𐙚˚࿔𝕶𝖊𝖘 𝜗𝜚 .ᐟ

Long story short when the two of you settled to watch some old movie, older than him surprisingly, you decided it was the right moment to shoot your shot and kiss Jack Abbot, but before his mind could process what had happened and kiss you back you pulled away. After some stuttering and rambling you left and just like that you managed to avoid him for the whole week which also involved you switching to the day shift. Jack, of course tried to get your attention or strike up a conversation countless times but you were too embarrassed to even look at him.

You loved drinking...or maybe the feeling of being drunk. It didn't really matter which one it was because whenever you had time for yourself you always went out for some drinks with your friends. Of course, you knew when to stop so you wouldn't end up throwing up the whole night and then crying the next morning.

But after the embarrassing stunt you pulled at Abbot's house, you were in desperate need to get drunk. At least you'd be able to forget it ever happened for one night.

Well, maybe that wasn't really your brightest idea because after a few shots of vodka and some weird-looking cocktails, the bartender made specifically for you, you found yourself dancing on the table with your friends hyping you up.

What you could've never imagined was that Jack Abbot decided to choose the same bar for his night off and witness the WHOLE thing. And if that wasn't embarrassing enough Robby was by his side also. They were sitting at the back of the bar as Jack watched the whole thing with a smirk on his face. Robby, on the other hand, didn't know that "Let's go out and have some beer," meant watching the person who made his best friend's heart race dance like a mad woman.

After the music ended you collapsed onto the chair ready for another shot but Jack was quick to get up.

"Where are you going?" Robby asked him. "She's already drunk as hell, can't have her drinking again," Jack yelled as he approached your table.

You were just picking the glass up when Jack stole it from your hand, "Hey," you yelled before turning around, "Oh, shit," was all you managed to get out when you saw the night shift attending you were trying so hard to avoid. You stumbled on your feet using the table for support, "Now what would my favourite attending be doing here?" You asked, smiling sarcastically.

"Don't you think we should get you home, sweetheart?" You would've folded at the nickname if you weren't drunk but you were and that might have been a good thing in that moment.

"Not really no, bye," you said, dismissing him but Jack had no intention of leaving you especially not when the bar was filled with countless of creeps trying to flirt with a drunk woman "Actually, I need to sing," you felt like you came up with a brilliant idea, even clapping at yourself but a few steps and you were almost falling to the ground. Keyword: almost. Jack's strong hand grabbed you before you could regret your whole life decisions.

"Oh, now you're trying to flex your biceps? Whatever, I don't care," you just hoped you wouldn't remember all of this the next day and preferably Jack wouldn't either.

"You're being cringe," one of your friends told you.

"Yeah? What do you think being drunk means? It's another excuse for being cringe," Jack was watching the whole thing with amusement but his grip was still firm on you. Not enough to hurt you of course, but firm enough to keep you from falling.

"You know, I didn't know you were so fond of my biceps," Jack whispered, chuckling in your ear.

"Because I'm not, of course I'm not," it felt like you were trying to convince yourself more than Jack.

You freed yourself from his grip when a guy approached you, "Hey there beautiful, mind giving me your number?"

"No", "Yes," Both you and Jack said at the same time.

"I'll gladly give it to you," you said, smiling.

"No, she won't, so I'd suggest you fuck off," The sight of an older man like Jack scared the guy to death so he did as he was told.

"I don't remember it being your business who I give my number to," you said, annoyed.

"You know, I'd rather you be annoyed with me than scared because some creep is after you," Jack admitted as he tucked the strand of your hair behind your ear.

"Oh, I think you're the creep in this situation," you challenged him, "because you wouldn't leave a drunk girl alone, why are you even here? Go back to your other hoes."

"Other hoes?" Jack asked raising his brow as he tucked his hands in his pockets.

"I saw you asking Al-Hashimi out the other day, you were all like "we should grab a beer sometimes" and shit." You even mimicked his voice, "Not that I'm calling her a hoe, of course, it's just a saying by the way, in fact, you are the hoe so fuck you," Jack didn't want to ruin your moment, he really didn't, but he also couldn't hold in his laugh, his quiet, stupid laugh you 'hated' so much.

"Seriously, you think this is funny? And what about Samira? I saw how you let her treat your wound. Why did Mr. 'I can do it all myself' let someone help him hm? not to mention she saw you shirtless."

