I know with this chapter it don't seem like Jack and Ennis are ever gonna get their sweet life but don't worry I promise by the end of this story they will !
Two and a half hours later:
Ennis decides that Jack has had enough sleep and he should get up and help with the fence so he gets on his horse and gallops all the way until he gets within walking distance to the house then he swiftly jumps off the horse and nuzzles the horse's head while whispering soft words in the horse's ear. He leaves the horse to feed in the pasture. While going around the barn to get to the back door, Ennis all of a sudden hears a loud noise coming from inside the barn, so he rushes over and stands in the barn entrance to see what made the noise but he doesn't see anything - just an empty barn. He starts to walk away from the barn when he hears tons of cuss words coming from the hayloft. Ennis walks back in the barn and he looks up and guess who he sees - Mr. Twist himself with his shirt torn and looking all dishevelled with hay everywhere on him.
"He looks like a scarecrow," thinks Ennis trying hard not to laugh.
"What the hell are you staring at? Ain't you got stuff you should be doing?" snorts Mr. Twist.
"Yes, sir. I was just gonna get Jack to help me get it done faster."
"That boy still ain't got his ass up yet," Mr. Twist sneers while walking off. Ennis just stands there waiting until he no longer hears Mr. Twist's voice.
Probably talking bad about Jack. I wish I could say something but that didn't do no good last time and he would kick me out for sure, if I did it again. I can't let that happen not after my promise to Jack, thinks Ennis.
Before going inside, Ennis shakes his boots on the side of the porch so as not to track mud or grime in the house. He tips his hat to Mrs. Twist and asks if she's seen Jack up yet.
"No, he's still up there," says Mrs. Twist.
"If you don't mind, could you go up there and tell him to get his ass up and help me before the sun goes down?" Ennis asks.
Mrs. Twist wipes her hands on a towel that is hanging from her waist. "Would you like something to eat or drink, Ennis?"
"I don't think I should. Your husband ain't that happy as it is."
"You just let me worry about him alright and besides a man's gotta eat to keep his strength up right," Mrs. Twist says while getting bread and other things to make a sandwich with Ennis just standing there, afraid to move.
"You really are a shy one, ain't you?" says Mrs. Twist and grabs Ennis's hand and leads him towards the counter. "You can eat while I go try to get Jack up. It's alright," whispers Mrs. Twist trying to reassure Ennis that he doesn't have to ask to take a piss beforehand, "so you shouldn't be afraid to make yourself something to eat 'cause no one's gonna get mad over it. You're our quest," says Mrs. Twist and walks off to go wake Jack.
Ennis is just finishing the rest of his sandwich when Jack comes down the stairs and takes a seat at the table. Ennis tries not to stare but Jack has drops of water falling down his face and he is dripping wet. He's just out of a shower, his shirt is clinging tight on him and his wet skin is making it look like it is too small when really it is the right size.
"What are you thinking about, Ennis?" Jack asks with a little wink. Ennis just looks Jack up and down wishing the world would disappear 'cause he so badly wants to take Jack right here, right now on this table… on the kitchen counter … on the floor. Hell, with the way Jack looks right now he wants to do it all over this house and that includes the barn, but it surely won't be happening with Jack's parents here.
"Jack," Mrs. Twist says coming in from putting the laundry to dry.
"Yes, mama?" Jack asks.
"Your father wants to see ya," she says. Ennis goes past her to go outside. Jack stands and follows him once he finds out from his mother where Mr. Twist is.
"You go on and see what your pa wants and I'll go and start getting the fence started again, okay?" Ennis says. He goes to his horse and rubs its neck to try to calm it.
"Yeah, okay, see ya in a lil' bit then," Jack says and watches Ennis jump on the horse and wave off to Jack. Jack would have waved back but, knowing Ennis, he knows Ennis wouldn't have even seen it, so he walks over to the barn where his father is cleaning out one of the stalls.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yeah, I did," Mr. Twist says coldly. Jack just stands there. He doesn't know what to do but he knows he doesn't like the sound of his father's voice. All of a sudden a memory flashes before him from long ago when he was a little boy and still impressed with his father's rodeo career.
Jack thinks back on the time he finally worked up the courage to ride the neighbor's prize winning bull. He tried and tried to stay on that bull but no matter how hard he tried or how long he managed to stay on it, it still wasn't enough to impress the old man.
"You didn't try hard enough. You're just gonna be a disappointment to me and your mother," the old man had said to Jack back then.
Jack had even got a broken arm in his effort to impress the old man and it was really painful, but Jack was determined not to let it show thinking "Maybe now he will show me something besides just hate…"
"What happened was your fault," Jack's father had told him. "You're just no good for nothing."
Jack is finally thrown back in the here and now by his father's shouts.
"Are you listening to me, boy?" Mr. Twist yells, spit flying all over Jack's face. Jack doesn't answer; he just wipes the spit off his face.
"Listen to me," he yells again this time slapping him and drawing blood from Jack's lip. Jack just turns his head when his father grabs him by the arm and throws him over into the stall. The old man hits him once more then starts to take off his belt. Jack tries to escape but Mr. Twist is blocking his way.
Meanwhile, Ennis has started to wonder where Jack is since it has been more than five minutes since he got here. "Jack, you'd better get here soon," Ennis states out loud clearly pissed since Jack isn't here yet. "I ain't gonna do all this by myself. Where the hell are you, Jack?"
So after another 4 minutes pass, Ennis decides that he is gonna find out where Jack is and why he hasn't come out here to help. "I swear, if he has gone back to sleep…," Ennis says angrily. When Ennis gets close enough to the house, he jumps down from his horse and asks Mrs. Twist where Jack is.
"I think he's in the barn," says Mrs. Twist having no idea what her husband is doing to their only child.