Ch. 12

Jack dreams of soft hands on his body. From hair that caresses his face. Of green eyes that shine and adore him. From a stunning smile that pulls him under its spell. From whispered words at dawn after a passionate night. From a hand that plays with his and a seductive voice that laughs softly. Of a togetherness that only soul mates can feel. Of a trust that nothing can shake. Of a love that oozes everything.

Then he is drawn back to reality by his ringing alarm clock. A Mia who ignores him, an ex-girlfriend who is pregnant with someone else and a case that makes you feel cold.

In a good mood he leaves the bed to prepare for another day with crying and desperate parents. It really is a shame how easily minors get away with it in most cases.

In passing, he picks up his cell phone, which is now ready for use again, and checks his messages. Still no answer. He goes into the bathroom with a sullen look.

Then he finally broke up with Summer, if not for the original reason, that is when Mia starts avoiding him.

#

Mia is curled up in a ball in her bed. Something, probably an arm, has wrapped its way around her stomach. Smiling, she opens her eyes, only to find that it is not Jack who is keeping her warm, but her friend Sophia who couldn't go home yesterday because of her alcohol gel.

She carefully tries to free herself from the grip. Which is not going as smoothly as she expected. "Where do you want to go now?", It grumbles from under the pillows behind which Sophia has hidden during the night. Mia tries briefly to simply lie down again or to free herself further without comment. But then decide on the funnier variant. "Honey, I have to get ready for work slowly. You should have curbed your thirst yesterday evening if you haven't crawled out of bed with your incredibly long sexy legs. ", Sophia jumped up after the first half of the sentence. Her eyes frantically searched the room for something. After a few seconds, her gaze fixates on her. “What are you terrifying me? My heart almost stopped. For a moment I didn't recognize your voice and thought I had ended up in a strange apartment with a woman. ", Mia giggles. “I just couldn't resist. But you should still force yourself out of bed, because I didn't lie about the time. "

Together they get ready in front of the mirror and sandwich each other. A well-rehearsed team, when you look at them you don't even notice that the friends haven't known each other for so long. With kisses on the cheek, they say goodbye and hurry to their jobs.

Mia is eagerly awaited there. As soon as she has opened the door to the living room, all the teenagers rush towards her. Each of them is in a state of excitement, they are all talking at the same time and not getting a single sentence out of the way. "Mia we have to .." "A few minutes ago ..." "... what if ..." "Call!" "... ambulance ..."

"Stop stop stop !!! Again from the beginning. One at a time please. “, Mia's gaze wanders around the group. Hair is disheveled, in some faces she sees tears flowing down her cheeks. Here and there the hands also tremble. What's going on? What just happened?

“Hayley had such cramps and then there was blood all over the place. We ... we called the ambulance and now she has come to the hospital. ", Melina reports in a weak voice. Hayley is eight months pregnant and the last examinations made it clear that she would not give birth to her little one naturally. Her hips are too small to be able to push a child through, so they have to prepare for a caesarean. But it was by no means to be seen beforehand that something like this could happen.

“We have to visit her. We have to go to her and support her. “, Urges someone else in the group, but Mia only listens with half an ear. In her mind she is already planning how to get to the hospital with as many as possible.

“We split up. A few come with me and the rest stay here, but we keep in touch. But first we should call them and inquire about the state of affairs. ”, Mia pushes through the girls and looks for the phone. Mona holds the phone out to her and she tries to find a quieter place. Because if there is something that she cannot suffer, then it is people who are scrambling to listen, even if she understands the current urge, she still does not like it.

Half an hour later it was on hold and was passed on. Ultimately, she could only elicit from the hospital that Hayley is doing well under the circumstances and that the child is already on the ward under observation. Such a caesarean section should usually not last longer than the time she has now spent on the phone.

Mia grabs four girls and takes off. She can't take more with her in her little car. It's as quiet as a mouse in the car. To see an amniotic sac burst is no longer a surprising sight for most who have been with them for a long time. You can also marvel at the beginning of contractions.

But the one among them starts bleeding and faints is something new. In the hospital they all storm the reception and confuse the woman behind the counter tremendously. But they manage to elicit the necessary information from the woman. Quickly they approach their friend's room. She lies there in her bed, pale and barely conscious. A scary sight.

A doctor in the hallway notices the group that doesn't dare to enter the room. "Can I help you? Are you relatives of the patient? "

Crap! In all the hustle and bustle, she forgot to notify her parents. Even if Hayley is no longer welcome with them, they certainly want to know that they now have a grandson.

"No, we are not. Hayley lives with us in the home. ”, With a look at her companion, she takes the doctor aside. “Can you tell me what happened? When I arrived everyone was so confused and talked about a lot of blood. ”The doctor nods unhappily. “The girl's placenta has loosened and caused the bleeding. It was very good of her ... friends that they called immediately so that an emergency caesarean could be performed. The child lies on the ward under observation. If there is no change in the next few hours, he is first over the mountain. Then we'll see what effects the premature birth had on him. ", Mia thanks the doctor warmly and immediately gets her cell phone to inform the parents. It seems to her that she has saved an infinite number of numbers and it takes forever to finally find the right one.