"The fact that you know that means you saw me shirtless too, no?"

Your cheeks immediately turned red, "That's not the point, why are you changing the subject? You know what, I don't even care, I was having a perfectly good time until I saw you." You told him, sitting back down at the table but before you could pour the drink, Jack snatched the bottle out of your hand. He slowly crouched down to your level and you didn't fail to notice him wincing due to his prosthetic leg.

"Sweetheart you're too drunk for me to leave you alone so how about you come with me and I convince Robby to give you two days off?" You could've jumped from happiness in that moment but you didn't want Jack to think you were so easy, "Come on, I know you're jumping from joy inside," God, it was like he was reading your mind.

"Fine but I'm still mad at you."

You two were ready to leave but fate wasn't really on your side that day, "Oh, so this is Jack?" One of your friends asked, smirking.

"Oh, THE Jack Abbot that paid for your car to be fixed?"

"And the one who has a 'really nice body' and for some reason reminds you of a rabbit?" Their teasing didn't seem to have an ending so you swallowed the remaining vodka in your cup before Jack could stop you.

"For confidence," you exclaimed, "And to make sure I remember none of it tomorrow morning."

"Don't you think we should give your friends a ride too?" Jack asked after the whole amusement.

"Naaah, we'll stick around for a little bit, thank you though," your friends dismissed and you thanked the heavens for that. You couldn't imagine what else they might've remembered on the way.

Just like that you let Jack help you to his car.

"Well, that was fun," Jack said amused as he got into the driver's seat.

Half of the drive passed in silence. The sleep was getting to you after so much alcohol while Jack stole quick glances towards your side.

That was before he pulled into the McDonald's drive-thru and you jolted awake, "Mcdonalds? Really? That is amazing, what should I order? Hmmm, I want two double cheeseburgers, no actually make that three, two fries, large, of course, and also a large cola." You could already imagine the shocked expression on the sober you face.

And just when you thought Jack couldn't get any more handsome, before you could swipe your card Jack managed to swipe his own as he took the order with a "thank you" and put it on your lap.

"Are you insane? You didn't even order anything, why did you pay?" You asked embarassed.

"Come on sweetheart, I really enjoy spending money on the people I l-care about, it's not every day I get to buy a meal for someone, right?"

"Well, if you hadn't been an idiot and kissed me back that day it might have been every day," you said shrugging, "and you would've had an amazing girlfriend to spend it on."

And only if you knew how desperately Jack wanted to kiss you too that day. How he would've given everything to find out the feeling of your lips on his own without hesitating. Before his thoughts could turn into an endless loop you brought the fries to his lips.

"Open your mouth old man," you said sipping your cola and he obeyed without any words.

"So rabbit, hm?" He teased and you looked at him confused, "Earlier, one of your friends said I remind you of a rabbit."

"Oooh that," you laughed, "Yes you do, you look like a tiny, cute rabbit. Maybe I should call you Jack Rabbit huh?"

That earned you an even wider grin from Jack before he pulled up at his own house. You immediately turned your sleepy eyes towards him, "Did you just kidnap me, Mr. Abbot? I'll call the police."

Jack Abbot picked you up bridal style right after opening your door for you. That had been a habit to be honest because whenever Jack drove you he would often open the door for you so you didn't even bother yourself trying to open it yourself this time and just fell into his arms.

The first thing you heard when entering was Roxy's barking, "Hey there Roxyyy," you laughed as you tried to reach him from Jack's arms but Jack simply kept walking, "You're not even gonna pet your own dog? That's why she likes me more than you."

"You do realize that Roxy's my only companion in this house? She gets all the attention she needs from me." Jack explained as you reached his bedroom. Yeah, you had been countless times here before but you had never seen his bedroom. It was plain, very Jack. Just a king-sized bed in the middle, standing between the two nightstands, a huuuge wardrobe and a small bathroom. He carefully sat you down on the bed before walking towards his wardrobe. You noticed a picture on his nightstand.

"That's your wife? She was really pretty," you said, smiling, "you, not so much."

Jack chuckled at you returning with a plain black shirt and sweatpants that were twice your size, "There's also an extra toothbrush in the bathroom, I'll be downstairs."

You let yourself fall onto the soft bed when you exited the bathroom. Soon enough you heard Jack's knocking, "Come in."

