The Things We Could No Longer Hide
This is the last part of the series my babies + the epilogueđ„čđ€
It was ridiculous, really.
He had walked into rooms where lives depended on his decisions.
He had handled impossible situations, difficult conversations, and moments where everyone else looked to him for answers.
Yet somehow standing outside Sophieâs apartment, waiting for her to open the door, made his heart beat faster than any emergency ever had.
The man who had spent months trying to convince himself he could keep his feelings under control.
And for a moment, everything else disappeared.
Sophie stood there looking at him, and Jack forgot every sentence he had prepared.
She wasnât dressed extravagantly.
She wasnât trying too hard.
And somehow that was what affected him the most.
The woman who laughed with him during impossible shifts.
The woman who challenged him when everyone else backed down.
The woman who had somehow become the first person he wanted to see after every difficult day.
âYou look unbelievably beautiful sweetheart.â
The words came out quietly.
Sophie immediately looked away, the familiar blush appearing on her cheeks.
âYou always say that.â
âBecause itâs always true, pretty girl.â
The nickname made her smile.
And Jack loved that he could still do that.
After everything between them.
He could still make her smile.
âYou look quite handsome yourself you knowâ
âOh I knowâ he said confidently.
âYou know,â she teased, âyou seem very confident for someone who was nervous five seconds ago.â
âYou absolutely were.â
âAbout how unfair it is that you can make me forget how to speak.â
The honesty caught her off guard.
And Jack immediately laughed softly.
âThe one where you donât know what to do with a compliment.â
âYou know me too well.â
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The evening felt different from anything they had shared before.
For the first time, they werenât trying to avoid the difficult conversations.
They werenât pretending certain moments hadnât happened.
They werenât carefully choosing words because they were afraid of what the other person might hear.
They were simply two people who had finally stopped running.
About things they had never admitted out loud.
Sophie told him about the pressure she placed on herself.
How she always felt like she needed to prove she belonged.
How sometimes she gave everything to everyone else and forgot she was allowed to need care too.
Jack listened the way he always did when something mattered.
Like the rest of the world could wait.
âYou know what your problem is?â
âYou think being strong means you never get tired.â
âYou think being strong means you never need anyone.â
Because she wasnât wrong.
Sophie reached across the table and took his hand.
Neither of them moved away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The conversation naturally shifted as the night continued.
Eventually, they reached the part they had both known they would have to talk about.
Sophie looked down at their hands.
âYou really hurt me.â
Jackâs expression immediately changed.
âI spent so much time wondering if I had imagined everything.â
Jack immediately shook his head.
The certainty in his voice made her pause.
âYou didnât imagine it, Sophie.â
âOf how much I cared.â
The honesty made her chest tighten.
Jack looked down briefly.
âI should have told you that.â
âI should have been honest instead of making you feel like you had done something wrong.â
His fingers tightened gently around hers.
âIâm sorry for pulling away when you were brave enough to come closer.â
âIâm sorry for making you feel rejected.â
âAnd Iâm sorry for making you question whether you were enough.â
Sophieâs eyes softened.
Because that was exactly what she had felt.
And hearing him acknowledge it meant more than she expected.
âYou werenât foolish,â Jack said softly.
His thumb brushed over her hand.
âYou werenât wrong for feeling something.â
âYou were just brave enough to say it before I was.â
A small smile eventually appeared on Sophieâs face.
âYou know what still makes me laugh?â
âThe fact that I told you to fuck off.â
Jack immediately laughed.
âYou were terrifying.â
âIâm being honest.â
The admission surprised her.
Then his expression changed.
The amusement softened into something deeper.
âI need to tell you something.â
The way he said it made her immediately focus.
Jack looked down for a second before meeting her eyes.
âWhen you said thatâŠâ
âWhen you looked me straight in the eye and told me to fuck off the ER yourselfâŠâ
âI know it sounds insane.â
âBut thatâs when I fell even harder for you.â
âEveryone else is intimidated by me.â
âIt is a little true.â
âAnd instead of breaking down or letting me make you feel small, you stood there and defended yourself.â
His eyes remained on hers.
After a moment, Sophie took a breath.
âThere is something I never told you either.â
âOne of the reasons I ended things with WilliamâŠâ
Jack immediately became quiet.
âI kept comparing him to you.â
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
âWhat.. noo, you didnât sweetheartâŠâ
âI didnât mean to.â
âBut every single time we were together, I kept thinkingâŠâ
âA little pathetic, honestly.â
âI highly doubt that.â
âIâd think things likeâŠâ
ââJack wouldâve noticed I was tired by now.ââ
The expression on Jackâs face softened immediately.
ââJack wouldâve remembered I hate lavender sent.ââ
That earned a quiet laugh.
ââJack wouldâve made me laugh by now.ââ
ââJack wouldâve held my hand.ââ
Something emotional flashed across Jackâs face.
