The longer Jenna sat on the cold floor, the more consuming and overwhelming the pain became. She had kept her eyes closed for however long she had been sitting there, tears spilling down her face, pain radiating from her arm and shooting throughout her entire body, and it was starting to become nearly unbearable as frantic thoughts raced around in her head. Maybe it's not as bad as you think, a more rational side of her expressed through all the pain. Just look at it... it's probably just... sprained or something... Finally, a few long moments later, Jenna slowly opened her eyes and allowed herself to glance down at her arm through her tears, only to immediately wish she hadn't. The middle of her right arm curved to the right abnormally, and at that moment Jenna realized the severity of her condition. What did this mean now? What was she to do?
She turned her head away from her arm, still unable to fathom Bane's actions, but just when she began to assume Bane would not be returning, and she'd be forced to sit there and deal with the massive problem herself, she heard lighter footsteps coming down the stairs. Frowning, she glanced up and out of the door, and she grew confused and slightly relieved when she saw Isaac heading her way. Was he going to help her? He appeared to look serious, but when he got closer, the concern in his eyes was unmissable. Jenna remained holding her arm as Isaac stepped through the door frame before immediately kneeling down to her level, his boots squeaking slightly as he did so. Jenna expected him to ask what happened, but he confused her further when he reached out to take a very loose and gentle hold of her arm.
"Let me see," he said, his eyes focused intently on the limb. Jenna immediately allowed him to do what he needed as she glanced away, unsure of why she was so trusting toward him after all that he had said to her. But it appeared as though he had already been informed of the situation. Why else would he have come inside to head directly to her? Jenna recalled his sights already focused on her inside the room. Had Bane told him what happened? Had Bane told him to help her? Fuck no, Jenna thought. Of course not... he probably heard the screams...
Jenna flinched and yelped suddenly when new-found, stronger pain sprang from her arm and through her body, and she jumped, worsening it as she glanced back to Isaac.
"God it fucking hurts," Jenna complained through clenched teeth. Isaac remained serious, but he shocked Jenna when he kept a hold of her broken arm and placed his other hand on the side of her body.
"Alright, c'mon," he started as he began to stand, helping Jenna to do the same. "We'll go take care of it."
Jenna's brow furrowed as she allowed him to help her stand. Her lips parted, but before she could ask or say anything, Isaac was already leading her out of her room and toward the stairs to exit the basement. At first, when they reached the top of the stairs, Jenna expected Isaac to lead her outside toward the garages, but she became slightly curious when they walked past the exit door to head toward the fridge and counter. Isaac turned suddenly, revealing a hallway across from the bathroom door that Jenna had never paid much attention to before, but when she saw stairs up ahead she realized finally she would get to see what the upper level looked like. Isaac stopped next to a metal latter built against the wall across from the stairs, and he turned to face Jenna.
"You think you can climb up that?" He wondered. Jenna glanced up the ladder, it didn't seem that high, and she weakly nodded.
"Why?" She couldn't help but to ask before she moved toward it.
"All my supplies are in my room, and it's easier if I fix you up in there."
Supplies? Fix her up? Was Isaac going to fix this? Why? Jenna wondered as she finally placed her left hand onto the ladder.
"Keep your arm over your chest, just like that," Isaac advised. "Don't let it move."
Frowning, Jenna gritted her teeth as she began up the ladder, struggling not to fall or move her arm. Isaac moved behind her, ready to catch her if she was to fall, but he remembered how she had climbed the gates in front of her house with ease, and the way she had hopped the fence surrounding the stairs outside when she had tried to run away. He knew climbing a ladder one-handed would be easy for Jenna, and before he knew it he was stepping onto the floor of the small area in front of his room. Jenna was waiting for him, and she didn't move until Isaac started over to his door. Jenna didn't move immediately, though, and instead she took a look around her surroundings. Currently, she was in a tiny, carpeted area before a door on the wall, and upon turning around, directly diagonal from her in a separated area was the space of the upstairs (where the actual stairs led up to), isolated by a large space and a sort of fence around it. As she stared at the large TV, pool table and couches, she figured that was the area the other thugs hung out in, and now she realized the ladder led up to Isaac's own area of the warehouse.
Once Jenna heard his door open, she quickly turned to follow him into his room, and she couldn't help but to instantly glance around, sniffling once she did. All around his room –sitting on top of shelves, mounted to the wall, laying nicely on his floor and resting against furniture– was nothing but various types of guns and odd-looking weapons Jenna had never seen before. She had immediately stopped walking in the little walkway of sorts the guns laying on the floor and against the furniture had created, feeling as though if she was to walk too close to one it would go off. She lifted her eyes from the floor to glance at the shelves all around, her blue orbs wandering over the various knives and handguns that sat on top of them. Meanwhile, Isaac had proceeded past her to head into another door, and when Jenna glanced in the direction, her eyes falling on a tiled floor just beyond the door, she discovered it was a bathroom when she heard a sink running. A short moment later, Isaac exited the bathroom, a black medical bag in his right hand and a small bucket of water in his left, and he stepped past Jenna again to set the bag down on the bed before he sat down himself, placing the bucket of water on the floor before him. A few seconds later he glanced over to Jenna and raised his eyebrows.
"C'mon," he said, nodding toward the head of his bed, signaling for Jenna to sit down. "The faster we do this, the better."
