Jenna wasn't entirely sure of what, exactly, caused her to wake that next morning, but as soon as her eyes opened, and she found herself staring into the green-tinted darkness of her current room, realization overwhelmed her, and the weight of her actions the night before came crashing down on her. The room spun as the feeling of lead sunk down in her stomach, weighing her down further into Isaac's soft bed, and she could not escape the regrettable image of him hovering over her. Even worse, the longer the thought went on, the more she was able to remember how his hands had felt on her body, how his fingers had felt inside of her, and if she really concentrated, she could almost swear she felt his scruff physically against her skin.
But fear and worry overtook her immediately as thoughts of Bane haunted her mind, and she bit her lip as she turned her head to the right, where she found Isaac to still be sleeping, his back facing her. Before she could even comprehend what she was doing, she gently threw the blankets off of her, stood from the bed, and began to quickly collect her clothes. After she had managed to dress herself, she kept her bra, and boots clutched tightly in her left hand while her coat and sling hung from her left arm, and before venturing toward the door, she stole one final look at Isaac's slumbering frame. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that her body could so easily betray her mind, and make her do things she would ultimately regret. She did not want to go downstairs, but she feared spending any more time with Isaac would only make matters worse. Jenna could only imagine what Bane would say and do to her... but what about Isaac?
Biting her lip again, Jenna turned around and stepped up to the door, and as soon as she gently closed it behind her, she dropped her boots and bra to the floor below before she started down the ladder.
Her heart began to race while her throat began to close as she moved quietly down the barren hallway, but as soon as she reached the basement stairs, her feet came to a sudden halt. She stared down into the darkness that engulfed the stairs, and faintly she could hear that dripping noise. She wondered what Bane was doing currently. Did he already know what she and Isaac had done? If not, when would he find out? She knew she couldn't lie to him, that was out of the question. Her entire punishment before had been based solely on the fact that she had lied to Bane. Even if she wanted to lie, she felt as though she would be physically incapable of speaking the deceiving words. But how could she look him in the eye and fess up or confirm what had happened? The thought sent a pang through her heart as she closed her eyes. Had Jenna realized the terrible situation she would have been putting herself in, she would have fought against her urges the night before.
What sounded like something shuffling against the floor immediately caused her eyes to snap back open, and with a deep, staggering breath, she forced herself to start downstairs, hoping and praying she could make it to her room secretly and silently and worry about facing this situation later.
The basement was freezing, and Jenna focused on moving as quietly as she could toward her room as she kept her eyes focused on the floor in front of her. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop herself from stealing a glance at Bane's door, which she discovered to be opened ever so slightly, a dim, orange light shining through the open areas between the door and the frame. Swallowing, Jenna tore her eyes away, hoping Bane was either still asleep inside or outside of the warehouse somewhere, and she continued on her slow and exhausting path to her door. Just when Jenna was a few feet away from her door, the sudden sound of feet shuffling against the floor and a loud series of muffles stole her attention. With a gasp, she absentmindedly turned toward the direction the noise had come from as she jumped back. But as soon as she had, she let out a squeak of a scream when she felt her back slam against something hard and warm, and as soon as she whipped her body around, she found herself staring up at Bane through the darkness with a racing heart.
From within his room, Bane had heard what could have only been Jenna approaching, and after listening to her feet shuffling against the floor in a very quiet and prolonged manner, he immediately rose from his seat on his bed and ventured to his door. He watched her advance to her room, carrying her boots and something else in her left hand, and he could not stop himself from stepping out of his room to approach her, wondering why he had not seen her at all the night before.
Now that he was standing directly in front of Jenna, he realized he wasn't exactly sure of what to even say. Her face – with her black make-up smeared messily around her eyes– had distorted into a look of pure shock, and Bane's eyes had followed the motion of her boots and other items falling to the floor. As soon as she had dropped them, Jenna tore her gaze away from him to bend down and pick up her boots, sling and coat, and only after she picked up the other object did Bane realize it was her bra. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched Jenna quickly pick up the items in her left hand, and when she leaned up, his eyes followed her movement until he was staring at her neck, where he found a strange, red mark on her skin. He stared at it for another short moment before he finally lifted his eyes to look at her face, all the while wondering why was she carrying her bra the way she was.