Jack crouched down near the bed caressing your face as you failed to keep your eyes open, "You know, the only reason I asked Al-Hashimi out was that Robby asked me to help him," he explained, "And for Samira, well, I could've asked you to treat my wound but why worry my pretty girl about something unimportant like that?"

Jack knew you were already fast asleep and hadn't heard anything he had said but it didn't matter because he would explain again and again until you realized that you were the only woman he had loved after his wife.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

As Jack had promised, today was your day off so you could've slept a little longer. But the smell of pasta creeping through the closed door forced you to get out of the bed and walk downstairs. Your head was throbbing so you didn't miss the pill Jack had left on the nightstand for it.

Well, you might've also thanked the pasta because the first thing that welcomed you downstairs was a shirtless Jack. Honestly, it was the best way to start the day.

"You know, I don't remember much about yesterday so I can call you a pervert for standing shirtless in front of a poor girl who doesn't even remember why she's here," you joked.

"You didn't seem to mind it when you were rambling about Samira last night," You almost choked on your pasta. Yeah, you definitely had no memory of what happened yesterday. And maybe that was a good thing.

"By the way, I've been meaning to do this," and before you could ask what he meant his lips crashed onto yours as he held your face. You were quick to return the kiss but Roxy's barking made you jump apart.

"I'll go shower," Finally, Jack said but you remained silent. Your brain hadn't yet processed what had happened. And just like that Jack was gone.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Are you an idiot?" Was the first thing you asked when Jack exited the bathroom. You could've folded at the sight in front of you because Jack only had a towel wrapped around his lower body. Other than that he stood completely shirtless again, his curls soaking wet, "What was that earlier?"

"I'm pretty sure that was a kiss, sweetheart," You rolled your eyes at his sarcasm.

"I know what it was, why did you kiss me?" You asked annoyed.

"Why did I kiss you?" He repeated the question.

"You ask me out to the movies, help me with my patients, pay for my things and when I finally kiss you you don't even bother to kiss me back," you explained as you avoided eye contact but Jack grabbed your chin with his fingers making you look at him.

"I wanted to kiss you back the other day," He started, "But I was scared...and surprised. How else would I have felt when a girl like you decided I was worthy of her kiss? Sweetheart, you're the prettiest and the smartest girl I've ever seen, it was hard for me to believe you would've wanted an old man like me. I love you okay? I love everything about you and I thought you deserved better...that's why I hesitated."

"God, you truly are an idiot Jack," You said tearing up, "Do you really believe that I don't have feelings for you? Because I do and there's nothing you can do about it," You captured his lips again and this time Jack didn't hesitate to kiss you back.

So, when he dragged both of his brothers, Pope and Deran, to your cafe, he thought he would succeed, but how foolish of him to think you were so easy to get.

You immediately looked up when you heard the bell ringing and your heart almost gave out at the sight. All three of them had a glare in their eyes, so of course you thought they meant harm. But when they sat down at a table in the corner and their faces started to soften, you began to calm down as well and went over to them.

"Hi, what would you like?" You asked smiling, holding a small notebook.

"Your number would be nice, but a beer for now would do it," Craig answered, winking. You immediately cringed at his cheesy remark. "I'm Craig by the way, these are my brothers Deran and Andrew".

"Pope" a curly-haired guy immediately corrected, looking annoyed.

You just chuckled, introducing yourself and went to get their order.

"Really dude? That's your idea of flirting?" Deran asked with a tired face. While Pope remained silent. Like always.

"What do you expect me to do? Sing for her?" Craig said rolling his eyes. "Even that would be better than whatever the fuck that was," Deran was quick to answer.

You returned to their table with three beers on your tray, "Anything else?".

"No, thank you," Pope quickly dismissed you and you just offered them one last smile.

After an hour and hundreds of failed attempts at flirting Craig finally realized he had no chance with you and decided to leave. Deran had already left after finishing his beer and Pope decided to stay for a few minutes after Craig was finally gone. He didn't really know why but this place seemed perfect for taking his mind off things for a while. He kept staring into the street as people passed by. A few minutes turned into hours and before he could notice you set a cup of tea on his table.

Pope quickly turned his head to look at it before saying, "I didn't order it."

"I know but trust me there's nothing better than a cup of hot tea when you want to relax, it's on the house," you explained and were ready to leave when Pope's voice stopped you.