Frowning, Jenna carefully wandered over to his bed, and she couldn't help her racing heart as she sat down. "Why do you get the nice room?" Jenna asked in a rude mumble as she fixed her position on the soft mattress. Inside, she cursed to herself. Why did her terrible tones always come out during the worst times? Here Isaac was, finally talking to her, and helping her, after he said he wouldn't. Jenna wanted to take back what she had said, but Isaac was already answering by the time she turned to look at him.
"Because I do the most work around here," Isaac returned as he rummaged through the bag, bringing out foreign items Jenna had never seen before. Jenna sighed as she glanced away.
"I'm sorry," she said suddenly, and when Isaac glanced up at her he saw her to be shaking her head in frustration. "I didn't mean to sound like that." If there was anything that Jenna needed at this point, it was a friend. Bane was out of the picture currently, Jenna didn't even want to think about him, and more than anything she did not want to be alone either. The last thing she needed to be doing right now was pushing Isaac even further away from herself. At this point, she needed him.
Isaac couldn't help but to grin sheepishly before he glanced back down to make sure he taken out everything he needed from the bag. He never responded to Jenna, but her apology hadn't gone unappreciated. Truth was it was refreshing seeing Jenna start to take responsibility for her actions. Isaac figured it was safe to assume Jenna still needed improvement, but apologizing for her tone was a good start.
It was funny, Isaac had actually been thinking about Jenna before Bane had stormed out of the warehouse and stomped over to him. He had been doing some more work on the interior of the Challenger, and as he worked he recalled how disgusted Jenna had been about being inside the car. Now that she was constantly driving it around, Isaac figured she had gotten used to it, and he was sure that she was appreciative of the inside coming together. At that point, Isaac had heard the exit door slam, and he glanced up to stare out of the back windshield, figuring it was one of Bane's other thugs coming out for a cigarette to smoke their anger away, but he knew immediately something was terribly wrong as Bane stormed over to him. He stopped what he was doing quickly and began to lean out of the car, and as soon as he was standing, Bane approached him. Judging by the way he kept his eyes focused down, and the fact that Bane didn't immediately announce what the problem was, Isaac knew it was safe to assume it all began and ended with Jenna. Regardless, he kept quiet and waited for his boss to speak first.
"I need you to go inside," Bane finally began, his voice more of a mumble rather than a loud, commanding tone. "...and do something about Jenna's arm."
Isaac's brow had furrowed by this point, and he knew it was safe for him to ask his question now. "Her arm? What happened?"
"I broke it," Bane replied as he clenched his fists harder, and finally he glanced up to Isaac. "She lied to me."
Isaac couldn't help but to be surprised. It was becoming more clear to him everyday: something about Jenna really got to Bane. She had lied? Lied about what? What could she have lied about to make Bane angry enough to break her arm? Why was Bane allowing himself to get so angry, but even more so, why hadn't he killed her over this? Isaac knew these questions were not important to him right now, so without another word he instantly started inside to do what he had been told.
Now, in his room, Isaac was placing the bag on the floor, and Jenna glanced over to him as he scooted closer to her. He was reaching out to her arm, and Jenna allowed his fingers to touch her, trusting that he would be gentle enough not to hurt her, but as Isaac began to ease her arm away from her body and place his other hand on the opposite side of the curve, Jenna immediately began to pull back, her eyes wide.
"No," she said sternly as she continued to try and take her arm back without hurting it any more than it already was. "It hurts."
"Jenna, I need to set the bones back in place before I can go on."
"No," Jenna replied, the images that were coming to her mind sickening. Jenna had already experienced the bane of them breaking in the first place, now she had to deal with that pain again? It's unnecessary, she thought. Isaac kept a firm hold on her arm, refusing to let her back away from him anymore.
"You're tougher than that, Jenna, c'mon," he went on.
"Tough has nothing to do with it, Isaac, I–"
"Look, you brought this all on yourself," Isaac interrupted. "You're the one who lied to Bane, and now you have to deal with the repercussions. I'm just trying to help you, Jenna. Even though you don't deserve it," he added.
Isaac knew she had lied? How? His words stung, but deep down, Jenna knew it was the truth. Around here, lying to Bane was one of the worst things one could do to betray him. Jenna wondered why lying was such a big deal, but the tendency to worry about the pain that was to come was too consuming. "I know," she finally said. "But..."
"Either I set the bone, which will go by faster than you think, or you can have a curved arm for the rest of your life. What's it gonna be?"
Jenna knew she had worn out Isaac's patience, and with a sigh of defeat, she let her arm go limp as she turned away again. Isaac understood her answer, and Jenna bit her lip when she felt Isaac bring her arm closer to him and tighten his grip around it. This hurt her something awful already, but Jenna had not prepared herself for what was to come. Quickly and practically violently, Isaac bent her arm back the opposite way, and Jenna couldn't help but shout out at the pain and the God-awful cracking noise her arm made, her face crippling as more tears filled her eyes and spilled quickly down her reddened face. Pain shot through her entire body again, but once she finally and slowly glanced back to her arm, she saw that the limb was straight again. Perhaps this should have been refreshing, but Jenna's body began to shake and tremble as pain pulsated throughout her body, and she had to look away as her body shook.
