Chapter Two-Hundred and Eighty
Jessica stepped before John's cell, biting her lip when she saw how violently he was shivering in the cold. His back was to her, and she could see every scar on his back.
"Go away." John growled, fighting back the vomit as the scent of Peppermint Schnapps and too sweet cookies filled his nose.
She stepped closer to him, jumping slightly when he gagged. "John-"
John vomited on the concrete, spitting yellow bile from his lips with the memory from his childhood.
He was nine, young enough that he hadn't tried anything too hard, but old enough that he'd smoked a few joints and drank a few kegs of beer over the year. He'd been watching silently as his mother baked Christmas cookies, hoping to snag something to eat before his father got home.
Beverly placed a pan of blackened cookies on the stove, smiling as John grabbed one and shoved them all into his mouth at once. "Don't let Dad find out." She jumped as the front door flew open, dropping her gaze as Jacob and his brother walked inside with a huge bottle of peppermint Schnapps and a couple six packs of beer.
Jacob placed the Schnapps next to John on the counter, patting his son on the back. "Got you a treat. Merry Christmas, you little Bastard."
Rueben laughed, pouring a huge glass for the kid and holding it up to his nose. "You like peppermints, right?" He smiled as John nodded, watching him down the whole glass before he started to drink from the bottle. "That's our boy." He jumped as John vomited on his shoes, his fist flying into the kid's head and knocking him out cold.
Claire flipped through John's notebook, wiping her tears away as she read over the clean lines of his handwritten poems and songs. She could see the times when his hands had shaken with emotion, and the stains on the paper from his tears and even places where cuts and scrapes had opened and bled onto the page. "Daddy's working on it. He'll get you out."
John wiped his mouth, glaring at Jessica as she offered him a glass of water. "Get out of my cell." He croaked, his eyes turning black as she leaned even closer to him.
She smiled, backing him up against the wall as she combed her fingers through his hair, in the same way she'd seen Claire do when she kissed him. "Since you're not engaged anymore-"
"Just because I don't have a fucking ring, doesn't mean I'm not engaged." He growled, stiffening when her hand brushed over a scar on his hip. "Get your hands off of me."
She pushed her lips against his, slipping her hand into his boxers and dancing her fingertips over his length. Her brow furrowed, her movements becoming more aggressive when he didn't become hard at her touch. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked, squeezing his testicles before she moved back to his member. "Can't you get hard anymore?"
He swallowed, thanking God for the fact that he was struggling with getting and keeping erections unless Claire was touching him. "Not unless it's my girl touching me."