The weeks passed agonizingly slow for Jenna. Never in her life had she experienced such unfathomable boredom and loneliness, and as her time in her room dragged on –minutes like hours, hours like days and hours like months– by nearly the second week Jenna felt herself reaching her breaking point.
In the beginning, Jenna couldn't help but take to crying again, regardless of the promise she had once made to herself to stop. All her weakness, sadness, anger and frustration tore down her stronger interior and left her a broken shell of her former self. She cried over being stuck in her room, she bawled over her loneliness, her situation as a whole, and the torment of Bane's words that contentiously echoed in her head. She cried over her actions, her stupidity that her brought her here, and the physical pain she woke up with each morning. As time went on, she shed tears over Rodger, over her sorrow for herself, and for the first time, she wept over her parents, her grief and hatred for her actions to save herself causing her to become physically sick with disgust. Had she died in place of them, at least she would not be suffering. Her parents would live on, and continue to make a shallow difference for Gotham, but a difference no less. At least they would be living for a cause, and standing for something. These thoughts caused Jenna to wonder what, exactly, had she done thus far in their place. What had she amounted to? What had she done to have made their death worth something?
Time alone in her room brought Jenna to feel and decide that perhaps she was just worthless. Perhaps she was a brat after all, who broke down when she didn't get what she wanted. Before, she wanted to be free from her luxurious life style, and when she couldn't get away, she rebelled against the life she could not escape –– a life that was simple and gave her what she wanted anyway. After, she desired life, to avoid death, no matter the cost, but since it was not the free life she wanted, she turned into a child who had no desire to amount to anything. Then, she hungered for Bane, despite how disgustingly wrong it was, but because she had failed at her chances with him –and ultimately her chances for a turn around to her situation and a better life– she found herself wishing for any sort of escape. Why couldn't she win? Why couldn't she realize what she had until it was gone? Why did she always desire something better than what she already had?
It was becoming clear to her that perhaps everything was entirely her fault. Isaac's reasons for ending their friendship were still unjust, and Bane was being less than reasonable toward her, especially after proving that he did care about her, but her situation now, sitting alone in that cold, dark room, was entirely her fault. She knew betrayal of any sort was not tolerated. She knew this, yet she ignored it. She should have just gotten rid of her phone. She should have understood her weaknesses and should have proved her loyalties by just giving Bane her phone and asking him to destroy it for her. She should have told him immediately of her encounter with Rodger, and the clerk at the store, or perhaps have just asked him, first hand, if she could go out and get him the coat. Bane would have listened to her, right? Especially during their current state of lust and developing, deeper emotion.
But why should Jenna prove her loyalties? These thoughts only caused her to immediately grow angry at herself for even thinking these could have been more sensible options. Bane stole her away from her life; he took everything she had ever known, broke it, and forced her to live a life that she could not. Prove her loyalties? That man –that monster– did not deserve Jenna's loyalty. Her phone was her property; she had a right to freedom and doing what she wanted. Giving into Bane's rules was just making her turn into a person that she wasn't.
Regardless, she had betrayed him, she had lied, and she had been caught. Adult or child, no matter what her mental state was, under Bane's rules she had to be punished, and she had been. Bane hurt her physically, mentally, and emotionally. If Jenna hadn't lied, she would still be desiring Bane, and whether she realized it or not, living an easier life due to his feeling and care for her. On a more narrow scope, if Jenna hadn't gone after him as he exited her room that fateful day, he would not have touched her. Maybe she would have still been shunned to her room, but at least she would have full use of her right arm and hand.
So it was her fault, fine. Now she had to deal with the outcomes she had brought on herself. Jenna accepted this finally after the first week alone, but by the second, she found herself wishing and praying that change would occur, that something good would start to happen to turn her situation around, even if the aspect was small and materialistic. But nothing new ever happened.
She remained silent in her room, the only noises ever being those of her crying, and the sound the furniture in her room made when she moved it around. She had re-positioned her cot against every wall in the room, and at one point had made a sort of structure around it using the chairs. When this became old after the first night of sleeping with them, she neatly folded and stacked the chairs against the walls. When she grew sick of the look, she took down the rest of the chairs from where they lay messily on the large shelves, and struggled to pull the shelves away from the wall opposite of the door to instead stand against the same wall as the door, next to it. After, she stacked the chairs neatly on the shelves, one by one, until all the chairs were put away. She kept two out, and she used them as end tables on either side of the cot, which she had placed across from the door, the head of the cot touching the wall and coming outward. She sorted through the various items that had been in the room as well, discarding most of it to rest neatly with the chairs on shelves, and she used what interested her to display in her room, including an old lamp that did not work, a broken shard from a mirror, and the knife Isaac had bestowed her with her first night there. She had forgotten about the knife, and now it sat noticeably on the chair to the right of her cot, next to the mirror piece.
During her time of solitude, Bane would approach her door time to time, and simply kick the bottom of it, his way of announcing she could venture outside of her room to take care of what she had to. The first time he had done it, during the second morning of solitude, Jenna had no idea what the noise had been or what it meant. She figured it was an accident, due to someone who had run into the door, but after remembering she had not heard any noises prior, her curiosity got the best of her, and she stepped up to her door. She slowly eased it open, hoping she would not deepen her trouble by simply peeking out of her room. Her eyes instantly found Bane walking away from her door, and upon hearing the faint squeak, he glanced over his shoulder as he slowed his steps. His eyes met hers, and he gave her a simple nod toward the stairs. Assuming he was giving her permission to exit her room, she quickly stepped out and cautiously started toward the stairs, feeling like a pathetic, abused animal.
"You have five minutes," Bane stated as Jenna walked past his still frame now, her eyes on his.
"Can I outside for a cigarette?" She asked, keeping her tone quiet, light, and free of any burning hope or sourness.
"No."
His answer was short, bitter, and to the point. Jenna had no reason to press the issue –she knew it would only result in more pain and Bane taking back his allowances of her exiting her room– and without a word she jogged up the stairs and headed directly into the bathroom.
To her, the kicks against the door always seemed to occur at random times, but she was sure Bane was keeping a schedule. One day during her second week, she kept count of how many times she was permitted to leave, and before she went to bed, she had counted five instances, unsure if whether or not Bane was kicking her door when she was sleeping. She hoped not. By her second week she didn't want to miss any opportunities of getting to leave the drabness of her room.
Jenna did well with staying within her five minute time limit, until the day she was sure she had gone over. Normally, when she ventured upstairs to relieve her bladder and grab something to eat and drink, Bane would remain downstairs, waiting outside of his room to ensure Jenna returned to hers, but one day, just as she exited the bathroom after struggling to quickly wash her hair, Bane coming up the stairs had stolen her attention, and she froze where she stood near the fridge.
