Second Chance(62)

Cass was discharged around nine in the morning and Nate managed to drive them safely back to Hedbury despite yawning every few minutes. Jack sat beside him in the passenger seat, while Cass dozed in the back.

“I assume you don’t want to stay at mine tonight now,” Jack said. “Cass probably needs you around.”

“Yeah.” Nate was disappointed. He’d been hoping to spend most of this weekend with Jack, and was desperate for an opportunity to talk in private. But Cass had to be his priority. Physically she was fine now, a little tired but nothing that a couple of days rest wouldn’t fix. The emotional fallout was something else though. She insisted she was okay, but the trauma of a night in A & E was bound to take its toll and Nate wanted to be there for her if she needed to talk about it. Nate himself felt battered by the stress, drained, and needy. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with Jack for the rest of the weekend, but sadly that wasn’t an option. He reached across to put a hand on Jack’s knee, and Jack covered Nate’s hand with his own.

Nate dropped Cass off first, into the care of his mum who greeted Cass with a tearful hug, “Oh, sweetheart. You had us so worried! Come in, let’s get you comfy. Do you want to snuggle up on the sofa or in your bedroom?”

“Sofa.” Cass detached herself from her gran’s embrace. “I’m bored of lying in bed. Can I invite Adam over, Dad? He’s desperate to come and visit me.”

Nate frowned. “You should be resting.”

“I will be resting. We can rest together. He was up half the night so he’s knackered too. Please, Dad?”

It was hard to refuse Cass anything today, especially when she looked at him with puppy eyes.

“Okay, fine.”

Her face lit up. “Thank you!”

“Right. I’ll drop Jack home now, I’ll be back soon. You take it easy while I’m gone.”

When Nate pulled up on Jack’s driveway he turned off the engine. “Here you go. I’m sorry our night together was ruined.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Jack said immediately. “You have nothing to apologise for.”

“Yeah, that’s true. It wasn’t meant as an apology really, just that I’m disappointed we didn’t get to spend the night together like we’d planned, and I wanted you to know that.” Nate was gutted about it. It was a rare opportunity and who knew when they’d get the chance again?

“Yeah,” Jack’s face softened. “I’m disappointed too. But maybe another time?”

“I hope so.” Nate studied Jack, searching his expression to try to gauge his feelings. Now wasn’t the time for a heavy conversation. They were both sleep-deprived and Nate needed to get back to Cass. “Thank you so much for everything last night. I’m glad I had you there.”

Jack shrugged. “It was nothing.”

“It didn’t feel like nothing. Your support meant a lot.”

They stared at each other and the moment stretched out between them. It felt charged with possibility to Nate, full of unspoken thoughts and desires. Did Jack feel it too?

“I’d better let you get back,” Jack finally said.

“Okay.” They hugged awkwardly, twisted towards each other over the gear stick and handbrake. Nate craved more contact, more comfort, but he had to let Jack go. “See you soon.”





Sixteen





Jack didn’t know what to do with himself for the rest of the day on Saturday. He tried to nap in the morning, but sleep eluded him. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the hospital, and Cass lying in bed looking pale and broken. Snatches of the conversations he’d had with Adam and Nate kept running through his head as his brain tried to make sense of everything that had happened.

Eventually he gave up on sleep, had some lunch, and went out for a walk. He did a loop through the fields that took him down to the sailing club by the river and then walked along a muddy path by the water for a while before circling round to walk back along the track from the sailing club that led to Hedbury.

After his walk he sat on the sofa and tried to lose himself in television but his mind was still whirring. He had that spun-out feeling you get from too much caffeine and not enough sleep, like a motor running too fast in a frantic effort to keep going before the battery dies.

He kept checking his phone to see if he had anything from Nate. He hoped he was okay. If Jack was traumatised by the events of the night before it must be ten times worse for Nate. He remembered Nate sobbing in his arms and a rush of anger flooded him as he thought of Molly and what she’d done. Yet Nate and Cass were probably right not to pursue it, Molly was just a kid herself who had made a bad decision. Jack knew all about bad decisions; he was still recovering from the ones he’d made in his past. Molly probably deserved a second chance—didn’t everyone?

After a very unexciting dinner of cheese on toast and a can of baked beans, Jack finally sent Nate a text:

Hi, just checking you and Cass are both okay?

When his phone rang in response, Jack grinned, mood lifting immediately.

“Hi,” he said. “So how are you guys doing?”

“We’re fine thanks,” Nate replied. “Cass had Adam here all day; he’s just left—at my insistence—so now I’m not very popular.”