"Told you," Isaac mumbled as he turned to grab something he had laid out beside him from the bag, his left hand still holding her arm, and Jenna watched as he began to wrap some sort of cotton-like material around her entire forearm before he picked up some other roll of material to wrap around the cotton.
"What's that?" Jenna asked once he had finished, watching now as he let her arm rest on his lap, and her eyebrows furrowed when she watched him place some sort of metal pin on the cotton-like material to hold both of the wrapped ends together.
"Gauze," Isaac replied blankly, his tone suggesting he was not going to elaborate. Jenna rolled her eyes and glanced away, trying to distract herself from the pain while Isaac began to rummage around in the bag again.
"What did you lie about anyway?" Isaac asked suddenly a long moment later, a shock running up Jenna's spine due to his question, and when she turned back to him she saw he had what looked like a roll of paper towels in his hand.
"How do you know I lied?"
"Bane told me," he replied. The sound of his name brought on a strong surge of anger and disgust, and Jenna couldn't help but to roll her eyes again and sigh as she shook her head. "Oh no," Isaac began when he witnessed Jenna's demeanor instantly change upon hearing Bane's name, and he couldn't help but to smirk slightly. "You're the one who fucked up, don't be mad at him."
"He broke my fucking arm, Isaac," Jenna replied harshly as she lifted her eyes to look at him, a strong incredulous look on her face. Are you fucking kidding me? "I'll be fucking mad if I want to." The sound of Isaac quietly chuckling only upset Jenna more. "That... that... monster-" she couldn't think of a better word at the moment "-overreacted."
"Did he though?" Isaac wondered out loud as he began to cut off strips from the paper towel-like material, and he set the strips in the middle of them. "You've been told before: lying of any sort isn't tolerated."
"But he didn't have to break my arm-"
"What did you lie about?" Isaac interrupted, growing tired of her childish anger. He knew Jenna should just feel lucky to be alive. Isaac had witnessed plenty of men face gruesome deaths for lying. With Bane, punishment resulting in a broken arm was no worse than a paper cut.
"It's complicated," Jenna replied passively as she stared down at the carpeted floor.
"I doubt it. Tell me," Isaac pressed on, finally finished with cutting the strips of plaster.
Jenna sighed as she glanced up at the ceiling. "I lied about getting rid of my cell phone. I forgot to turn it off, it went off, and he found it." Telling Isaac only forced her to relive the terrible nightmare. Beside her, Isaac was nodding as he picked up the first strip of plaster. "What is that?" Jenna wondered now as she watched him dip it into the bucket.
"Plaster," he replied, "for the cast. So you've had that phone this whole time? Why?" He set the wet plaster down onto the gauze and molded it against her arm before he proceeded to do the same with the second strip, waiting for her answer.
"I don't know," Jenna replied. "I just... couldn't get rid of it. It gave me a piece of mind."
"Were you in contact with somebody?"
"No... well, sorta. My friend is... going crazy with worry, and all I did was send him a text telling him I'm okay."
Her sentence caused many questions to surface for Isaac. "Was it that guy from the charity?"
"Rodger, yeah," Jenna replied as she glanced down again, uninterested in what Isaac was doing now, for watching seemed to only hurt her arm more. Isaac nodded.
"And you told him you were okay?" Isaac asked now, unable to help but to feel bewildered over this. Wouldn't have made sense for Jenna to tell him her whereabouts so she could be rescued?
"Yeah," Jenna replied in a small voice. At least, she had thought she was okay. Whatever was happening between her and Bane was consuming, and the heat of their passion melted away any desire to try and escape it. Now, however... Talk about a mistake, Jenna thought.
"So is that what you lied about? That's not that complicated."
"No," Jenna sighed. She didn't want to talk about any of this, but the fact that it was Isaac who was asking these questions and actually listening helped Jenna to do it. "I went into town today to get Bane that coat, and I had to stop by my house, even though he told me not to. But I had to. And I fucking ran into Rodger there. So when Bane found the phone, he read a text from Rodger... and... yeah."
"Damn," Isaac said with a small grin. "Talk about hitting two birds with one stone." He laughed, but Jenna didn't find this amusing. "Why did you get him that coat?" Isaac asked seriously a moment later. He glanced up when Jenna shook her head. "Tell me," he prompted.
"Isaac seriously, I don't want to talk about it. It was stupid..."
"Fine," Isaac replied simply. Chances were he probably didn't want to know anyway. Jenna glanced back over to arm, and she watched Isaac wrap the final piece of plaster around it, and her frown deepened when she saw how thick and heavy this cast had become.
"How long does this take to heal?" Jenna wondered.
"About a year, give or take," Isaac replied simply, but Jenna had gone white. A year? A fucking year?!
"A year?" She expressed out loud. "You're joking."
"I am not," Isaac replied.
"I have to wear this fucking thing for a year?"
"Do you hear yourself?" Isaac asked loudly as he glanced up to her, his eyes wide, his lips thinned in a serious manner. "You must have it real good if your biggest worry is wearing a cast for a year."
Jenna rolled her eyes and began to turn away, but suddenly Isaac was not having it.
"No, listen to me," he said now. "I've witnessed you make all this progress and leave your former self behind, and right when I begin to think you may be an asset to the team –regardless of what's going on between you and Bane or you and me– you go right back to acting like a child, Jenna." He titled his head and raised his eyebrows. "I mean, is it all an act?"