"You have ten seconds to return your room, and that's being generous. Move," Bane then commanded harshly. Dying of thirst due to having another dry throat, Jenna knew she was pressing her luck by grabbing out a water bottle as fast as a lightening strike from the fridge, and she noticed Bane's eyes had widened slightly as she fled past him to rush down the stairs and into her room with a racing heart. Jenna had not made that mistake again.
During the first week, she had nervously smoked the rest of the cigarettes Isaac had given her within the confines of her room, hoping Bane would not smell it and grow upset, and by the second week, she was dying for a cigarette. It was clear to her by then Bane had more than likely commanded Isaac to leave her alone, for Jenna hadn't really seen him at all. The one time she had upstairs, he had been heading toward the ladder to his room. She had paused near the counter, forcing a small smile on her face, but before she could say hello, Isaac immediately turned away and began up the ladder without so much as a glance back to her. Jenna's one and only support in this nightmarish life was now gone, and it only caused her to begin to feel more lonely and hopeless.
By the middle of the third week, after having done all she could to stay busy and keep her mind occupied, she took to a new habit, a habit that helped to consume her mind and help her to feel feelings she hadn't undergone in a while. Hour by hour, day after day, Jenna took to just thinking. Not about Bane or her situation, but rather recalling memories, and more so coming up with scenarios for nearly everything she could think of.
She began with picturing how her life would have been had she never met Bane. She thought back to the charity party, and in response to Isaac never having attended, Jenna would have successfully sneaked out of her house, and enjoyed attending some random party with Rodger. From there, she let her mind wander.
She would have returned late that night, and more than likely woken up with the same sour attitude that next morning. She would have gone to get her coffee, only this time she would have returned to go to her modeling appointment with her mother. So what, Jenna thought. At this point, being on the cover of some stupid magazine seemed like Heaven right now. She would have gone to the appointment, and just done what her mother would have told her.
"Stand straight, Jenna. Oh, no, no, no, don't do that cliché' pose! Do this!" Her mother would have complained. Jenna smiled when she pictured the photographers to glare at her mother before reminding her that they were in charge, and Jenna was to do what they told her. Her smile widened when she pictured her mother sulking in the corner.
After, she would have returned home, changed into something more casual, and joined Rodger at his house to discuss plans for the night, when he was finished with his college classes. From there, she would have just continued living her life the way it had been going; obeying her parents, attempting to rebel, and enjoying her time with Rodger as an escape.
This scenario gave her the desire to picture something what would have truly made her happy. She was alone, and living on her own in some big, crowded city. She did not know how she got there, or how she afforded anything, but that was irrelevant for this fantasy. In this city, nobody knew her. She was accepted as a regular citizen, and was no more special than the next person. Her parent's didn't bother her, and she didn't care. She kept in close contact with Rodger, but mostly she enjoyed the freedom of being alone in her own house.
As she lay in her cot under her blanket one night, shivering, she pictured herself to have a giant, jacuzzi tub. That particular night, she ran herself a bath –a bubble bath– and after piling her long, luscious, clean red hair in a messy bun on top of her head, she stepped into the warm water before sinking down into the tub, the bubbles tickling her chin. But why stop there? This was a fantasy meant to play to her highest, trivial desires right now. She had her music playing on the radio. Her feet were kicked up comfortably on the edge of the tub, her toenails perfectly painted a strong shade of black, and as she relaxed in the warmth of the water, she held a cigarette in between her fingers, the smoke lazily flowing to the ceiling before calmly dissipating. Next to her on the tiled ridge of the tub was a simple glass of cherry flavored Coke, and after taking a drag from her cigarette and a sip of her drink, she would have achieved maximum comfort and relaxation.
After nearly an hour of relaxing in the tub, she would step out, and just hang out in her towel around the house until she went to sleep in her warm, soft bed.
If only, she had thought. By her third week, she allowed herself to imagine another man in the picture. This man had jet black hair and a clean shaven face. He was tall, dark and handsome, a total cliché, but she was safe within her mind. He was kind and gentle, rough when the situation called for it, and always there for her. He was her friend, her lover, and in her fantasy, Jenna had never felt so strongly about anybody. She lived with him in his vast apartment on the top floor, and each evening she would enjoy sharing a cigarette with her man on the balcony that overlooked that same, busy city she had pictured before. They were invisible to everyone else; just two more faces living in the city, and they loved each other.
Or... maybe they didn't love each other, Jenna thought sleepily one night, mere minutes from falling asleep. Maybe Jenna's fondness for him died out, and she found some sort of sick pleasure in seeking out other men to be with, and keeping it a secret from tall, dark and handsome. She pictured herself at some sort of dance club, and after a few beers, she's feeling pretty good. She makes her way onto the dance floor, and immediately begins swaying her hips to the beat, only to slow her actions when she feels somebody behind her. A smirk playing upon her lips, she slowly glances over her shoulder at the man who had come up smoothly behind her. He's cute –really attractive, actually– and Jenna can't help but to grind herself against him. He responds well by placing his hands on her hips, and Jenna can't help but to lean her head back on his shoulder and sigh as he pulls her body closer to his as the beat carries on, their bodies never ceasing movement.
Suddenly, she feels some sort of tickle against her temple, something prickly rubbing against it. Her eyebrows furrowing, she opens her eyes to look up at the man, and her heart skips several beats as a cold flash overcomes her body. Isaac?
The music plays on, the bass hard and heavy, and her eyes widen as Isaac tightens his grip on her hips. Her jaw drops. Why is Isaac here, and why is she dancing with him? She knows it's wrong, but her body continues to move against his, her hips moving slowly with the beat, and her eyes slide closed as Isaac's starts to slide his hands slowly down her body, going lower, and lower, and lower...
Jenna woke with a start that following morning. Breathing deeply, her eyes snapped open, and she stared up at the ceiling for a long while. It was clear to her now that her fantasy had carried over into a dream, but why Isaac? Well, Jenna thought. Isaac sort of makes sense... Admittedly, Jenna missed him. She missed his help, their talks, and she wished she could have the chance to prove to him that she would no longer take advantage of anything he offered to her. But still, why had that dream been so... intimate?
Jenna decided to abandon her thoughts and deem the dream as meaningless, and something not to worry about. It was just her subconscious' way of symbolizing something she missed dearly.
About ten minutes after waking, she jumped when she heard the intrusive yet welcoming kick on her door. She moved to get out of the cot quickly, wondering if her time started when Bane kicked the door, or when she exited her room. Either way, she didn't want to waste any time that was granted to her, and after she put on a pair of sweat pants and adjusted her sling, she quickly moved to her door and opened it.
She heard a TV, and as she started past Bane's room, the door open, she couldn't help but to glance inside.
"...found nearly a week ago, officials predict the death to Mr. And Mrs. Silvera to have happened nearly two months ago."
Jenna halted in her tracks, and she took a step back before cautiously wandering toward Bane's room to stop a little more than a foot away from the door frame, and a lump had risen in her throat as she stared at the TV.
