Take on the World
Chapter 1
***Trigger Warning: Child Abuse
Jack's heart stopped in his chest. Emma stared back at him with wide brown eyes filled with fear. She was only four-years-old but she understood in this moment the consequences that would follow. As he stared hopelessly at the dish broken into pieces on the floor, he had seconds to react before one of their parents would come in, obviously high and/or drunk, to beat whoever was responsible. Emma had dropped it, her fingers wet and slippery from always sucking on them nervously.
Jack stared at her hollow face, both were filthy from lack of care, their faces sunken from hunger and pain, and pale from a lack of being outside that summer. Her eyes began to fill with tears and he knew what needed to be done.
"Go upstairs, hide in the closet, now!" he ordered in a shaky voice.
"Jack…" she whimpered.
"Go, I got this, I'll be okay." He begged, "Just don't let them see you."
She hesitated but Jack gave her a sharp look and she turned, rushing to hide in their special hiding spot, reserved for just these occasions.
He waited for her footsteps to disappear and then bent down to try and pick up the mess. As if on cue, his father appeared, looking huge and menacing with bloodshot eyes. He sniffed, obviously still somewhat high from the crack he'd used.
"The fuck happened here?" his dad barked, his words slurring.
"I dropped it…" Jack said in the feeblest voice, wishing he sounded brave and strong.
"No shit, well clean it up!" his dad began to roar, "You stupid or something? Pick it up!"
Jack nodded and quickly rushed to pick up the mess.
His dad trudged past him to get to the fridge and pull out another beer. Jack was feeling somewhat relieved now, wondering if all he had to do was clean up the mess and then leave quietly, but his dad stuck around as he opened the can loudly and spilled some beer on the floor.
"Clean that up too." He ordered as he took a swig, "I swear to God, I have retards for children."
Jack was fast, glad he chose to relieve Emma of any punishment. He was used to having to be fast and obedient.
Right as he grabbed a towel however, his dad began to march past him and knocked him down onto his back, "Watch where you're going you stupid little shit!" his dad roared, giving Jack a swift kick in the chest. Jack hoped that was it, but to his horror, his dad kept kicking a few more times. It felt like one hundred but Jack knew it was only a few times. It didn't take much to do a lot of damage though.
His dad then grabbed him by the hair, dragging him up and shoving him back to the ground, "Get out of my sight, if I so much as see you here, I'm shoving you out the door, got it?"
Jack grunted in pain, holding his chest tightly.
"I asked you a question, boy!" his dad advanced again.
"Yes sir!" Jack squealed, sounding like some frail animal.
"Go!" his dad barked.
Jack happily obeyed, rushing as fast as he could out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room to find Emma.
He was relieved to see she was in their hiding spot, covering her ears and humming a song she knew. She noticed him and stared sadly at him. There was no shock or surprise, both knew what their parents were like and both understood that they were going to get hurt no matter how hard they tried. It was best to just let it go.
Jack sat next to Emma, his chest feeling like it was going to explode with the pain. He winced but managed to hold her close to him and hum the song they both knew by heart.
….
Jack grunted as he woke up, his hand on his chest. He could have sworn he felt the pain, the sharp stab of pain as he came to from the nightmare that wasn't so much a nightmare as it was a memory. He felt someone stir next to him and looked over to see to his relief that it was his girlfriend, now fiancé, Rapunzel. He had completely forgotten that they'd moved in just a couple of weeks ago, boxes still needed to be unpacked and were scattered around their new apartment.
He rubbed his eyes, careful not to wake her up, and looked over at his alarm clock which read an annoying 4:24 in the morning.
He felt Rapunzel turn and saw her snake an arm around his chest. He felt instant relief and smiled as he hugged her closer to his chest.
He was startled when Rapunzel spoke softly in her melodious voice, "Bad dream again?"
He smiled, they were so alike in so many ways, sadly both had a history of violence in their lives and both were recovering, "Sorry I woke you up." He responded, holding her even closer to him.
"It's okay, I get them too." She sighed sadly.
Boy, did he know it.
"What happened this time?" she asked patiently.
Lately both had decided to try something new where when one had a bad dream they asked about it. At first it was hard, having to admit they had been through certain things that were hard to bring up but eventually both got used to it. After a while Rapunzel came up with the idea of changing the ending of the dream together. Jack found it soothing in a strange way.
Jack began to relay the dream, describing the kitchen, the mess, his father, his sister, their secret hiding spot, the song, everything.