Swallowing, Jenna struggled to hold her boots and bra behind her back, shielding them from Bane's glare, although she was certain he had seen. As her chest heaved up and down, she fearfully anticipated what Bane was going to say or do, but much to her surprise, he remained stationary and quiet. When she lifted her eyes, she saw that he was just staring down at her, with a somewhat confused expression in his eyes. Jenna stared up at him for a few seconds longer until she heard movement next to her, and she turned her head to the right with another start.
"I see you've encountered our guest," Bane spoke up suddenly, deciding he'd ask Jenna about the oddity of her absence and bra later. His voice tore Jenna's attention away from the "guest" to glance back up at him, and she felt her heart plummet to her stomach upon remembering how his voice had sounded in her head the night before.
"Guest?" She repeated after she had cleared her throat, that anxiety never leaving her. Bane had turned his head to glance over to the right before he began to step over to the dark area, and only after he had done so did Jenna remember what he had told her the day before. "You mean... the mayor?"
Bane had immediately picked up on the panic in her voice, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning once he reached the light switch. As soon as he turned on the lights, Jenna's eyes immediately squinted, but they also instantly focused on the man who was shackled in chains to the wall. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the blindfolded mayor, sitting helplessly against the wall, his hair a ruffled mess while his clothes were torn and dirty, and when Bane turned to start stepping over to her, she swallowed as she raised her eyes to him.
"Mister Anthony Garcia," Bane said as he continued to step toward her, now turning his head to glance at the mayor, who let out a shaky breath. "Here to do exactly what I say and when I say to do it."
Still watching Bane as he continued his slow advance toward her, Jenna, though confused and frightened by the kidnapping, found herself thankful for the topic of choice. "Like what?" She asked in a small voice, hoping she could slip into her room in the midst of this subject to avoid speaking to Bane about the topic she so desperately wanted to avoid.
"You'll find out in due time, Jenna," Bane replied evenly as he finally looked back to her. He stopped smoothly in his tracks, a good two feet from her, and his eyes wandered down her torso before stopping on the items she held in her hand, and his eyes immediately focused on her bra again. Jenna had followed his eye movements, and already she began to anticipate his questions due to the items she carried, and her obvious absence the night before. Without thinking, she quickly turned to push open her door, but as soon as she stepped inside, she clenched her eyes closed for a moment out of frustration when she realized she had only given Bane more of an opportunity to follow her inside and press for information. Oh, shit.
Sure enough, after waiting no longer than a few seconds, as soon as Jenna had set the items on the floor next to her cot, purposely kicking her bra under it, Bane stepped into her room, his eyes already focused on her. He could not exactly place it, but he knew Jenna was struggling, and failing to avoid to him currently. Something seemed off about her, as well. Her hair was not only a mess, but the makeup surrounding the eyes she tried so desperately to keep off of him now had been smeared severely. Her movements were gentle and prolonged, and Bane could feel some sort of tension in the air radiating off from her. All of these aspects seemed to easily add up to something: the ruffled hair, severely smudged make-up, the red mark on her neck, the careful movements, the absence for the entire night, and the item she so oddly carried in her hand, but Bane's mind currently was unable to come up with a final conclusion.
Meanwhile, Jenna had been scooting down in her squeaky cot and preparing herself to lay down, but when she turned, she mistakenly caught Bane's eyes, and they locked for a long second before she glanced away. The wonder in his eyes remained strong, though this time Jenna noticed his eyebrows had furrowed, and she swallowed as she kept her eyes focused on the pillow behind her as she redundantly fixed it, wishing Bane would leave now without a word or a second thought. If Bane asked her no questions, then she would not be telling any lies...
Bane struggled with his next words for a moment, until he realized there was really no great way to ask her the questions he wanted. "Why are you acting so... strange, this morning?"
Because this was not an exact question Jenna had been anticipating, her head snapped around in his direction before she could stop herself, and her eyes found his once again. Her jaw dropped slightly as she struggled to speak.