"What kind of city do we live in where these people have been decaying in their home for months, without anybody knowing!?" A random man on the streets began, a news reporter holding a microphone up to his mouth. The man's eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head in disgust. "I mean, that's a long time! How come nobody realized that! How come nobody looked into this family's random disappearance sooner?"
The TV cut to Jenna's house, her property wrapped in yellow police tape, and as she watched officers moved in and out of the door, the lump in her throat grew twice the size when the camera cut to one of her parents in a zipped body bag.
"You're wasting your time," Bane spoke suddenly, tearing Jenna's attention away from the TV, and when she glanced to her right, she saw Bane sitting at the edge of his bed, watching the TV as well.
"What's going to happen now?" Jenna couldn't help but to ask, although talking to him at this point seemed like a waste of time, itself.
"The police will strengthen their efforts in the search for you," Bane began in somewhat of a flat voice, never turning to look at her. "And the funeral for your parents will be broadcasted for weeks as police begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together."
"What do you mean?"
"They will come looking for me, as well. You have three minutes."
Frowning, Jenna immediately rushed to the stairs and headed directly to the bathroom.
What had taken so long for her parents to be found, Jenna wondered later that day as she lay in her cot. Wouldn't her house have been the first place people searched? The door was unlocked, she was sure other house workers had been going there. The thoughts disturbed her. Gotham was more disgusting than she had thought.
Perhaps realizing that the city would be searching for her and Bane should comfort her, but it didn't. It frightened her. What if Bane killed her just before the police could find her, before she could be rescued? Jenna refused to feel hope, for she knew hope was nonexistent anymore...
–
The following evening, Bane stepped up to her door and left a simple kick on the wood, startling Jenna from within her room for a mere second before she immediately got out of her cot. Not even five seconds later, Jenna opened her door and immediately began to rush toward the stairs.
"Come here," Bane suddenly called after her from within his room, watching Jenna halt dead in her tracks before slowly turning around. Her heart had immediately began to race, but regardless she followed his command and began slowly to his room. She stopped at the door frame, and she watched Bane turn around from his desk, his large vest in his hand that he held low by his legs. "All I need is a simple yes or no answer. Do you want to accompany me with something in town?"
His question confounded her, but she was desperate to leave her room, even if that meant going with Bane somewhere. "Yes," she mumbled.
"Get dressed," he told her. "And meet me outside in no less than three minutes."
Jenna turned around quickly to rush into her room, knowing very well that it would take her the entire three minutes just to change her shirt and put on a black tank top. As she moved as quickly as she could, she wondered where she would be going with Bane, and suddenly she couldn't help but to feel more scared than she did happy to be out of her room for more than five minutes. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that staying back in her room would have been the better choice, but as always, she tried to ignore this feeling.
When she stepped outside into the crisp, cold air, she wrapped her left arm around herself, but she was too occupied to get mad over forgetting her coat. Just below the stairs, her eyes focused on Isaac's truck, the vehicle running, the passenger side door open, and when her eyes wandered toward the back of the truck, she could see Bane's silhouette sitting the back, the light from the setting sun shining through the windows. She swallowed, and she immediately began to feel dizzy when Isaac rounded the truck. He glanced up at her from the bottom of the stairs, and nodded toward the truck. Jenna stared at him for a long moment, wishing she could ask him what was going on, but he turned away suddenly to start for the driver's side. Jenna snapped out of her daze and moved down the stairs before climbing into the lifted truck, and as soon as she closed her door, Isaac put the truck in gear and started off the property.
The sun was setting, and while the scenery was peaceful, the feeling within the truck was anything but. Jenna could feel Bane's haunting presence behind her, and in the back of her mind all she could picture was him breaking her arm, over and over and again. As the ride went on, she began to realize their destination would be anything but casual. Isaac kept his tired eyes focused intently on the road, his right hand placed on top of the steering wheel, and even though there was a pack of cigarettes in the cup holder, he never touched them. Jenna realized now that she was accompanying them on some sort of serious mission.
Her stomach filled with lead due to the thought, and it weighed her body down into the seat as she began to feel extremely dizzy. Where we they going? Why was Bane allowing the abandonment of her punishment to include her?
By the time they got into town, the sun had set completely, and thick clouds had rolled in to blanket the sky. Jenna turned her head slightly to look at Isaac, who had not moved his position or hand on the wheel since their departure from the warehouse, and although he appeared tired, his focus was obvious. This only caused Jenna to feel even more nervous. She rolled her eyes toward the left more to sneak a glance at Bane. He sat in the middle of the seat, his eyes focused out of the windshield, his arms rested on his parted legs and hands meeting in the middle. He appeared as intimidating as ever, but once his eyes slowly moved to glance over to her, as soon as their eyes locked Jenna quickly faced forward again.
Isaac knew Jenna was growing more nervous by the minute by the way she stole glances at him and Bane, the way she couldn't focus her attention on any one thing for more than a few seconds, and by the way she had started to anxiously play with her fingers, bringing her left hand to her right within the cast. After watching her do this for a short few seconds he glanced away.
As soon as Jenna recognized the neighborhood Isaac had turned on to, her heart began to pound in a frenzy. Sweat started to form on her brow while her stomach twisted in knots, and she had to open her mouth to breathe. Her aqua eyes grew wide as she watched the familiar houses pass by, and as soon as Isaac had parked in front of Rodger's house, Jenna's body began to physically tremble. As soon as Isaac shut the car off, he stepped out of the truck, moved the driver seat up, and rounded the truck to open Jenna's door. Unsure of what else to do, she glanced over her shoulder at Bane, who remained still in the darkness of the back seat, the streetlights shining through the windows and reflecting off of his mask and eyes. He gave her a firm, simple nod toward Isaac, and forced to do what he silently commanded, she slid nervously out of the car, hesitating at first.
Isaac closed the door behind her and immediately started up the driveway, leaving Jenna to stand by the truck, staring at him. Once Isaac noticed she was not near him, he glanced over his shoulder and frowned when he saw Jenna by the truck, staring at him with widened, anxious eyes. He nodded his head to the right, silently commanding her to follow him. Jenna closed her mouth and sucked in a sharp breath from her nose, her heart racing faster now. She didn't want to follow Isaac, and she didn't want to know what would happen once they approached Rodger's door. She jumped a second later when she suddenly heard a loud tap behind her, and upon turning around she watched Bane impatiently point toward the house through the window as he glared at her. Her bottom lip starting to tremble, she swallowed before finally turning around to approach Isaac.
Jenna followed a few steps behind him, terrible thoughts and images running through her mind, but when she watched Isaac pull out a hand gun from a holster on his belt before holding it down below at the side of his leg, Jenna's knees nearly gave out, and she tripped slightly before catching her balance.
