I don't own HM or any of its characters! I own the story though!
Chapter 4: Abuse
Jack sighed as he watched the two girls leave. He was attracted Karen. It was as simple as that. He didn't really know why though. She could be so rude. But that's not how she really is . . . Jack thought with a smirk. She's actually sweet and caring. The rudeness is just a mask. But . . . Why would she need a mask?
By the time Karen walked into the vineyard, nightfall had come. "Miss Karen! Where have to been? Your mother has been worried sick!" The vineyard hand, Kai, exclaimed, "And what happened to your leg?" Karen ignored him and walked into her house. She got similar reactions from her mother, "Karen! Where have you–what happened to your leg?" Karen sighed, "I was at Ann's house." Karen's mother, Sasha waited patiently for the rest of the answer, "I fell." Sasha was about to ask more, but Karen walked into her room and shut the door behind her.
The next morning, Karen was awoken by pounding on her door. She got up from her bed, walked over to it groggily, and opened it. All weariness disappeared when she saw whom it was. It was her father, drunken and angry . . .
Ann was taking her daily morning walk when she saw Karen limp quickly out of the vineyard. What she saw made her gasp. Tears streamed down Karen's face, but that is not what scared Ann. There was a large, purple bruise on her cheek, she had black eye, and finally, there was a large, bleeding welt on her forehead. Those injuries were not there the night before and that scared Ann . . .
"Karen! What happened?" Ann asked in bewilderment. Karen tripped and fell. Ann tried to catch her, but failed miserably. Karen didn't get up. Instead, she stayed there and started crying harder. "Karen?" Karen still refused to answer. This is no accident. She's been beaten! Ann thought in astonishment. But who did this? Surely not her father! Not even he could get this drunk!
Ann knelt down beside the weeping Karen. "Karen, what happened?" Karen shook her head and tried to get up. She put too much weight on her sprained ankle, cried out, and fell again. This time though, Ann was able to catch her. I need to get her some help, but who? The ranch is too far away. A quarter-mile is a long way when carrying a hundred-ten pound girl. I couldn't possibly carry her that far! I may be strong, but not that strong. Where can I take her? Into town? No. Too far. Where's Jack when you need him? That's it! Ann's eyes settled on the Moon Farm. Jack's farm. I'd be pushing it, but I think I can make it. She looked back to Karen. She was now in a fetal position and crying harder than ever.
"Come on, Karen. Help me out a bit here." Ann said through clenched teeth. At this time, she thanked the goddess for the strength that she earned by working on a ranch more than ever. She slowly lifted Karen up. "No!" Karen yelled and squirmed out of Ann's grasp. She fell to the ground in a heap and cried out in pain again. Whatever happened has left Karen in shambles! She's terrified! Ann tried again, but Karen fought it. Ann sighed and silently apologized to Karen. She lifted the scared girl up again and put her in the typical 'Fireman's Carry' position. Karen fought a little bit, but then gave up. Ann was bigger and stronger than she was, and Karen couldn't possibly hope to fight and win. Plus, she didn't feel like falling again.
"Jack!" Ann yelled while banging on Jack's front door. The banging seemed to upset Karen even more and she started thrashing in Ann's grip. "Jack! Open up!" The front door swung open and Jack stood there in his boxers and a white, sleeveless muscle-shirt. "What?!" He demanded. In a normal situation, Ann might have been embarrassed to see Jack like that, but this wasn't a normal situation. Ann pushed past Jack and set Karen down on the unmade bed. That's when Jack saw Karen's face. He cursed loudly and ran to the large cabinet by the front door. "What happened?" He demanded while fishing around in the cabinet. Ann sighed, "I don't know! She hasn't said a word except for 'No!' since I first saw her!"