"H-how do you mean?" She wanted to look away, but she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from his, but when he took a small step closer to her cot, she closed her mouth and swallowed.
"Surely, it is obvious," Bane replied, picking up now on every minuscule tone in her voice – the tone of fear particularly evident – expressions on her face, and actions she preformed. Jenna watched his eyes raise up slowly to her hair before they dropped back down her eyes, and suddenly she had to wonder how much of a mess she appeared to be. Without warning, she turned suddenly to pick up the mirror shard from the chair next to her, and Bane witnessed her quick look of surprise before she held up the mirror to block her face. But before she could focus on her make-up or hair, she sucked in a silent breath when she noticed the red bite mark on her neck. She struggled holding herself back from tilting the mirror or turning her head to look at it, and as she cursed to herself for not stopping by the bathroom before coming downstairs, she hoped and prayed that Bane had not seen it...
All the while, Bane had become surprised, himself, due to her actions. Just up until the day before, Jenna couldn't have cared less about what she looked like, what her body language portrayed, how she sounded or what she said, even in front of him. But to suddenly witness her deeply caring about what she looked like, and watching her set down the mirror on the bed to lean over it and start to wipe off some of the smudged makeup with her finger? Bane couldn't help his eyes narrowing on her, but also his curiosity and strong desire to know why, exactly, she was acting the way she was had hit an all-time high. He licked his lips from behind his mask before he spoke again.
"Where were you last night?"
There it was, one of the dreaded questions Jenna had been anticipating. But even though she had been strongly anticipating it, she had to close her eyes and bow her head slightly when she felt her stomach drop just as the room began to spin. She felt as though she was sinking down past the cot and melting into a puddle on the floor, and as the room spun faster, her stomach began to clench tightly in pure fear and anxiety. How could she answer that without more questions arising, or without Bane immediately drawing a murderous conclusion? Jenna had wanted so desperately to avoid all of this. Because she was unable to take back her actions the night before, she had foolishly hoped and prayed she could find a way to keep it from Bane, without having to lie, and without having to get in trouble. But now, naturally, all the lies she could spew had already started to form in her head, and she could practically hear her racing heart beating in her own ears as she fought against the lies, urgently reminding herself of her punishment.
She couldn't lie, especially to Bane, of all people. If she was to lie, she'd be unable to keep a story straight, let alone speak her words clearly, and even if she did, Bane would easily be able to call her out on her false tale. Not only that, but she knew Isaac would ultimately tell Bane the truth, no matter what. Why wouldn't he? He was Bane's second in command, and finally Jenna began to realize what an important and crucial title that was in relation to Bane's operations. Isaac couldn't lie to Bane, even if he wanted to, even if it was to keep Jenna safe. Even more so, how could Jenna even desire this? She didn't want to see Isaac get hurt, especially if it was to protect her.
It felt as though had minutes had passed, and when Jenna finally opened her eyes to glance up at Bane, she found him to be expectantly staring back her, his arms crossed now as he patiently waited for an answer. She licked her dry lips before swallowing to sooth her sudden dry throat, and when she finally answered him, her voice was low, quiet, and scratchy.
"...Isaac."
"You were with Barsad?" Bane confirmed, the confused tone in his voice louder than the words he spoke. "All night?"
At any second now he would figure it all out, Jenna knew, and now there was no avoiding it. As she stared at him, Bane suddenly looked bigger, harsher, and more menacing. His muscles, now appearing larger and thicker than before, seemed to be flexed tightly as he kept his arms crossed, and suddenly it seemed as though his head was just a mere few inches below the ceiling. His gaze was harder than ever as he stared at her, and though his eyes were absent of anger, for now, to Jenna it felt as though his gaze was burning her alive. His mask only added to the expression she was sure she was envisioning, resembling that of some sort of angry animal, with its mouth open, teeth baring, ready to attack...
Ideas had started to form in Bane's mind, but he fought against them, deciding instantly that he was over-thinking the situation, and after a long moment, Bane kept his patience when he finally spoke up.
"Where?" he asked slowly, his tone calm, curious and even, but to Jenna it felt as though he had screamed this question at her. She bit down on her tongue before she forced herself to answer with the truth.
