Chapter 28 #2
Jackson laughed to himself as he led his sisters out to the car. He didn’t think Elliot Owens had been called a sweet boy in his entire life.
The house had not burned down, and Noah was not running wild when they returned.
It was so quiet, though, that even Jackson had a moment of panic.
Beth rolled her eyes at both him and Anna, retreating directly to her room.
When they walked into the kitchen, they found Elliot and Noah sitting on the floor, Noah quietly drawing as Elliot passed him the crayon colours he requested.
Jackson looked on fondly, struck again by how far they had come.
Anna snuck her phone out to grab a quick photo before the two of them noticed their arrival. It was Elliot who spotted them first. “You’re back early.”
“Jackson’s loud mouth got us kicked out.”
“That is not what happened,” Jackson protested.
Anna waved off his complaint as Noah ran into her arms, chattering about all the fun things he’d done with Uncle Elly and dragging her off to show her his latest creations.
“Have fun?” Jackson asked.
“Yeah, actually. He’s a good kid.”
“He is, isn’t he, Uncle Elly?”
Elliot swatted him playfully on the head.
“You up for coming back to the hospital with me? Da wants to meet you.”
The look on Elliot’s face was akin to what Jackson imagined someone sentenced to the guillotine would have looked like in eighteenth-century France.
“He just wants to meet the man I’m so completely gone for,” Jackson said, trying to encourage him.
Elliot smiled tightly, tension not leaving his body, but he did allow Jackson to lead him over to the door, where he shrugged on his jacket.
The drive back to the hospital was quiet, and Jackson wasn’t quite sure what to do to alleviate the stress radiating from his boyfriend. Once he’d parked up and paid the exorbitant hospital parking fees, he wrapped his arms around Elliot in a tight hug.
“Tell me what you need.”
“I don’t know. I…I want your family to like me, and I’m…I’m not a very likeable person, Jackson.”
“I like you well enough.”
That finally drew out a small smile. “Yes, but you’re a bit touched in the head, love.”
“See, Da thinks that too. You’ll get along great. Besides, Mum loves you.”
“Your mother loves everyone. She’s the kindest human being on the planet.”
Jackson didn’t disagree. “She’s great, isn’t she?” He beamed. “And Dad’s like that too. I swear, Elliot, he’ll love you.”
Elliot's voice was small when he replied. “My own parents don’t even like me, Jackson. Not when I’m not useful to them.
How can I expect yours to?" His eyes met Jackson's, the blue shining even brighter than usual. "And then you’ll realise I’m not worth it and I’ll be alone and angry all over again.
It’ll be worse, though, because I’ll know what it was like to have this. ”
Jackson’s heart broke for Elliot. He couldn’t believe he’d once likened him to an emotionless robot.
The man in front of him had spent his whole life trying to please the people who were meant to offer unconditional love and support.
He wanted to prove to him that love wasn’t like that.
That it wasn’t dependent on what you could do for people, or what you could achieve.
“Elliot, love, I will never, ever think you aren’t worth it. You are worth everything to me.”
Jackson kissed Elliot, feeling him melt into him.
And the moment was completely fucking ruined by some halfwit teenager shouting a homophobic slur from across the car park. Elliot tensed in his arms again, but it was a different kind of tension than Jackson expected. It was one of defiance.
“Let’s go and see your dad,” he said, taking off for the hospital entrance with Jackson’s hand in his, at a brisk walk that would have rivalled many people’s marathon pace.
They bypassed the nurses' station and headed straight for the lifts. The hospital was a bit of a maze, but Jackson remembered the way, using important landmarks like the Costa Coffee and WH Smiths to navigate back to his dad’s room.
His mum and dad were talking softly when they entered, his mum perched on the edge of the hospital bed, their hands clasped together. Elliot stilled beside him.
“Oh, you’re back already, dears. Come have a seat.”
Jackson walked in and flopped onto the hard vinyl chair in the corner. “Where’s Katie?”
“She’s gone to get a coffee. You know how she is with travel,” his mum replied.
Elliot stood awkwardly next to him for a moment before Jackson tugged him onto his lap. He let out an undignified ‘meep’ and levelled Jackson with a glare when his parents both chuckled at them.
“So, you’re the boy who’s managed to tie down our Jackson,” his dad said with a grin on his tired face.
“Yes, Mr. Jennings, sir. My name is Elliot Owens.”
Jackson had never seen Elliot quite so flustered. It would have been adorable if he hadn’t known about the anxiety that sat behind it.
“None of that Mr. Jennings stuff, son. It’s Keith.
And I know who you are, seeing as you've given Jackson a right run for his money in a few races over the years.” There was pause as Jackson’s dad seemed to size Elliot up.
Elliot squirmed under the gaze. “We were sorry to hear about your injury,” Keith finally said. “Will you be back in action soon?”
God, Jackson loved his parents. He could feel tension bleed out of Elliot despite the somewhat sensitive topic.
“I’ve been back training. I’ve missed my shot at the Olympics, but there are other races,” Elliot said matter-of-factly.
“It must be difficult, though. We really expected to see you on the team.”
