Episode five:jacks control
1047 Words
Jack Loosa did not step fully into the room.
He stood just inside the doorway, as if he were giving the space permission to breathe again. His hands were relaxed at his sides. His posture was calm. There was nothing threatening about him at first glance.
That was what made him dangerous.
“Relax,” Jack said gently. “I’m not here to cause a scene. Hospitals hate scenes.”
Ethan did not move away from Nora.
His body blocked Jack’s view of her completely, like a shield he had decided not to lower.
“You’re trespassing,” Ethan said. “Leave.”
Jack smiled. “Still territorial. I wondered if that instinct would survive.”
Nora’s eyes flicked between them. The tension was thick enough to taste. This was not a first meeting. This was a continuation of something unfinished.
Jack’s gaze shifted slightly, just enough to catch a glimpse of Nora over Ethan’s shoulder.
“So this is her,” Jack said, his voice warm with interest. “You look well, Nora. Stronger than I expected.”
Her skin prickled.
“You know my name,” she said.
“Of course I do,” Jack replied smoothly. “I’ve known it for a long time.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Don’t speak to her.”
Jack chuckled softly. “Still making decisions for other people. You always did like control, Ethan. Funny how you accuse me of the same thing.”
Ethan stepped closer to Jack. “This ends now.”
Jack raised a hand, placating. “I’m not here to take her. Not yet. I only wanted to see for myself.”
“See what?” Nora asked.
Jack’s eyes returned to her. They were calm. Curious. Studying.
“If the fire changed you,” he said.
Silence crashed through the room.
Nora’s heart stuttered. “What fire?”
Ethan snapped, “That’s enough.”
Jack sighed. “You really should stop lying to her. It’s unkind.”
He took one step forward.
Ethan’s hand was already on his weapon.
Jack noticed and stopped, unbothered. “There it is. Always violence with you. You forget, I prefer patience.”
A nurse appeared at the end of the hall, hesitation written on her face.
Jack turned and smiled at her. “We’re finished. Sorry for the disturbance.”
She nodded, visibly relieved, and disappeared.
Jack turned back to Nora.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said calmly. “Whether Ethan likes it or not.”
Then he left.
The door closed softly behind him.
The silence afterward was worse than the confrontation.
Nora’s chest felt tight, her thoughts spinning. “You know him,” she said again, slowly. “You’ve known him for a long time.”
Ethan didn’t answer immediately.
That told her everything.
“He talked like I belonged to him,” she continued. “Like I was something he lost.”
Ethan’s voice was low. “You don’t belong to anyone.”
“Then why does it feel like everyone is fighting over me?” she demanded. “Why does it feel like my life isn’t mine?”
He looked at her then. Really looked at her.
“Because it was taken from you once,” he said quietly. “And I failed to stop it.”
Her breath caught. “Failed how?”
Before he could answer, the doctor returned, ending the moment.
Jack did not return that night.
But his presence lingered.
By morning, Nora was discharged. Ethan insisted on moving her immediately.
“Not back to the house,” she said firmly.
He paused. “Then where?”
“Anywhere he doesn’t expect.”
Ethan studied her, something like pride flickering briefly across his face. “Good.”
They relocated to a small apartment on the edge of the city. Sparse. Secure. Temporary.
That word echoed painfully in Nora’s chest.
Temporary.
Everything with Ethan felt temporary. The protection. The closeness. Even the silence between them felt like something borrowed, not owned.
That night, she stood by the window, watching the city lights blink like distant signals.
“You could leave,” Ethan said from behind her. “Disappear for real.”
She didn’t turn. “Would you let me?”
His answer came after a long pause. “Yes.”
The word hurt more than she expected.
Jack did not wait long.
The next day, flowers arrived.
White lilies.
No note.
Nora stared at them, unease curling in her stomach.
Then her phone buzzed.
I’m glad you’re recovering. Hospitals make people forget how fragile they are.
She didn’t reply.
Another message followed.
Ethan won’t tell you what he did to save you. Or what he did to lose you.
Her fingers trembled.
Ethan noticed immediately. “What is it?”
She hesitated, then showed him the phone.
His face darkened.
“He’s provoking you,” Ethan said. “Don’t engage.”
“But he knows things,” she whispered. “Things you won’t tell me.”
“That doesn’t make him your ally.”
“No,” she said quietly. “It makes him honest.”
The words cut deeper than she intended.
Ethan stepped back, distance snapping into place between them.
“If you keep listening to him,” he said carefully, “you will get hurt.”
Her voice shook. “And if I keep trusting you, I stay blind.”
That night, Nora couldn’t sleep.
She kept thinking about Jack’s calm smile. The way he spoke as if time were on his side. As if everything unfolding now was exactly as he had planned.
When she finally drifted off, she dreamed of standing between two fires.
One burned hot and fast, destructive and immediate.
The other burned slowly, patiently, waiting for her to step closer.
She woke to her phone lighting up.
You don’t have to choose yet, Jack wrote.
But you will.
Nora stared into the dark, her heart pounding.
Jack’s manipulation was no longer subtle.
And Ethan was already pulling away.
The space between them widened, filled with jealousy, fear, and truths still buried.
And somewhere inside that widening distance, Jack Loosa smiled.
Because control works best when people believe they still have a choice.
We are now exactly where we should be.
- Writer
