jack gestures at mike’s face, mostly the black eye on it. “ that looks pretty bad. ” he comments, put the words aren’t lined with pity. no, there’s a sort of silent understanding in them, a moment of knowing. jack knew what bruises like that meant in people like michael, a bully or an abuser. jack had seen plenty of abuse in the homes he’d been in, and then in detention hall, and he’d fought plenty of bullies in school --- he had a habit of fighting them. bottom line is he knew what bruises meant, and how to deal with them. “ yous oughta put a compress on that, always helps em go away faster. ”