"Isaac..." she mumbled, frightened, when they had stopped at Rodger's closed and locked front door. Isaac turned his head slightly to glance down at her, but Jenna could not make out the emotion his face and eyes held, for as soon as he looked at her, he was turning to face forward again to pull open the screen door and leave three, heavy knocks on the thicker door.
The area around her began to spin as her vision darkened around the edges. They were going to kill Rodger's family! They were going to kill Rodger! No, no, no, no, NO!
"Isaac!" Jenna breathed desperately as she looked over to him, but as soon as she had, she heard the door starting to unlock, and she gasped slightly when Isaac reached out with his right hand to clutch the fabric of her shirt on her back, and he moved a step back before forcing Jenna in front of him. At that very moment, the door opened, revealing Rodger's father, and Isaac pushed Jenna inside the house while he raised his gun, never letting go of Jenna's shirt.
"One wrong move and I'll blow your head off," Isaac warned sternly as he stared at Rodger's father dead in the eye, the barrel of the gun pointed directly at his head. Jenna's jaw dropped when she saw the fear hit his face, and she jumped when Isaac suddenly pushed her away from himself. Jenna flinched at the pain that overcame her body due to her arm being jerked, but when she turned back to Isaac she saw that he had a hand gun in each hand now, and he was pointing either one at Rodger's father and mother, who had just started into the entrance of the house, only to pause immediately as she stared into the barrel of Isaac's gun. She raised her hands in defense, and once her eyes wandered over to Jenna's, she stared at her, terrified and bewildered, but nothing could describe what Jenna felt when she heard a bedroom door open from upstairs.
"Rodger, no!" His mother screamed. "Stay upstairs!" She called desperately, but it was too late. Rodger had already appeared at the top of the stairs, and when Jenna glanced up at him, she saw how terrified he looked, as well. But when his eyes found hers, and she watched absolute concern and fear directed at her overcome his face, she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. My fault, my fault, my fault... she repeated to herself.
Outside, Jenna cold hear heavy footsteps, and she closed her eyes tightly when she heard the door open. Bane stepped inside the house, immediately closing and locking the door behind him, and Jenna felt him step beside her, his presence thick, repulsive, and very unwanted. Bane glanced at Isaac and nodded toward the wall behind him, and Jenna opened her eyes when he began to speak.
"Against the wall!" Isaac called to Rodger's parents. "Move, now!"
Jenna watched Rodger's parents desperately scramble to move toward the wall near Isaac, their eyes never leaving the barrels of the guns, and once they reached the wall, Isaac forced Rodger's mother to turn and kneel, her face pressed against the wall, and his father immediately followed her actions. Isaac moved behind him, his back facing Jenna, and he cocked the guns before placing each of the barrels against their heads, a weep escaping loudly from his mother. Rodger had been watching this too with a pounding heart, but as soon as Bane began to speak, goosebumps covered his arms, and his face went pale.
"Well Rodger, it seems as though you have been caught up in Jenna's lie, which is terribly... unfortunate for you," Bane said in that muffled but loud, metallic voice. Jenna raised her eyes to Rodger, and her stomach dropped to her feet as she stared at his expression. His jaw had dropped, his eyes had widened to twice their normal size, and he openly trembled as he stood, frozen, on the top of the stairs. Jenna bit down on her lip sadly as she stared at him for another second, but eventually it became to hard to look at him. It killed her to see him so frightened.
Beside her, Bane raised his large hand, engulfed in that brown, leather arm band, and he motioned Rodger down the stairs with just his finger. Swallowing, Rodger stepped a shaking foot in front before he started to slowly move down the stairs. Jenna immediately began to shake her head at him, but Rodger knew he had no choice but to listen to Bane, his mind unable to fathom that his best friend had been with him this entire time.
Once he had made it down the stairs, Jenna watched Bane turn to Isaac, who had turned his head to watch Rodger before meeting Bane's eyes, and without anything having ever been said, Isaac turned back to Rodger's parents, and he pushed the barrel of the gun harder into Rodger's mother's head before looking down to his father.
"If you try anything, your wife will be blown half way to hell, do you understand?"
Nothing but a sniffle escaped past Rodger's father, and Jenna jumped when Isaac slammed Rodger's father's forehead against the wall with the gun.
"Answer me," Isaac ordered firmly.
"Yes!" Rodger's father finally shouted. "I understand! Please don't hurt her! Please don't hurt my son! Please!"
Jenna felt goosebumps cover her entire body, head to toe, before it went completely numb when she heard Bane chuckle beside her, and she couldn't help but to glance up at him, anger replacing her fear for a hot moment. But once she turned back to Isaac to watch him take out a knife from its case strapped onto the shoulder of his vest, never letting go of the gun he had been pointing at Rodger's father, the fear washed over her again. Isaac glanced over to Bane and turned his body slightly to hand Bane the knife. As soon as Bane accepted it and started toward Rodger, Jenna could no longer hold herself back anymore when Bane stopped behind Rodger and took a firm hold of either side of his head, knife still clutched in his massive hand.
"No!" She screamed as she took a step forward toward them. "Bane, please! I lied, n-not him! Punish me!"
Bane smirked as he kicked the back of Rodger's knees to force him to kneel in front of him, and Jenna's heart disintegrated away when she saw deep wrinkles appear on either side of Bane's eyes.
"I am," he replied, his tone amused. Jenna paused, feeling as lightheaded as ever as confusion washed over her, but when she watched Bane let go of Rodger's head with his left hand to hand her Isaac's knife, she stumbled back in disbelief, her eyes falling onto Rodger.
"Kill him," Bane commanded, but when Jenna didn't move, he felt himself instantly losing patience. "Come over here and kill him."
Jenna mouthed the word 'no' as she shook her head sternly, her eyes fixed on Bane's now, and she felt tears start to run down her face.
"You've made the mistake of dragging Rodger into your lies!" Bane hissed as he raised his voice, and when Rodger started to move against him, Bane placed his left hand back against the side of Rodger's head to hold him in place, this time pressing the cold steel of the knife against his temple. "You've brought this all on yourself, and if you don't come here right now and kill this man, you will hate what is in store for you."
Visibly shaking, Jenna suddenly found herself gasping for air as she struggled to breathe, her fear heightened to a new level, and she closed her eyes as she bowed her head. What could possibly be worse than this, right now? Bane was forcing her to kill her best friend!
"I mean it, Jenna," Bane pressed on through gritted teeth as Rodger struggled against him. Holding onto Rodger was easy, but Jenna's lack of movement and her fish-out-of-water expression was grinding down his last bit of patience. "If you don't kill him now I'll break every bone in your body, one after the other."
Jenna flinched at his threat, and as soon as she glanced up to Bane again with widened eyes, he went on further.
"You'll live in a world of sick torture, Jenna, and I'll make sure to leave your life dangling on a thread before I kill you slowly. Kill him!" Bane's voice boomed and echoed throughout the house, causing not only Jenna to flinch again, but Rodger and his parents to jump and whimper further.
