Part 1.
Jack Branning's hand quivered as he placed the receiver back down to where he had picked it up from mere minutes earlier; when everything had simply been normal. But now it was far from that position of stability, and such prospect was now laughable. He pushed the duvet back quickly, restlessly and relentlessly, before quite literally crawling out of bed. How could she have done this, such a terrible thing? What had he done so wrong to trigger this? What had gone so very wrong with her so as to cause this very violent, extreme and sudden reaction?
Outside, where all was well, birds sang and tweeted in the cold February air, beams of sunlight perpetrating through the black blinds which covered most of the relatively small window; Jack Branning was not known for his home comforts, as was evident from this fact. For Jack though, this was an insult; directly contrasting his very feelings at that moment in time. They hadn't been together; of that he was aware, but nothing could have prepared him for the utterly devastating, jaw dropping and heartbreakingly shocking news of which he had just become aware. How could she have done this, such a terrible thing?
Fewer than ten minutes had passed since Jack Branning had had his world literally torn apart at the seams by one simple phone call; a person on the other end who; he could feasibly predict, could not possibly begin to comprehend the sheer scale of his distress. To say that this was all the more devastating than the discovery that his daughter had been left paralysed in an exceedingly horrifying car accident at the hands of a drug dealing, psychopathic, abusive thug was a most despicable understatement. This was something else; the most powerful, horrifying and devastating nightmare; with no apparent cure.
The repetitive train of thoughts ricocheted through his mind like a coiled spring, threatening to leap out of his head. He sincerely wished it to do so. Willing, though, was not enough, nothing was. How could he live on? How could he even begin to recover from such an extensive shock? How could she do this, such a terrible thing? Such a bitter, indescribable reaction. That's what it was, but there was not one single thing in the entirety of the world; the universe, that could even begin to right it.
Revenge would most certainly not suffice. There was no way that suffering a thousandth of the severity of that which he was currently enduring; which he would continue to endure like the stabbing of a gleaming knife for the remainder of his days, could even be inflicted upon the individual, whom he'd thought he could trust. However pathetic any attempt at gaining vengeance would appear against the sheer scale and horror of what had occurred; what had been so savagely inflicted; would be better than sitting around.. tolerating, accepting and brooding. He could not accept it; never could he accept the events. To act, he'd need support…
"Ronnie!" Jack called loudly, desperately, pleadingly and ferociously as his eyes burned into hers and he almost fell over the kerb with the extent of the insurmountable burden which had been selfishly deposited upon him like bricks on a heap.
Ronnie, who had been facing Jack and was about to cross the road in order to head to the Cost Mart when she had heard Jack's desperate pleas ring out, stopped abruptly and took in the sight which presented itself to her. Slowly, she edged forwards towards him.
"Jack!" She voiced rather loudly. "How are you?" she asked gently, a concerned expression soon occupying her pure features.
Jack pursed his lips. "Honestly?" he asked matter of factly, before speaking once again. "Crushed. Crushed in the knowledge that such a sick, twisted and disturbed individual could even come to consider doing something like this."
Ronnie paused and gazed Jack in the eyes, concerned. "I did hear about it; wondered how you'd manage."
"So did I; all of fucking five minutes ago. Had some bint explain it to me on the phone, and then ask how I am. Two seconds later, when she'd told me that in the first place. What does she fucking think?" he asked, not anticipating an answer, simply letting his thoughts run away with him on yet another occasion. He wished his mind would follow suit.
"Some people can be so inconsiderate," Ronnie stated, slicing the silence which hung over both of them, due to the scale of the issue under discussion; which ought to just have been able to evaporate, in Jack's view.
Jack could only manage a faint mumble in response. "Mmm." A period which realistically must have been around 30 seconds passed, before he spoke up again, weakly, as if the entirely unexpected revelation of a total stranger was in the process of choking the very life out of his body.
"Not to mention the evil sicko that's done it…"