Jacklyn Baker (called_jack) wrote in the_colony, @ 2011-01-06 16:16:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 24, bridget mackenzie, jacklyn baker, | bridget and jack |
Week 24 - Saturday
Characters: Jack Baker and Bridget Mackenzie
Location:: Jack's room
Summary: Bridget comes to check on a heartbroken Jack
Rating: G
Jack shoved Searle’s parents’ IDs back in her pocket and closed the door behind herself and Bosie, throwing herself onto her bed and giving in to gut-wrenching sobs. She was so stupid. And young. Just a stupid little baby. And ugly. Unlikeable. Searle didn’t like her, didn’t want her and there was nothing she could do about it but cry. So she did. Curled up with Bosie beside her and her arm around her rabbit. She wasn’t ever going to come out. Instead, she’d just stay up here and cry until she withered away into nothing.
Bridget was waddling her way back to her room for an after-breakfast nap when she passed by Jack and Molly’s door. She could hear Jack inside, sobbing her eyes out as if her world had ended. The young woman couldn’t help herself, she pushed the door open and her own heart twisted at the sight of the crying girl curled up on the bed with Bosie, clutching her stuffed animal for dear life.
She came through the door and settled on the bed beside Jack, touching the girl’s back comfortingly. “Oh sweetie, what happened?”
Jack snuffed loudly, turning her head and giving Bridget the dirtiest look she could manage through red-rimmed eyes and a face streaked with tears. Besides Searle, Bridget was the absolute last person she wanted to see. Jack couldn’t stand to be comforted by the person Searle wanted instead of her. And then a horrifying thought: had Bridget shown interest in Searle, something to make him think he had a chance?
Jack jerked away. “Don’t touch me,” she said harshly.
Bridget pulled her hand back as if it’d been burned, and stared back at the girl with a mixture of hurt and confusion. “What? What’d I do?” As far as she could remember she’d always been nice to Jack, tried to be someone the girl could go to if she had a problem she didn’t want to talk to Jed about. What had she done to rate this reaction?
“Are you hurt?” Maybe she’d touched a spot that had a bruise?
That was a stupid question. Of course she was, just not in the way Bridget meant. “I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want anything to do with you. Go away and leave me alone.”
“All right, if that’s what you want.” Bridget said slowly after a moment’s pause while she tried to figure out just what she might have done to cause Jack to suddenly turn hostile toward her. “If you change your mind you know where to find me. I’m still your friend Jack, that hasn’t changed.”
Jack sat up and Bosie jumped down to the floor. “Go be friends with Searle. He’s the one who likes you.”
“Of course he likes me,” Bridget responded as she worked herself up off the bed. “He likes you too, you know. I don’t think there’s anyone he doesn’t like.” She made her way to the door still puzzled at what was going on with the girl. It stung to be rejected suddenly like she was, but Bridget would honor Jack’s wishes.
Jack was hurt and angry and Bridget’s words weren’t helping. “He doesn’t like me! He likes you!” she shouted after her. “You get your boyfriend!”
“I don’t have a boyfriend!” Bridget stopped at the door as Jack’s words washed over her. Her brow furrowed in confusion, the young woman pulled out the chain that held her engagement and wedding rings. Her fingers were currently too swollen to wear them, which is why she had them on the chain. She held the chain out far enough to show them to the girl. “I was married Jack. I’m not involved with anyone here.”
Searle? Boyfriend? The idea was so foreign to her that she could hardly even comprehend it.
Jack was hurting; she felt rejected and stupid and young and angry and, at the sight of Bridget’s rings, a little guilty. Her tears had stopped with her anger but she blinked and her eyes were wet. “Then why does he like you more than me? What’s wrong with me?”
Searle liked her romantically? Really? Bridget blinked, still having trouble processing that. She knew better than to protest that she wasn’t pretty, at least not when she wasn’t hippo sized from pregnancy. But the idea that Searle would have told Jack he was interested in her instead, it was a huge surprise.
At the girl’s question, Bridget sighed and waddled back to Jack’s bed to sit down. “Oh Jack,” she reached over cautiously to put an arm around the girl. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know he thought I was attractive. That was obvious when I first met him. He’s sixteen. I think he’d find any relatively pretty adult woman attractive, that’s just the way nature made sixteen year old boys.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you.”
None of that was remotely helpful. “So I’m just an ugly baby stupid enough to think that kissing meant he liked me.”
“You were kissing?” This was news to Bridget. She’d known Jack was carrying a torch for Searle but she hadn’t realized it had actually led to anything physical.
Jack nodded sadly. “For a couple weeks. I thought it meant he liked me and he thought we were friends-with-benefits or something. He doesn’t want to be my boyfriend, he wants to be your boyfriend.” She sniffled a little.
“I’m too old for him,” Bridget responded automatically, without really thinking about it. It was still sinking in and she didn’t know what to think about it. As for the other statement, Bridget wanted to find Searle and slap him. She settled for drawing the girl into a commiserating hug now that Jack didn’t seem to view her as ‘public enemy number one’. “I hate that phrase: ‘friends-with-benefits’. It’s trite.”
Jack wasn’t sure what trite meant and she couldn’t think of anything to say, so she just sat there, sad and quiet.
Bridget sighed again. “Welcome to the world of grownups, Jack,” She told the girl sadly. “This probably won’t be the last time you get your heart broken, but one day you’ll meet a man who’ll sweep you off your feet. Maybe that will be Searle, one day, maybe not. If he wanted to be ‘friends-with-benefits’ then he’s still got some growing up to do.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better at all,” Jack said.
“I’m sorry Jack,” Bridget shook her head. “I didn’t mean to make it worse. Searle is definitely being stupid to break up with you.” She thought the boy showed poor judgement getting involved with Jack at all, the girl was only thirteen.
“I wish there was something I could say to make it better.”
Jack didn’t think she was in the mood to keep talking about this. She’d never felt about anyone the way she felt about Searle and he would rather be with Bridget than with her. Talking wasn’t helping. “I think I just want to be by myself, okay?”
“That’s fine.” Bridget nodded and got herself up again. Sometimes a girl just needed to be by herself and have good cry. “I know you probably won’t want anything from me, but if you do don’t be afraid to come find me, ok?”
She nodded, laying back down and curling up with her rabbit.
Bridget shook her head sympathetically at the heartbroken girl’s situation and stepped out the door, pulling it shut behind her.