"His... room. I-I... slept in there."
She had picked up on Bane's long silence before he had asked her that question, and after she answered, she had seen the way his eyes narrowed on her, like that angry, teeth-baring animal, ready to pounce and painfully devour its prey. She could practically hear the thoughts in his mind adding up the evidence to bring him to the final conclusion, and she felt her body sway back and to the side slightly before she tried to inconspicuously correct this. But a strong weight had started to push her down into her cot again as the silence went on now, making her feel even dizzier to the point of her having to look away from him with a slight turn of her head.
Only two conclusions remained in Bane's head: one conclusion about Jenna's actions innocent, and the other the exact opposite. When Jenna turned her head, Bane's eyes immediately dropped down to her neck, where he found the light red mark again. But after he had squinted his eyes, and finally discovered the section of reddened skin appeared to look just like a bite mark, a loud ringing sensation occurred in his ears, and as he stared at the mark his vision began to blur as various, powerful shocks ran up and down his spine with no hope of stopping. His lips parted from behind the mask as he remained stationary, his crossed arms becoming loose in their position, and suddenly he couldn't fathom the images of possible scenarios that his mind was flashing him.
Growing even more frightened with the silence, Jenna forced herself to glance back at him, but as soon as she figured out Bane had seen the bite mark, and was still staring at it right now, she felt her heart plummet to her stomach, and her eyes widened as her own lips parted. But without warning, Bane suddenly snapped out of his daze before turning quickly to take large, angry steps out of her room, and his actions were like a slap in the face. Jenna couldn't help but to flinch as soon as he had done this, and her body lunged forward in her cot to watch him head over to his room.
Regardless of what he had imagined, Bane was completely unable to accept the obvious conclusion he had come to. Now, he found himself desperate suddenly to confirm it for himself with cold-hard evidence. He slammed his hand against his door to push it open further than it already was, and the door bounced loudly off the wall before it stopped just a few inches from the door frame. He stopped short in front of his desk and TV, and he wasted no time with picking up the remote to turn it on. He switched the news channel screen to the screen that contained various camera images from the devices that were planted all around the warehouse, and after selecting the image of the garage doors, knowing very well that would be the spot he'd be able to see Jenna and Barsad together, he enlarged it before pressing 'rewind'.
Meanwhile, Jenna could not stop herself from getting out of the cot and wandering to her door to peer outside of it. Regardless of how desperately she wanted to avoid this situation, now that it was happening, she felt as though she would have to be there to explain herself and defend Isaac. She quietly crept out of her room and ventured toward Bane's partially closed door, a flickering, blue light escaping from the edges, and once she reached it, she peered through the crack. She found Bane standing in front of his TV, his arms crossed again, and when she glanced at the TV in front of him, she saw a still image of the garages outside with the three rewind marks stretched horizontally over them.
Her jaw dropped as a shock stung her neck, and she had to reach out to place her hand on the frame of the door to steady herself as the blood in her veins turned to ice. Bane has cameras? He has the ability to see everything that goes on?! She thought dizzily to herself. Jenna's widened eyes could not believe what she was seeing and what she was being forced to comprehend. The shock of this discovery was not helping to sooth her soaring fear of the situation, and now she realized Bane would be able to see exactly what had happened outside. Her jaw dropped further as she struggled to speak up, desperate to say anything that could perhaps stop him from witnessing the footage, but each time she tried to talk, only staggering breaths escaped from her mouth. The area around her began to spin, and she felt her body sway back slightly, her eyes still focused on the TV in front of Bane.
It didn't take long for some activity to show up on the screen, and Bane remained stationary as he watched the fast images of his other thugs moving backwards on the screen. A few seconds later, the image went still again, until suddenly two, small people came speeding in from the corner, and from there they went stationary in front of the open garage door: Barsad and Jenna.
One of the rewind bars was stretched directly over the upper halves of their bodies, and as Bane waited a few more seconds for the footage to rewind just a bit more, he sucked in his lips as he bit down on his tongue, the room feeling as though it had started to spin. After another few seconds, he pressed down on the 'play' button, using more pressure than necessary, and he stood perfectly still as he watched the scene unfold before his widened, inquiring eyes.
