Learn To Let Go

[Mia;]

I've missed a few chapters, but I just caught up

Haha, I actually like Alex being with Martha, for the moment. Some competition for Jack

I love it how they both still tease each other.

Such a great story, keep it up

[Barbara]

If you don't want me to shoot you, make Alex disappear really soon like NOW.

Yay Martha is back! Too bad, Alex is there too. So far, he's nice.

Drunk Jack and Martha are so much fun! Martha pretending to be Jack's wife was great! Maybe it's wishful thinking!

Can Martha not mention the fact she is sharing a bed with a man who isn't Jack?

Why is she lying to Alex about knowing Jack for only five years? I guess it'll be explained later.

More please.

[KaiyaBlake]

If you don't want me to shoot you, make Alex disappear really soon like NOW.

Now where would be the fun in that? *evil grin* Don't worry, I don't like him either

And your guess is correct It shall be explained soon..

Thanks for the comments Mia and Barbara

[lino]

cool chapter, I was laughing away. I hope that you update it soon.

[Zetti]

You.. you... seriously made her have a boyfriend!

Damn... and I like Alex as well...

Hmm... Martha is lying to him... spells disaster!

[amz89]

oh dont like alex cant wait for more i loved drunk martha and jack was funny.. Hope they hook up again soon lol.. love it.

[Pengzilla]

*loads gun*

[KaiyaBlake]

*ducks*

[jack+martha=trooluvv]

*appears round the corner with a killer bullant on a leash*

I have just read all this and it is GREAT, it made me laugh n cry. And some of the comments here made me crack up too

Can't wait for an update...

[KaiyaBlake]

Hey all

Thanks for your comments, please put your guns away (and killer bullants!)… or on hold at least. Who knows what I might throw in next?

Hope you like

Chapter 13

“You ready to go?”, Jack swung to the side of the school hall, stopping just beside Martha, only a moment later realizing who she was standing with. “Oh, hey Zac”

“Ah I’ll see you later Martha… Jack”, he smiled and headed off quickly. A little to quickly for Jack’s liking.

Jack simply turned his attention back to Martha, baffled at what he had just walked in to.

“He’s taking me out, tonight”, she answered the question she knew he was mentally asking.

“What!?”, Jack yelled… a tad too loud. “I mean, since when?”

“Since now”, she shook her head, laughing, not following Jack’s concern. “I don’t see why you care. You’ve been on plenty”

“But I thought we could hang out tonight?”, he whined.

“Tomorrow, I promise”, Martha pecked him lightly on the cheek before heading out the school doors.

His hand immediately found the point of contact. Zac. Why the hell would anyone go on a date with him.

He told himself he was just being protective. She was his mate… his best mate, why wouldn’t he be. He definitely was not jealous. The thought of Martha spending time with another guy, flirting and laughing… no, that had absolutely nothing to do with it.

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“Get a room!”, he grumbled as he walked past the open door, only to see Tasha and Robbie getting cosy for the night. Thank god he didn’t arrive any later he thought.

“We’re in it”, Tasha just laughed, moving so she was now sitting on top of Robbie.

“Oh”, Jack paused. “Well then, get a house. Stop… shacking up in mine”, he joked, disappearing into the lounge room.

“Aww Jack, I know it’s been a tough day”, Tasha jumped up after him causing Robbie to yell out in annoyance at Jack’s interruption.

“It has!”, Jack nodded. “Martha lost me my date!”, his face turned sour.

“You had a date?”, she smiled hopefully.

Jack looked down. “Well not a date just… a girl okay”, he tried to brush her away.

“Jack you deserve to move on”, she encouraged him, sitting herself down on the couch next to him.

“I honestly thought that when she came back we could… I’m so stupid, of course she isn’t going to really ever forgive me”

“That’s why I told you she was coming”, she spoke over him, placing her hand sympathetically on his knee. “She didn’t want me to but I did… and you’re dealing with it so much better than I thought”

“Dealing?”, he scoffed. “I can’t even have a serious conversation with her”, he frowned and Tasha started to feel bad for him until he spoke up again. “She’s just gotten so funny”, he began to laugh, much to her surprise.

“Go to bed”, she shoved him teasingly as she went to go back to her room, only now realising his drunken state of mind. “We’re having breakfast with them here in the morning”, she quickly called out before he could object.

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10am the next morning…

“Morning mate”, Robbie chirped as Jack finally emerged from his room, Tasha brushed past him quickly not saying a word.

Pulling her pounding head up from the table, Martha was surprised to find her shirtless ex standing before them… and she couldn’t help but notice just how good he looked.

