Six months have gone by since Trish had been taken away. Six months since all of that shit Jessica had gone through had happened. It still felt like it was just yesterday. The wound still open and fresh, stinging every second and threatening to hurt worse.
Jessica played it in her mind each day trying to pin point where she could have stopped Trish's downfall. It was a brutal one and yet, Jessica still felt it was all her fault. The only family she ever loved and trusted was gone. The only person she ever would stand to be around for twenty minutes would never return. And yet, Jessica still hadn't accepted it.
"Hey Jess," Malcolm had entered the apartment without two knocks. "Brought you left over pizza, I'm on a diet again so I shouldn-"
"Did I say come in?" Jessica's words were cold and harsh.
Her head still buried in her arms as her body was hunched over on the desk. She had fallen asleep just a few hours before. The laptop still playing Trish Talk videos, the empty bottle of whiskey shattered on the wall to her left. It was a sight Malcolm had become accustomed to seeing lately.
"Anyway, I'll put it in the fridge" He said before walking to the kitchen, ignoring her words. "So, how's work?"
Jessica sighed, lifting her head to glare at the man. She had shut the laptop screen, silencing the former talk show host's voice out.
"Can't work while you keep walking in" She said.
"This is the first I have this week" Malcom pointed out as he put the pizza in the fridge. His eyes scanned seeing the remains of last weeks pizza he brought to Jessica still there. Only one piece left. "Jess, did you not eat all three pieces last week?" His head popped out from behind the door.
Jessica shrugged.
"Been out working, you know? That thing people do. Maybe you should go and try it-"
"Hey, I have a job" He pointed at her before shutting the fridge door.
"Then go to it" She said. "Prove me wrong"
Malcom just sighed, shaking his head.
"Listen, I get it. What happened was super fucked. But you're hurting yourself. Your drinking more then you're eating. And you're not even drinking water"
"Okay, at the bar their whiskey is really watered down" Jessica argued.
"And what about the amount of bottles you get from the corner store?" He asked, leaning against the kitchen doorway. "I'm worried"
"Don't, no, I'm fine" She said. "We're not doing this" She gestured between them with her hand.
"Well if we aren't talking about the reality of you killing yourself, can you at least shower before walking out of here? You'd do the world a favor" He said.
"Haven't I done enough favors for the world?" She asked.
"Showering could be a perk" He said. "You know Trish would-"
"I don't give a shit what Trish would do or tell me to do" Jessica snapped. "Why are you even bringing her up? What does that have to do with any of this shit?"
Malcolm scoffed.
"You're joking right? Like please tell me, you're actually joking"
Jessica rolled her eyes.
"Ever since she was brought to The Raft, you've been on a downhill spiral worse then I have ever seen"
"She did it to herself" Jessica reminded herself.
"Yeah, I know" Malcolm nodded. "But, you're still blaming yourself. You think I don't know you, but I do"
"Why are you still here?" Jessica got up from the desk, walking around it to pick up the papers that had fallen off the desk the night before. "Don't you have better shit to do then talk to me?"
"Sadly no," Malcom said. "Hogarth doesn't want me in until later this afternoon. So my schedule is wide open to pester you"
"Oh, yay me" Jessica muttered.
"Have you even gone down to see her?" He asked. "I mean I know she gets basically no contact with the outside world. But you're you, you can find ways to see her. Not like you've never been there before"
"You ever think I just don't want to?" She asked, throwing the papers back on to the desk.
"Yeah, I know" He sighed. "But, it might help with closure and help you take showers more"
"I do not smell that bad" Jessica threw another glare. "Besides, Dorothy has been visiting her nonstop. She isn't alone, alone. And having your only visitor be Dorothy is punishment and pure torture for anyone"
Malcolm snickered.
"You're right there," He said. "But still, think you should see what you can do" He shrugged.
Jessica remained staring down at the papers with cases that she still needed to get to on them. Her fingers traced some of them as she hoped Malcolm took silence as an answer.
"Pizza is in the fridge. Text me if you want me to bring your laundry with me tonight when I go to do mine" He pushed off the doorway to walk out. "Call her at least"
"You know she tried to kill me right?" Jessica turned to look at him.
Malcolm looked back with a nod.
"Come on, Jess. You know more then anyone she was losing herself each day and turned into someone she's not"
"Why does that matter?"
"I think you know.." He simply said before opening the door, stepping out, then shutting it behind him.
Jessica hated that she knew what he meant. Trish was on a downhill spiral ever since the death of Alisa Jones. She had to convince herself that she was the good guy for doing that. Just like Jessica had to when she had killed Kilgrave. Even if it was the worst person on earth, taking a life can leave a toll on you. It seemed to take Trish though by storm.
Her phone buzzed on the table, taking her by surprise. She figured it died being she never had a reason to charge it anymore. Trish was only ever the one to nag her about charging it all the time.
