Status: --- Hiatus ---

It's Just Our Fate

Guess Who

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The month went by quicker than expected; Jackson and Lily had gone to Italy, enjoying their time together. They had just returned home from their trip, laughing, reminiscing about the memories they made. “Oh, it’s so good to be home.” Lily exhaled, walking into the living room. She sat down on the couch next to Jackson, resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled as he tried to fix one of the glass plates that Lily had dropped earlier.

Lily frowned watching him, “I can’t believe I broke it already.” He laughed and looked at her, “Nothing that can’t be fixed.” She smiled up at him, watching him work. He leaned for a little, trying to hot glue the pieces together. She rubbed his bare back, kissing his shoulder, “Thank you.” He smiled and winked at her, “Anything for you.” She got up and headed into the kitchen grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

“I have to work tomorrow, so remember you have to take Max to the vet around 11,” she said, “And please remember to put his sweater on before you leave. I don’t want him to get cold.” Max hopped around thrashing his head from side to side as he played with a toy. Jackson nodded and looked over to Max then back to the plate, “He has fur though, why did we need to buy him a sweater?” Lily came back and sat down next to him again, watching him work, “Because… He looks cute in it.”

Jackson shook his head and laughed at her answer. “Max, come here Max,” she called out. Max dropped his toy and ran up to her, jumping on the couch into her lap. She scratched behind his ears and laughed, “Oh, that’s a good boy!” Jackson set down the half finished plate and watched them. Lily cradled Max in her arms as he put his paws on her chest licking her face, “Haha!” Lily laughed.

Jackson smiled at the sight and turned back to the plate, picking up another piece to add to it. Max settled down and cuddled into her as Lily stroked his back, petting him. “So when do you start working again?” she asked. Jackson sighed a bit but focused on the plate, “I’ll have to call in later tonight and tell them I made it back. I’ll probably have to be over there within the next few days though.”

Lily nodded as she listened and looked back down at Max, “When do you think they’ll send you off again?” Jackson glanced over at her and then stared at the plate, carefully putting the hot glue on another piece, “I’ll get my notice for it this week most likely, and will have to be gone within the next two. “

Lily sighed, standing up holding Max, and headed to his little bed. Jackson held the piece he had put glue on to the plate carefully trying to mend it back together. Lily set Max down carefully and then crossed her arms as she looked out the window, “Where would they send you?” Jackson turned his head and watched her, “I don’t know babe.”

She ran a hand through her long dark hair and shook her head, “Always waiting..” Jackson slowly put the plate down and stood up, walking to her. He stood behind her, putting his arms around her small frame, and hugged her to his chest, “It won’t always be like this.” He rested his head on the side of hers, his eyes closed as he breathed in her scent.

“When then?” she asked leaning back into him. He exhaled for a moment and kissed the side of her head, “I don’t know babe..” She shook her head, staring outside, watching the sun shimmer over the buildings. “I need to get some sleep.”, she said finally. He let her go slowly as she turned and faced him, “Have work tomorrow and I don’t wanna over sleep.”
Jackson gave her a small smile and nodded, “Yeah, of course.” She pecked his lips and walked to the bedroom. Jackson sighed for a moment, rubbing the back of his head. He walked over to the coffee table, pushing the plate slightly to make sure it was hardening and then turned off the hot glue gun.
He walked to the bedroom and climbed inside of it, wrapping an arm around Lily, and fell asleep.

-The Next Day-
Jackson walked around the apartment, toothbrush in his mouth, shirtless as he listened to his iPod. Max was bouncing about with his sweater on and biting at Jackson’s ankles. “Quit it,” Jackson said. He went to the kitchen sink and spit, then rinsed his brush.
He looked over at the clock above the stove, 10:50. “Oh shit.” He said running back into the bedroom. He pulled on his shoes and a white shirt then grabbed his jacket. Max followed him to and fro as they moved from one room to the other.

“We’re gonna be late buddy,” Jackson said. He ran to the bookshelf, pushing behind the books and the compartment, and retrieved his gun placing it in the back of his pants under his shirt, as always. He grabbed his cell phone and keys, shoving them into his pocket, then grabbed Max’s leash. He kneeled down and hooked it onto his collar and headed out the door.

