to talk, you come see me.” Beth offered, brushing the sand off her trousers.

“I will do. Thanks again.” He said. Beth and Jack were then interrupted by a voice further up the beach, shouting for their attention.

“Jack! Jack!” It called. They both spun around.

“Yea?” Jack shouted back to Alf.

“If you see Martha later, can you tell her that I’m going to the city for a few nights?” Alf asked.

“Yea, sure.” Jack nodded. He looked down at his feet, knowing that he’d not be telling Martha. This began Jack on a trail of thought, which he decided to share with Beth.

“I won’t be telling her though, will I?” He pointed out. Beth shook her head.

“No, I suppose you won’t.” She agreed. Jack continued.

“I won’t be talking to her. I won’t be seeing her at all. She’s going to be walking past me, acting as if I don’t exist. I’m not going to be able to ring her after work, or meet her after work, or even wake up beside her in the mornings.” Jack said, swallowing his sadness. “I won’t be kissing, hugging or even joking with her anymore.” He added. His face turned from sad to worse, as he thought his last thought. “She’ll be dating again. Another man’s going to be kissing her, hugging her, joking with her. He’ll probably ring her up after work, and wake up next to her in the mornings. She’ll soon forget about me, forget about us.” Jack said. Beth stood speechless; she had no words of comfort for him, even though she would have loved to help him right now. The only thing she could think to do was to hug him; so she did. She pulled him into a tight, friendly embrace. Jack’s eyes filled up at her loving gesture. It felt strange to hug someone else apart from Martha, but it felt a good strange, it felt like the hugs his mother used to give. He closed his eyes as she gently rubbed her hand up and down his back.

“It’ll be okay Jack. I promise.” Beth assured him. He slowly pulled away, and smiled.

“Thanks Beth.” He said, slowly walking backwards. She nodded in reply, indicating that Jack should now go home to his dad and brother. Jack turned around and made his way up the beach, and to the car. Beth looked out to the beautiful sea.

“Poor lad.” She muttered to herself, picturing Jack’s sad face.