âEventually I realized it wasnât fair.â
âBecause he wasnât competing against another man.â
Her eyes locked onto his.
âHe was competing against someone I already had feelings for.â
For a moment Jack couldnât speak.
Because hearing those words from her felt dangerously close to everything he had wanted and everything he had been afraid of at the same time.
The playful look that appeared on her face made his heart stumble.
âHe wasnât as funny as you.â
âHeâd probably disagree.â
The smile refused to leave his face.
Sophie stepped slightly closer.
âHe wasnât as attentive as you.â
âHe definitely wasnât as stubborn as you.â
âIâll take that as a compliment.â
Then Sophie looked directly into his eyes.
âAnd he definitely wasnât as hot as you.â
Jack immediately choked on his own laughter.
The rare reaction made her laugh harder.
His face had actually turned red.
Something Sophie had never witnessed before.
âI donât know how to respond to that.â
âYou donât have to.â
âJust know itâs true.â
For a moment they simply looked at each other.
And Jack realized he might spend the rest of his life falling in love with this woman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because beneath the happiness was still something he needed to say.
âI need to apologize for the way I acted when William came around.â
The admission was so direct that she almost smiled.
âI saw him making you happy.â
âAnd instead of being mature, I let my insecurity turn into anger.â
Sophie squeezed his hand.
âI made you feel like you were doing something wrong when you werenât.â
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Sophie noticed his expression change.
The fear underneath everything.
âFourteen years is a lot.â
âAnd sometimes I wonder if one day youâll wake up and realize you deserve someone who can give you more.â
Sophieâs expression immediately softened.
âAnd then thereâs everything else.â
The thing he rarely spoke about.
âIâve already lost someone.â
His voice became quieter.
Sophie reached for his hand tighter.
âWhen you lose someone you love, it changes the way you see everything.â
âAnd when you came into my lifeâŠâ
âI realized I had someone else I couldnât imagine losing.â
âAnd that scared me.â
Sophie felt tears forming.
âThen there is my leg.â
âSome days I donât even think about it.â
âOther days I remember everything.â
âI spent a lot of time thinking maybe eventually youâd realize Iâm not what you deserve.â
Because she had never once seen him that way.
She lifted his face gently.
âDo you know what I see?â
âI see the man who makes sure I eat breakfast after a twelve-hour shift.â
âI see the man who makes everyone around him feel safer.â
âThe man who keeps showing up and not just for me but for everyone.â
Her thumb brushed his cheek.
âNot the things you are afraid make you less.â
Her forehead rested against his.
For a moment Jack closed his eyes.
And when he opened them again, the fear was still there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time Jack drove her home, neither of them wanted the night to end.
The conversation continued all the way there.
Their hands occasionally finding each other across the center console.
Their smiles appearing for absolutely no reason.
The kind of happiness that made everything feel lighter.
When they finally stopped outside her apartment building, neither moved.
The city around them had gone quiet.
The world seemed smaller somehow.
Like it only contained the two of them.
Sophie's heart immediately skipped.
Because the way he was looking at her...
It wasn't subtle anymore.
The kind that had been growing quietly for some time now.
The kind neither of them could hide anymore.
Jack reached up slowly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
His fingers lingered against her cheek.
And Sophie instinctively leaned into the touch.
The small action visibly affected him.
His eyes darkened slightly.
"You have no idea what you do to me."
The confession came out almost as a whisper.
A surprised laugh escaped him.
She moved a little closer.
Close enough to feel his warmth.
Close enough to hear the slight change in his breathing.
"Because you have no idea what you do to me either."
For a moment neither spoke.
The tension between them was almost unbearable.
The kind that only exists when two people want the exact same thing.
Jack's hand slid gently along her jaw, histhumb brushing her cheek.
"Can I kiss you, pretty girl?"
The nickname immediately made her heart melt.
Sophie's eyes never left his.
The answer barely left her lips before Jack closed the distance between them.
The first kiss was impossibly soft.
As though he wanted to memorize the feeling.
As though he had imagined this moment so many times he was afraid to move too quickly and break it.
Sophie's hand found his cheek.
Her fingers sliding into his hair, into his soft curls.
And she felt the small sound that escaped him against her lips.
The kiss deepened naturally after that.
Months of missed chances.
Jack's hand settled at her waist, pulling her slightly closer, and Sophie found herself smiling into the kiss because somehow it felt exactly the way she always imagined it would.
When they finally pulled apart, neither actually moved away.
Their foreheads rested together.
Jack's eyes remained closed for a second longer as though he wasn't quite ready to leave the moment.
When he finally looked at her, the expression on his face stole what little remained of Sophie's composure.
His hand gently cupped her face.
"Youâre the woman I've been in love with for a lot longer than I was willing to admit."
And for the first time, neither of them ran from the truth.
They simply held each other beneath the glow of the streetlights, smiling like two people who had finally found exactly where they belonged.