Jenna was frowning as she shook her head, refusing to look at him.
"It must be. I guess I'm the dumb one here for thinking you could change yourself so quickly. This attitude of yours is going to be the death of you Jenna. It's not just the lying, it's not just the lack of know-how, it's your outlook, your perspective, and your tendency to over-react. This complaining of such trivial shit needs to stop."
"What do you fucking care?" Jenna retorted now as she looked over at him. "You said it yourself, we're not friends, and you're through helping me. You don't care what happens to me, so just save the lecture, Isaac. You don't like me, Bane doesn't like me, no-fucking-body around here likes me."
Isaac sighed, his lips parting to speak, but Jenna interrupted him.
"And don't even say there's something about me that you do like to spare my feelings. You and Bane both say and think that, but I sure as hell don't know what it is. Clearly it's not my bravery, or confidence, or potential. Maybe all it is are my fucking ass and tits." She paused to let out a frustrated laugh as she shook her head. "It's hard being here, Isaac, this life isn't meant for me. So excuse me for never knowing anything outside of a fucking mansion, and sorry if the biggest problem I've ever had to face before was having uneven eyebrows or chipping nail polish." She stopped suddenly, and Isaac remained quiet as he watched Jenna's face crumble before she finally let the tears she had been holding back spill forth. She released a large, shaky breath as her shoulders went limp, and she bowed her head as she brought her left hand up to shield her face. "I mean," she began, struggling to keep her voice straight. "Y-you all picked the w-wrong person entirely for this shit." She released another shaky breath as more tears fell down her cheeks, and she felt her face reddening in embarrassment. But regardless, she continued on. "I am trying, Isaac, I do try. Every fucking day. But you can't change yourself. I can only act like somebody fucking else for so long before I... I-"
Her shoulders heaved up and down as she was forced to succumb to more tears, and Isaac felt like an idiot for not knowing what to say. So Jenna was crying, big deal, right? This shouldn't stop Isaac from scolding her for her wrong-doings, but unfortunately it was, just like the last time she had cried in front of him.
"The goal isn't to make you be somebody else," he finally said. "It's to strengthen the good qualities, and be rid of the bad. At least it is... for you."
"Guess I'm all bad then," Jenna replied as she angrily wiped away her tears. "It doesn't fucking matter now anyway." She sat up, sniffling as she did so, and she wiped the last of her tears away. "Whenever Bane comes back he'll just kill me."
"No he won't," Isaac assured seriously.
"Yeah, he will," Jenna argued.
"He won't," Isaac said again. "Jenna I've seen him take a hammer to a man's head for an act of betrayal, and a beat down with his fists to another until the guy was dead. He just broke your arm."
"You make it sound like it's not so bad."
"It's not. If he was going to kill you, he would have right there and then."
Jenna was forced to consider this. Recalling the event, if she wouldn't have followed him to the door, he would have never touched her. But she couldn't bring herself to agree that this was entirely her fault. It led her to believe all of Bane's actions previously had all been a lie. He didn't care about her. Jenna felt even dumber now.
"He could always decide to later."
"He won't. He's had every opportunity to kill you in the past couple of weeks, and he hasn't taken any of them. I've told you this. You screwed up, so consider this your punishment. Just feel lucky that you're still alive and able to learn from your mistake."
"I can't anymore, Isaac," Jenna replied in a small voice. "Every time I turn around there's a new opportunity to die. It's becoming too hard to just stay living here."
"So you want to give up? Just like that?" Isaac asked, waiting for Jenna to answer, but when she didn't, he went on. "Just because something gets hard doesn't mean that you back down. I mean you allowed permission of your own parent's death so you could stay alive. If you die, that would have all been for nothing."
"I don't care about my parent's, Isaac," Jenna retorted, though a strong pang had gone through her heart upon speaking those words. "Like I said, I can't change me. And you said it, it'll be the death of me."
"No, I said your outlook on everything will. The way you view everything can change." Isaac had raised his voice, and he noticed the way it made Jenna jump, but he was beginning to get annoyed with her attitude and how easily she wanted to give up. He had not wanted to get personal with Jenna; all he had wanted to do was perform his orders from Bane and go on his way without a second thought. Although and admittedly it had been hard, he had done so well with abandoning their friendship, but now he was facing the strong desire to help her again. He sighed, giving in easily, but he could not help the booming tone of his voice. "You can be yourself, but know how to face challenges! Here's the truth: what needs to change is your outlook, and what you think is important to worry about. Most of all, your childish antics need to just stop. You act like a twelve-year-old living in an adult atmosphere. That isn't tolerated around here. Complaining, lying, avoiding tough situations and giving up easily, that's childish, Jenna. You can still be yourself and lose these qualities. All the traits that will lead to your death are all categorized as this. That's what needs to change. What we like about you? What we want to respect? It's the potential, and the will to live. You have it, but you don't use it."
"You said yourself it was all an act," Jenna pointed out, though Isaac's stern and loud tone had made her nervous. When he had been shouting at her, however, she noticed in the back of her mind some sort of slight accent attached to particular words, but she immediately reminded herself that this was not important right now. Rationally, she wanted to accept Isaac's help, but her mind wouldn't let her. Not after all the things he had said to her before.
