~Chapter Thirty Four~

                                    

                                          
It had been a while since Jack and Parker had really hung out together. Both of them were always preoccupied, and Parker felt bad that the reason for his absence as a best friend was due to his boyfriend, who happened to be his best friend's younger brother. Therefore when Jack texted him to hang out, he said yes despite having too many things on his plate. With everything going on in his life, he knew Jack needed a friend. He couldn't believe that he was actually having a baby. 

                          
"Hey Parker, I'm surprised you made it," Jack admitted with a chuckle, his joke playful but it was also made clear that he was slightly upset with the lack of time spent together. But what else was Parker supposed to do? If he was to openly walk into the Lockwood family home where anyone could see him, Dylan would possibly kill him. Which is why the pair decided to go for drinks at a pub instead. There was obvious tension between Parker and the Lockwoods, so Jack thought it would be best to just keep Parker away from his family, especially Will. 
                          
"Yeah sorry... I've been busy," He briefly explained. 
                          
"What have you been doing? You almost fell off the face of the earth. I was starting to worry you were just avoiding me," Jack told him. 
                          
"Why would I be avoiding you?" Parker questioned, one person coming to mind. He wished he could just see Will, who was probably sat in his tidy room doing his Chemistry work. He really hoped Will was okay. He didn't know what happened with Will and his family recently, but just yesterday when Will came round his apartment, he seemed off but didn't want to talk about the matter. And Parker didn't want to push him. 
                          
"I'm not sure. Lately you've been acting weird," Jack pointed out, taking a sip of his pint. 
                          
"I've had a lot of family shit going on, that's all," Parker told him. 
                          
"How's Elliot?" Jack asked casually, not seeing the way his friend tensed. 
                          
Elliot wasn't doing so well. Honestly Parker didn't know what to do, because there wasn't a lot he could do to help his family except do more shifts at the diner for his Mum. Financially, he was worried about his family, because although Elliot's treatment was free, his Mum was trying to spend as much time at the hospital with his brother rather than working at the diner. 
                          
To save himself the pain of explaining the unfortunate situation, Parker just lied: "He's good. The same, really. Just a happy kid."
                          
And Jack believed him. If this was a few months ago, the truth would have been told and there would have been some discussion about everything that was going on. But for some reason the fact that Will didn't know about his younger brother having cancer, made him not want to tell Jack. He didn't want Will to find out from someone that wasn't him. He wasn't so sure he wanted Will to know at all, considering how much he already had to deal with. 
                          
"So... how are you feeling about the baby? Are you excited?" He changed the subject. Any chance he could get at talking about anyone but himself, he would take. Besides, he could tell that Jack was itching to talk to someone outside of the family about everything. After meeting her, he could tell that Violet was a lot to handle. If he was being honest he didn't understand how Jack even tolerated her presence, as she was so obnoxious and rude. 
                          
A sinking feeling entered his stomach when he thought about the words she uttered to him: "He may physically be gone but you'll never get rid of him. I don't want this for Will, for his family. They don't deserve this and you know it."  
                          
She knew. Violet knew about his past. How did she know about his past? Why did everyone know? It wasn't fair. 
                          
"Honestly mate, I'm shitting it. I'm twenty. I know I'm old enough but shit... a baby. That's a whole new life and I... fuck, Parker. What am I going to do?" Jack asked, panicked. There was a new aura about his friend that Parker couldn't quite understand. It was like a sudden wave of realisation that he had to be responsible washed over him, and he was hit with endless amounts of water that was going to drown him if he wasn't careful. Jack had never had to care for another person in his whole life, apart from the occasional time he had watched over Will when they were younger. But a baby was so different. A baby was a new person. However the fact that he had decided to work for the family business, all for his baby, just showed that Jack was ready in a way.