The Christmas gift - a Christmas story - Chapter 10

giantbear (74)in #fiction • 6 years ago

Maria, Jonah and Mindy had a lovely time that evening. Jonah told them all about his adventures while he lived in the alley, and he told them a lot about Terrence. Maria felt extremely guilty for what Jonah had to go through and realized that Jonah idolized Terrence.

After the kids fell asleep in her bed Maria got up to put Mindy in her own bed but kept Jonah with her. It was so wonderful to have her boy back and all she wanted to do was to cuddle him.

She climbed back into bed and Jonah smiled when he felt his mother's caring arms around him. Maria had tears in her eyes, and lay there thinking about everything that he told them. She would be forever grateful for such a wonderful friend like Terrence. For the first time in nearly nine months they all had a peaceful night of sleep.

Jack did not have a wink of sleep. After he was stitched up he was brought to the police station. When they booked him in, they picked up the restraining order against him and he landed in a cell with a bunch of hooligans arrested for drug use. They confiscated all the bunks available and there was no place for Jack to sleep. He got tired of standing and he ended up sitting in the corner on the cold damp floor the whole night. He had a throbbing headache and the noise in the cell made it worse. He tried to phone his lawyer but when he didn't answer the police officer said he could try again in the morning. He was angry at the world but he knew that he had to keep his mouth shut or else he might end up in hospital.

He had to appear in court the next morning before he would be let go and it made him even angrier that Maria would do this to him. Pathetic ungrateful woman with pathetic little children.

"If she thinks she is going to get one cent out of me, she is making a big mistake. I did her a favor to stay with her. I wonder how she is going to survive without me?" Jack thought to himself and thought about what he would do if he got hold of her.

Jack's appearance in court did not go well. His lawyer did not show, and he had to get a state defense attorney to plead his case. In the end he ended up having to pay a $ 5000 fine, and he had to move out of the house. Maria was not at the hearing but the social worker came on her behalf. He was reprimanded and he had 24 hours to move out. Jack was even angrier after he paid the fine and now he had to find a new place to live.

The social worker drove straight to the safe house and told Maria the good news. Maria was delighted to have her house back, although she knew that it would be difficult to upkeep the house. In time they would be able to build new memories, and all the bad ones would be forgotten.

The three of them decided to stay inside, and only went to eat breakfast before going back to their room. Jack was still not out of the house, so they stayed in and watched movies the whole day. They had so much fun the three of them.

Jack went straight home after he was released. He took a shower and grabbed some breakfast. He hasn't eaten anything from last night and he was dying of hunger. No one was going to tell him what to do, and he would take his own bloody time to find a place to stay. Jack swallowed some pain tablets that he found in the bathroom, and went downstairs.

He grabbed the leftover whisky, and poured himself a glass. He finished off the rest of the bottle in the next few minutes and then staggered to the kitchen to grab a second bottle. The cupboard was empty. Jack could hardly think straight, but he knew he wanted more.

He grabbed the car keys and struggled to start the car. He couldn't find the keyhole, but eventually got it, and reversed into the road. He drove down the road, but he kept on nodding off.

The painkillers and the alcohol was not working together, and he nearly fell asleep. He skipped the stop street and never saw the truck coming. It hit him with an indescribable force. The truck came to an instant halt after dragging the car across the road and forced it into a brick wall.

The car was crushed from both sides and Jack was instantly unconscious. Both his legs were broken from the crash and his shoulder was dislocated. His head was hanging to one side and it looked like he was on the verge of death with blood seeping down his forehead. It had been a terrible accident but at least no one else was hurt.

The paramedics that took him to hospital had little hope of survival but did their best to save him.They looked for some kind of identification, but in his haste to leave the house, Jack left everything, including his phone. One of the officers called in the accident, and was able to identify Jack by the registration number of his vehicle. They phoned the number on the system, but no one answered. One of the other officers drove to Jack's house but there was no one there.

Jack was rushed to theater as soon as the doctor assessed him and after a six hour operation, it was clear that Jack was paralyzed. He would have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair and he had no one to look after him.

Maria's phone rang, and it was a number that she did not know. It was Steeler Jack's friend, and he informed her about the accident. Maria was shocked and shuddered, but kept her strong and thanked him for letting her know.

For the first time in nearly two years since Jack came into her life, she felt free. She phoned the social worker and informed her about the accident. There was no way that Jack would come to pester them at the house, so Maria would be able to go home. She packed up all their stuff and Jonah helped her carry everything to the bus stop. They could finally go home.

She was determined to get everything out of the house that belonged to Jack. They spent a quiet evening together with a lovely dinner she made and she made a special lasagna for Jonah as it was his favorite. The next morning bright and early Jonah asked if he could go and see Terrence, and then Maria started putting all Jack's stuff in boxes. Jonah came back and they carried all Jack's stuff out to the porch.

She did not want one thing that belonged to Jack. She wanted him out of her life for good, and she did not care what happened to him.

Jack woke up a few hours later and screamed out in pain. The nurse gave him an injection for pain, and explained to him that he was in an accident. He could be very glad to be alive. She asked if there was anyone that she could phone for him but he nodded off to sleep before he could answer.