Isaac frowned. "I... I shouldn't have said that," he mumbled, unable to help but feel embarrassed. He was better than that, and he had allowed Jenna to anger him to the point of speaking without thinking. "It's just how quickly you recede on the progress made. I know all you've ever known is the luxurious life of a child, but that's your fault. You've been placed into this situation, and now you need to make the best of it. Bane won't kill you now, but if this continues, ultimately he will, and I don't want to witness that."
Jenna couldn't help but to glance at him, surprised over his words, and thankful that he had calmed and quieted his tone. It was evident that Isaac did care. Jenna realized now that although he didn't want to care, he did, and it was something he couldn't help. She kept her mouth closed now, fighting against her will to speak out, for she did not want to ruin any chances she had suddenly at reconstructing their friendship.
"Life has a funny way of inflicting fate on people."
"Are you saying I was meant to be here?" Jenna couldn't help but to ask. Isaac shrugged slightly.
"Maybe," he replied. "Of all the people in Gotham, in the world, you're the one he went after. Sure, there were legitimate reasons at first, but it wasn't your fate to die so early."
"That's stupid," Jenna couldn't help but to say as she glanced down again.
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," Isaac replied. "Either way, if you want to stay alive, and I know you do, just grow up. It's as simple as that. You've come this far, don't give up now just because you messed up. Learn from your mistake, deal with the repercussions, and move on. You say this 'life' isn't meant for you, but maybe it is. Maybe it's what you need. Why else would you be here?"
"If you say fate, I'll kill you," Jenna mumbled, and she couldn't help but to grin when Isaac laughed slightly. Her grin, however, was short lived, and a spurt of pain from her arm caused her to flinch.
"It's something I believe in," he admitted. "As a kid I always enjoyed guns and other weapons. Every weekend I'd go with my grandfather to go shoot them and do some target practice. During school I'd hide in a bathroom stall and polish my knives. Nothing else interested me; I was an outcast. I dropped out of school and joined the army. I became a weapons expert, I enjoyed it, and I started to get into some medical procedures as well. But then... life got rough. I left my post and hid away in West Africa... that's where I met Bane."
By this point Jenna had glanced up to him again, her brow furrowed immensely as she tried to listen to his words and fathom the idea that he was finally telling her his story. It took her a minute to realize he was talking again, and she quickly abandoned her astonished thoughts to listen.
"...to take out some mining operations going on there. He needed more men, so he took me. In the army, I hadn't ever been in any situation like that... something so chaotic. I wasn't prepared either. I nearly died.
"After, we came here, we established ourselves in an underground sort of lair under the city, and kept quiet for a while. It was tough, Jenna, even for me. But unlike you, I didn't have anyone to talk to, to get help from. I was alone, and had to learn how to defend myself every day around these harsh men. Bane was... Bane kept to himself, only talking to his men when there were orders to be given or when loyalty was betrayed. To him, I was just another thug, a clone of the rest who had served him before me. Men fell away, one by one, for whatever reason, whether that was by him or their own stupidity. I was tired of it, too. Tired of the hand I had been dealt. By then, my grandparents had died, and even if I was to escape his rule I would have had nowhere to go, no way to get out of Gotham and go to my hometown. Hell, if I'd have even tried I would have been shot down, like you would have. Running away is a shining example of betrayal around here. The will to stay alive made me realize I had to make my situation work for me, and play the hand I had been dealt."
"You make it sound like it was so easy," Jenna said in a quiet voice just above a whisper.
"The realization made the determination easy, Jenna," Isaac specified. "It was hard work proving I was somebody to be respected, respected over the rest of the men, and somebody who Bane should have some respect for as well. I was through taking shit from anyone. I changed a good majority of my anti-social ways: I stood up for myself, I did what I was told, when I was told, and I did it with confidence, even the things I had never even dreamed about doing before."
"That's not making anything better," Jenna pointed out. "You were still just a clone."
"For a while," Isaac agreed. "But I proved to him that I was better than everyone else. I proved to him that I was the man to go to for any and eventually all weapon operations. Bane was building an army, and he needed a second in command, somebody he could trust to run and operate things when he was away. I was appointed the job, because I had improved myself and he saw that."
Jenna glanced away. She understood what Isaac was saying, what he was trying to point out to her about herself, but she was still having somewhat of a hard time finding inspiration in his story. "You only improved yourself in his eyes. You changed yourself, you-"
"No, I didn't," Isaac argued sternly, and Jenna heard that accent again. "I strengthened my confidence, my knowledge, logic, and ability to step up and take the lead. I didn't change who I was. I was always the soft guy, the guy who felt things differently and could relate to people. My grandma-" Isaac smiled slightly as he turned a little bit to look away, and Jenna glanced over at him again as he stared ahead. "-she always said I had this awesome ability to put myself in others shoes, and know what it was like for them, the hardships they faced. That never changed. Maybe it was masked, qualities like that don't earn you the respect you need here, but after a while Bane accepted that about me, when he learned I could shut that part of me off."
"What else didn't change?" Jenna asked.
Isaac shrugged. "A lot," he replied. "I don't know. Behind all this tactical exterior is still the man I was. Hell, I haven't been this way in a while... not until you came around."
Jenna glanced down again, and she nodded slightly.