By the time they made it to the Clinic, they were only about 10 minutes late. Max was in the back with one of the doctors while Jackson sat in the lobby waiting. He flipped through a random magazine and heard a bell ring, signaling someone entered the clinic. He kept his eyes on the magazine and listened the heavy footsteps of whoever it was that had entered.
“Hello Sir, May I help you?”, the secretary asked happily. The man cleared his throat, “Have an appointment for my cat.” She nodded and checked the computer, “I’m sorry, what name is it under?” The men shifted from one foot to the other calmly, “Her name is Lily.”
Jackson looked up to see who the man was, his attention caught by the name. Jackson balled his fist as he saw the man, the same one that Rudy had shown him in the pictures. “Oh, of course, Lily isn’t scheduled for another 15 minutes. You can just have a seat and the doctor will be right out.” She chirped. He nodded and walked to a seat, carrying the black and white cat.

Jackson watched as the man sat down, stroking the cat gently, then looked over at him. “What? Ain’t you never seen a man have a cat?”, he said lowly. Jackson squared his shoulders, trying to resist the urge he had to pull his gun out and just blow his head off now. “It’s a nice cat, and a nice name. How’d you come up with it?” Jackson said. The man smiled a bit at the question and then looked back to the cat, “Named her after a woman. She’s real pretty, just like Lily here,” he said holding her up, then setting her back down on his lap, “Smart too.”

Jackson clenched his teeth, “Is that so?” The man nodded and continued to smile, “Yup. I love my Lily.” That was it. Jackson stood up about ready to clobber the man when the doctor came back out with Max. “There he is, Mr. Barker. He’s all nice and healthy.” The doctor said. The man looked over at him, his sunglasses shielding his eyes, “Your last name is Barker?”
Jackson took the leash from the doctor and turned his attention back to the man, “Yeah… It is.” Jackson then left the clinic with Max clicking his little paws next to him. They hid in an alley way that was close to the clinic, you had to pass it to get to the cross walk, if you went the other way, you would risk getting hit by a car.

Jackson tied Max’s leash to a pipe behind a trashcan and shushed him. He took out his gun and cocked it, there was no way he was going to let this son of a bitch get away with this. Lily always put his name as "Mr. Barker" because he told her he had a thing about people knowing his name. She saw it as cute, but in reality, it was just a way for Jackson to make sure no one knew who he really was.

“Bye now.”, the man said. Jackson quickly ran to the edge of the alley, still being hidden by the wall. He heard the mans voice, and his footsteps getting closer every second.
“Alright Lily, you heard the doctor, gotta lay off the cat ni-“ the man said but was interrupted when Jackson grabbed a hold of him and slammed him into the wall, the gun merely inches in front of his face.

“How the fuck do you know Lily Barker and why are you stalking her?”, Jackson yelled into his face. The cat ran behind the trashcan and meowed angrily. “What? I ain’t stalking her!” the man yelled, struggling to get out of his grasp.

“Who hired you!”, Jackson yelled as he slammed the man into the wall again. “What are you talking about man!”, the man yelled back. Jackson hit him across the face with his gun, “Why the fuck are you stalking Lily Barker!”

The man covered his face, crying, his sunglasses broken on the ground. Jackson shoved him back into the wall and aimed his gun at his head, “Why are you stalking her!”
The man’s body shook as he cried, “I ain’t stalking her. She helps me with my readin`!” Jackson kept his gun aimed at him, not buying it, “Why are you-“

The man looked at him, tears falling down his face, “I have Dyslexic, and I’m in a program to learn how to read correctly, okay!” Jackson stared at the mans face, his left eye was shut completely and had a scar running over it. “I ain’t stalking her, I ain’t! She helps me with my readin`!” he said over and over.

Jackson kept the gun pointed towards him, “Then why are you waiting outside of schools for her!” The man wiped his face, still shaking, “I come and thank her and tell her about Lily,” he said holding himself, “She gave me a journal to write in and I gives it to her sometimes.” Jackson stared at the man… He wasn’t lying.

He could tell he wasn’t, he knew things like this, he had to. “Please, I want talk to her no more if that’s what you want. She just helps me read.”, the man whispered. Jackson’s face became contorted, “Get your cat and go. And do not tell her about this.” The man ran behind the trash can picking up his cat, soothing it, and ran off down the street.

Jackson kicked one of the trash bins and walked over to Max, untying his knotted leash and walked home. How could he have judged that so wrong? More or less, how could Rudy have judged that so wrong? He grew angrier and angrier as he walked home. He couldn’t wait to get Rudy on the phone.