Chapter Ten: Old Times
Day Two:
Kilgrave wasn't in the apartment when Jessica returned last night. It was strange that he would leave her to go to sleep unattended.
Nevertheless, he was there when she woke up, standing over her with wet hair and nothing but a towel around his waist. Today, it didn't take more than his hand brushing her cheek for her to open her eyes and sit up. He wasn't going to get anything else from her while she was asleep.
He looked different today. Almost like he was glowing with a new sense of confidence. That, and his strange disappearance were more than troubling to Jessica.
She pulls away from his hand and looks at him, slightly irritated that he kept walking around nearly naked. "Where were you when I got back last night?" The suspicion in her voice was more than obvious.
"Getting you this. And this." He hands her the two things he had in his hand besides the list of rules. It was a smart phone and a wad of one hundred pound bills.
She scowls at him. "I don't want this stolen shit. When you honestly earn something for once -"
"Stop." Shaking his head, he looks at her calmly. "I'm not going to hear it today. Although, that smart mouth of yours can be fairly entertaining at times." Smiling down at her, he runs his hands through her hair, causing her to stiffen. "No. Not today though. I'm in much too good of a mood for that. I've given you money to move throughout the city, buy yourself some new clothes, and buy food to eat. I've also given you a phone, to be able to communicate with me easier. Be grateful for what I've given you."
"I'm very grateful for this. Thank you Kilgrave." Blush creeps up her cheeks as she mutters the appropriate response.
"You're very welcome." Seeing her blush was a rare treat and it reminded him of the old Jessica he knew. The one who smiled and enjoyed the pretty things that he gave her. It made him happy.
Unfolding the rules, he read to her fairly quickly today, before crouching down in front of her, kissing her lips, and standing up again. "Good. Now go get ready, or do whatever you have to do today."
"Okay…" She stands up, slightly dazed and heads to the bathroom.
No, no, no. This was all wrong. This was all very wrong. He wasn't following the rules of their agreement. He was telling her to do things like he used to. 'Be grateful'. That was all too much of the old him. Their old relationship. Her imprisonment. It was bleeding through. What was he doing yesterday?! What had changed to give him this unbearable sense of confidence. This cocky-ness that could possibly end up stripping away the last shreds of freedom that she had.
No. No. No.
Something had to be done about this. Quickly. Before it got worse. The kissing was bad enough. Anything more would be considered torture.
A new approach. Maybe the harsh, name-calling, sarcastic Jessica wasn't helping the situation, or helping him change. If she didn't have a way to kill him, or escape, changing him would have to be the goal. No matter how much it sickened her, she would have to start playing nice. Nicer anyway. Only to ensure that he didn't start commanding her to.
When she's done with her new morning routine, she takes a deep breath and knocks on the bedroom door. "Kilgrave?" Gently, she turns the knob.
Luckily, she hadn't caught him in any compromising position, as he already had his pants on and was just buttoning up his shirt. He seemed surprised to see her. "Yes?"
Swallowing her pride, she takes another deep breath. "Did you wanna… umm… do you wanna have dinner… tonight… with me?"
For a second, he tilts his head and his eyes light up as if he was doing something right. "I'd love that Jessica."
"Okay, great. I'll… uh, I'll be back by six. Okay… I'm leaving now." Awkwardly, she turns around and closes the bedroom door behind her.
As she makes her way out the apartment, she swallows the vomit in her mouth.
*****OLD TIMES*****
Rebecca was in her apartment. Shocker, right?
It was a simple enough conclusion to come to. She hadn't posted anything new on her social media platforms in the last month, but she still had the 'in a relationship' status on her page. There were no pictures of this mysterious significant other on her profile, but nothing a little digging couldn't solve. After checking the pages of some of her friends, she found Rebecca in multiple pictures, being 'comfortable' with a man who looked nearly twice her age. Figures.
When Jessica visited the landlord of the apartment building, it was clear he was a low-life sleazebag. And hearing the name Rebecca Mimms, obviously he was lying about something. With a little force and a little threatening, he was quick to the truth. Apparently someone was paying him extra on the rent if he kept up the lie that it was abandoned and kept any unwanted visitors out. The only people with a key were "a middle-aged lookin' bloke and that skinny girl, Rebecca".
After gaining this information, she jumps up the stairs of the building to the third floor.
308 was the room number, and not bothering to knock, she kicks the door down.
"Jesus fucking Christ." She curses at what she saw. 'Significant other' was sitting on a chair, counting money, Rebecca was laying on the couch, unconscious, sleeping or drugged out of her shits, and another man was standing over her, pressing a needle into her arm.
Everything stops when the door was kicked in, and the second man is quick to drop the needle and reach for the gun in his back pocket. He's able to pull it out, but she was already on him, and grabs the gun, twisting his wrist, until she heard it snap, and he screeches in pain, falling to the floor. 'Significant other' stood up and tried to reach for the gun on the coffee table in front of him, but Jessica points the gun in her hand at him.