Elliot grimaced. “It’s the best I could hope for with the timing of the injury. It was my own fault. Jackson told me I should get it checked out, but I was stubborn. I pushed too hard. I’m just happy to be able to run again.”
Jackson squeezed his thigh, but Elliot batted his hand away, probably already embarrassed enough to be sitting on his boyfriend's lap for this conversation, but there wasn’t an abundance of seating in their little corner of the hospital room.
“And do you feel ready? Recovered well enough?”
“I do,” Elliot replied. “Not back to my fastest yet, but I feel good.”
“He’ll be back beating me in the final stretch in no time,” Jackson interjected.
“Not if you follow your training plan and work on your pacing,” Elliot countered.
“Relentless, I swear,” Jackson replied. “I’m glad I’ve got you as a coach now, though. Very motivating.”
“Assistant Coach.”
Jackson’s dad let out a deep chuckle that lit Jackson up from inside; it was so like his old self.
Seeing him in here was hard, but he knew they’d be bringing him home before long.
Listening to them talk to Elliot about the sport they all loved, Jackson knew his parents wouldn’t allow him to sacrifice his dreams to stay here, no matter how wrong it would feel to leave.
God, they’d be horrified if they knew he’d tried to hand off his spot to Elliot.
As much as he’d panicked about his dad’s health in that moment, he knew a small part of it had been that voice inside that still told him he wasn’t good enough, that he hadn’t deserved it in the first place so it made sense to give it up to someone he genuinely believed did.
Keith Jennings was discharged from the hospital four days later, driven home by Ellen to a welcome wagon of all their friends and neighbours. He’d never admit it, but Jackson was pretty sure even Elliot had tears in his eyes as his dad made the rounds, hugging every single person who had come.
Elliot ordered Jackson to take a rest day and spend time with his dad, and he took orders from his new coach very seriously.
He borrowed the car and drove his dad out to a little twenty-four-hour café they used to frequent together when he’d been driving Jackson up and down the country for cross-country meets.
Over tea and bacon sarnies, they talked more than they had in years.
“I like him, your boy. Didn’t think I would, what with how many times I’ve seen him pass you in the last few kilometres, or those bloody interviews he gave about you, but he’s a good egg.”
“Yeah, he’s amazing,” Jackson replied. “I really love him, Dad.”
“Does he know that?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You make sure you keep reminding him. Love is what matters most, Jackson. I appreciate that now more than ever.”
Jackson took a sip of his tea, determined not to cry at the casual mention of his da’s mortality.
"Know what I was thinking about? When I woke up in the hospital all covered in tubes and wires?"
"The fact that you hadn't finished the damn shed?" Jackson ribbed.
"Hilarious," his dad replied, then fell silent, staring down at his cup. "No, it wasn't that. It wasn't anything I've done or haven't done. Just you, yer sisters, yer Ma. Hoped you all knew how much I loved you. Hoped I'd told you enough times."
"You did, Dad. You always did." Jackson slid out of the booth, moving in next to his dad to pull him into a hug. He stayed like that, letting his tea go cold and letting the strength of his dad's presence calm him.
When they got back to the house that evening, they found Elliot in the kitchen, surrounded by Jennings women, smiling and covered in flour.
Before Jackson could get to him, his dad pulled Elliot into a massive hug and whispered something to him that Jackson didn’t quite catch, but Elliot laughed and nodded his head, so he knew they were going to be ok.
The next morning, the house was still filled with the kind of quiet that had permeated it since his dad’s hospital stay, but it felt lighter now with him back home.
Jackson’s mum had gone out early to pick up prescriptions his dad was sprawled out on the sofa, reading.
Elliot seemed to have commandeered the dining table, laptop open, phone on speaker, muttering to himself as he scrolled through tabs.
Jackson smiled.
Elliot’s phone buzzed next to him, and he answered on speaker, continuing a conversation he’d obviously already been over multiple times.
“Yeah, three p.m. tomorrow. That leaves time to check in and a day to acclimatise before the race,” Elliot said. "Yes, of course I'm sure."
"Anders?" Jackson asked when he’d hung up.
Elliot shrugged, noncommittal.
Jackson pulled him close. "You didn’t have to do this."
Elliot hummed, then turned and kissed him. “Yes, I did. You belong on that start line, Jackson Jennings, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you there.”
“Will you come to the airport with me?”
A smirk split Elliot’s face. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll get on the plane with you.”
“But you hate flying.”
“Yeah, but I love you,” Elliot replied. “Besides, someone will need to keep your parents out of trouble while you're getting ready, and Beth can’t be trusted with that.”
Beth made her presence known with an indignant snort.
“What do you mean?” Jackson asked.
Elliot smiled at him. “We’re all coming. Well, the four of us."
“And we’re flying on a private jet,” Beth interjected, excitement pouring off her in waves. “I can’t believe you’ve been friends with Hewitt for this long, and it took Elliot showing up to get me a ride on a private jet.”
Jackson looked at Elliot. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes shining, a slight hesitance in his expression, as though he was looking for Jackson’s approval.
Jackson pulled him close and kissed the top of his head. “Thank you,” he whispered.