"How about," Rapunzel began with a small smile, "I come in, knock your father out, and give you and Emma a piece of chocolate cake with lots of chocolate icing on it to share in your hiding spot."
Jack smiled, "No parents, it's just us."
Rapunzel nodded, "I like that better."
"Me too." Jack said sadly, his voice becoming hollow.
"Jack?" Rapunzel asked, relaxing more into his chest, "Have you ever wondered why…why they did that to us? Our parents?"
Jack shrugged, "I do, but, somehow at the same time, I don't think I'd even care."
"Yeah, me neither." Rapunzel admitted, "I mean I know it was never my fault, but, what made them so…cruel?"
"Probably a lot of things." Jack shrugged again, "Either way, we turned out better, right?"
Rapunzel nodded, "Yeah, we did. We got a happy ending."
In truth, Jack asked that very question every day. When he had finally turned eighteen years ago he thought about trying to understand his parents to see why things went so badly, but, just like he was when he was only a child, he was still too scared of them. And here he was still afraid at the age of twenty-two. It bothered him, but, he had Rapunzel, his dad, his brother and sister, Hiccup, and so many others who loved him. He always managed to convince himself that it was all he needed.
"What should we do for breakfast?" Jack asked Rapunzel, who yawned, obviously trying to fall back asleep, "I want waffles." She smiled, "Extra syrup."
Jack smiled, "It's a date." He chuckled.
"Okay." She sighed contentedly before falling back asleep, "Sounds good."
Jack watched her face as she fell back asleep. She was so beautiful and he couldn't imagine ever not having her in his life.
As he closed his eyes he tried fixating on the details of Rapunzel's freckles, the outline of her cheeks and nose, the curl of her lashes, everything but of the pain his father caused him when he kicked the living daylights out of his frail body so many years ago.
….
Jack woke up to the smell of sizzling bacon and his stomach groaned. He turned to feel Rapunzel's side of the bed was empty and managed to open his eyes and make out that it was after ten in the morning on his alarm clock. Thank goodness for evening shifts at a tattoo parlor. He stretched and his already inked up arm glinted with color as it hit the sun coming through the window.
Most of the art was Rapunzel's, but he was proud to have come up with a lot of the designs himself, all of them telling a different story that represented his life or people who made a difference in it. His favorite one was the one on his heart; a bright sun shining on purple and gray skies to symbolize the love of his life, Rapunzel.
He pulled on a pair of baggy gray shorts over his boxers and ruffled his never-changing white hair. He thought about putting a shirt on, but with the plans he had for Rapunzel after breakfast, he had a feeling he didn't need one.
He smirked and walked out to see her busy tending to the bacon, in his favorite purple tank top that clung to her curves with a pair of lacy pink cheeky's he'd gotten her for Valentine's Day. She'd put her blonde and pink hair up in a loose ponytail and he noticed her hummingbird tattoo peeking out on her shoulder. She'd gotten it to represent her mother, Ana.
He snuck up behind her, putting hands on her waist softly and pulling her back into him for a kiss on the neck. He made sure to brush his lips against the sensitive spot just under her ear, avoiding the cute little dangling earring she wore. He smiled remembering when he gave her that very piercing as a teenager.
He could tell she was smiling as she turned her head to look at him, "Good morning."
"Good morning." He whispered back in her ear, "Smell's good."
"It's almost done." She commented, turning back to focus on the bacon.
"I meant you, but the bacon smells good too." He teased.
She giggled at that, continuing to rest against him, his arms snaking around her middle to hug her. He slipped his fingers casually under her top.
"Jack!" she warned, squirming a little, "I'm working with hot grease."
"Might need some of that later." He commented seductively which earned a snort from her.
Jack laughed and relaxed his hold so she could turn around to face him. As she did she reached up towards his neck and pulled him down for quick kiss. He obliged happily and was hoping for just a little more action but she pulled away with a wink and a grin.
He relented for the time being but he knew the morning was still young and he could work his magic no problem.
He decided to pour them some coffee that was waiting in the pot near the fridge. He made sure to use the right amount of their flavored cream they always had handy, considering both had a real sweet tooth.
He handed her a mug and leaned against the counter, "What time is your class?"
"It's at three, I should be done in time to head to the office." She replied, taking a sip of coffee.
He smiled at her, "Busy week?"
She nodded, frowning a little, "You really think this is good? I mean, we have a wedding coming up."
He came closer to her and put his coffee down so he could rub her arms, "I think it's amazing. You're going to really change lives with this."
She smiled up at him, looking more hopeful.
"And as far as the wedding, we have way too many people involved to help, so don't worry, okay? I'm here."