Jack found what he was looking for–gauze pads, more bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and a few other medical items that he had bought at the market the day before–and ran to Karen. Her crying had quieted some by now, but it wouldn't take much to set her off again. "Where did you find her?" He asked while trying to apply the hydrogen peroxide to the welt on Karen's forehead. "She was running out of the vineyard when I saw her. What do you think happened?" Jack sighed heavily. "When I moved here, I was hoping to get away from all of this. She . . . She's been beaten." Ann gasped, "How do you know?" Jack started wrapping a bandage around Karen's head, "Because I know what it looks like. My dad's a lawyer. Not to mention an alcoholic. Sometimes when he lost a big case, he'd get really liquored up. When that happened, anything could set him off. I used to get beaten all the time." Ann looked at Karen. Jack was right, she looked like she had been beaten. Of course, she had come to that conclusion earlier.
Jack finished with the bandage. If Karen knew that the other two were even there, she didn't show it. She just kept on crying until, finally, she fell asleep. Jack never moved. Instead, he brushed some of her blonde bangs away and looked at the bruises on her face. "Who did this to you, Karen? Who could be so stupid to do something like this?" He asked her quietly. Whenever I get my hands on whoever did this . . . Jack shook that thought off for now. He'd have plenty of time for that later. Right now, he had to focus on Karen.
Jack sighed and got up. He signaled for Ann to step outside with him. She did and they sat down in some lawn chairs that Jack had found the day before. Taco was chasing a squirrel nearby and Thunder, Jack's pony, was grazing not too far away. Jack sighed, "Who could have done this to her?" He asked. Ann shook her head, "I don't know. I mean, her father has been known to get drunk, but I don't think he could ever get this bad! He may not act like it most of the time, but he does love her!" Jack sighed, "When you are drunk, nothing matters to you anymore. Drinking dulls your feelings. That's why a lot of people do it. If her father drank enough, he wouldn't have even realized what he was doing. In fact, he might not even remember doing it later." Ann looked down at the ground. A single tear rolled down her cheek and dropped to the ground.
"Is she going to be all right?" Ann asked quietly. Jack sighed, "She'll be alright physically. But . . . this is a traumatic experience for her. It may take her a long time to recover from it. That's where you come in. You need to be there for her whenever she needs it." Ann shook her head, "No. We need to be there for her." Jack looked at her, "I don't really know her and she doesn't know me. How can I possibly be there for her?" Ann smiled slightly, "You carried her here when she sprained her ankle. You walked all the way into town to get her ice. You took all of her cruelty and rudeness with a smile. Those are all characteristics of a friend. Your grandfather held those characteristics too. She admired him for it, and, although she'll deny it, she admires you for it." Jack was about to reply but Ann cut him off, "Plus. You have experience in this matter. I don't. You could probably be a lot more help than me." Jack sighed. He knew that she was right. "Yeah. I guess we'll be there for her then."
"So . . . What will the village do when they hear about this?" Jack asked. Ann laughed harshly, "They won't hear about it." Jack looked at her quizzically. Ann sighed, "Karen won't let us tell anyone." Jack's eyes widened, "What?! We have to tell someone! Her father can't get away with something like this!" Ann shook her head, "Although the vineyard is struggling, it's still the main income source for Flowerbud after your grandfather died. Because of this, most of the villagers would call it a fluke. The rest will ignore it. It'd be better to just sit on it. To conserve what's left of the Roberts' family pride." Jack was almost speechless. Almost.
"Pride? Pride?!" Ann winced. "There's a severely beaten girl that goes by the name of Karen in there! She's lucky that her injuries aren't as bad as they could be! She could be dead!" Ann cringed. "Well, I don't know about–" Jack didn't let her finish. "How's she going to look next time, Ann? What shape is she going to be in? How long until she's unrecognizable to even her best friend? How much can she take?" Ann was silent for a long time. "There's not going to be a next time." Jack stood up in anger, "How are you going to stop it, Ann? Are you going to hold him back?" Ann didn't answer. "Well?" Jack asked impatiently. Ann replied in such a quiet voice that Jack had to lean closer to her to hear, "I . . . I don't know . . ." Jack straightened, "Exactly. You don't know."
