AN (10/31): Happy Halloween! Finding Neverland was fantastic! You should all see it opening day. Johnny did an excellent job, and the scene with the pirates made me giggle.
This chapter...well, I'm not sure what I want to happen in this chapter. We'll see how it goes, I suppose.
Wow...didn't turn out how I expected it to. If enough people leave a review (we'll say...oh...seven) complaining about the ending, I'll make it so our girl winds up with Jack in the end...
All Hallow's Eve: Chapter 4
"What are you doing?" I asked softly, not really wanting to say anything. Curse my upbringing as a good Christian girl. His eyes were so close to mine. As I looked into them, I felt almost like caramel in a Milky Way.
"Well, I planned on kissin' ye," he responded, tilting his head in confusion. "Is tha' a problem? I mean, ye definitely need t' be kissed." He sounded so sure of himself, though there was a hint of something else in his voice. I didn't have the experience to know what it was, though.
"Who are you to decide if I need to be kissed or not, Jack?" I asked exasperatedly, backing out of the situation. My body ached for a kiss, but my mind screamed out it would only lead to heartache. This couldn't ever be serious...he was from the past. Besides, I wasn't even sure if I thought he was real or not.
"Well, luv, I happen t' know a bi' abou' women. There's basically three types o' females. The type tha' ache for love, the type tha' ache for knowledge, an' the type tha' ache for children. Yer one of the women who ache for love." He smiled warmly, and I found myself melting into his dark brown eyes again. "It isn' like I was plannin' on molestin' ye, luv. It'd be jus' an innocent kiss."
"Oh." The generalizations he made about women made my blood boil distantly in the back of my mind. I stepped back towards him, and then stopped. "How can you be so bloody sure of yourself, Jack? I mean...you're twice my age, at least. What if I don't find you attractive?"
"Age doesn' mean a thing," he responded, stepping towards me and lightly caressing my shoulder. It felt so good as his fingers traced odd little patterns into the pink stripes. "An' of course ye find me attractive. I can tell yer fightin' wiv yerself. Look, luv, I'm no' goin' t' make ye do anythin' ye don' want t' do." He smiled softly, tilting my head back up. Our lips met for a moment, and I felt like one of those heroines in those trashy romance novels my mother read. I felt complete for a second. "I need this, luv," he said softly, his lips lingering near mine to tempt me.
I was astounded. I couldn't think properly anymore. That kiss...wow. No wonder all the women in the Caribbean loved him. Smiling slightly, I put my hand on his cheek and pulled him down into another kiss. I was in heaven.
Needless to say, it went quite a bit further than merely kissing. I hadn't even been on a date and I'd already had intercourse with a man who really shouldn't even exist. When I woke up in his arms as the front door opened, I realized how stupid I'd been. My parents would see him in here...and I would be disowned. Swearing for the third time in my life, I quickly slipped out from between his arms and dressed. At least we'd made it all the way to my bedroom. He didn't even stir as I did this. He looked exhausted. Perhaps I'd just been a release for him. What would I do if I was suddenly in a different time period and there seemed to be only one person who knew who I was?
When I left the room, an enormous wave of panic washed over me. How was I supposed to function tomorrow at school? Sure, I'd had the man of my dreams...but what if I ended up pregnant? The thought hadn't even occurred to me. And I had to meet up with my parents. Ironic that this all happened on a Sunday.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to rearrange my face in the bathroom mirror. My mother would instantly suspect something was up if I didn't calm down. "It'll be okay," I whispered. "This is just a dream, after all. You'll be waking up any moment." I felt a bit calmer as I said that to myself in the mirror. That slight amount of calm left as my mother shouted my name. How was it possible to feel so disgusted and pleased with yourself, anyway? It had been amazing...
Putting on a false smile, I walked into the family room. "Hi," I greeted heartily, my face falling as I noticed the look my mother had on her face. "I'm sorry," I added meekly.
"You said you'd be home by eleven." I hated how my parents lectured me. I always felt like I was worth less than a speck of pond scum. "What happened? I called over at Savannah's house and she said you'd left. Then the mayor stopped us at church and told us he'd seen you walking with some man probably twice your age. What's going on?"
