Bad Things Happen

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!

Chapter Eight

Jackson smirked at Lisa for a moment before replying to her question. He had her caught between a rock and a hard place. She could either risk death by leaving or risk death by staying with him. He loved his control over the willful woman.

"Well, how about you help me clean and dress my wounds since I helped with yours?" he suggested in a tone that implied that it was an order.

"I didn't ask for your help," spat Lisa.

"Damaged goods are no good to me, Lisa. If you get badly hurt, I will abandon you unless you have given me a reason to do otherwise. Understand?"

"What about protecting me?"

"I thought you didn't want my protection," his voice was smug. He had been manipulating her—gullible, gullible Lisa.

"I don't, but our best chance is to stick together. I won't abandon you and you don't abandon me. It's a two-way street, Jack. I scratch your back, you scratch mine."

A twisted smile crossed his face and Lisa was suddenly very worried. What had she said?

"So if I kiss you, then you have to kiss me, right?" he wanted to know, his voice teasing her. He already knew the answer but he was having so much fun messing with her.

"N—" she started to say but he had already kissed her and muffled her words.

His kiss was rough and demanding. There was nothing sweet about it. Lisa struggled against him, helpless to stop him. Finally, he released her and she smacked him hard across the face.

"Don't you ever do that again!" she hissed, with venom laced into her words. "Or I swear I'll make sure you never have children!"

"Lisa, your threats are harmless. You can't do anything to me, despite what you think. You got lucky before. It's not going to happen a second time around."

Her right hand reached up to his throat and gripped the white bandage there. She ripped it from his throat and he flinched. That had hurt!

"Just luck, huh? I don't think luck alone left that mark on your throat, Jack. That took skill," she smirked at him, her fingertips tracing the red circular scar that was beginning to heal. Just one of the many scars that she had left.

"How would you like me to leave you with another scar, Lisa? How about a nice long knife wound on the other side, hmm?"

"You wouldn't," Lisa said, shaking her head as her newfound confidence shattered. Jackson would not do that to her—would he? Was he really that cruel? He had already proven that he would take what he wanted by kissing her. What was there to stop him from raping her?

"How many times do I have to tell you that rape is beneath me?" sighed Jackson, shaking his dark head slightly.

She was not sure she believed him. If he really wanted to rape her, then he would. What he said and what he did were two very different things. He could say that he would not and still do it. She had no proof that he was not lying. Lisa doubted that he was lying, due the way he was looking at her now. His gaze seemed honest, but it was Jackson. He had already proven himself to be a deceptively charming and sneaky bastard.

Lisa wanted to believe him—she wanted to trust him. Her life was riding on how much she could truly trust this Jackson Rippner…if that was even his real name.

"Apparently, you needed to tell me again," she snapped.

"Leese, grab that first aid kit and help me out before I change my mind about my status," Jackson threatened. He knew that he would never do that, but she did not know it.

A horrified gasp involuntarily escaped her lips, but she acquiesced to his order and grabbed the first aid kit. Lisa made sure that the cotton swab she dabbed in cleaning solution had been dipped in the cleaner that stung. Just because she could. It was her way of fighting back.

Jackson hissed as she swabbed at the stitched wound on his throat. He wanted to hurt her, but he knew that he had to take the pain and let her clean it. He would get her back for it later.

"I think you'll live," she said regretfully. If only she had killed him, then he would not have come back into her life to ruin it again.

"I think you're a mean-spirited bitch," Jackson sneered and grabbed her wrist before she could smack him again. His cheek still stung from the previous slap. "By the way Lisa, abuse goes both ways. Remember that two-way street? Well, you're about to step out into traffic."

She hated him. She hated him!

"Do managers have to go to a special school to learn how to become bastards or were you just born this way?"

"You're walking on a very fine line. Watch your step."

"Does it look like I give a shit, Jackson? Does it?" her green eyes glared at him. She knew that he held all the power at the moment, but she was going to give him hell and a run for his money.

"Nope, but you should."

"I never asked to get stuck with you. You picked me, remember? You fucked with my life first!"

"It was only a job," he said quietly. "No one was supposed to get hurt."

"Except for the family you wanted to assassinate!"

"There was nothing I could do about them. It was me or them. I didn't have a choice Lisa. I had to do the job."

"There's always a choice!" laughed Lisa hauntingly.

"Do you think that if for even a minute, I could have changed things that I wouldn't have? How blind are you, Lisa?"

"Stop speaking in riddles, Jack. I'm sick of these games."

Jackson rolled his blue eyes, causing Lisa to uncharacteristically snort. "When it came down to it, I didn't want to hurt you," he said calmly.

"What? That's the biggest load of bullshit that I've ever heard! If you didn't want to hurt me, then why did you try to kill me? Explain that one!"

"It all comes down to logic and emotion. I lost my logic, and fury took over."

"So you broke your rules? What's that got to do with anything?"

Jackson grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. "You have everything to do with it. You started the emotions. You almost killed yourself. Don't you understand, Lisa? Don't you see it?"

"See what?" Lisa was confused. What was wrong with Jackson?

"I…" Jackson took a deep breath. "I had feelings for you."

Author's Notes:

Jackson and Lisa abuse! Lisa and Jackson keep changing their personalities every few seconds. They can't seem to figure out what they think of each other or how to act around each other. Enjoy! Next chapter will probably be up tomorrow with Jackson's 'confession' about his emotions.