It was right now that Jenna should have said no once and for all, and accepted her fate in order for Rodger and his family to live. She should be the one dying, not Rodger, not his family; they hadn't done anything. Jenna didn't deserve to live anymore. Jenna would be just as bad as Bane...
But the will to live was too strong. Bane's threats frightened her, her selfishness over powered her, and she could not stop herself from stumbling up to Bane and Rodger. Isaac had turned to watch the scene over his shoulder, but Jenna didn't look at him. Instead, as she let out a giant sob, her eyes were focused on the knife Bane was handing her again, and before she knew it, she was taking the knife from him, a shock running up her spine when her fingers brushed against his accidentally. When Bane placed his hand on the side of Rodger's head, Jenna felt her herself about to vomit when Bane stepped down on Rodger's leg, his face crippling in pain as he hissed through his teeth, his body ceasing to struggle against Bane's now.
"Stab it through his throat. Make him suffer along with you," Bane was speaking as Jenna knelt down in front of Rodger. She lifted her eyes to stare at him from behind her tears that were gathering in her eyes and pouring down her face, and she sniffled loudly.
"Now, Jenna," Bane went on firmly.
"Please... n-no," Jenna tried to beg as she shook her head again. "Don't-"
Bane's eyes hardened as he sucked in a sharp breath. "Now," he growled. Jenna's face crippled into more tears as she glanced back down to Rodger. It was clear to her now that there was no stopping this if she wanted to continue to live.
"Rodger," Jenna choked out his name. Her lips trembled as more sobs wracked her body, and she shook her head back and forth, able to feel actual bile crawling up her throat. "I'm so sorry." This was unfair. This wasn't right. But yet, here was, still choosing herself over anybody else due to fear of Bane hurting her further. What was wrong with her? Why was she so sick?!
Rodger was shaking his head. "Jenna, no," he mumbled sadly, tears starting to fall down his own face. This killed Jenna. This was her death. How could she ever go on knowing that she had killed her best friend? Why didn't she stop herself while she still had the chance? Fear, she knew. Strong and intense fear was pushing her actions on.
"I am losing patience Jenna!" Bane yelled suddenly, causing her to jump. Her body trembling violently, in the heat of the moment and without thinking Jenna lifted the knife in her left hand, placed the tip against Rodger's neck, and she screamed as she pushed the knife in far more deeper than necessary until there was an inch gap in between the handle of the blade and Rodger's wound. Blood spilled onto her left hand and ran down her arm, drenching it in red, and her sobs grew stronger as she fell back into a sitting position. She listened to Rodger's mother scream, his father cry, and Rodger gurgle and choke between Bane's hands. But just when she thought the worst was over, two gun shots rang throughout the house, one after the other, and Jenna crumbled under the weight of her best friend and family's death. Her mouth hung open, she was unable to breathe, and her eyes refused to open. She felt a heavy hand on the back of her shirt suddenly, and Bane forced her to stand before he spun her around to push her toward the door, where Isaac was already waiting outside.
Jenna stumbled out of the door, her foot hitting the ground awkwardly, but as soon as she began to fall, screaming and sobbing as she started downward, Isaac caught her. Bane grabbed the back of her shirt before Isaac could help her up, and he pulled Jenna harshly, her back slamming against his body.
"Stop," he growled, his arm starting to shake due to how tense his hand was as he clutched her shirt. Without warning, he shoved her away from himself, and Jenna stumbled down the driveway slightly before she corrected her footing. Stop? Stop crying? How was she supposed to do that? How could Bane ever expect that from her at a time like this? He had forced her to kill her best friend. He had bestowed her with the ultimate punishment. Now, Jenna was completely alone. Bane was disgusted with her, Isaac was not allowed to talk to her, her family was dead, and now Rodger was dead. Jenna had nobody. These terrible thoughts only caused that same bile to rise in her throat again, and before she could stop herself, she was hunching over and vomiting freely onto the driveway. Coughing and choking as she did so, once it was over, she stumbled back, wiping her mouth with her left hand, and she whimpered loudly when Bane forced her toward the truck.
Before she knew it, Isaac was parking the truck near the garage, and Jenna watched with squinted, red eyes as the headlights reflecting from the closed garage door were shut off. She listened as he stepped out of the truck before Bane pushed the seat forward to climb out, and a few seconds later she heard her door open. She sat there for a moment, feeling too exhausted to move, but when she felt a hand touch her upper arm, just above her cast, she jumped before quickly moving to get out of the truck. Isaac had been the one to touch her, and when Jenna saw Bane storming toward the exit door she calmed down slightly, but nothing could explain the sorrow and disgust she felt at that moment.
She moved slowly through the dark toward the exit door, and by the time she reached her room and was shutting the door, she could not recall having ever moved down the stairs. Her eyes were heavy, her mind was filled with terrible, close-up images of Rodger, dying due to her selfishness, and as soon as she glanced down to her blood-soaked arm, her face crippled as more tears spilled down her face. Sure, being covered in blood made her feel disgusting, but this was the blood of her best friend, who had faced a terrible death due to her.
Thinking this only made it worse, but she knew she was unable to wash the blood off right now. She had already returned to her room, and now she was to stay in there until she heard that all too familiar kick against her door. She climbed into her cot, struggling not to let her left arm touch the underside of the blanket, and sniffling as tears ran down her cheeks and neck. Her head began to pound as she rested it on the pillow, and once she covered herself with the blanket, she let her bloodied arm rest on top of it. Jenna didn't want to sleep, but her body was too fatigued to keep her awake. Perhaps sleeping at this point would be welcoming. Perhaps her dreams could take her to a better place...
She found herself outside suddenly. The sun was setting behind the warehouse, but the air was warm. Walking toward the garages, she realized she had full use of her right arm, for both of them were swinging slightly at her sides as she walked. I'm dreaming, she thought.
Isaac was leaning against the wall near the opened garage door, a cigarette in between his fingers, and he stared off into the distance as he exhaled a thin stream of smoke from between his lips. The sun was getting lower and lower, and as he stared at it disappearing behind the horizon –deep gold colors cast over his face, the concrete, and building– he lifted his cigarette to take another steady drag as Jenna continued to approach him, her eyes focused on him. He was still clad in cargo pants, a dark gray shirt, and a thick vest similar to Bane's, and Jenna couldn't help but to swallow. As soon as she approached him, Isaac turned to her, his hair ruffled, his eyes slitted and tired-looking, as always, and he pulled out his pack of cigarettes without Jenna having to ever ask.
"Why did he make me do that, Isaac?" She asked him, shaking her head as she started to glance down. She jumped when she felt a cigarette be placed gently between her lips, and as soon as she looked up again, Isaac lit the end of the cigarette. Jenna inhaled before grabbing the cigarette in between her fingers while Isaac shrugged.
"Punishment, I guess," he responded as he leaned back against the wall, his eyes focused intently on her, a frown on his face.