Tears streamed down Ann's face, "Can't you stop that?! So I don't know! It doesn't mean there's not a way!"
Jack sighed, "I . . . I'm sorry. You're right. There's a way. We just have to find it. In the meantime, do you have any room at your ranch for Karen to stay for a while. Overnight, at least." Ann looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, we have the guest house–er . . . shack." Jack smiled, "Perfect."
"So, you'll be all right for a while?" Jack asked. Ann rolled her eyes, "Of course! I think I can handle myself for a few hours." Jack smiled. He was about to try to get a part-time job with the Carpenters. He began walking out the door, "Jack!" He whirled around to face Ann. She looked at him apologetically, "Can you . . . lock the door on your way out? Ya know, just in case Karen's father . . ." She trailed off and Jack gave her a thumbs-up and left locking the door behind himself.
Jack walked through the wooded area amazed at what he was seeing. He was seeing, well, whatever wasn't in the city. Wildlife from ants to foxes. Hummingbirds to the hawks. Piece and quiet.
In front of him was a small log house. It had a sign in front of it that said, "Greg's Fishing Supplies".
Behind the house was a small pond. Beyond that was the trail that led up the mountain.
To Jack's left was a rushing stream. Because of the time of year, Jack could see salmon struggling against the current. One, in particular, jumped out of the water and came back down with a splash.
Jack was standing in a large meadow. The meadow was separated into two parts via the stream. There was a wooden bridge that led across the stream so that everybody could have access to the other side.
Jack could see that the carpenter's place was on the other side, so he walked across the bridge.
He was about to knock on the carpenter's door, but something else caught his eye.
There was a man clad in brown clothes that just walked into this side of the meadow. He had brown hair and a blonde ponytail that reminded Jack of Karen. Now that he thought about it, Jack could that there was a resemblance between the two.
Jack watched the man as he walked. The man was extremely pale as if he was sick or very hungry. Might as well go introduce myself.
Jack walked over to him, but before he could say anything, the man's knees gave out and he fell. Jack's eyes widened and he just barely grabbed the man's shoulder and hauled him back up. He started helping the barely conscious man to the carpenter's house.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! The door to the carpenter's flew open and a man with a flat top hairdo stood in the doorway. "Yes?" The man saw the person that Jack was carrying. "Whoa! Let me help you!" Together Jack and who Jack guessed to be the carpenter hauled the man into the house. They sat him in a chair.
"Hey, wake up." The carpenter said gruffly. The now unconscious man didn't respond. "Hey, come on, wake up." The man stirred softly and moaned. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at the two men in front of him. "Wha?"
Jack smiled at his newfound friends, Cliff, the wandering man, and Mark, the apprentice carpenter. He had also met Matt, Mark's twin brother and apprentice blacksmith, and Joseph, the head carpenter and blacksmith.
After introductions had been made, Jack had found out that Cliff was, well, starving. Lucky for him, Jack had brought some sandwiches to eat, so Cliff was in good shape.
"Hmm . . . Do you have any experience cutting wood?" Joseph asked Jack and Cliff. Cliff nodded but Jack said, "Nope." Joseph nodded, "Well. That's not really a problem. There's not much to it. Yeah, I think I can handle a little bit more help. Now, the pay's not that great, but it should be able to get you on your feet. As an added bonus, we offer a twenty-five percent reduction for the first thing that you request from us. Whether the first request is a new house or a couch is your choice." Jack and Cliff nodded happily and took turns shaking Joseph's hand. Then they shook each other's hands.
"I want you both to report back here at eight o'clock tomorrow." Cliff and Jack exited the carpenter's house.
"So, Cliff, where are you stayin'?" Jack asked. Cliff stopped as if he had missed something important, "Oops . . ." Jack looked at him, "What?" Cliff looked at Jack, "Well, I was going to be staying at my cousin's house, but I just realized that I have no idea where she lives." Jack looked at him, "Who's your cousin?"
