An Intervention Or Something

By the time we walk into the diner, I am ravenous. We quickly settle into a booth, and I immediately grab the menu trying to decide between a burger or an all-day breakfast. I am so lost in my thoughts that I barely notice someone approach the table. "Scoot up, Kat," Sophie says, startling me.

"Heya." I slide along so that she can sit beside me. "What are you doing here? This is not your usual haunt."

"Finn called me," she replies before looking down at her hands nervously.

I look over to find him studiously avoiding my gaze. "What is this?" I ask, narrowing my eyes as I look between Finn and Sophie. "Some kind of intervention or something?" I ask snarkily.

"Or something," Sophie replies brightly while Finn sniggers in response.

"Fine." I resign myself to the inevitable. If these two are ganging up on me, there is no escaping it. "Just let me eat first, okay? I can't handle this on an empty stomach."

Sophie and Finn agree to my terms, so we return to trying to decide what to eat. The conversation flows lightly, and when our bellies are finally stuffed, I sit back and let out a groan. "I don't think I can eat another mouthful." Finn and Sophie exchange glances. "Okay, let me have it then." I steel myself for whatever they are going to say.

"Jackson," Sophie says succinctly, and I find myself stiffening at the mention of his name.

"Just listen, will you?" Finn inserts quickly before I have a chance to say anything at all. I nod in surrender before folding my arms across my chest defensively.

"Anyone with eyes can see how you feel about that guy. And he is crazy about you," Finn states firmly.

"I mean, he has been in every day for lunch, and no offence, the grilled cheese sandwiches at Cock&Tails are not all that. The reason he's practically taken up residence in that booth is you, Kat," Sophie interrupts.

"You are pushing him away for no good reason. You are head over heels in love or lust or whatever with him, yet you won't even give him a chance," Finn continues, arching a brow dramatically and letting out a snort as he finishes.

I close my eyes as a wave of nausea that has nothing to do with my hangover rolls through my stomach. "You both know why I can't go there with him."

"That is a bullshit excuse, and you know it!" Finn exclaims, drawing attention from the other customers.

"Look," I reply hotly, "I saw what my mum's cancer did to the people around her. I've seen how it's affected you both whenever I get sick." They both shake their heads as I continue angrily, "Don't think I didn't hear you guys talking when I was really ill. I listened to you guys crying over me on more than one occasion. I heard you, Finn, when I was in hospital for the first time, praying to every god you could think of that I would be okay. It killed me knowing that I was hurting you both. Do you honestly think I could bring someone else into this nightmare?"

"I call bollocks, Kat," Finn retorts as he pushes a hand through his hair in agitation.

I start in surprise. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"You are scared, Kat. Plain and simple," Finn states and I stare at him dumbfounded. "All this about your colitis and the threat of cancer is just a cover, a way of pushing people away so that they can't hurt you."

"I don't know what you are talking about." The lump in my throat is growing bigger and bigger making it harder to get the words out.

"Garry," Sophie interjects softly. Her expression is full of pity which only makes things worse.

"This has nothing to do with Garry. You guys are both crazy!" I exclaim angrily. Every muscle in my body is tense and it takes all my effort not to explode.

"You never dealt with him leaving you the way he did," Sophie says. "And to be fair, you had bigger things on your plate at the time. One moment you are getting fitted for your wedding dress, the next you think you have the same scary disease that killed Mum but then it turns out you have something that you have to live with for the rest of your life. And the guy who is supposed to be with you for better or worse walks away from you, telling you that he doesn't have time to deal with your illness because he has a career to concentrate on."

Finn hisses through his teeth; clearly, Garry's behaviour still has the power to upset him.

"Kat," Finn says, grabbing my hand and squeezing it gently. "You are scared that if you let Jackson in, he will have the power to hurt you like Garry did. That is what this all boils down to at the end of the day."

I feel tears pricking at my eyes, and then Sophie winds her arm around me and pulls me into a hug as she whispers words of reassurance into my ear.

"I guess I never thought about it like that." I sniff as I try to hold back the tears.

"You need to let what Garry did go. You never worked through your feelings, just buried them deep inside of you and so I think that subconsciously you have spent the last five years pushing everyone away," Sophie replies. "I think Jackson has already worked his way into your heart. It would be such a shame if you gave up on this very real chance at happiness." Sophie's face is so full of hope; how can I rail against that?

"And everyone deserves to be happy, Kat. Especially you. You have been through so much; if anyone deserves a happily ever after, it's you," Finn says with a soft smile on his face.

"I think you have been watching too many of my chick flicks, Finn." His gaze flicks over my shoulder, and I sense movement behind me. I whip my head around to find myself looking up into Jackson's piercing blue eyes as he hovers over the back of the booth. My heart starts to thump rapidly, and I stare dumbly at him.

"And that is our cue to leave, Soph," Finn murmurs quietly. The two of them shuffle out of the booth, but my eyes never leave Jackson's. The rest of the world recedes, and it is like the two of us are being sucked into our own special vortex. Jackson takes Finn's place, slipping into the booth opposite me.

"I'm guessing that you heard all of that, then?" I ask softly. I have a million more questions running through my head and I'm finding it hard to settle on just one.

Jackson nods as he slides his hand across the table, entwining his fingers through mine.

"How? Finn?" I ask finally, feeling confused as to how he managed to be here without me noticing.

"Finn called me. Told me there were some things I needed to hear," Jackson explains patiently. "I waited until you guys were seated before I came in. Your sister never saw me, but Finn knew I was here the whole time."

"Sneaky shit." I love that guy but sometimes I would like to murder him in his sleep!

"So, you were engaged?" Jackson begins to fiddle with the sugar packets on the table making me think that maybe he's not quite as calm as he's trying to appear.

"Yes," I reply. Where on earth is this going?

"Do you still love him?" Jackson asks, his voice pained.

"No way! Why on earth would you think that?" I gasp, my eyes widening and eyebrows shooting up my brow in surprise.

"Just checking. I need to make sure you aren't hiding any more secrets," Jackson clarifies as he looks at me earnestly.

I have no idea what to say next. Truthfully this whole afternoon has just about blown my mind.

"Do you want anything else to eat or drink?" Jackson asks me. I shake my head, not trusting my voice. "Will you take a walk with me?"

"Okay," I sigh with acceptance.

Jackson calls over the waitress, and when he finds that the bill has already been taken care of, motions for us to leave, not once having let go of my hand.

There is a breeze coming off of the Thames, despite the temperate afternoon, so Jackson pulls me into his warm body, wrapping his arm around my frame. We follow the edge of the car park until we are standing beside the river, looking across to the O2, the mammoth dome structure that dominates the skyline in this area. It feels very weird to think that it was only a short while ago that I was watching Jackson play on the stage there. When I tell him this, he laughs softly.

"Yeah, it's a little surreal for me as well," he says, looking down at me. "Will you come back to my place?"

I contemplate his request for a moment. Am I ready to have this conversation with Jackson? I get the feeling that this is one of those watershed moments. It's now…or never. "Yeah, okay," I respond as I mentally prepare myself for what's to come.