She finally nodded and hugged him, "I'm just so, I don't know, it's so much right now."
"It is, but when have we ever just sat around doing nothing, right?" he laughed.
She had to agree with him, since high school, both found that when they were busiest was when they succeeded. Jack couldn't sit around too long without getting fidgety and Rapunzel had to do something with her hands at all times or she got panicky.
"Just think how many kids you are going to help with this." Jack reminded her and he could tell she was gaining back more confidence.
"Hard to believe," She swallowed, "I'll have a masters in counseling and art. Like, how did that happen?" she laughed.
"You made it happen." He smiled, brushing a strand of stray hair behind her ear.
"Mom helped, and you." She pointed out.
"Me? What did I do?" he laughed, "I only got a bachelors in business and art."
"But you encouraged me to do it."
"True, one of us has to keep our brains alive." He teased.
She whacked him softly on the chest with a laugh, "Hey! That's pretty impressive! Pretty soon you'll have your own tattoo parlor."
"I imagine in about twenty years maybe." He shrugged, "Right now, I'm doing great where I'm at, my clients are good, and I have you."
"True, you do have me." She grinned.
"Bacon's burning." He smiled.
"Shoot!" she growled and turned to keep the bacon from burning to a crisp.
He laughed and opened the fridge, "What happened to pancakes and waffles?" he asked her as he checked their food status.
"We're out of mix." She pouted as she plated the bacon, "Guess it's grocery store time again." She said with a sigh.
"I'll take care of it." He said as he closed the fridge, "We're gonna need some more trash bags here soon."
"How many more boxes do we have left?" she asked, bringing the plate and coffee mug to the small kitchen table that was at the moment, scattered with papers and mail.
"Not too many, while you're at class, I can tackle a couple." Jack said, sitting down with her and grabbing a piece of bacon.
She nodded and stared forlornly at the bills piling on the table, they were both starting to feel the heat of having their own place, jobs, school, and bills. Not to mention, they had to start planning their wedding for the spring of next year, only 8 months away. He could tell the stress was starting to get to her.
He reached out to hold her hand in his, "Hey, we got this. We've been through worse, right?"
"True." She nodded, "Adulting just…sucks."
He couldn't agree more.
…..
Jack revved up his motorcycle and took off into the evening. He was proud he was able to unpack at least two boxes while Rapunzel was starting her classes and he even went to the store to grab something for dinner that she could heat up.
He couldn't lie that living with her was a long time coming and he was relieved they'd accomplished that part of their lives, but he knew with school and jobs and wedding planning, things were about to get crazy.
He understood she was scared about going back to school to get her Masters in arts and counseling but he felt it was going to be an amazing journey for her.
He remembered her coming over to his place before they moved in together. He was still staying with his father while they picked out a place to live in the city. He wanted to be closer to work and so did she. She'd brought pamphlets and applications that her mother had given her to apply to a master's program that had just started picking up at a university in another town. It specialized in the arts and therapy and had been approved by the state. It would give Rapunzel a chance to excel in art and begin to work towards a counseling degree. She had taken psychology and art in school, but currently, she worked at a studio in town that hosted classes and parties. She liked it, but he knew she was looking for more in her life. With a lot of encouragement, she filled out the papers in front of Jack and together they visited the school to turn it in and meet with an academic adviser. She had an interview for admissions that day and got right in. Miss Ana helped her apply for some loans and scholarships as well to help with the costs. It wasn't much, but Ana was willing to help Rapunzel through it all and Jack was thrilled.
Rapunzel seemed to be the only one truly nervous about it and he understood. It was a big step in her life and it was at a weird time, but he knew she was going to love it. He only wished he could be so lucky. Currently he was working on a business plan to open his own tattoo parlor, but because he wanted to be sure Rapunzel would be in a place she wanted to begin her career, he put his dream on hold to let her fulfill hers. He knew his day would come and he looked forward to it, but for now, he was happy he had a ton of client's who loved his work. He'd even gone to a couple of conventions to start networking.
Jack parked his bike and walked in, shedding his black leather coat and silvery blue helmet. He adjusted a few piercings on his face, due to the helmet sometimes causing them to shift a little. With one ruffle of his hair he walked into the parlor, the sign still reading closed. The parlor functioned mostly in the evening after five. Jack worked every evening except for Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, which he reserved for mentoring with Miss Ana.
He set up his station and started preparing for his first client of the evening. He pulled out the picture and smiled as a gorgeous dolphin with shining bright colors and lively eyes stared back up at him. He'd already done the outline and most of the color, today he was hoping to finish it.