"It should have been me," Jenna went on now as she stared down at the ground, too tired to take another drag after she exhaled. "I should have been the one to die."
Isaac's frown deepened as he stared at her, and he started to shake his head. "This is what you choose when you begged for life, and granted permission of your parent's death. I can understand why you're upset, but this your life now. This is where you must stay."
"I don't want to anymore," Jenna said quietly, her eyes closing as a single tear slid down her cheek. "I can't anymore..." She whispered.
"I know that's not true," Isaac replied as he leaned off of the wall, and in her line of sights from where she stared at the ground, she saw Isaac's boots appear, and when she glanced up slowly she was slightly startled to see how close he was to her now. "If that were true, you wouldn't have killed him."
His words felt like a slap in the face to Jenna, and she couldn't help but to take in a sharp breath as she glanced down again, a slight breeze blowing through her hair. Jenna shook her head.
"It should have been me..."
Isaac was already shaking his head at this, his eyes narrowing on her, and he reached his hand out to place the side of his finger on Jenna's chin. His action startled her slightly, but she allowed him to lift her head until she was staring into his blue eyes, filled with sadness and worry. Her lips parted when Isaac gently ran the tips of his fingers along her jaw line, his fingers cool, soft, and welcoming against her skin, but as soon as he stretched his hand slightly to rest at the top of her neck, just below her ear, loud, terrifying thunder rumbled across the sky, and at that moment Isaac was gone.
Jenna woke with a start, and only after she stared at the wall for a second, breathing hard and sweating, did she realize Bane had just kicked her door, and she listened as he walked away from it now. Her heart was racing, her mind was foggy, and just faintly, she felt as though she could still feel Isaac's hand on her neck. From the under the covers, she brought her left hand up to touch her fingers to her neck, and as soon as she thought back to her dream, her heart began to race faster.
She had no desire to leave her room. Bane was out there, and she knew she would be unable to even look at him after what he had made her do to Rodger the night before. However, as soon as this thought crossed her mind, she took her hand from her neck to glance at her left hand and arm, and she grew more confounded when she saw the limb was bare of any blood. She couldn't recall having ever gone to the bathroom to wash it; the last thing she remembered was returning to the warehouse and going directly into her room. But clearly, she must have left her room at one point to wash the blood away.
Her back now starting to hurt, she turned onto her left side, flinching when her arm shot a spurt of pain throughout her body, but she was too tired to complain about it. All she could think about was Rodger, and the last impression she would ever have of him: terrified, shocked, confused... Because of what Bane had made her do, Rodger was gone forever. Now, Jenna would learn what real loneliness was like.
–
Throughout the day, Bane had contentiously approached Jenna's door, leaving a loud kick on the bottom of it before heading away from it, but when he approached her door for the seventh time that day, twice more than the normal amount of times he allowed for her to exit, his confusion and curiosity had reached an all new, heightened level. Jenna hadn't emerged once during the entire day. She hadn't even ever touched the door. This, truly, was odd, especially when Bane knew how eager she was to get out of that room, even if it was just for exactly five minutes at a time.
Now, he lifted his boot from the ground to kick her door, and rather than turning to leave, he waited, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the handle of the door, waiting for it to move. But after a minute had gone by of pure silence, he lifted his foot to kick the door again, louder this time. After another silent moment, Bane's curiosity threatening to be the death of him, he reached out to place his hand on the knob of the door. What had Jenna been doing in there all day that was more important than getting to leave?
When he pushed open the door, he saw the room was dark, and the first thing he did was reach out with his left hand to snap the light on. As soon as he did, he saw Jenna was lying in her cot, now located directly across from him. His eyes wandered to the left and right of the room, noticing that at one point she had moved all the chairs and shelves, and kept two chairs out to place at either side of the cot, before they focused back on it. Her blanket was pulled up to her hip, exposing her black tank top and white sling, and when Bane's eyes found her face, he saw she was awake, her head turned to the left, her sleepy eyes staring at the wall. She had ignored the sound of the door and the lights snapping on, but after Bane had been standing there for a few seconds, she finally got past her delayed reaction and rolled her eyes to the right. As soon as she did this, however, she immediately looked away, and Bane watched as she closed them, her lips thinning in unison. Her action was foreign to Bane, it was not what he had been expecting from her, but realizing finally that she hadn't been doing anything important or trying to harm herself, he spoke up.
"Your time does not accumulate, you know. You are allowed five minutes each and every time you leave this room. Why haven't you left today?"
Jenna kept her eyes closed as she ignored him, and she wished wildly that he would just go away. Not looking at him helped somewhat, but having to listen to his voice was a million times worse than the sight of him. All she could hear were his words repeating over and over in her mind: "kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him."
Jenna never said anything, and she never moved her position, opened her eyes, or even loosened her lips. This upset Bane, and he took in a nearly silent, sharp breath.
"Answer me," he commanded, but Jenna remained still and silent. She squeezed her eyes closed tighter, trying to keep her tears locked inside, but one pushed through, and now slid down her cheek and onto her pillow. Losing his patience, Bane stepped further into her room. "Jenna," he spoke her name sternly.
Finally, Jenna's eyes opened, but she still did not look at him. "I don't want to leave," she finally said in a quiet voice. "Please go away."
Her words were slightly shocking, but Bane didn't let this feeling show through his exterior. He understood why she would be upset with him, but he couldn't fathom why she was being so dramatic... and calm.
"You dare command me to go away?" He questioned as he took another step closer to the cot. Jenna meant to take a breath in through her nose, but when she sniffled instead, she couldn't help the tears that finally started rolling down her cheeks. "After all this time, have you really not learned-"
"Just GO!" Jenna suddenly raised her voice without thinking, and she lifted her head to finally look at him. Finally, Bane saw the severity of how red her eyes were, the aftermath of much, much crying, and he watched more tears fall down her face before he furrowed his brow.
Many questions and statements ran through his mind, all begging to be announced verbally, but before he could choose one himself, a very unwanted question was already making its way out of his mouth. "Why are you crying?"
Unbelievable, he thought.
Jenna shook her head as she laid her head back down. For somebody so intelligent, had he really just asked that question? Why the fuck else would she be crying right now? Not only did Jenna decide that question did not deserve an answer, she was too upset to even open her mouth to give him one.
A wave of annoyance washed over Bane due to his question, but the damage had already been done. He had already asked the question, and now, truthfully, he wanted an answer. "Jenna," he went on. "Answer me-"
"You made me kill him!" Jenna finally shouted, her voice cracking. Sobs wracked her body as her words and thoughts sunk into her all over again upon affirming the truth.
Her words sent a pure rush of shock to overcome Bane, and he couldn't help but to be startled by her words. His eyes widened and his brow furrowed when he saw her tiny body begin to shake, and his lips parted upon hearing her cries from her tired and cracking voice.