"Try me, asshole." She says with clenched teeth over the sound of the man wailing over his broken wrist on the ground. Stepping back, she steps on his head, not hard enough to kill him, but hard enough to knock him out and make him bleed a little more.
"Alright, alright." The accused puts his hands up and steps away from the table. Seeing his friend on the ground, he decides it best not to move. "Bloody hell, lady. Who the fuck are you?!"
Bloody hell. The words had Kilgrave written all over them. Of course, they were in England, and nearly everyone here said it. But Jessica's thoughts were on her jail-keeper. That cheeky, British son of a bitch. It was just the wrong time for her to hear those words, and it didn't help him that he had basically kidnapped this girl.
Who was she kidding? She wasn't going to use this gun. She wanted to use her hands for this. Throwing the gun across the room (which puts a hole in the wall), she takes three long strides towards him, grabs him by the collar, and punches him. Sure, he struggled at first, and got a good hit in on her gut, but the struggling died down once he hit the ground and his face was becoming unrecognizable. What would it take for her to kill this man? Full strength and his skull would have been in splinters on the ground. But right now, he was just her punching bag.
When she had relieved some of her built up stress, she pulls her phone out of her pocket, and dials the number she had saved, while going to see Rebecca.
Yeah. She was drugged out of her shits. Her eyes were barely open, puffy, red and rolled around in her head, as she was unable to focus on anything specific. She was constantly shifting and groaning, but none of the events that just occurred seemed to have affected her state at all. Probably had more heroine in her than her system could handle.
"Rebecca?" Jessica crouches beside her, while holding the phone to her ear, listening to it ring. Since she was so unresponsive, Jessica scoops her up in her arms, having no problem carrying her and holding her phone.
Finally, there's an answer on the other end of the line. "Mrs. Mimms? No. No… this is Je-... this is Jewel. Yes. Yeah, yeah… I have her. Yes I have Rebecca… no… no. Just tell me where you are… Fine. I'm on my way."
*****OLD TIMES*****
Rebecca had just fallen in with the wrong guy. He tricked her into thinking they were actually dating, and then pressured her to start drugs. Once he had her hooked, she was basically his puppet. From there, he would 'rent' her out to more assholes who wanted to have their way with her at night.
All of this was theory of course, but Jessica explained it this way to her hysterical parents. It's not like this 'business' was unheard of.
Her mother sat next to Rebecca, crying, so Jessica mostly directed the rest of her comments to her dad. "No doubt the police are at the apartment now, and the guys will automatically be charged for possession and usage of narcotics, and maybe illegal possession of concealed weapons. Rebecca is going to go through a horrible withdrawal phase. You'll need to be with her 24/7 to keep her from trying anything. Also, keep her hydrated. Water only, and avoid solid foods for awhile. If you think something is wrong or that you won't be able to take care of her properly, I suggest you take her to the hospital. Either way, you should get her in a rehab program for the future.
"Lastly, I'm sure the drug charges will stick on the people who took her… but they could be taken up with human trafficking if you want to go to the police with this. But I suggest you don't… The process and trial for such a case would be long and strenuous and may hurt or than it helps. Of course, the decision to do that is yours. All I ask is that you leave me out of it. Whatever you say to the police or anyone for that matter, leave me out of it. Make up something if you have to. That's all I ask…"
The father nods to show his understanding. Now, Jessica was ready to go. Watching people cry and be emotional made her uncomfortable and slightly annoyed, even if it was her own tears. She had done what her guilty conscious had told her to do. And this time, everyone survived. Her job was done. She had heard enough of their 'thank you's' and praises, so she sighed when the father grabs her hand before she can leave.
"We want you to have this." He says, his voice raw as he places a sealed envelope on her hand, and by the feel of it, it was clearly money.
Judging by their place of living, this family wasn't exactly rich. So she shakes her head and hands it back. "No… I didn't ask for that. I don't -"
"We. Insist." He pushes it back in her hand, his strict tone, followed by a grateful smile.
"Thanks…" She mutters back, and shoves it into her jacket pocket. Glancing back at Rebecca one last time, she leaves.
What was she going to do with all this money anyway?
On her way out, she looks down at her clothes which were now horribly stained with blood splotches. It was a wonder how she got herself and Rebecca here without being stopped.
"Shit." Guess it was time to go shopping.
Author's note:
Okay, so the whole Rebecca situation wasn't supposed to be this elaborate. Jessica was just supposed to find her and then get some money and then I'd jump right into the dinner scene with Kilgrave. But I thought that would be kinda lame. Plus, we haven't seen Jessica kick ass yet so this chapter was just a little bonus.
I was going to make Day Two all in the same chapter, but then that would be a hella long chapter, so I just broke it up into two. Enjoy chapter 11! Thanks again!