He nodded to a few others who walked in, including his boss, Viggo. He respected Viggo for the most part, he seemed partial to Jack's work and was a good businessman. But Jack always felt like Viggo somewhat resented him in some passive aggressive way. Every time Jack asked about getting more hours or new client's Viggo always managed to keep Jack out of the loop. Jack had to find out himself about conventions before Viggo told him. And lately, Jack began to notice that Viggo began taking some of his work and passing it off as his own. Jack tried not to let it bother him, he had good clients and his work spoke for itself. If Viggo was jealous or weird he didn't let Jack know it and Jack was fine with that.
His phone buzzed and he checked to see who had texted him. He smiled as he read a text from Merida inviting him and Rapunzel out to dinner tomorrow before the mentoring began. He texted back quickly and felt a sense of accomplishment at doing what he loved. He'd gone from just piercings and hair styling to full on tattoo artist with a business plan at the ready. Not only that, he was engaged to the most beautiful woman in the world and was happily living with her. Things couldn't possibly go downhill.
…..
Jack walked in quietly after midnight to the TV on and his fiancé sleeping under an afghan on the couch. He noticed her new set of textbooks and supplies were scattered on the coffee table. He set his jacket and bag down and walked over to her quietly. He smoothed the hair from her eyes and kissed her forehead gently.
She stirred awake and groaned, "Jack?"
"Hey sleepyhead." He said, sitting down next to her.
She opened her eyes and yawned, "I fell asleep." She apologized, grabbing the remote and turning off the show she had been watching about wedding dresses.
"How was your first day?" he asked her excitedly.
She stretched her arms and cricked her neck, "It was fun. Pretty busy though."
He looked at some of her textbooks with titles like "Introduction to Clinical Counseling", "Art Fundamentals", "Understanding Trauma and Grief", and "The Art of Counseling".
"Looks like quite a load." He commented.
"Just three classes this semester." She nodded, "But it'll be intense." She hugged her knees and rested her chin on them, "I take the trauma class on Friday, not sure how I feel about it."
He understood what she meant. They both had taken psychology in college and while he didn't have to go into the more intense classes, she did. She admitted some of the lessons were hard for her.
"At least you'll get it over with, right?" he tried.
She nodded, "Yeah, I figured I'll just get that one done and hopefully it won't be as…I don't know."
"Well, I'm still proud of you." He smiled, "Can't wait to tell everyone tomorrow about it."
She smiled at him, "That'll be nice. Mom also called me today, she reminded me about tomorrow."
"Yeah, Merida and Hiccup want to do dinner beforehand." Jack nodded.
"Sounds good."
"How is Miss Ana doing?" Jack asked her as he finally got up and helped her organize the mess on the coffee table.
"She's good, she's excited for me. She's going to help me get a few more things for school. She also wants to host a painting party soon."
"When's the next one?" Jack asked her as he stretched and walked to the kitchen to grab a bottled water.
"Not until Saturday. Heather is having her friends at the office come and do one."
He could tell she was looking somewhat frazzled as she shoved papers, books, supplies and wedding magazines into an empty box. He came over to her and held her.
"I'm sorry." She apologized softly, hugging him back, "I don't know why I'm so all over the place. I don't know why I can't just be happy."
"Hey, it's okay, it's going to get easier, I promise. I got you." Jack told her, letting her rest into him.
"I don't know what I'd do without you." She sighed, squeezing him tighter.
"Come with me." He said, leading her down the hall to the spare bedroom they were hoping to make a studio. It had two closets, one bigger than the other. One of them had art supplies, but the other closet, Jack had worked on today to finish. He pointed to the closet and she gasped.
He smiled, showing her the open space. The door had been taken off and instead replaced with a dark blue curtain that Jack had pasted glow in the dark stars on. He lifted the curtain and led her inside. It was dark, save for a small hanging purple bulb surrounded by a lantern with cut out stars on it. He'd put pillows and blankets on the floor to make it comfortable. She could see string lights as well hanging on the walls with glow in the dark stars surrounding them.
"If you want to just come in here and read, I made sure to have Christmas lights you can plug in." Jack told her, "But if you just want to sit in the dark and have quiet, I thought the purple light would work better."
"Jack, I love it." She breathed out in a wondrous sigh, "It's just like your fort."
"It's our fort now, but I'm calling it the dream corner instead because that sounds way cooler." He laughed.
She leaned into him and he held her close, "I love you."
"I love you too." He kissed her forehead, knowing he killed it today making her as happy as he could.