A glimmer of a plan formulated in my mind as I let the tears I'd been holding back fall. "Mommy," I sobbed, suddenly walking over and prostrating myself at her feet. "I stepped outside of the party for a minute. A large man saw me..and...he.." I allowed my sobs to grow louder.
My mother glanced at me with surprise. "You don't mean..." she said softly, kneeling next to me as her dark red skirt spilled over the blue carpet. "Oh...my poor baby!" she cried as I slowly nodded. "Who did it?"
"I don't know," I sobbed. "But the man the mayor saw me with tried to...he tried to help me, Mommy." I hadn't called her Mommy in over eight years. At least she was believing my story. "He didn't get there in enough time. The man knocked me out and he tried to escort me home. Didn't know where I lived, so he waited for me to wake up."
"Are you sure they were different men?" my mother questioned softly, putting her arms around my shoulders. "And how do you know he didn't take advantage of you as well?" She was taking this a lot better than I'd expected her to. Of course, she liked having mini emergencies pop up.
"Jack didn't do it," I replied. "He's too nice to do something like that. He wanted to help me explain it, but he was so tired...I think the man who raped me beat him up. So, he's lying in my room, trying to get some sleep." How could she believe this? My story was so weak!
"Oh, baby," she said softly, picking my torso up and putting it on her lap. "Its all right now. I won't let the man hurt you again. This Jack will be rewarded for helping you." She started rocking.
I felt horrible lying on my mothers lap being rocked like a child. Now I'd broken at least three commandments today. So, I merely sobbed as my mother explained what had "happened" to my father. My father called the police, and soon I was making up a description of my attacker. I decided to use someone who looked vaguely like Barbossa as the man who'd raped me. All in all, it was a horrible Halloween. Thankfully, Jack had caught on to what I was doing when he woke up and got dressed. Our stories seemed to match, and everyone believed me.
I had gotten away with a very immoral thing and I didn't have to go to school tomorrow. If I'd been a different person, I'd probably be happy. But I wasn't. I'd lied to my parents and the community. Lied to cover up something so scandelous...How could I live with myself?
After all of the questioning was over, my father and Jack were having a conversation as I tried not to act guilty. "You'd be more than welcome to stay at our house," I heard my father stay. "What you did...well, sir, I don't think that there's many decent people left in the world, but you're one of them. I only wish you'd noticed earlier."
"I wish I 'ad as well, sir," Jack responded. Did he feel as guilty as I did? If so, he was hiding it rather well. "If I could've stopped tha' brute...I would've. Yer daughter is almos' too beautiful for 'er own good. I suggest ye get 'er engaged to someone as soon as possible, to prevent this from 'appenin' again. Or a' least get her an escort."
Good thing Jack hadn't been asking any more questions about our time, for I think my father wouldn't have said what he was about to say. It was odd enough for Jack to be using antique phrases. "How would you like to stay in our home, Mister Sparrow?"
When I heard my father say that, I almost felt like laughing until I threw up. The man...well, you get the irony, don't you? My mother gave me an odd look as I turned that snigger into a slight sob.
"I'd be delighted t' stay wiv ye, sir," Jack responded, a smile hinting at his features. He apparently found the situation amusing as well. Of course, he'd been close to laughing this entire time. Was it easier to tell what a person was thinking if you spent that sort of quality time with them? Because I almost felt like a tuning fork as I stared at Jack and my father. "A' least until I can find a way 'ome."
"You can stay as long as necessary," my father replied, a rare smile gracing his face. "If you hadn't shown up when you did...well, she could be dead." My father didn't like using my name when he talked about me. I think that half the time he couldn't remember it. The only time I ever saw him was on the weekends or around holidays. When I was younger, I used to tell my friends that he was a secret agent. It sounds so much better than a traveling salesman. I used to also pretend that he'd had affairs with women all over and that I had some siblings somewhere...but I don't think that was the case. That had been when I'd desperately wanted a younger sibling. After my mother had me, she'd given up on having children. Apparently said it was too painful.
"Thanks," Jack replied, bowing slightly. He looked so odd with the trinkets in his hair and normal clothes on. After that, my mother made me stand up and I walked lightheaded out of the police station and into the parking lot. There was no way they'd continue to believe me. Especially when they found out that there was no such person around Whitestown. I didn't exactly look like I'd been raped after all, for I really had no bruises other than the one on the back of my head.