The day has already started well. What else does he have in store for her?

#

Jack just can't believe it. When he walked into the office this morning, he was told that the accused teenagers had disappeared overnight. The hearing was just around the corner and the little bastards think it's fun to play hide and seek. The police were turned on. Besides, her going into hiding is almost like a confession. Why should they disappear from the surface of the earth if they haven't done anything wrong? Why should they run away if they didn't do anything that day. After all, they are not yet of legal age and are therefore still subject to youth criminal law. Which doesn’t mean that you will get off lightly, regardless of whether you were with Sonja that evening or not. A few years ago, teenagers could be sentenced from six months to ten years. Today the maximum sentence is fifteen years.

For Jack this is the jackpot, because no court in the world can tell him that what the teenagers are pulling off doesn't seem suspicious and as long as Sonja cannot make a statement, they cannot be acquitted, at least not from the assisted suicide attempt.

The beasts do not think for a minute about their future, at all positions where they apply in the future, they have to comment on this act and justify themselves. It won't be easy, but who wishes it for these people that they would ever have it easy, they are old enough to understand what they have done.

He sits down with the parents, who have been in the hospital by their daughter's bed all night, and shares the news with them. With the current state of affairs, they only step on the spot. Nothing further can be done until the defendants reappear. It's a shame, but unfortunately he can't change it.

With a promise to get in touch immediately if there is something new to report, he says goodbye to the concerned couple and goes back to his desk. But the files can't reveal any more to him than they have done for the past few days, and the police are still doing such investigations. That's the worst part of your job, knowing what's going on around you, but not empowered to take it into your own hands. Not authorized to search for your own clues or the clique. The lawyers present the evidence, dig deeper here and there and argue with the result to their advantage, scrolling through the criminal law books to bring about a mitigation or even to plead for acquittal.

That's exactly what he's going to be doing for the next time, he's going to do some looking up to make sure he won't go wrong when they show up again. He has just read the heavy reading that his cell phone rings and startles him. Amazed, he looks for it in the chaos on his desk. Everyone knows that he has to work at this time, so who is calling him?

With a look at the display, a smile steals on his face. "Mia! What is there? ”As a precaution, he does not address the fact that he tried to contact her so often yesterday and received no answer. In the background he can hear busy work. Not the typical background noise of your workplace. "I need your help. One of the girls has just given birth to her child ... “, how many births has Mia seen? “And I promised the girls that they could stay with Hayley. But the doctor has already tried twice to gently get her out of the room. Since it was all quite exhausting and Hayley needs some rest to recover, but the others don't move an inch. ”“ Wait a minute and how should I be able to help you? ”He literally feels her blushing from the line. Oh, he's sure to like your suggestion.

“Well, it would be enough if you could come over. You have already noticed how keen everyone is on gossip. But if you can't, that's perfectly fine. You still have to work and it will probably take you until your lunch break. So if you're up to your neck in a case, I just call Jonas, although he has to work too ... "" It's no problem at all. I'll be on my way right away. ”He doesn't let this would-be friend outdo him. Jack can't suffer the way the guy always looks. That almost borders on harassment and she tolerates it. There is no way he can support that. He has no choice but to set off straight away. "In which hospital did you end up?" Mia passes the data on to him. Before he even hung up, he was standing at the elevator and impatiently pressing the button.

A good quarter of an hour later he is there and spots Mia from afar. It seems to him that he hasn't seen her in ages. She exudes a self-confidence that would dazzle you if it weren't for a beautiful big heart sitting in her chest. The perfect woman. A miracle that she is still single and even got involved in this show.

"There you are. Fantastic! Come with me, Hayley's room isn't far away. "Without wasting another look at Jack, she takes his hand and pulls him behind her. He could get used to that, if something comes out for him.

She stops abruptly and he almost runs into her. "What?", He doesn't get an answer, so he follows her gaze and discovers the debacle. It's not relaxing.

Four pregnant girls stand around the new mother's bed and talk to her. Persuasion is still too mildly formulated, they abuse them by listening to them. Bombard them with questions about childbirth and its condition. About how it felt and whether she would do it again to bring her baby into the world. Everyone is talking at the same time and drowning out each other. Hayley lies in the middle, from second to second she seems to get paler.

Now he has to do a good show. Jack takes a deep breath and starts.

"Mia? Mia, it's good that you called me. You always know that I'm there for them. Of course I like to help ... calm down the others ... and bring them back. ”, The next time he should not only take a deep breath but also think a little about what he will say.

Jack hugs Mia and holds her a little longer than is usual among friends. Because of their audience, of course. He tries to breathe her scent so intensely that he never forgets it again. Maybe he uses the situation a little to get a little closer to her again. He slowly buries his face in the crook of her neck. The place is made for it. To his amazement, he feels Mia's arms, which are wrapped around his waist, moving up his back until they lie on his neck and play with his hair. He only closes his eyes for a moment and enjoys the feel of her hands on his skin. Almost forgot, had it not been for the loud throat clearing and the quiet giggling that followed.

