Full Circle
AN: wow. Sorry its been so long, I had part of this written and then I couldn't decide where to take it. Personally I think the ending to this chapter is really awful, but I didn't know what else to do. Thanks to all of those who have been reading and reviewing, you are awesome! Keep up the good work!
Ch5- No More Connections
It had just been Jim, coming home to the apartment to check on the two older kids (the twins were apparently with friends for the day), and to grab some lunch. He looked suspicious when he saw them in the living room, but didn't say anything. Once he had had gone back to the office, Jess was finally able to breathe again. He looked at Rory, who was still silent next to him, and observed the crimson color in her cheeks. When he reached out to touch her arm, she looked up, shocked to see him still sitting there. With a brief, sad, almost apologetic look, she rose quickly from the couch and walked back to her own room. She stopped in the doorway and turned back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… this is just too much."
Jess didn't move from his spot on the sofa, only sat and stared at the white wall-to-wall carpeting on the floor beneath his feet as he ran his hand slowly through his hair. He wasn't sure what had happened; one minute they were fighting, the next minute they were sharing a cigarette, and then they were kissing, and then even more. And now she regretted it. He had thought that there was something there, why he thought this after only two days he wasn't quite sure, but he did. Obviously he was wrong, he had read the signals incorrectly. He was pretty sure that he would never understand her, and maybe he really didn't want to. All he knew was that he'd give his left arm for a good hit of something, anything, that would calm him down and make him relax. He started towards the door to go find Vinny or Frankie down on the corner before remembering, with a sudden jolt, that they wouldn't be there and that he didn't have any connections in this neighborhood. His new life was getting more and more difficult by the second. He decided to take a walk anyway, hoping that the fresh air would do him some good.
A few blocks away from their building, Jess came across a park. The green area was a welcome change from the jumble of metal and concrete that surrounded it, and he walked to the middle of a cluster of trees and sat on the ground with his back to a giant oak tree. From that vantage point, the hustle of the city was blocked from his view and he was able to relax, clear his mind of all recent events, and concentrate completely on his book. Since he had given 'The Fountainhead' back to Rory, he had been forced to take one of his well-loved books with him. This time, it was 'Catch-22'. He loved how he could get so wrapped up in Yossarian's crazy life, and, as usual, before he knew it, he found himself finishing the last page. The sky had gotten darker, night had almost fallen. Glancing at his watch, he found that it was late in the evening, well after dinnertime, and he decided that it was time to head back to his new 'home'.
But he didn't want to go back yet, so he took his time walking the few short blocks, even stopping to buy a hot dog from a vendor on the street just to delay his sentence a little longer. No matter how many little stops he took to look at a book in a shop window or bootlegged CDs on the sidewalk, he still found himself getting ever nearer the dreaded place. Before he even knew it, Jess found himself stopped in the midst of a crowd of rushing Manhattanites in front of the side door of the building. Having nothing better to do at this point, and starting to attract odd stares from the strangers on the street, he stepped cautiously into the lobby.
He pulled on the inside door, trying to muster his strength to go up and face 'the family'. He found, however, that the door was locked, and, for the first time, he realized that he didn't have a key to the apartment. He walked over to the intercom box and buzzed the apartment. Thirty seconds, one minute, two minutes passed. He pressed the small black button again, more desperately this time. Still, nobody answered. No one was home, he had left without thinking about how he would get back in, and now he had no idea how long he might have to wait.
There was no choice but to sit and wait, so that's exactly what he did. It was really too bad he hadn't thought to bring another book with him, so he just sat there, skimming the pages of a book he had just finished reading for the fifth time. There were still things he had never noticed before, odd little details that made little or no difference to the understanding of the novel, but he still liked to make note of things like that. Twenty minutes or so went by, and he was still sitting there. He had given up on 'Catch-22', he just didn't have the patience to read the same book twice in one day. Instead, Jess sat there trying to figure out what he would do if Jim and Angie didn't come home soon.
It turned out, however, that Jess wouldn't need to think of any more plans, as a few minutes after he had put his book down, a ragged old lady hobbled into the lobby and fumbled through her purse before finding her key chain. Clink, clink. Wrong key, try again. Finally she got the door open and hobbled her way into the building towards the elevators. Jess stood there staring, almost laughing at the old lady, until he realized that the door was nearly closed. With one swift movement, he grabbed the side of the door and pulled it open before it had a chance to latch. And with that, he was back.