"You made me..." Jenna mumbled on as new tears spilled down her face, and she closed her eyes before burying her face in her pillow. Why can't he just leave?!
"Kill... who?" Bane asked, truly bewildered. He sounded so confused, so intrigued to know who Jenna was talking about, and this upset her even more. Suddenly, she couldn't control herself, and she whipped around quickly to glare at him.
"Rodger!" She hissed harshly. "Rodger. You made me sta- stab him," she stuttered. "Then you-"
"No," Bane interrupted, his head already shaking. "Jenna... what are you talking about?"
Through all her regret, fright and sadness, all Jenna could see right now was red. Why was Bane playing the dumb card? Why was he being more cruel than necessary by acting like he didn't know what had happened, what he had forced her to do? Why did he have to torture her further?
"RODGER!" She shouted at him finally. "You fucking made me kill Rodger last night!"
Behind his mask, Bane's jaw had dropped slightly, and his eyebrows never ceased to move from their meeting spot in the middle of his face. He began to shake his head again. A part of him wanted to just leave and let Jenna be upset at whatever the hell she was talking about, but a more dominate part of him couldn't help but want to get to the bottom of this. He would be betraying himself by setting her straight, he would be going back on his word to stay true to his old ways, but he had never witnessed Jenna so shaken up. Not when he first took her, not before he attempted to kill her, and not when he killed her parents, right before her eyes.
"Rodger is alive, Jenna," Bane said now, upset with how low and smooth his voice had become. "We never went anywhere last night..."
Now, Jenna's eyebrows furrowed as her jaw dropped in pure disarray, and she slowly began to shake her head. "...what?"
"It sounds to me like you just had a dream," Bane went on now. "I never made you kill anyone."
He's lying, Jenna's mind told her. He's lying to you. Of course he is. He wants you to suffer more, he wants to watch you have to relive this over and over again. "You're lying," Jenna finally accused in a hushed tone.
"I am not," Bane argued. "It was a dream, Jenna. Like I said, nobody left the warehouse last night, especially not you. Not during your... solitude."
Jenna swallowed. "You invited me to go with you. Isaac was there, we-"
"No," Bane repeated, sterner this time. "For the final time, it was a dream, a nightmare, rather, for you. This is your final chance to leave your room before morning. I suggest you take it."
Bane grew frustrated when he had to force himself to turn around and leave the room. Jenna watched him head to his own room, and when he closed his door, she swallowed as she glanced away. A dream? She thought. There's no way... it was so real... It couldn't have been a dream. It was impossible. All the actions, the sights, the smells... they had been so real, so vivid. She could still feel how Rodger's warm blood had felt on her arm. There's no way her mind could have rendered up something so detailed and accurate. Her moment with Isaac in the sunset, that had been a dream. Thinking back, Jenna was one-hundred percent certain on that, but not Rodger's death. She didn't believe Bane.
She didn't want to move from her cot, although lying in it all day had caused her to screw up her back, neck, and arm, but she was thirsty, and did have to use the restroom. She forced herself out of the bed, but once she laid eyes on the sweat pants she wore, her feet bare, she grew confused all over again. When had she taken off her boots and changed her pants? Probably when I washed the blood off... she thought sadly, although she could not even remember doing that, as well.
She moved slowly and absentmindedly through the basement and to the stairs, and at one point, she had to reach out and lean against the wall to keep herself from falling on the stairs. Her back hurt, her neck hurt, her arm throbbed, and her legs were shaky and weak. She felt lightheaded, the area around her spinning, and she knew at any moment, with just one, tiny, wrong thought, she would cripple down where she stood and burst into tears. Bane entering her room had not helped her in the least bit, and she wished he had just completely left her alone. On top of everything else, the last thing she wanted to be doing was thinking about him again.
As soon as she approached the bathroom door, the exit door was thrown open, and before she could stumble into the bathroom, a random, burly henchman was storming his way over to her and stepping in between her and the door to disappear inside the bathroom. He slammed the door shut in her face, but Jenna felt too sick to care. Instead, she stumbled back toward the counter, and she let her lower back hit it before she rested against it. She was wasting her time, but it wasn't like she cared anymore. She was too tired to care. She was too upset to care.
Suddenly, the exit door opened again, slower this time, and when Jenna glanced up, she watched Isaac make his way inside. A faint shock ran up her spine upon remembering how intimate her dream with him had been, but when a strong pang-like sensation overcame her heart, she was instantly reminded of what had happened to Rodger, and Bane's cruelty when he lied, claiming it was just a dream. Perhaps it made sense that Bane would strive to hurt her further, though at the same time, what if he was telling her the truth? Jenna knew the only way she could have truth and closure was to simply ask Isaac.
He kept his eyes focused on the floor as he started past her, Jenna watching him all the while, and as soon as he reached the ladder, she licked her lips before speaking his name.
"Isaac?" Her voice was low, gentle, and the tone it carried was unmistakably heavyhearted.
He continued to ignore her. He placed his hand on one of the bars on the ladder and pulled himself up, but as soon as his foot made contact with the bottom bar, Jenna spoke again.
"Isaac?"
He closed his eyes and sighed out of his nose. He wanted to answer her; unfortunately, he found himself wondering wildly why she sounded so upset. He understood that her month long solitude punishment was weighing her down, but he had never heard her sound so confused and upset, especially from speaking just one word. When she spoke his name, he could hear how desperate she was to talk to him. But Isaac had orders. Bane had specially told him to stop helping her, and he knew, in turn, this meant he could not talk to her. Every time he did talk to her, he always seemed to speak helpful words. He opened his eyes and started up the ladder.
"Isaac, please," Jenna went on now with a shaking voice as she stepped away from the counter to stand near the ladder, and she stared up at him. When he paused again, she went on. "Please. I just have one question."
Do not betray Bane's orders, Isaac reminded himself. Leave her be...it's not important. But despite his thoughts, the desire to turn and at least just listen to her question was holding him back from stepping onto the platform before his room, and when Jenna saw him hesitating, she knew this was her last chance.
"Isaac, seriously... please. Just-"
"What?" Isaac finally interrupted, glancing over his shoulder to look down at her, but once he had, a small shock ran up his spine when he saw how terrible she looked. Her eyes were red and heavy, her hair tangled and dirty, and her face was pale and weighed down with pure gloom. Jenna, to say the least, appeared to be the definition of a pure wreck.
"Did... did we...?" She paused, and Isaac's brow furrowed when Jenna glanced down to hide her face, but he had seen the tear that was sliding down her cheek now. She knew the answer she would receive. Isaac was a truthful man, and she knew he would give her the correct answer without any hesitation. After a second or so of quick preparation, Jenna struggled to compose herself, and with a sniffle she glanced back up to force the question from her mouth. "Did I kill Rodger?"
Isaac's lips parted. "What?" he asked again. "No..." he replied, truly thrown-off by her question. He watched Jenna nod before she glanced down again.