Reluctantly, he separates from his dream woman again and becomes the buddy on probation again. "Hey! How are you I heard that was a pretty exciting start to the day. ”He is stared at in disbelief for a second before they close their mouths again. "Forget it! You can't show up here and pretend it's the most normal thing in the world that you mutate into a teddy bear here and don't let Mia go. "

Mission done. Teenager successfully turned away from guardian. Now initiate evacuation.

"It's the most normal thing in the world to be hugged by friends in moments like this.", One of them teasingly jerks her chin out. "Oh yes. Before you she has never had friends who simply won't let go and start sniffing at her. "

He didn't sniff !! Only smelled !! "There's always a first time. Can we change the subject now? So how is your girlfriend in there. ”“ You can forget that. ”It comes back shot. “We're not done with you yet.” They threaten him again and again. Nevertheless, he has always managed to avoid the all too tingly questions.

"You can punch me as much as you want as long as it's not here in the hospital."

A few minutes later he is sitting in his car and Mia and the four are in hers. Before that, however, he made it clear to Mia that he had to go back to work and that they would meet again at another time to talk about everything that had happened.

During his lunch break, Jack stops by Max. He has no clue what he was told by whom and how bad he is in the whole scenario. But even the cold greeting that awaits him on the small set of a talk show does not give rise to hope. He asked Miriam where Max will be during the days because he doesn't pick up his cell phone when he tries to call him.

"I don't know what you've been told so far, but as you know, you should hear both sides before you convict someone.", Max snorts. "From the fact that you think I am angry about something you did, one can only conclude that you know that you did something wrong and can only talk nicely. So leave it right away.", The cameraman turns to him. “You played the wrong game with the two women. You ditched one and you don't have enough feelings for the other to keep a relationship going. Then you crawl back to the first one to sneak into her again and increase your chances again without the mistress at home noticing anything. Too cowardly to break up with the woman for whom you don't seem to feel anything and an absolute fool because he let his love run wild to prove himself. Jack, I expected more of you. Much more. ”, He leans his head to one side. “It's my fault that I had the expectation that you were a real man, after all, you always gave it in front of the camera. I'm sorry that I thought you was one. In the future I will judge your decisions based on different views. "

Shit, it kind of doesn't go the way he imagined. “Max, you are right. I know that I've done absolute crap in the past few weeks. I never would have thought that I could be such an ass myself. But I just slipped in there. It just happened that way. In one moment, your own decision sounded like the right one, only to lose its importance in the next moment ... Then you stand and try to save what can still be saved. And I'm sorry that I literally trampled down some feelings, but it happened and I can't change the past, but I can influence the future with the present. I will give everything to be able to live in peace with everyone again. There is this saying 'everyone makes mistakes' but mine can no longer be put under this heading, I've been doing far too much nonsense for that. ", Jack takes a short breath and pauses.

He has nothing more to say. That's his opinion. Jack changes tactics. “Have you heard of the baby?” “That it grows in Summers uterus? Oh yes, I heard that. How lucky for you that she has just as much nonsense in her head as you. Actually, you are the perfect couple. ", Max grins.

He grins. What does that mean? That he's no longer angry? That he puts the matter aside to come back to it later? “Stop brooding. I can already see the billows of smoke. Didn't we just find out that your head isn't exactly the brightest? Man, you've stepped so deep into every faux pas that you won't get out of there for a long time, but see it and see the shit that's stuck to your shoe. Work on removing it and you will be forgiven. As long as you don't turn another thing like that. "

“So everything is fine with us again?” “We were never at odds. I look at Mia like my sister and would kill you here and now if you were going to hurt her, but you love her and that's why I'll give you another chance. "

Jack's mouth hangs open. “Close your throat again! Do you have plans for tonight? "" I'm sure I will. "

"How right you are there.", With a grin that he doesn't really care about, Max turns back to his camera and lets him stand.

#

Mia starts her lunch break by getting out of reach of the pregnant woman. They haven't stopped staring and laughing because their new 'boyfriend' is afraid of them and their prying ears. Too much hormones are in the air.

In town she gets a kebab and strolls through the alleys. Unsuspecting, she stops at a fashion store and admires the beautiful clothes. They all have longer sleeves that are supposed to protect against the fresh wind that comes in with autumn.

The front door bells ring next to her and she steps in front of her ... how can it be otherwise, Summer.

She was just missing that. Who knows what's going through your head this time. Even if she said it a little differently at the time, she's still a little pissed off about the T-shirt. She wishes she could accept it the way she said she did, so she pretends to be. "Hey Mia. I'm sure you've heard of the whole mess. I'm sorry that I didn't confess that, but I didn't think anyone would ever find out. ”“ Hey! Yes, Sophia gave me a very detailed report on everything. Plus, you've handled it admirably that Jack and I are friends again. I thought that there would be trouble on your part. "

Summer has already half turned away from her when she turns around again. “You are what? That's a thing. Does he portray me as a liar and hide his secrets himself. ", She shakes her head. But it only seems to be bewildered that grips her because of anger there is nothing to be seen far and wide.

“I assumed he told you that by now. No matter what are you doing tonight? "

"Nothing yet, but the look on your face is about to change."