There was no sound, but no sound was needed. Bane watched as Isaac parked his truck in the front of the garage before stepping out a short second later to proceed with opening up the garage door. Uninterested with his actions for the time being, his eyes immediately flickered over to the passenger side door of the truck, and as he waited to watch Jenna step out, he clenched on the remote even tighter in his hand. Finally, her door opened, and Bane watched her step out onto the snow-covered lot as she struggled with putting her coat on, all while making her way over to the garage with a bowed head. She stopped just underneath the opened door to lean against a wall, her head remaining bowed, and Bane's eyebrows furrowed when he watched her lift her hand to her face to... wipe away tears?
A bit after, Isaac stepped up to her, handing her a cigarette, and as Bane watched the exchange, the anticipation he was feeling grew so strong until the point came where it was starting to burn. They were talking, Isaac's gaze focused intently on her while Jenna kept her head down, using her hand to wipe away what were tears, Bane confirmed. Bane watched Isaac's lips move before they stopped as he more than likely waited for Jenna to answer what he had said, though Bane was unsure if she ever had. What had they been talking about? What was making Jenna cry?
The two stayed still now, Jenna's gaze remaining lowered while Isaac nodded at something, until suddenly he spoke again, this time taking a step toward Jenna as he reached his hand out, his cigarette still dangling from his mouth. Jenna glanced up at him now, and as soon as Bane witnessed Isaac place his hand on the side of her head, he released his tongue and instead tensed his jaw. On screen, the two remained still in that position –Isaac staring at her while she stared at him– but already Bane knew exactly what was coming. He was anticipating it, readying himself to witness it, but after Isaac had removed his cigarette from his mouth before the two finally began to lean in, and the second Bane witnessed their lips locking, he closed his eyes, struggling to ignore how fast the room was spinning now.
He wasn't sure how long he had kept his eyes closed, but when he opened them again to look back to the screen, he saw their kiss had become more passionate: their bodies closer, Isaac's arms around her, their lips still wrongly mashed together... Before long, the kiss stopped, the two remaining stationary again, and Bane watched Jenna's tiny lips move on the screen before Isaac nodded as a reply to whatever she had said. Suddenly, Jenna began to head toward the warehouse exit door while Isaac closed the garage, Jenna disappearing from the camera's view before long. As soon as Bane had witnessed Isaac's exit, his fist closed around the remote even tighter. Now, there was no doubt whatsoever about what they had done. The footage from the camera, the mark on Jenna's neck, and the way she was acting all proved it. Jenna and Isaac... they...
Just the thought of it caused a painful and amplified ringing sensation to occur in his ears, and the sound blocked out every other noise around him. Regardless of the evidence that pointed to the truth, Bane found that he either couldn't accept what had gone on, or just simply didn't want to. At that moment, any images refused to enter his mind, his brain resisting to let him see any clear scenarios, but he gave up trying easily and instead closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the ringing and spinning sensation.
Jenna remained perfectly motionless from where she stood outside his door, peering in at him, and she held her breath as she stared at his perfectly still frame, anticipating the worst. The image of the garages was perfectly inactive on the screen now, she noticed, and when her eyes flickered over to Bane, she saw how tense his muscles had become beneath his black, long sleeved shirt. Her eyes wandered down his arm and to the hand that held the remote, and she swallowed when she noticed how his hand was trembling. Her eyebrows met in the middle as she raised her eyes once more, her jaw going slack, and she could not escape the desire to say something: to explain herself, to inform him better of the situation, justify the acts, and defend Isaac. A small part of her was relieved that she had not tried to lie –had she known he had cameras, the thought would have never crossed her mind– but this was not a truth she wanted to face. Regardless, she opened her mouth more, a small humming noise escaping past her, preparing her to speak, but she immediately choked it back, unsure entirely of what to say. She dug her nails into the wooden frame of the door, her heart racing, the room spinning so fast it was making her go lightheaded, and as the seconds ticked on, slowly, the urge to say something –anything– had grown too strong.