"So you see? I'm not saying you need to change yourself. I'm saying you need to improve yourself. It's what Bane wants. What we like about you is the fact that you're just you, and you can make that work around here. Dropping your childish ways won't change who you are. Fate brought you here; fate brought me here. I have to think, why else was I so interested in weapons so early, and why did information and knowing how to handle them stick so well? All my time in the army, my medical skills... it brought me here, to this new army, like I was meant to be here. So now, I think you're supposed to be here. If it wasn't fate, you would have been dead by now."
Jenna couldn't help but to grin. "I don't know," she said, sitting back slightly, and she couldn't help but to flinch when she moved her arm.
"Don't move it," Isaac said suddenly, and Jenna glanced over at him as he rummaged around in the medical bag again, watching as he pulled out a white arm sling.
"All the talk about fate," Jenna went on now as Isaac helped to put the sling around her, and she had to admit, once her arm was rested in it, it did feel much better. "It just sounds... wrong. I don't think I believe it."
Isaac shrugged. He did. He couldn't help it. He believed everything happened for a reason... "Bane's... different... with you around," he said now, and Jenna stared at him.
"Yeah, like more over-reactive, probably," she mumbled as she glanced away. Although Jenna was surprised he had mentioned him, she really didn't want to talk about him in this way. Isaac let out an annoyed sigh. Had his story and advice really failed to inspired her?
"No... more patient, and... outgoing. I haven't seen him smile in a long time."
Jenna's jaw dropped slightly as she slowly looked back to him. Yeah fucking right. "You're lying," she argued. He had to be. How could her presence ever make Bane happier? He had just broken her arm, for God's sake. But she couldn't help but to think back to how things had been going, and come to think of it, she recalled how often Bane had smiled. Images of the wrinkles around his eyes came to her mind, and although Jenna hadn't known him prior to all this smiling, she assumed it was something the beast probably rarely did.
But as soon as her mind allowed her to clearly comprehend a pleasing thought about him, she was instantly reminded of his actions previously displayed in her room. His hand had felt burning hot, his grip tighter than ever, and the collision of bone to wall was indescribable. He had broken her arm; Jenna couldn't remind herself of this enough. It was a heartless, uncaring act of over-reaction, and suddenly she felt as though she'd never be able to forgive him.
"Alright," Isaac was saying now, and when Jenna felt the pressure from his hands on her cast, she looked down and watched as he ran his fingers over the plaster. "This looks about dry. You should be good. You should get some sleep."
"Do you have any pain killers?" Jenna wondered as Isaac stood from the bed now.
"Yes," he replied. "But you can take them later."
"Why not now?"
"Because you're exhausted, angry, and in dire need of sleep."
"Sleep won't keep the pain away."
"It'll mask it for a while. You don't need them now, Jenna," he went on as he started to the bathroom with the bucket and medical kit. "You haven't complained about the pain for a while now, anyway."
"Fine," Jenna mumbled as she finally started to stand, flinching as she did so. Isaac had seen this, but he quickly turned away from Jenna to rinse out the bucket in his sink. Although he hadn't wanted to have a such a helpful conversation with Jenna, he couldn't help but to feel somewhat good about it. From the night that he had met Jenna at the party all the way to now, he was still strong in knowing that he liked her, even if at one point he had to pretend not to. Now, it was evident to Jenna that some of their friendship had been reconstructed, and although Isaac primarily didn't want this, it was something he was starting to lose control over, he knew. Fate, he thought as he placed the bucket onto the floor now. There was some sort of friendly pull between the two, and Isaac wasn't sure if he'd be able to avoid it much longer.
Upon stepping out of the bathroom, Isaac saw that Jenna had just started to open the door. He watched her start to step out of his room when a random thought occurred to Jenna, and she paused before turning to face him.
"I must have improved somewhat around here," she began, a small grin appearing on her face. "Because you said you wouldn't tell me that story until you saw improvement. Or until I died."
Isaac couldn't help but to smile. "You're more patient," he complimented. "Although, it could still use more work."
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that along with everything else," she mumbled. "Isaac?" She suddenly spoke up just as Isaac turned off the bathroom light. "Thank you," she added lamely. How did she always get stuck in these situations? Isaac had helped her plenty of times before, but he had really outdone himself this time. He was, literally, the only one there for her in her painful time of need. "Seriously," she went on. "I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't.. for-"
"I know," Isaac interrupted, a small grin on his face. "Now go get some sleep." Isaac didn't offer anything else as he turned around, sure of the fact that Jenna would be able to get down the ladder herself, and when he turned around now to glance at his door, he saw that she was gone.
Jenna climbed down the ladder slowly, but successfully, and once her feet had touched the ground, she immediately started to the basement, deciding she was rather tired after all. The day had turned out to be exhausting, not only physically, but mentally as well. It was bewildering to her how quickly things had gone downhill, and as she slowly descended the stairs, keeping an eye out for Bane, she wished all together that this day had never even happened. She had been stupid in thinking Bane could possibly care about her, in any way, and she was stupid to have tried perusing it. Now, she was sure she had doomed herself into an even more miserable life. She anticipated for Bane to push her harder, torment her on deeper levels, and send her on missions he knew she'd be unable to handle. In her mind, this made sense.