But the number was a number she didn't recognize. It made her eyebrows furrow and she contemplated answering it. But, curiosity got the best of her.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Jessie-"
"Nope" Jessica went to hang up.
"Wait, wait! Please, five minutes!" Dorothy was heard yelling in the cellphone.
Jessica had taken a deep breath in. Trish's voice in the back of her mind was telling her to just answer it because they both knew Dorothy wouldn't give up calling.
"Alright, you got three minutes and that's being considerate" Jessica said.
Dorothy sighed.
"Do you think I want to be calling the demon child that put my baby in that God awful place?" She asked.
"She asked for it," Jessica said. "After trying to kill me"
"She did no such thing-"
"The scar on my hand tells me otherwise. Is this why you called me? If so I can just hang up right now,"
"No, that's not it" She said. "It's about Trish"
Jessica laughed. This wasn't the first time Dorothy tried to get Jessica to talk to her about Trish. Especially in the recent weeks Dorothy had been more persistent about it for some reason. Yet the conversation would always end about now. Jessica would hang up, not answering the twenty calls after it.
"Oh! Even better, goodbye Dor-"
"Jessica! Please! You'll want to hear this"
Jessica had the phone off of her ear. She stared down at it, seeing the numbers stare back at her. Dorothy always called from her own phone. Why she was calling from an unknown number seemed weird to Jessica. This was the first time she had.
She had sighed, lifting the phone back to her ear. Curiosity getting the better of her.
"Then just get to the fucking point"
"I'm getting her out" Dorothy said.
Jessica paused for a second, chuckling a bit just in disbelief. And Dorothy thought that Jessica was finally losing it some days. Well, it seems the tables definetely have turned on this one.
"You do realize people that go down there don't come back, correct?" Jessica hated saying those words. It hurt each time.
She knew Trish was bad. Hell, everyone did. She had been pinned the hero of Hell's Kitchen and her business for Alias Investigations had sky rocketed. Everyone was going to her now ever since she put Trish away down there. They came to her for an issue like a lost cat to an issue like a murder never solved. Some days Jessica would just rather chase a cat through the alley ways instead of finding and murdered.
Though, she knew beggars can't be choosers. She wanted the business to bring in more money. And, here it was. It just came at the cost of sending away the only person she ever gave a shit about. Heroes make sacrifices for others she guessed.
"You do realize I still have savings from when she was Patsy and money from Trish Talk, Trish Style right? Not to mention the countless of movies" Dorothy sighed. "God, she really was a star huh?"
"I thought we discussed you taking Trish's money" Jessica said.
"Well it doesn't matter now, does it? It's getting her out" She said a small chuckle to her tone.
"Keep dreaming, airhead" Jessica threw the insult. "Nobody let's anyone off that easy down there. She fucked up"
"She did not, Jessie" Dorothy said.
"Is there any other reason you called besides telling me your fantasy ideas?" She asked. An amused smirk on her face. Dorothy was always someone she loved annoying.
Silence for a second. Jessica swore she could hear hushed whispers. But she just grabbed the one whiskey bottle off of the shelf. It was down a little below half, signalling she needed to buy more. She was in the middle of unscrewing the cap with her thumb when finally someone spoke on the other line. But, the person speaking wasn't Dorothy.
"Jess.."
Jessica's breath hitched and the bottle dropped to the floor. It shattered, letting the brown colored liquid splattered all over her floor. Her eyes had gone bloodshot wide as she registered the voice that had just said her name in such a way she had craved for so long.
Trish. Trish. Trish. Trish. Is all her mind was thinking.
"Don't hang up.." Trish spoke before Jessica could hang up. Even if they had been separated and Trish lost herself, she still knew Jess best.
It's like she knew Jessica just wanted to hang up and throw the phone out the window. She wanted to act like she never heard Trish's voice over the phone. But it felt like her own strength was holding her back from that. It felt like Trish was holding her back from that.
"My mother, what she said was true. It won't be tomorrow or next week. But, it's happening" Trish said.
Jessica was silent, not sure what to say. What can you say to someone who hurt you so bad, yet you still love? The only case Jessica couldn't crack open for an answer.
"Can you please just, say something?" Trish asked. "I know what I did, it was fucked. And I don't deserve it, but Jess, I need to hear your voice"
Another moment of silence.
"I'm so sorry, Jess"
Jessica hoped Trish would just stop saying her name like that. It kept pulling her heartstrings and stabbing at her heart. She wanted Trish here with her at that moment. No, she needed her. She needed to see Trish not just on a photo or video. She needed to feel Trish's arms wrap around her once more.
"Just say something.." Trish whispered.
She didn't want to. It was a Jessica move to not say anything at all. But, this was Trish. And Trish was always special to Jessica. She always was treated different then the others.
"I uh, I don't know what you want me to say" Jessica's voice barely above a whisper.
She heard Trish let a sigh of relief escape her lips.
"I have to go, but thank you" Trish said. "I'm sorry" Were the last two words before the phone was hung up.