Full Circle
Chapter 9- Sweat, Pot, and Sex
**
The apartment was pitch black, and it had a funny smell, musty perhaps, but there was more to it than that. A faint smell of sweat and pot and sex mixed with the smell of the wet floors to make it almost nauseating. The shuffle of feet led them towards a more open space, and a light was turned on. Then Rory got her first glimpse of Donnie.
He was not exactly tall, but still, he had a few inches on Jess. He had short-cropped black hair, and a scruffy beard that looked like no one had dared touch it in a few days. He had beady black eyes that almost bored holes right through her when he glanced at her. She figured that some people would probably consider him attractive, although she couldn't really see it. She noted that he did not look pleased to be woken up at two o'clock in the morning.
Donnie spoke first, since this WAS his apartment and all. The sound came out scratchy, as though he needed to clear his throat. He didn't, however, and continued to speak. "Mariano! Man, where the hell have you been?" Taking a moment to think about this, Donnie seemed to get a revelation, and continued, "And why the fuck are you showing up on my doorstep in the middle of the night?"
Jess, clearly trying to avoid the complicated situation all together, responded in his typical cryptic way. "We're on our way out of the city. I'm gonna need to talk to you about some things in the morning, but right now we just need a place to crash." Donnie's expression did not show surprise or anger at Jess' response, but instead he seemed rather pleased with the lack of explanation. This was the first time, it seemed, that he really noticed Rory standing there beside Jess, and he took his time looking her up and down. There were no more questions asked about what was going on, and they were both relieved. Instead, Donnie just brought them into the small living room that also doubled as a guest room judging by the mattress that was laid out on the floor. There was no couch, only a reclining lounger and two stiff wooden chairs.
There were sheets on the bed, and blankets, but they were messed up and obviously had not been changed since the last person had slept there. It was a disturbing revelation, but Rory was determined not to show shock or fear in these new situations since she had been so adamant about her decision to go and about her knowledge of "his world".
Donnie left them alone in the room, already half-asleep, and walked back to his own bedroom across the hall. The apartment really only consisted of the one bedroom, the living room, a bathroom which Rory guessed was hidden off the bedroom somewhere, and a very small kitchenette. Not that apartments this size were necessarily bad, considering she had lived in enough of them before she had come to Jim and Angie, but this was particularly messy and the clutter made it seem much smaller than it actually was. Once she had nothing left to look at in the apartment, she finally looked towards Jess.
He seemed lost in thought, and decided not to disturb him. He was back in his old life, with his old friends, and Rory figured that he needed some time for himself. She just hoped that going back to the 'old Jess' didn't change their relationship. Pondering all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, she grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a sweatshirt, and went to the bathroom to get changed. When she came out, she found that he had claimed the recliner for himself, thus leaving the bed for her. He watched her walk over to the mattress and sit down, but he never said a word. When he saw that she had settled and was safely falling asleep, he finally turned over onto his side and closed his eyes.
Rory was a little squeamish about sleeping in the bed, but she did it because she knew that there were no other options. The mattress was more comfortable than she expected, but not by much. But soon enough, she found herself falling into a restless sleep, filled with horrifying nightmares of her early childhood. They were things she had never seen before, things she was pretty sure had never happened, but still, they scared her. Her mother was running down the stairs of their first apartment building, fleeing a masked assailant. Then, Rory was sitting back in that living room on the day that Social Services came and took her to live with a new family.
This time, however, she couldn't see their faces and instead of speaking to her, they just encroached upon her, slowly, until she had no escape. When they grabbed her arms, she screamed so loudly that she was sure they would run away in fear. They didn't, and she just closed her eyes and sobbed for her mother. They were shaking her, rocking her back and forth. It wasn't until she heard her name being called that she floated back to reality.
Jess was kneeling on the edge of the mattress, softly shaking Rory's shoulders. She opened her eyes slowly, feeling the wetness of her cheeks with the back of her hand. She felt a little silly having cried over a nightmare like a child, and gave a weak smile when she finally looked up into Jess' face. He raised an eyebrow in a silent question, making sure that she was alright. She maintained eye contact and sat up carefully before she spoke a word.
