Who: Blake and Jackson Where: The Lowell Home When: Late morning, a bit after 11
The morning before, Jackson had told Blake that he would come home that night. No, Jack had promised his baby brother that he would come home that night. Unless it was unavoidable, Jackson’s word was binding. He didn’t have a lot that he could give someone, but a promise that he would fulfill? That was something he could.
He returned home in the late evening from a trip to Rapid Falls that he would probably not forget for quite some time. By the time he arrived home, the house was still and quiet. It wasn’t quite as unnatural when it happened at night. They all liked to sleep. Or, at the very least, they all needed it. The Lowell house was not entirely ignorant to all night video game sessions, though. When there was a new Zelda, Final Fantasy or Mario title (in that order, and only if it was a legit Mario title, like Galaxy, or at least a Kart), Jackson was there all night, passing out when necessary. In college now, that was a little different. Things were different now that he was in college.
Things were different at home, too. There was a somewhat comforting vibe in the house, because the quiet was caused by his family being asleep. The overarching feeling that something was missing was still there, though. The last time that Jack felt something like that was when Parker first left for college. It went away quickly. Not to say that he didn’t love his big brother as much as his sister. At least when Parker left it was because he was going to school. They knew where he was. Myra was a different story.
Whatever the reasons, be it that his body had finally decided that he needed to recover from the extended period of sleep deprivation that he had put himself through for the better part of a week or simply because he was in a lulled state due to everything that had happened that day, Jack slept. He slept well for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Annabelle was his final thought before he drifted off to dreamland.
What was the first thought that he thought of when he woke up? That it was all just a dream. That an entire day had been a figment of his imagination. He knew that it was different. The memories were too vivid. Too strong. The emotions that he was feeling were entirely different than that reoccurring dream he had where Olivia Munn was feeding him sugar coated strawberries while he sat on a throne not unlike the one in Castle Hyrule. These emotions felt real.
Groggily, he turned his eyes up and looked at the clock. It was just a little bit after eleven. Jackson was stunned. He had slept almost the entire morning away. Not that he was complaining. It was an entirely different feeling altogether to wake up and not immediately wish that he had gotten more sleep. It was a good way to begin the day.
Too bad he knew that something would probably happen to sour it.