Once at the apartment door, he faced no more problems. A quick swish of a Swiss-Army knife, and the lock was popped open. He figured that he could have opened the door downstairs with that handy knife as well, but he really didn't feel like taking on the security guards at the front desk.
There were lights on in the apartment. He didn't know much about these people, but the average person doesn't normally leave many lights on when they leave home. And there was music playing somewhere. Jess was confused, but also tired and hungry. The hunger won out over them all, so he walked to the kitchen to make himself a peanut butter sandwich. The more he walked around, the more sure he became that there really was no one home. They must just like to keep the power on all the time.
Sandwich in hand, he walked towards his room. On the way, he noticed the television on in the living room, so he decided to turn it off. As he entered the room however, he noticed silhouettes on the couch. Jess turned the light on, to find a tall guy, about his age, with shaggy blond hair asleep against the arm of the couch. And laying in his arms was Rory, a small, contented smile on her face. The shock of the light was getting to her though, and she opened her eyes slowly. Too slowly, perhaps, because all she saw was Jess' retreating back as he headed back out the front door as quickly as he could.
He was completely numb. She had made out with him, but she had a boyfriend. She had ditched Jess to spare this Frankenstein's feelings. And then, when he had been locked outside, she had been in the apartment the whole time and not answered the door. Jess wasn't sure what to think, he only knew that he was screwing everything up. Nothing had been so complicated when he refused to get involved. So, Jess resolved to remain emotionless, to not get involved no matter what. For a few hours, maybe a few days, he had been a little changed, but he realized that he had only managed to get himself hurt and into even more trouble than he was in before.
So now he is going back to the old Jess.
AN: really bad ending I think. Argh. Umm… tell me what you think, please. Is the pace too slow? I think so. I'm going to try to pick it up a little in the next chapters. Please please review, it helps me so much! Thank you for reading, I hope that you're enjoying it despite my crappy writing!
AN: wow. Sorry its been so long, I had part of this written and then I couldn't decide where to take it. Personally I think the ending to this chapter is really awful, but I didn't know what else to do. Thanks to all of those who have been reading and reviewing, you are awesome! Keep up the good work!
Ch5- No More Connections
It had just been Jim, coming home to the apartment to check on the two older kids (the twins were apparently with friends for the day), and to grab some lunch. He looked suspicious when he saw them in the living room, but didn't say anything. Once he had had gone back to the office, Jess was finally able to breathe again. He looked at Rory, who was still silent next to him, and observed the crimson color in her cheeks. When he reached out to touch her arm, she looked up, shocked to see him still sitting there. With a brief, sad, almost apologetic look, she rose quickly from the couch and walked back to her own room. She stopped in the doorway and turned back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… this is just too much."
Jess didn't move from his spot on the sofa, only sat and stared at the white wall-to-wall carpeting on the floor beneath his feet as he ran his hand slowly through his hair. He wasn't sure what had happened; one minute they were fighting, the next minute they were sharing a cigarette, and then they were kissing, and then even more. And now she regretted it. He had thought that there was something there, why he thought this after only two days he wasn't quite sure, but he did. Obviously he was wrong, he had read the signals incorrectly. He was pretty sure that he would never understand her, and maybe he really didn't want to. All he knew was that he'd give his left arm for a good hit of something, anything, that would calm him down and make him relax. He started towards the door to go find Vinny or Frankie down on the corner before remembering, with a sudden jolt, that they wouldn't be there and that he didn't have any connections in this neighborhood. His new life was getting more and more difficult by the second. He decided to take a walk anyway, hoping that the fresh air would do him some good.
A few blocks away from their building, Jess came across a park. The green area was a welcome change from the jumble of metal and concrete that surrounded it, and he walked to the middle of a cluster of trees and sat on the ground with his back to a giant oak tree. From that vantage point, the hustle of the city was blocked from his view and he was able to relax, clear his mind of all recent events, and concentrate completely on his book. Since he had given 'The Fountainhead' back to Rory, he had been forced to take one of his well-loved books with him. This time, it was 'Catch-22'. He loved how he could get so wrapped up in Yossarian's crazy life, and, as usual, before he knew it, he found himself finishing the last page. The sky had gotten darker, night had almost fallen. Glancing at his watch, he found that it was late in the evening, well after dinnertime, and he decided that it was time to head back to his new 'home'.