"I'm sorry I woke you up. God, I feel so stupid! I haven't had these nightmares in years."
She drew her knees to her chest, and stared at the pattern of the threadbare sheets. He took her hand in his, trying to be comforting. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She shook her head, sniffled a little bit, and wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. She figured that she probably looked like crap, all blotchy and red from crying, but she didn't care. She was glad that Jess was there, so close to her. No one else had ever cared for her when she had nightmares, and now she realized what she had been missing.
She shook her head again, trying to emphasize the point that she didn't want to talk about anything, not her past, nor the dreams that she was sure were long gone but had suddenly resurfaced. Instead, she lay back down, looking up into his face. "Will you just sleep here next to me tonight so I don't have to be scared?"
His face showed his uncertainty. He looked around the room, avoiding her gaze as he contemplated the request with conflicting thoughts. She was frightened, and she just needed to be comforted. There was no hidden message, there couldn't be. He knew that this was too much for her to undertake, this trip, and he wished that he had never told her of his plans to leave. Now he was being asked to share a bed with the one girl who had actually made him care, and whom he found he couldn't resist.
Jess wasn't sure that he could trust himself with her, but one more look at her face, filled with pain and fear, told him all he needed to know. He lifted the ratty blanket and slid slowly into the bed, but lay stiff on his back, refusing to touch more than her hand. Her scent was intoxicating, though, and when she curled into his side when she slept, he thoughtlessly tossed his arm across her stomach to protect her and to keep her close.
That is the position in which they both woke suddenly the next morning, startled to see many pairs of eyes staring at them in the bright light.
**
AN: Happy belated holidays to all! Sorry this chapter's taken so long. I hope that you are enjoying the story. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, it really means a lot. Please continue to review, it really helps me in my writing process. Tell me if you love it, if you hate it, or if you just don't get it! Thanks!
Chapter 9- Sweat, Pot, and Sex
**
The apartment was pitch black, and it had a funny smell, musty perhaps, but there was more to it than that. A faint smell of sweat and pot and sex mixed with the smell of the wet floors to make it almost nauseating. The shuffle of feet led them towards a more open space, and a light was turned on. Then Rory got her first glimpse of Donnie.
He was not exactly tall, but still, he had a few inches on Jess. He had short-cropped black hair, and a scruffy beard that looked like no one had dared touch it in a few days. He had beady black eyes that almost bored holes right through her when he glanced at her. She figured that some people would probably consider him attractive, although she couldn't really see it. She noted that he did not look pleased to be woken up at two o'clock in the morning.
Donnie spoke first, since this WAS his apartment and all. The sound came out scratchy, as though he needed to clear his throat. He didn't, however, and continued to speak. "Mariano! Man, where the hell have you been?" Taking a moment to think about this, Donnie seemed to get a revelation, and continued, "And why the fuck are you showing up on my doorstep in the middle of the night?"
Jess, clearly trying to avoid the complicated situation all together, responded in his typical cryptic way. "We're on our way out of the city. I'm gonna need to talk to you about some things in the morning, but right now we just need a place to crash." Donnie's expression did not show surprise or anger at Jess' response, but instead he seemed rather pleased with the lack of explanation. This was the first time, it seemed, that he really noticed Rory standing there beside Jess, and he took his time looking her up and down. There were no more questions asked about what was going on, and they were both relieved. Instead, Donnie just brought them into the small living room that also doubled as a guest room judging by the mattress that was laid out on the floor. There was no couch, only a reclining lounger and two stiff wooden chairs.
There were sheets on the bed, and blankets, but they were messed up and obviously had not been changed since the last person had slept there. It was a disturbing revelation, but Rory was determined not to show shock or fear in these new situations since she had been so adamant about her decision to go and about her knowledge of "his world".