"I said I don't want it," he seemed pretty annyoed which made your smile disappear. You just nodded and took the drink away. Pope had learnt to keep his cool lately so he didn't know what came to him. He just got up and left.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Pope rarely slept at night. His mind was usually flooded with thoughts and that night was no exception. Except all of his thoughts seemed to be about you. For some reason he couldn't get you out of his head and for the first time in his life he felt guilty.

So the first thing Pope Cody did when the sun started to set was grab his leather jacket and head to your cafe. He wanted to apologise.

You were just opening the cafe up when you saw Pope approaching, "Hey Andrew."

"Pope," he corrected you and you just chuckled. "Listen, I wanted to-" "wait, I'll just get the orders," you said as people started entering the cafe. And before you knew it you were running between the tables trying to serve everyone in time. "Andrew, can you pour two beers?" You called out to him and so he did as he was told.

"Stop calling me Andrew," he hissed when you approached but you looked at him with your innocent eyes making him guilty again. He just lowered his head before looking up again, "I'm sorry-". "It's okay", "No, I'm sorry for yesterday and for this too, I just sometimes...I snap," he kept fidgeting with his hands and looking anywehere but at you, while you kept staring at him, "It's fine, really, I don't pay attention to things like that," you wanted to take his hand into yours but he flinched at the sudden contact, "sorry" you muttered. "I'll see you around," Pope said before leaving the cafe.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

A few days had passed after that and Pope started visiting your cafe more often. At first, he only ordered tea but as time passed he started helping you clean the tables or serve the clients. In no time you had learned how Pope liked his tea.

Meanwhile, Pope started learning you. He would often catch you feeding stray cats or homeless people near your cafe. He caught you playing with kids a few times. He also learned your routines. He knew when you opened the cafe or took breaks and eventually, he found himself walking you home every day without you noticing.

That night was no exception. It was chilly, lit only by the street lamps. You closed up a little bit later than usual that day but you weren't really fond of walking alone at night. Especially when some creep decided to catch up to you and start catcalling you. You grabbed the hem of your bag walking backwards as he started getting closer. But before you could scream or start running he was already on the ground, blood spilling from his nose.

"If you go near her again I'll make sure to bury you alive," Pope threatened. You were quick to pull Pope away from him as he straightened his jacket. His fingers danced above yours before curling around your hand, "Come on." His rough palm was cold sending shivers down your spine. You started walking with him while glancing back at the beaten-up guy behind you from time to time.

"Thank you," you said looking at Pope. "Why are you here though?"

"I like walking at night" his reply was simple like always. You started taking mental notes about Andrew Cody. You had noticed he didn't like talking much, also he either stared dead into your soul or completely avoided eye contact, there was no in between. Not to mention he would often fidget with his hands.

"I do too," you broke the silence between you, "but this place seems like an unsafe space for it."

"It is," Pope replied. You couldn't help but stare at his face as you walked before breaking the silence, "You have hazel eyes," you stated it as a fact like he didn't know his own eye colour, "I mean I couldn't really figure it out no matter how much I kept staring because they look brown from far away but in the sunlight they're green and," you realized how much you were talking, you always did when you were nervous or passionate about something, "Sorry I talk too much."

"I like it," Pope admitted anxiously making you flustered as you two stopped in front of your house, "I guess that's a goodbye."

"Come inside," you suggested with hopeful eyes. How could Pope ever say no to them?

Your place was a mess. You didn't even remember you had left it like that so your cheeks immediately turned pink, "It's not usually like that," you quickly made an excuse. You could see a faint smile that was trying to break out on Pope's face.

You had started cleaning up, so Pope joined you. You noticed how carefully he folded the clothes and if even one of them was folded differently than the others he would spend minutes trying to match them. He cleaned the table with so much carefulness that it made you wonder if he had zoned out. And made sure to wash each stain out of the dishes so they were cleaned perfectly.

"Do you always do that?" You asked forrowing your brows.

"Do what?" Pope asked, stopping his movements.

"You're helping me tidy my house and somehow it seems like you're more worried about everything being cleaned perfectly than I am," you replied confused, "I also saw you cleaning your table at my cafe when literally nobody does that."

"I just," Pope started, scratching his neck, then fidgeting with his hands, "If everything doesn't look perfect around me," he didn't quite know how to word it, how was he supposed to explain the feeling to you? "It makes my head messy, messier than it is. It gets flooded with more and more thoughts and I hate that."

