“Derrick?” Jackson is the first person to see me. Tears form in my eyes, and he rushes over to me. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. He blocked me.”
Jackson stills. “Charlie?”
“I called him to thank him for the present, and he got mad. Told me he couldn’t do this and then blocked me. What did I do wrong?”
Jackson’s face falls. “You did nothing wrong. It’s not you. It’s him,” he says sadly as he reassures me. “Charlie is suffering from PTSD. Maybe the phone call triggered him.”
I look at Jackson with tear-soaked eyes. “PTSD?”
He nods. “We all suffer from it, and we all deal with it in different ways. Please don’t hold this against him.”
“Okay.” Not knowing what else to say.
“Look, I can’t speak for Charlie. It’s his story to tell, and it’s the reason I didn’t want you to date. It’s a lot to deal with dating someone like us.”
“Like you?”
“People who are messed up.”
“You’re not messed up, Jackson.”
He laughs sadly. “I’m a great actor.”
Now my heart hurts for Jackson and Charlie for whatever horrors they have experienced. Jackson has never talked much about what happened to him while serving, and I’ve never asked. I know he was medically discharged and was blown up while on patrol, and that sometimes he walks with a limp. Does Charlie have the same problems? Was he blown up too? Are his scars worse?
“I had no idea, Jackson.”
“I don’t talk about it much, maybe I should.” He sighs.
“Have you been to therapy?”
He nods. “It’s the reason I started up my business. Cause sometimes therapy doesn’t always help, but being around others who have lived similar experiences can help start the healing process.” Jackson then shakes his head. “It’s Christmas, we shouldn’t be speaking about all this dark stuff. I’ll check in withCharlie, see how he is doing for you. Just know it’s not you. Charlie has been through a lot. For years I’ve been trying to get him to rejoin the land of the living, but he’s not ready yet. Please, don’t give up on him. You might not realize it, but you have been able to coax him out of his shell more than anyone else has been able to get him.” My heart breaks for Charlie and Jackson, it makes me look at him differently, not in a pitting way, because he doesn’t deserve that, just in a different light. That under all that taut muscle and seriousness is a normal guy lurking beneath, and just like Charlie, he’s not one hundred percent back to who he was before he left, but you can see Jackson is trying to get back what he lost. Does Charlie have that same strength? Not yet, it seems.
“If you ever need to talk, I’m here, you know. I’m not always a silly sausage.”
“A silly sausage?” He quirks a confused brow at me.
“My sausage is not silly, I can assure you of that, but it’s just an Aussie saying, you know, not being serious,” I tease, changing the subject with a joke.
Jackson just chuckles. “I’ll take your word for it. Come on, let’s head down and enjoy the chaos that is Christmas morning with all those little beasts.”
“Can I get everyone into the lounge room, please?” Oscar asks, clearing his throat. “I have an announcement,” he says. “Hunter,” he looks to Stacey’s nephew who is here for the holidays with her family, “it’s been brought to my attention that you don’t know what you want to do now that you’ve finished school.” Hunter stares at Oscar, wondering where his speech isgoing. “Well, then, would you like to have a gap year with your aunt and me?”
A gap year? And he wants Hunter to live with him and Stacey? The Viking has it bad, it might be a good trial for them to play happy families.
“Are you serious?” Hunter asks, staring at Oscar and Stacey in disbelief. What teen wouldn’t want to move in with a rock star and live in LA? “Mum, Dad?” He looks over to his parents, not quite believing what he is hearing. His mum is crying happy tears as she nods. “You mean I stay with Aunt Stacey in LA?”
“This is so not fair. Why can’t I stay too?” Amelia, his fifteen-year-old sister asks.
“When you’ve finished high school, you can come and stay with us as well,” Stacey reassures her, which makes her smile again.
“Cool.”
“So, what do you say?” Oscar asks Hunter.
“Yes. Yes, thank you. Thank you so much.” He rushes over and hugs Oscar, which surprises the big oaf, and then he hugs his Aunty.
