THE OUTING
Four days after Debbie's memorial, Jack was sitting under the big oak tree in the orchard of the mansion, he was angry with himself, he promised himself he was not going to have anything to do with the gang, and now he is their temporary leader. He was cut between taking over the gang, his business, and Debbie's advice he vowed to follow.
Lily was looking at him from afar pitying him, ever since the memorial of Debbie the only time Jack went out was to visit his father in the hospital. She thought he went to visit his father in the hospital, then he came back looking more beaten than ever, she decided to convince him that they should go out for an outing.
Lily inhaled the air and slowly exhaled, she walked up to him, starting a conversation "Come on, Jack," Lily said, trying to persuade him. "It's a beautiful day. Let's go out and do something fun."
But Jack just stared at the ground, not responding.
Lily knew that it hadn't been easy for Jack since Debbie's death. They had been close, and her passing had hit him hard. But she also knew that he needed to start living again, and she was determined to help him do that, "I heard there is a museum near here." She said hoping Jack would say something.
Jack looked at her accessing her with his piercing blue eyes, "Yes there is, it's not too far from here. You can tell Simon to take you there, I think it's called the Les Splendoloras Museum."
Lily rolled her eyes in exasperation, if I wanted Simon to go with me, I would have gone to him."
Jack smiled broadly, smugly stroking his jawline, "Hmm just say you want to spend time with me."
Lily smirked, "If you want to come you can join me, if you don't you can go back to your sulking."
Jack stood up and dusted his trousers, they went to the museum together.
At the museum, they saw many different exhibits, from ancient art to modern inventions. They were fascinated by everything they saw, and they learned a lot about history and culture. They spent hours walking around, reading the descriptions of the artifacts, and admiring the artwork on display.
Afterward, they decided to go to a park nearby and have a picnic. They spread out a blanket on the grass under a shady tree and pulled out the sandwiches and snacks they had brought. They chatted and laughed as they ate, enjoying each other's company.
After their lunch, they walked around the park, stopping to look at the beautiful flowers, play on the swings, and even climb a tree. As they continued their adventure, Lily suggested that they go see a movie.
Jack agreed and so they went to the cinema, where they watched a comedy that had them in splits of laughter. They ate popcorn and candy while watching the movie, enjoying every moment of it. By the end of the show, they were both feeling incredibly happy.
As they walked out of the theater, Jack turned to Lily and said, "Thanks for today, Lily. I had a lot of fun."
Lily smiled, "Me too, Jack. We should do this more often."
Jack nodded in agreement. As they walked back to the car, he felt grateful for having someone like Lily. She had helped him forget his worries for a while and had given him a fun day to remember.
As they were driving back to the house, they saw logs of wood placed in the middle of the road.
"Who the hell would have done something like this." He muttered and went out of the car to clear the road.
When he saw five guys coming from the opposite direction and they were walking towards the road, Jack sensed something was off with them but he brushed it as nothing.
They came closer to him, they all wore black sleeveless tops and black jeans with black boots and black caps, they all had similar body types, two were black men, two were white and the other one was Asian and they looked menacing.
He wanted to ask them what was happening when they started beating him, he hit one of them on the nose and one in the stomach, and even though he knew he was outnumbered he still fought with them, throwing blow after blow to anyone his fists could touch.
Lily saw the scene and came out of the car, What's wrong with you people? She shouted angrily.
When one of the guys said, "I think the boss will be pleased to have her."
Lily's eyes widened in horror, Jack saw the horror in Lily's eyes and told her to enter the car and put it in lockdown mode before she could run into the car, one of the burly men grabbed her hair and she kicked him in the groin and freed herself.
She tried to run when one of them lifted her over his shoulders, she thrashed around when she heard something smashing on bones and she turned, she saw a man holding a steel rod over Jack's head as Jack slowly fell to the ground beside his car, one side of his head covered in blood, his face bruised from the blows the men gave to him.
Lily shouted Jack's name but he didn't respond, his eyes were already closed as he was lying motionless on the ground.
She couldn't escape and she knew Jack wouldn't survive the assault, seeing the amount of blood he had lost.
She felt hopeless...