"Oh," was all you managed to get out. "You know, the first time I met you and your brothers, I didn't know who you were," you sighed, sitting down, "but people talk, especially about a family like yours, they say you steal and kill...and," you paused, "some even say you killed the woman you loved."

It was obvious he was scared but his silence scared you too. It wasn't the fear of him but rather the fear that it was all true and his actions kept confirming it to you.

His breathing got heavier and his eyes started tearing up, "I need to-I need to go," and just like that Andrew Cody was gone, leaving you with your own thoughts.

You thought you would be scared of him but you also knew he would never hurt you. You wanted to stay away from him but even your dreams were filled with Andrew Cody. You hoped you would be able to avoid him, but you felt him everywhere.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Two weeks had passed since you had seen Andrew. He stopped coming to your cafe but you would often catch yourself making tea for him without realizing. You told yourself it was for the good to stay away from him. It was best to avoid the chaos, but fate had its own plans.

One day you saw Deran storming into your cafe. He was heavily bruised, "Do you know how to treat the wounds?" Was the first thing he asked receiving only a nod from you.

"Yeah, get into the bathroom and I'll help you," you said, but Deran shook his head.

"Not me, it's Pope," Deran explained and your eyes immediately widened.

You grabbed Deran's arm, "Where is he? Is he okay? What happened?"

"Come with me."

Just like that you stepped into Cody's house for the first time. If it had been any other day you would've not been able to take your eyes off the house that even had a pool to it, but in that moment all you could think of was Andrew.

Deran guided you towards the basement and that's when your heart dropped. Pope was clenching the side of his stomach filled with bruises. But it didn't stop there. His whole face was filled with scars as well. You immediately rushed to him.

"Why's she here?" Pope managed to get out through clenched teeth.

"I'm here to help you since you decided to be an idiot," you said sitting down next to him, "Take off the shirt." Deran knew he would be interrupting so he left you two alone.

Pope obeyed without any complaints. Meanwhile, you grabbed the wet towel bringing it to his wounds. He immediately winced, but remained still. After bandaging it you moved toward his neck, but he stopped you.

"I'm fine, they don't hurt that much-" before he could finish his sentence you pressed the wet cloth on his wound making him jerk his head. If it were any other person he would've snapped, made them regret ever touching him. But for you, he endured it.

"Oh, so it doesn't hurt that much?" You smiled pressing the towel harder. He looked at you with his puppy eyes and you stopped, working precisely on his wounds. His face was just a few inches away from yours. If you moved your head just a bit closer your lips would touch, but you quickly got rid of those thoughts.

Pope, on the other hand, couldn't stop admiring you. He noticed your pout whenever you tried to concentrate. Your other hand holding his chin steady sent shivers through his body. He leaned closer to kiss you but stopped himself midway. You noticed. You always noticed when he was nervous.

Pope wanted to kiss you, feel your lips closer. He wanted to be completely engrossed in your scent. But he felt like he didn't deserve you. A brutal man like him didn't deserve a person so kind and forgiving. A person who managed to lighten every room filled with darkness. He felt like he wasn't worthy of your touch.

So you decided to prove him wrong. You turned his face towards you with your fingers before you captured his lips in a kiss, slow but passionate. Pope was careful. He felt like you would disappear if he got closer.

You two were too deep into the kiss to notice Deran had returned with Craig. "And here I thought I still had a chance," Craig joked making you two pull away. You coughed looking away as Pope glared at them both.

"What the fuck do you want?" He asked annoyed and Craig just chuckled, "You know we thought we would see how you were doing but turns out you're more than okay, so we'll leave you two to it."

"He was smiling, man," Craig told Deran after they had left.

"No he wasn't," Deran quickly dismissed his older brother.

"For Pope that's smiling," Craig said.

Pope pulled you closer as soon as they left putting his head in the crook of your neck. Your hand immediately went into his hair and before you knew it you were playing with his curls. Your other hand meanwhile was caressing his back. Pope had never felt more loved in his life. He wished the time would stop and this moment would never end.

"I missed you," you said, tracing his freckles with your fingers, "by the way, you look really nice shirtless."

Pope pulled away from you, "You think so?"

If it had been any other man you would've thought he was flirting but sitting there with Pope you knew it was a genuine question.