But he didn't want to go back yet, so he took his time walking the few short blocks, even stopping to buy a hot dog from a vendor on the street just to delay his sentence a little longer. No matter how many little stops he took to look at a book in a shop window or bootlegged CDs on the sidewalk, he still found himself getting ever nearer the dreaded place. Before he even knew it, Jess found himself stopped in the midst of a crowd of rushing Manhattanites in front of the side door of the building. Having nothing better to do at this point, and starting to attract odd stares from the strangers on the street, he stepped cautiously into the lobby.
He pulled on the inside door, trying to muster his strength to go up and face 'the family'. He found, however, that the door was locked, and, for the first time, he realized that he didn't have a key to the apartment. He walked over to the intercom box and buzzed the apartment. Thirty seconds, one minute, two minutes passed. He pressed the small black button again, more desperately this time. Still, nobody answered. No one was home, he had left without thinking about how he would get back in, and now he had no idea how long he might have to wait.
There was no choice but to sit and wait, so that's exactly what he did. It was really too bad he hadn't thought to bring another book with him, so he just sat there, skimming the pages of a book he had just finished reading for the fifth time. There were still things he had never noticed before, odd little details that made little or no difference to the understanding of the novel, but he still liked to make note of things like that. Twenty minutes or so went by, and he was still sitting there. He had given up on 'Catch-22', he just didn't have the patience to read the same book twice in one day. Instead, Jess sat there trying to figure out what he would do if Jim and Angie didn't come home soon.
It turned out, however, that Jess wouldn't need to think of any more plans, as a few minutes after he had put his book down, a ragged old lady hobbled into the lobby and fumbled through her purse before finding her key chain. Clink, clink. Wrong key, try again. Finally she got the door open and hobbled her way into the building towards the elevators. Jess stood there staring, almost laughing at the old lady, until he realized that the door was nearly closed. With one swift movement, he grabbed the side of the door and pulled it open before it had a chance to latch. And with that, he was back.
Once at the apartment door, he faced no more problems. A quick swish of a Swiss-Army knife, and the lock was popped open. He figured that he could have opened the door downstairs with that handy knife as well, but he really didn't feel like taking on the security guards at the front desk.
There were lights on in the apartment. He didn't know much about these people, but the average person doesn't normally leave many lights on when they leave home. And there was music playing somewhere. Jess was confused, but also tired and hungry. The hunger won out over them all, so he walked to the kitchen to make himself a peanut butter sandwich. The more he walked around, the more sure he became that there really was no one home. They must just like to keep the power on all the time.
Sandwich in hand, he walked towards his room. On the way, he noticed the television on in the living room, so he decided to turn it off. As he entered the room however, he noticed silhouettes on the couch. Jess turned the light on, to find a tall guy, about his age, with shaggy blond hair asleep against the arm of the couch. And laying in his arms was Rory, a small, contented smile on her face. The shock of the light was getting to her though, and she opened her eyes slowly. Too slowly, perhaps, because all she saw was Jess' retreating back as he headed back out the front door as quickly as he could.
He was completely numb. She had made out with him, but she had a boyfriend. She had ditched Jess to spare this Frankenstein's feelings. And then, when he had been locked outside, she had been in the apartment the whole time and not answered the door. Jess wasn't sure what to think, he only knew that he was screwing everything up. Nothing had been so complicated when he refused to get involved. So, Jess resolved to remain emotionless, to not get involved no matter what. For a few hours, maybe a few days, he had been a little changed, but he realized that he had only managed to get himself hurt and into even more trouble than he was in before.
So now he is going back to the old Jess.
AN: really bad ending I think. Argh. Umm… tell me what you think, please. Is the pace too slow? I think so. I'm going to try to pick it up a little in the next chapters. Please please review, it helps me so much! Thank you for reading, I hope that you're enjoying it despite my crappy writing!