It was weird actually. Last time she was here, if she had seen him like that, she would have been up in a second, running her hands softly over his exposed torso. But now, she felt like she wasn’t even allowed to look at him.

“Put your freakin top on”, Tasha came back into the room, throwing one of Jack’s tops smack on his chest.

“Never thought there was rules in my own home”, he yawned, the lack of sleep catching up with him.

“Well there is when we have company. I told you they were coming”, Tasha argued, feeling slightly embarrassed in front of Alex.

Keeping her head down, Martha couldn’t help but feel as if the word ‘company’ was a bit of an exaggeration. Since when was she company?

“Bit of a hangover there?”, Jack took much delight in sitting across from Martha and laughing at her misfortune.

Martha groaned, the only response she was willing to give was a hard shove in his chest. “So this happens often?”, Alex laughed curiously.

“I don’t know”, Jack shrugged, finding it odd that her supposed boyfriend had no idea about her drinking habits. “All I do know is.. Martha never could quite handle the beverage”

“Clearly, not much has changed”, he added happily before Martha could object.

“So what do you do Jack?”, Alex changed the subject. Martha raised her head slightly, she hadn’t even asked.

“I’m a cop”

“You are?”, Martha cooed, forgetting all about his previous torment towards her.

Jack ignored her obvious interest and looked down eagerly at his cooked breakfast.

He started eating as Tasha and Robbie joined them at the table, trying not to look at the constant hold Martha had with her eyes on him.

She let her head fall on Alex’s shoulder deciding she would just badger him about it later. A smirk formed on his lips and he turned his face so it was only a fraction from hers, watching as her tired eyes were drooping by the second.

Jack’s breakfast tried to resurface as he watched his lips meet hers, Martha pulling away a second later, embarrassment flushing her cheeks.

“Okay I’m done”, Jack forced a smile, placing his half-full plate in the sink before retreating back to his room.

“I’ll go”, Martha sighed before following him quickly.

Alex just sat there, both Tasha and Robbie glaring at him uncomfortably. “What’s going on?”

---------------------

“Jack”, she knocked only once before entering his room.

“Mmm?”, he didn’t bother opening his eyes. Instead, he stayed, spread out on his back down on the bed, his arms covering his eyes.

“I ah-”, her words stopped as she took a moment to observe his room. It was pretty plain, just how Jack liked it. He had never been able to have it like that though, not when they were together, she always loved to change it.

A small smile crept onto her lips as her hands picked up a familiar photo. The fact that he had kept it all this time was so endearing. “No frame?”, she asked.

Jack opened one eye and squinted at the photo in her hand. “I thought it was safer that way”

“Yeah, you’re probably right”, she smirked before plonking herself almost on top of him.

“Why must you always linger?”, he complained, refusing to open his eyes and look at her. He told himself that if he didn’t look at her, then they weren’t really as close as he thought.

“When I left, you acted as if you would be excited when I actually came back”, she mused.

Jack sat upright. “Yes Martha, you. You being the operative word here. I wasn’t expecting a plus one”

She tucked her knees into her chest, guilt managing to catch up with her once more.

“How long have you two…?”

“Just over a month”, she replied.

“That long huh?”, he chuckled, causing her to feel belittled. “Sorry”, he instantly apologized.

“Well judging on last night Jack, I’m not sure you should judge”, she scoffed, suddenly feeling awkward sitting on the bed. She could just imagine the line up of woman he’s had parading in and out each night.

“Well go on, how many?”, she urged him. “Alex is my ahh… my 3rd”, she confessed, seeing it only fair that he knew how many people she had been with.

“There were 2 others!?”, he exclaimed.

Martha groaned, rubbing her head frustrated. “Jack!”, her eyes pleaded with him to forget about it.

“I doesn’t matter”, he shuffled off the bed slightly. He didn’t exactly want to think about the events that had taken place with Martha and those guys.

“Why, that many?”, she found herself laughing.

“You’ll never more”, he faked a smile before walking swiftly out the door. Seconds later and she heard the front door slam shut.

“What the…”, Tasha came trampling in, shutting the door behind her.

“Tash… how many girls has Jack, you know been with?”, she got straight to the point, becoming increasingly worried at the large number she would soon be faced with.

Martha could tell how nervous she directly got. “I ahh… I… wouldn’t know”, she pushed out the most forceful laugh Martha had ever heard.

“How many?”, she stressed every syllable in an effort to get the truth.

“One”, she disclosed. Martha just sat there, stunned. “And that was only because Robbie and I practically forced it on him. He wasn’t ready to move on… you said you’d be back, you told him you’d miss him. He never wanted to make the same mistake twice”, she spoke similar words as Jack had previously.