"...Bane–" her voice cut off as soon as she had built up the courage to speak his name, and she licked her lips before she swallowed, trying to hold onto the last bit of courage she had to explain it to him. But before she had the chance to go on, Bane interrupted, knowing very well that she was standing behind him at his door, and fully aware that she had just seen what he had on the TV.
"What did you two do... when you went inside?" His metallic voice was low, but oddly enough, his words were spoken clear and pristine. Jenna frowned, her stomach dropping lower than ever upon hearing his voice, and the strongest shock of her life painfully stung her entire body as she clutched on the frame of the door harder. She wasn't sure of what to make of his tone.
She blinked her eyes rapidly before she focused them on his back again, and she realized finally that he was waiting for an answer. But when she opened her mouth, she found that she felt completely unable to answer his question with an outright yes. The new situation that was unfolding was undoubtedly terrifying; she had absolutely no idea what was going through Bane's mind, what he was going to do, and how he'd react when she confirmed his already correct suspicions.
"Jenna," he spoke her name, his tone slightly louder, but one-hundred-percent firmer. It was clear he was losing his patience, and Jenna couldn't help but to release her grip from the frame slightly when she felt her body start to tremble.
"Wh... wha-?"
Bane sucked in a sharp breath before quickly turning his head to glance at her from over his shoulder, but as soon as his eyes met hers from beyond the door, he glanced down to the floor, taking another giant breath as he realized he had to take a more direct approach. "Did you or didn't you–" he closed his eyes, unable to say the direct he word he wanted to. "–Engage in intimate... activity with Barsad?" Bane knew the answer, but something in him craved to have it confirmed by Jenna. As his patience gradually deteriorated, his clutch on the remote grew stronger and stronger, but even when he felt something pop within it, he did not stop squeezing it.
The weight of the situation felt as though it was weighing Jenna down onto the floor, where it would ultimately squish her against the floor, and fearing Bane's actions, she took a small step back from the door, finally letting go of the frame. Struggling to find her voice, Jenna swallowed, soothing her dry throat, and finally she spoke her answer in a tone just barely above a whisper: "We did..."
She continued to stare at him with furrowed eyebrows, her left hand clutched into a fist where she dug her nails into her palm, and she watched Bane slowly nod to himself before turning his head away from her as he exhaled. He stared ahead blankly at the TV as he spoke.
"Leave," Bane commanded suddenly, and before even giving her a chance to follow his orders the first time, a new-found, sudden rage overtook him. "Now," he barked loudly.
Jenna jumped from where she stood, but she wasted no time with backing away from the door to quickly retreat to her own room, and once she was inside, she immediately and quietly shut her door. Keeping her back against it, she let out a shaky breath from between her trembling lips, and her vision blurred as she tried to ignore the sensation of standing on a carousel that was spinning too fast. She closed her eyes, swallowing again, but when she felt tears burning in her eyes she immediately opened them and glanced up, fighting the urge to let them flow freely down her face. Her heart –pounding and racing away– felt as though it had taken a permanent residence in her stomach, where it was also being burnt and eaten away by the strong fear and anxiety that had settled there minutes prior. Her throat grew even more dry, and when she swallowed as she stepped away from her door, the action only burned it more. Her jaw went slack as she made her way over to the cot, wondering wildly what Bane was doing in his room at the moment, and dreading what he would do next.
The remote in Bane's grasp couldn't take the pressure anymore, and with a final popping noise that hadn't reached his ringing ears, the remote cracked and broke into several pieces within his hand, and once he felt this happen, he carelessly let the pieces and batteries fall to the floor next to him. He remained stationary in front of his TV, thousands of thoughts burning his mind, all fighting to be the primary focus, but Bane couldn't settle on a single one. He kept his eyes focused on the TV, his wide, gray orbs staring at the image it contained, until suddenly he turned sharply to his left, and with his fist clenched, he slammed his arm against the various items on top of his dresser, sweeping them onto the floor. The items crashed and clanked to the ground, some cracking and breaking while others bounced before becoming motionless, and as the sound from the crash echoed throughout his room, Bane lifted both his hands to place behind his head, his fingers entwined. His muscles flexed from beneath his shirt as his feet moved to spin him slowly in a circle, his eyes focused on the floor, and he struggled to ignore the adrenalin rush that had completely overtaken his body, enticing him to break something... to break someone...