"Karen Roberts." Jack stopped. No wonder they look so much alike! "Do you know where she lives?" Cliff asked. Jack nodded slowly, "Um . . . yeah, but Karen's not there right now." Cliff looked at him quizzically, "What? How do you know?" Jack smiled grimly. "Because she's at my house." He said equally grimly. "Huh? Why's she at your house?" Cliff asked.
The two had left the woods now and were headed toward Jack's farm. "I . . . uh . . . think I'd better let her explain." Cliff didn't say anything.
Jack unlocked his door and walked in. Ann lay on his couch dozing. Jack put a finger up to his lips and walked quietly over to her.
"ANN!" Ann jumped up and off the couch her eyes wide. It took a few moments for her to notice who had so rudely awaken her. "Jack! What are you–" She noticed Cliff. "Hello, I'm Ann. What's your name?" She held out her hand. "I'm Cli–. Karen!" He brushed by Ann and ran to the bed where Karen slept.
He inspected Karen and looked at Jack, "What happened?" Jack fumbled for words, "She . . . uh . . . Well . . ." Ann jumped in, "We don't know. I found her like that and brought her over to Jack's. We've been waiting for her to wake up." Cliff eyed them suspiciously.
Any suspicions were quickly forgotten as Karen emitted a quiet moan. Jack ran to the bed. He had to stop himself from pushing Cliff out of the way of Karen. He settled for the place next to Karen's cousin.
Karen's eyes fluttered opened and looked in the eyes of her cousin, Cliff. "Wha? Cliff? What are you . . . ?" She trailed off as she saw her surroundings. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Jack looking at her worriedly. Ann was peering over their shoulders. Karen moaned again.
Cliff and Jack immediately began asking questions frantically. Karen looked overwhelmed. Ann saw this and decided to put a stop to it. "Guys! Stop! Give her some space!" The two men were silenced and Cliff looked back at Ann. Jack, on the other hand, never removed his gaze from Karen's injuries. It was at this time that Jack noticed that Karen was wearing the shirt that he had given her the day before. It was too big to fit her normally, so she was wearing it as a pajama top.
It wasn't until after Jack gave Karen something to eat and drink that Karen was willing to talk. "Okay . . . I went home last night pretty late. My dad was at the bar, but my mom was home. Anyway, I walked in, gave my mother a half-decent explanation, and went to bed.
"The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my door being banged on. I went and opened it. There was my dad standing there. He was more drunk than I had ever seen him. From there . . . you can guess . . ."
Ann walked over to Karen and gave her a hug while reassuring her. Jack was red with fury, and Cliff just sat there torn about what to do.
"So, Cliff, what are you doing here?" Karen asked. "Don't you remember? I told you a few weeks ago that I was coming." Karen was silent, but she nodded. Meanwhile, Jack and Ann were talking to each other.
"Karen's a lot stronger than we thought. I thought she'd be an emotional wreck." Jack said. Ann sighed, "She's keeping it bottled up inside of her." Jack was silent.
"I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Cliff." Cliff said while holding out a hand. Ann shook it and smiled. "You already know my name."
"So, Karen. Jack and I were talking earlier, and we thought that maybe you'd like to stay in the guest house at the ranch. That way . . . ya know . . ." Karen was silent. Finally, she nodded in agreement.
Karen turned to Cliff. "Where are you going to stay, Cliff?" Cliff looked uncertain. "I . . . uh . . . don't know. I was planning on staying with you, but . . ." Karen looked towards Ann. Ann shook her head, "Sorry, with you staying there, we'll be out of room. Plus, I don't think my dad would like for a stranger to be staying there." Cliff sighed, "I guess I can camp out in the woods. In that cave that I saw, maybe."
Jack cleared his throat, "I have an open couch if you need it." Cliff looked at him, "Thank you, but I don't want to be a–." Jack cut him off, "It's no problem. It'd be a little tight, but I'd like some company." Cliff smiled, "I guess I'll stay with you then."
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How'd you like it? R&R! The next chapter we learn more about Cliff!
--Ben