Her eyes brimmed with tears and she grabbed the closest pillow, holding it close to her heart. “You’re lying”

“Wish I was”, Tasha conceded.

“He acts like girls had been lining up at the door”, she stated, it making no sense to her what Jack was doing.

“You’ve moved on”, Tasha almost laughed at how blindsided Martha was. “He wants you to think that he’s done the same, he wants you to get jealous. Just like he is of you right now”

She threw the pillow from between her arms in anger. Tears spilling from her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that he became a cop?”, she shot her frustration back to Tasha.

“It’s just a job Martha”, she shrugged, not knowing how much it meant to Martha.

“No, not to me it isn’t”, she shook her head miserably.

*

Her body jolted as she heard her front door slamming after her and the sound of his drunken footsteps came trampling behind her.

She was scared. Every time this happened, it was the same thing. She would run, sometimes so fast she thought her legs were going to give way. But in fear, she kept running as fast as she could until she reached his house where she knew her father wouldn’t dare to enter.

“Jack!”, she cried out in desperation as she entered the house safely. Her hand immediately reaching up to her bloody nose.

“Oh my god”, he scarcely whispered as he caught sight of her, running over and lifting her up.

He felt so useless at times like these, he would always help her and manage to calm her down but… he could only wait until the next time it happened. If he had it his way he would march straight back over there and show her dad what pain truly was! But even he knew that no 14 year old boy, no matter how strong, could take on a 35 year old man.

His own dad wasn’t of much help either. Since his mum had passed away around a year ago, her efforts to save Martha had gone, along with his dad’s. He knew it wasn’t his fault, his dad was too overdrawn by grief that he couldn’t manage anyone else’s let alone his own.

As they got in the bathroom, she lifted her arms from her body, allowing Jack to remove her top, which was now covered in blood.

Returning from his room with a spare top in his hand, he placed it gently over her head, avoiding the obvious bruises.

Finding a washcloth by the sink, he ran it freely under some lukewarm water. Being careful not to hurt her, he ran it softly over her face, just enough pressure to wash the excess blood away.

“Just the face this time”, she told him before he could even ask.

More than anyone, Jack was angry at the Police and Social Workers. The Social workers had made one measly visit, but of course, like any stupid person, the warned her father that they were coming. Just enough time to cover up your crime isn’t it?

And if the Police couldn’t uphold the law, who could?

“Martha I can’t keep doing this”, Jack spoke gently to her. “I can’t keep cleaning you up when this happens”

She jumped up in surprise at his words. “I’ll clean myself up then”, she tried to stay strong, yanking the warm washer from his hands and looking herself dead on in the mirror. Her hands shaking as she tried to wipe the blood from beneath her nose. It was only too bad that she couldn’t erase the discolouration from her face.

“Noo!”, Jack quickly cut in, realising she had misunderstood. “I’m always going to be here, okay”, he turned her body until she was facing him again. “I just… I can’t sit back and do nothing anymore, except wait for the next time it happens”, he ran his hand soothingly down the cheek which had no bruising.

“But last time the police came-”

“I will make sure that won’t happen”, he stopped her mid sentence, not wanting to think about the mess that day had caused.

“Jack you can’t always fix everything”, she murmured.

“Well maybe not now… but hopefully when I’m older, I’ll be able to do a lot better then I’m doing now”, Jack told her as he finished cleaning her up and lead her to his room.

“How’s that?”, she spoke so softly she was barely audible.

“I’m going to be a cop”, he informed her, laying her down on the softness of his pillows and wrapping his blanket around her. “One that would actually do his job and have you out of this nightmare in a second. I don’t want anymore people to have to go through what you are right now”

“That sounds like an amazing idea”, she whispered softly, finding his hand with her own and entwining their fingers.

*

“That’s the last time it happened though”, Martha continued to tell Tasha as she sat side by side on his bed with her. “He called the cops while I was asleep which, well… I never wanted that. I thought that he was to smart for them, he tricked them once why not this time?”

“What did they do?”, Tasha asked, tears now built up in her own eyes.

“They took him away for… about 10 years, he is regularly supervised though so they know he can’t come near me. I was just so relieved that I could finally get away from him. As much as I wanted too, I couldn’t stay with Jack… Tony couldn’t handle it but, that’s when Sally opened her house to me”, she smiled warmly at the thought of Sally. “It made Jack want to be a cop more than anything, I can’t believe he actually did it”

Tasha just sat back in awe, her respect for both Jack and Martha increasing tremendously.

“I’m surprised Alex hasn’t came looking for me”, she half laughed, feeling a bit stupid that her own boyfriend wasn’t checking up on her.

“Actually”, Tasha coughed, knowing what she was going to say would be far from pleasing to Martha. “He followed Jack”