The basement was free of Bane, and with this relief Jenna immediately headed toward her room, but as soon as she had pushed open her door, stepped inside and turned around while closing the door, she paused once her eyes fell on dozens of tiny pieces that once made up her phone on the floor. She swallowed, and ignoring the throbbing in her arm due to her fast, vigorous movements to hide away in her room, and she closed her eyes as she turned away, the pieces only bringing back the memories. She stepped over to her cot and stopped before lifting her foot onto the edge of it to push it against the cold wall adjacent to the one it had been near. After, she took her time with leaning over to fix her blankets, and she found herself frowning deeper than ever as she picked up her pillow from the floor. She placed it gently on her cot before she turned to lower herself on it. She stared down at her pants as she went about removing her shoes, but she was too tired to take them off or change them or even turn off the dim lights. All she could manage to do was lay down in her cot and cover herself with the blanket as she turned onto her left side to face the wall.
She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, only to immediately halt her actions as her eyes snapped open. Not even five minutes of laying in her cot and already the blankets and pillow smelled like him. She couldn't help but to close her eyes and breathe in deeply again, filling her senses with the scent of musky soap and what smelled like gun powder, but as soon as she exhaled, she couldn't help the tear that slid down her cheek and onto the pillow.
–
Jenna was unsure of how long she had been sleeping or what time it was when she finally did wake, but she found herself feeling even more exhausted than she had been prior to sleeping. Clenching her teeth, she rolled onto her back, disdaining the way her arm was starting to throb, and she stared up at the ceiling. As the physical sensations of her body began to return upon being awake, she realized finally how hard she had been sweating, and how rather hot it was under her blanket. She kicked it off, immediately letting out a cry and cursing to herself when her arm gave a violent spurt of pain, and she hissed as she finally sat up, running her hand through her hair. She made a face as she pulled her hand back, disgusted with how hot and sweaty her scalp felt, and as she considered showering, she had to wonder what had caused her body to become so over-heated. She could not recall any nightmares; the last thing she had thought about was the scent of Bane on the cot before all went blank when she fell asleep. She rolled her puffy and blood-shot eyes before she finally stood up, deciding a shower was the only thing she needed at this point.
As soon as she pulled out her bag to start looking for clothes, she immediately paused, and with an annoyed expression she began to lean up. Was she allowed to get the cast wet? Isaac had never mentioned she could or could not, and with the shallow knowledge she did have concerning broken limbs, she had a gut feeling that getting the cast wet would ultimately lead to nothing but difficulties.
"Great," she mumbled out loud. What was she supposed to do then? The only option she had right now was to ask Isaac. Rolling her eyes, she turned toward her door and started over to it. She opened it gently, and after peering around the dark basement, she headed over toward the stairs, illuminated by the lights upstairs, and once she had ascended them she immediately started over to the ladder that led up to Isaac's room. She noticed the bathroom door was shut, light flooding out onto the floor from under the door, and she sighed as she turned the corner. It was nearly silent on the upper level, the only noise coming from the TV, and after she struggled to see if Isaac's bedroom door was open or not, or if he was even up there, she slumped her shoulders.
"Isaac?" She called somewhat quietly, leaning closer to the ladder. "Isaac are you up there?" She waited, hoping no other henchmen would lean over the edge of the upstairs. Fortunately, nobody else bothered her, but unfortunately, she received no answer from Isaac. Was he outside? Or could he just not hear her? She bit her lip, debating with herself over which course of action was the most rational to take. Would Isaac get mad if she was to go up there herself? Was he ashamed of his repeated helpful ways and hoping that Jenna would not start to 'bother' him again, especially after he had yelled at her? It's only one question, she thought to herself. If he gets upset, then that's stupid on his part. She began to climb the ladder.
Once she reached the top, she saw that his door was closed. Without thinking about it, she stepped up to his door and knocked.
After a few long seconds, she heard the door being unlocked before it opened, and before Isaac could open the door, he already knew it would be Jenna. Once he revealed her, he stared at her with tired eyes and waited to see what she wanted.
"Did I wake you?" Jenna wondered, slight concern in her voice, and after Isaac slowly shook his head, she cleared her throat before going on. "Um... I was just wondering how I'm supposed to shower. Can I get the cast wet?"
"No," Isaac finally answered verbally. "You can't."
"What do I do then?"
Isaac shrugged. "You'll have to lean over the tub and use the shower head. Or just not shower." He smirked when Jenna made a face.
"Okay," she answered, deciding not to say anything concerning Isaac's last statement. "Thank you," she added, pure disappointment in her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was shower awkwardly. Did the shower head in the bathroom even detach? She began to turn around, but as soon as she was facing the ladder, she instantly remembered the angry man that had been pestering her when she had been showering prior to her arm. She didn't want to be caught in those circumstances again, especially when she was already eighty percent more vulnerable than before. She could sense Isaac still standing by his open door, and before he could start to close it she quickly turned around.
"Do you think I could use your shower?" she asked calmly and quietly, feeling as though if she asked this innocently enough Isaac would say yes.
"Why?"
Jenna shrugged slightly as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear with her left hand. "Last time I showered, some guy was bothering me and trying to get in, and... I'd feel better if I could do it up here. Please?"
Isaac stared at her for a long moment. He knew his helpful words toward Jenna would lead her to believe she could start trying to talk to him again, or begging for more help. But all she was wanting now was to use his shower to avoid the men downstairs. Isaac could understand this. He would allow her to use his shower, but later he decided he wanted to have a talk about the friendship that was starting to redevelop. A friendship between them still didn't seem right or good for anyone, especially when Bane's plans were starting to be put into action, but Isaac was realizing it was something that was becoming inevitable.