Donnie left them alone in the room, already half-asleep, and walked back to his own bedroom across the hall. The apartment really only consisted of the one bedroom, the living room, a bathroom which Rory guessed was hidden off the bedroom somewhere, and a very small kitchenette. Not that apartments this size were necessarily bad, considering she had lived in enough of them before she had come to Jim and Angie, but this was particularly messy and the clutter made it seem much smaller than it actually was. Once she had nothing left to look at in the apartment, she finally looked towards Jess.
He seemed lost in thought, and decided not to disturb him. He was back in his old life, with his old friends, and Rory figured that he needed some time for himself. She just hoped that going back to the 'old Jess' didn't change their relationship. Pondering all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, she grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a sweatshirt, and went to the bathroom to get changed. When she came out, she found that he had claimed the recliner for himself, thus leaving the bed for her. He watched her walk over to the mattress and sit down, but he never said a word. When he saw that she had settled and was safely falling asleep, he finally turned over onto his side and closed his eyes.
Rory was a little squeamish about sleeping in the bed, but she did it because she knew that there were no other options. The mattress was more comfortable than she expected, but not by much. But soon enough, she found herself falling into a restless sleep, filled with horrifying nightmares of her early childhood. They were things she had never seen before, things she was pretty sure had never happened, but still, they scared her. Her mother was running down the stairs of their first apartment building, fleeing a masked assailant. Then, Rory was sitting back in that living room on the day that Social Services came and took her to live with a new family.
This time, however, she couldn't see their faces and instead of speaking to her, they just encroached upon her, slowly, until she had no escape. When they grabbed her arms, she screamed so loudly that she was sure they would run away in fear. They didn't, and she just closed her eyes and sobbed for her mother. They were shaking her, rocking her back and forth. It wasn't until she heard her name being called that she floated back to reality.
Jess was kneeling on the edge of the mattress, softly shaking Rory's shoulders. She opened her eyes slowly, feeling the wetness of her cheeks with the back of her hand. She felt a little silly having cried over a nightmare like a child, and gave a weak smile when she finally looked up into Jess' face. He raised an eyebrow in a silent question, making sure that she was alright. She maintained eye contact and sat up carefully before she spoke a word.
"I'm sorry I woke you up. God, I feel so stupid! I haven't had these nightmares in years."
She drew her knees to her chest, and stared at the pattern of the threadbare sheets. He took her hand in his, trying to be comforting. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She shook her head, sniffled a little bit, and wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. She figured that she probably looked like crap, all blotchy and red from crying, but she didn't care. She was glad that Jess was there, so close to her. No one else had ever cared for her when she had nightmares, and now she realized what she had been missing.
She shook her head again, trying to emphasize the point that she didn't want to talk about anything, not her past, nor the dreams that she was sure were long gone but had suddenly resurfaced. Instead, she lay back down, looking up into his face. "Will you just sleep here next to me tonight so I don't have to be scared?"
His face showed his uncertainty. He looked around the room, avoiding her gaze as he contemplated the request with conflicting thoughts. She was frightened, and she just needed to be comforted. There was no hidden message, there couldn't be. He knew that this was too much for her to undertake, this trip, and he wished that he had never told her of his plans to leave. Now he was being asked to share a bed with the one girl who had actually made him care, and whom he found he couldn't resist.
Jess wasn't sure that he could trust himself with her, but one more look at her face, filled with pain and fear, told him all he needed to know. He lifted the ratty blanket and slid slowly into the bed, but lay stiff on his back, refusing to touch more than her hand. Her scent was intoxicating, though, and when she curled into his side when she slept, he thoughtlessly tossed his arm across her stomach to protect her and to keep her close.
That is the position in which they both woke suddenly the next morning, startled to see many pairs of eyes staring at them in the bright light.
**
AN: Happy belated holidays to all! Sorry this chapter's taken so long. I hope that you are enjoying the story. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, it really means a lot. Please continue to review, it really helps me in my writing process. Tell me if you love it, if you hate it, or if you just don't get it! Thanks!