"That's what Bane said," she mumbled, feeling truly disoriented now. So it was just a dream? But... how...? Jenna had said this more so to herself, but Isaac had heard, and he could not stop himself from speaking again as he shook his head.
"Why would you ask that?"
Jenna shook her head again. "I don't know," she replied slowly, sniffling again, and he watched her wipe away more tears with her hands before she glanced back up to him. "It was just a dream... I guess."
"Yeah, it was a dream, Jenna," Isaac replied. "You've been-" he stopped himself abruptly while he finished his sentence in his head: -in your room for over a month now... Had he verbally finished this thought, he knew this would have welcomed a conversation, and he could not afford to have one with her right now.
"A-are you sure?" Jenna couldn't help but to ask, her heavy eyes focused intently on his now.
"I'm sure," he replied. Jenna nodded, wishing she could keep talking to him, wishing that he would climb down the ladder and assure her further that it was just a dream, but it was clear to her now that Isaac was not permitted to have any contact with her. She was not only putting herself in danger, but she was putting Isaac's life in danger, as well, and without another word she turned around to step back up to the bathroom door.
Isaac remained still on the ladder, his mind running at a hundred miles a minute. He wanted to know why a dream would have her so confused, and he had to wonder why she appeared to have a hard time believing Bane when he apparently told her it had just been a dream, as well. His thoughts were interrupted, however, when Bane suddenly appeared near the corner of the hallway, his eyes fixed intently on Jenna, until he suddenly turned to glance up at Isaac. It was clear that he knew that they had been talking, but before Bane could say anything to anyone, Isaac nodded at him before he quickly turned and continued up to his room. As soon as he closed the door, Bane glanced back down to Jenna, who was now leaning against the counter with her left arm wrapped around her torso, just under her cast and sling.
"Your five minutes are up," Bane informed, his words causing Jenna to glance up at him. "Go back downstairs."
Jenna's lips parted. "I didn't even get to go to the bathroom yet," she complained lightly. "Can I just-"
"That's not my problem. Go back to your room," he commanded. He stared at Jenna, watching her struggle to hold herself back from saying what she really wanted to at that moment. But after a few seconds or so of her mouth opening and closing, she finally sighed and stormed toward the stairs, cursing at not only Bane, but also at the bastard who had cut in front of her to get into the bathroom before her and her burning bladder. Why is Bane such a fucking... heartless... fucking- UGH! Jenna couldn't even bring herself to think of suiting names for the giant at that moment. You try being stuck in a fucking room for a month, she thought sourly. Then you'll know what I'm going through...
When she returned to her room she couldn't help but to slam her door shut, and as she turned to face her cot, she worried for a split second that would cause Bane to come downstairs and barge into her room, but as soon as this thought occurred, Jenna was already leaving it behind. Like the time Bane had come into her room five minutes ago, these sudden, furious feelings were outweighing her feelings of confusion and depression, and admittedly it was welcoming. For now, she would allow herself to be angry.
She turned and fell down into her cot, flinching at the pain that erupted in her arm, but the pain only fueled her anger and distracted her from what apparently had just been a dream. This pain and distraction was welcoming, as well. When the pain died down, she placed her pillow against the wall behind her and leaned against it, sighing angrily from her nose as she turned her attention to her left side. Bane was being so unfair; he was taking this whole punishment thing way too far. But aside from that, Jenna didn't know what to believe about Rodger. Was he dead? Had she killed him? Or had it all really been some sort of sick, twisted dream? Her encounter with Isaac in the sunset was clearly a dream, but Jenna had never experienced having a dream within a dream. Was that even possible?
Bane told her it was a dream, and Isaac had told her it was a dream. It made sense that Bane would lie to torment her further, but Isaac? What reason did he have to lie to her? He had never lied to her, so why would he start now? It must have been, Jenna thought to herself. If Isaac told her it had been a dream, then she figured that was all that had to be said.
But still, upon thinking back to the terrible images the nightmare had portrayed, Jenna couldn't help but to feel sick again. She brought her knees up to her chest, that depressed feeling washing over her again for no good reason. So it had been a dream; why remain so upset? Because there's every possibility it could turn real, Jenna answered. She hoped it wouldn't. She hoped her words to Bane had not inspired him to want to turn her dream into a terrible reality.
She moved her eyes down from the wall and onto her chair night stand, and her sad thoughts were put on hold when she rested her eyes on the knife Isaac had given her her first night there. A shock ran up her spine –she had used a knife in her dream– but the aftermath of the shock faded quickly, and instead Jenna was instantly reminded of her first night at the warehouse. She reached out to take the knife in her hand, and as soon as she snapped it open, memories of that night came flooding back to her.
"Rumor is you don't scream," the man who had sneaked into her room had said, his grip on her arm tight as Jenna struggled against him, positive she was going to die at that very moment, though, at that time, her will to live was still strong, and she wouldn't be going down without a fight. "That's good," he had gone on. "That means there's nothing stopping me from doing this."
Jenna remembered Isaac coming into the room after she had struggled against him, stopping the man, and giving her the knife.
"Your tough girl act is just that, you know. An act." He had told her. "Acting tough around here won't save your life, but being tough will."
Jenna remembered what she said after: "I'm not 'acting' tough. I'm stuck in this stupid room without any sort of protection. That fucker just randomly came in here! What was I supposed to do?"
"You make use of what you have," Isaac had replied, and that was when he tossed her the knife. That had been Isaac, a complete stranger, who was in no way obliged to help her out, actually helping her out, due to pure kindness. And that had been the first time among many. Granted, Jenna had never used the knife, but now that she remembered it, it gave her a small sense of comfort, and a stronger appreciation for Isaac that she wished she could prove to him. That very night, Jenna had been so determined to live, so ready to fight against anyone who tried to hurt her, and now, this particular knife symbolized that. Jenna closed the knife, and keeping it clutched in her left hand, she moved down in the cot, bringing her pillow with her, and once she was lying down, she covered herself with the blanket and closed her eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" She had curiously asked him, truly desperate to know why he would help her out on such a strong level. But his answer came in the form of an all-knowing grin, and without a word, he had stepped out of that very room and closed the door behind him. That very moment began the developing stages of their friendship and the strong pull between them. Perhaps there was a reason why Isaac had helped her out that night. Fate, Jenna thought. Fate...
I know this is a TERRIBLE chapter to end on this note with, but it may be a short little while before I can update again. You all know the shit-ass excuse: college. (BOOO!)
HOWEVER, leave me some good reviews, guys. What do you think will happen next? What do you HOPE will happen next? What parts did you love? Hate? After you review, add me on Facebook so you can continue to indulge in Bane, Isaac and Jenna (Lacey ClownQween Michele) As always, thanks for reading, and I sincerely hoped you enjoyed the chapter :)
A big thanks to my beta as well! Loretta Lolita you are a miracle!