I didn't see Jack at all after we got home. My mother shepherded me back to my bedroom and ordered me to lie down. I did so, weakly staring up at the ceiling. How could I pretend to be a victim of such a horrible crime? And what if I was pregnant? I mean, I was going to the doctor's office tomorrow, and a morning after pill would be offered...did I want to carry Jack's child? Not really. I was too young to be a mother. But there was a part of me that rejoiced. If I was pregnant, I'd be carrying a baby for a man I loved. Did I even love Jack? Was it merely idol worship?
I don't know how I got to sleep that night, but somehow I did. My mother took a day off work. After my visit to the doctor's office (which was incredibly embarrassing, mind you) she let me lie on the couch and watch movies all day while she took Jack out to get some clothes. My parents thought he was some sort of homeless man. Of course, it wasn't disturbing to me to be left alone. If I'd grown up in another family, it probably would've been. My mother had abandoned me in my time of need. And my father was out working.
Jack showed up at the house again a few hours later, wearing completely different clothes. The braids and trinkets were gone from his hair. Thankfully, he hadn't gotten a haircut. "'Ello, luv," he greeted cheerfully as he knocked at the door and saw me stand.
"Why aren't you with my mom?" I asked as I unlocked the side sliding door and let him step in. He looked a lot more like Johnny Depp now. Which was odd...
"She said she wanted me t' check up on ye, luv. Besides, I was pretendin' t' be bored." He chuckled slightly and stepped inside, shutting the door after himself. "We need t' talk."
"No kidding," I responded almost woodenly. I wasn't sure how I should act around him now. He smiled slightly at me and gently took my hand, leading me to the sofa.
"Luv...wha' I did was wrong." Those eyes of his were drawing me in again. "I was frightened...an' ye seemed t' be the only person or thing tha' even knew tha' I could've existed." He seemed sad for a moment. "I shouldn' 'ave taken advantage of ye like that."
This sounded suspiciously like he was breaking up with me. "What are you saying?"
"I'm sayin' tha' it din' mean anything, I guess." How could he be so brutally honest? Why couldn't he just kiss me? Even though I'd only known he was real for a day now, I felt as though my heart would break in two.
"It didn't mean anything?" Some life must've crept back into my eyes because I was suddenly mad. "Then why did you do it?" I slapped him. It felt good to see his face twist to the left as a faint red imprint of my hand appeared.
"I was frightened," he insisted, turning back to look at me. "I know yer mad a' me. An' ye 'ave every reason t' be. Bu' I'm...I'm no' ready for any sort of commitment."
Couldn't he see how mad he was making me? I felt like screaming. "Well, you blew it big time, Jack. Because you can't just do that with someone and then leave. It doesn't work that way." Tears were threatening to erupt from my eyes. How could he be this insensitive?
"Luv...please. You're makin' this harder than it 'as t' be. Jus' pretend tha' ye were really raped. When I find me way back, convince yerself tha' I was a figment of your imagination t' keep ye from realizin' how horrible the whole raping thing was." His eyes were full of regret as he touched my cheek. "It wasn' anythin' personal. I needed somethin' t' hold onto."
"Jack Sparrow!" I yelled, slapping him again as tears blurred my vision. "You really are the worst pirate I've ever seen. You need to learn to be responsible! What if I end up pregnant?"
He laughed at me softly. "Luv. Don' worry abou' tha', savvy?" Why weren't my slaps working? He wasn't seeing how much he'd hurt me. "I'm a pirate. Never will be able t' stay wiv one woman." He smiled and stood. "It was fun, though. I really 'ave t' be off."
CrazyPirateGirl: Was this a fast enough update? Unfortunately...I won't be able to keep updating every day. Second term starts tomorrow...and I'll be swamped with homework...
Rachel Sparrow: Well, you can imagine yourself in the story. Of course, I wouldn't want to imagine myself in this chapter...
orcachick2005: Whoot! I get a pair of cowboy boots! I'll be stylin' now! Thanks for leaving your sentiments...