"Fine," he replied. He stepped back, opening the door more, and understanding his invitation Jenna stepped into his room. She paused in the middle of the walkway while Isaac shut the door, and she turned to face him just as he started past her. She followed him toward the bathroom, and he paused outside of the door frame and snapped on the light as Jenna walked in front of him.
"Towels are up there." He pointed to a shelf above the toilet. "And you can just use my shampoo. The knobs are wrong though– the hot is actually the cold, and cold is hot."
"Okay," Jenna replied gently. "Thank you."
Isaac didn't reply, and instead he merely closed the door before he turned to head back over to his bed. Inside the bathroom, Jenna could easily tell how uneasy Isaac was about this, but she couldn't help but to try and ignore this. His bathroom was rather big, complete with a countered sink, a large, medicine cabinet above it, a metal towel rack above the white toilet, and a bathtub/shower on the opposite side of the sink and toilet. She grabbed a blue towel from the top of the rack and set it down on the closed toilet lid before she pulled back the transparent curtain of the tub, revealing a rather clean shower. Her eyes skimmed over the various body washes and shampoos that lined the edges, and she couldn't help but to smirk slightly. She turned toward the faucet, and after she confirmed that this shower had a detachable shower head, she reached up to take it off its holder before she started it, remembering what Isaac had told her about the hot and cold.
As the water warmed up, she frowned as she stood back up, wondering how the fuck she was going to do this. Gently, slowly and carefully, she began to take off the sling that held her arm against the top of her stomach, and she let it fall to the floor before she began to take her shirt off. Once she had removed her shirt and bra to avoid getting them wet, she pushed them to the side before she got onto her knees in front of the tub. She reached over to grab his shampoo bottle, and after she set it on the floor she grabbed the shower head, leaned over the tub as far as she could with her head bowed, her hair spilling over, and she began to move the shower head over it to get her hair wet.
Bane had spent a good majority of that evening outside, where he had stormed out to after he had snapped Jenna's arm nearly in half. The process of doing so had felt good, and proved to relieve some anger on site, but as soon as he got outside, and the cold air stung the exposed areas of his face, seething anger came flowing back like scorching lava, and all the anger came rushing back. His mind was unable to fathom the fact that Jenna had lied, and this almost upset him more than what she had lied about. He had allowed himself to trust her too much. He had allowed himself to feel these feelings for her, and now that she had betrayed him, it was making him feel more rage than necessary. The lava inside grew hotter, and in turn he became angrier.
Storming over to the warehouse, he had clutched his fists so tightly his arms were beginning to shake, but he ignored this as he continued over to the open garage, where he knew Isaac would be. His body was begging him to think about Jenna in her miserable state where he had left her on the floor, but now, for the first time in a while, his mind was winning. She lied... she betrayed you... she's been betraying you this entire time... that little brat cannot be trusted... she cannot improve her ways. Kill her. Kill her. KILL HER!
Bane closed his eyes and shook his head somewhat vigorously. Kill her? It made sense, but due to this thought, his body forced himself to release the tightness of his clenched fists ever so slightly, as if reminding him that he just couldn't. You need to, his mind went on. What good is she to you, to any of this? She's not an asset, she's a liability. She will never amount to anything. She can't do anything. You have blinded yourself with deciding that her terrible traits could someday prove to be helpful, and you have numbed your rational thoughts with disgusting physical feelings.
Bane sucked in a deep breath as he continued toward the garage, but his fists had clenched again due to these thoughts. She discovered betrayal from Karly before it's even happened. A shining example of a shallow trait proving helpful.
No, Bane instantly scolded himself. That's something you could have easily discovered yourself. That was nothing more than Jenna's jealously getting the best of her. She is not helpful. Kill her.
By now Bane had made it to the garage, and he ventured into it directly past Isaac.
"I need you to go inside," Bane forced himself to mumble. "...and do something about Jenna's arm," he added before he could stop himself. Really? After all of that, he was still finding a way to get Jenna the help she so desperately needed?
"Her arm? What happened?" Isaac had asked, and his question caused Bane to close his eyes as his raging mind went wild on him.
You betray yourself by commanding Barsad to go assist Jenna. Leave her. Let her fend for herself. Let her suffer, his mind growled.
"I broke it," Bane replied, clenching his fists harder due to his thoughts. Jenna may be less than desirable right now, but she needs help. The fact that you understand this proves something...
No! The logical side took over with a snarl. You have done worse to men who have lied to you before. She lied to you, she deceived you, and who knows what else she is still lying about. Bane opened his eyes and finally looked over to Isaac to finish the statement he had made just seconds before. "She lied to me."
He shook his head as he turned away from Isaac. His entire being was arguing with itself. It was mind against body, and though his body was trying hard to convince him to go with his feelings, his logical mind was winning.
You must correct the error of your ways. If you are still shamefully against killing her, then you must inflict the worst hell on her. She is a hostage. Nothing more, nothing less. Treat her as so. She deserves it.
I will, Bane decided sternly, and at that moment his body had lost. Welcome back, Bane.
Please leave me your thoughts! Shit's really hit the fan for poor Jenna...
Also, I would like to give a BIG thanks to my new beta, Loretta Lolita (her penname), for giving me some great and much needed advice for this chapter :)