His own heart pounding in his chest and those shocks continuously stinging his spine and neck were only adding to the rage he felt inside, and he removed his hands from his head to stretch his arms back as far as they would go before he let them crash to his sides. He spun around, facing his door, and without hesitation he immediately stepped over to it to throw it open, needing air, needing space, craving to be somewhere more secluded, although he wasn't entirely sure why.
He stormed through the basement, easily keeping his eyes focused off of the mayor and off of Jenna's door, and each sound from his footfall pounding against the floor seemed amplified. Regardless, he made his way up the stairs quickly, his massive arms swinging wildly on either side of him, and once he reached the exit door, he threw it open to step outside. A cold rush of wind was amongst the first thing that greeted him, but since his body had begun to feel numb long ago, the freezing temperatures didn't faze him in the least bit.
He continued his furious stroll past the garages and around the corner of the furthest garage door on the building, unable to see anything in front of him or in his peripheral vision. Everything was white, empty, still, but he accepted this; he didn't want to see anything. A dark blue dumpster was growing rapidly closer and closer to him as his feet carried him over to it, and once he had approached it, he could not stop himself from lifting his foot and slamming the base of it against the dumpster. An obnoxious, thunderous noise sounded and echoed in the vast area around him, and the impact caused the dumpster to slide back slightly on the concrete before settling. All the while, Bane had spun around, his fingers entwined behind his head again, and he struggled to fight off the thoughts, the feelings... but all too soon, they took over him, and Bane knew there was no escaping what he was being forced to face...
His mind replayed him the image of Barsad and Jenna on the screen, with their faces pressed together, but without warning, the TV and the pixeled images faded away until all Bane was seeing were real images of the two together, making it seem as if he had been standing right there, watching them. His mind showed him finer details of the two: the leftover tears in Jenna's eyes, her plump, puckered lips against Barsad's, the way his hands were placed delicately on her body while she held onto him as well, both of them wrapped together in a moment of desperate, passionate need that would go too far...
A sharper pain stung his heart and traveled up his spine, and an odd weight of rage, confusion, and even the feeling of slight betrayal weighed him down to the point of him sitting down in the snow to lean against the building. The cold from the snow never impacted his body, and he stretched out his legs before him as he let his arms fall onto his lap while he leaned his head back against the building, his eyes sliding shut. He sucked in another sharp breath and exhaled it out loudly through his mask, not only struggling to deal with the images in his mind, but trying to fathom in the slightest bit what, exactly, it was that he was feeling.
He could feel how flushed and hot his face had become, how his eyebrows were permanently furrowed, and how his body trembled as it craved to break and tear away at something due to his rage. He could feel his racing and pounding heart slipping further and further down inside him along with the weight that kept him seated permanently on the ground due to the shock of what he had learned and his confusion. Those shocks continued to sting the back of his neck while the area around him spun, and although the ringing in his ears had finally gone away, he was still unable to hear anything. Bane had seen, heard, and been a part of things that were much, much worse than this discovery... so what was this pain that he was feeling?
Pain? He immediately thought to himself. No... this is not pain... this cannot be pain... This was madness in its most simplest form. This was the immediate outcome of rage and betrayal he felt upon discovering something he would have never anticipated would happen. This was just... pain, his mind demanded.
The corners of his lips tugged down in a large frown, Bane squeezed his eyes shut even more as he moved his head forward before letting it gently slam back against the wall. It wasn't right, he hadn't felt any morsel of physical pain in years; he was immune to pain, but yet the shards of prickly glass tearing at the inside of his stomach felt all too real. Why was he feeling this way? Why was he even feeling this pain to begin with?
Jenna, his mind immediately answered his internal questions before he even had time to think it over for even a second. Jenna is the reason you are acting petulant and brooding out in the snow.
No–
Yes. She is the root cause of the anger and confusion you allow yourself to feel. She is the reason for your constant questioning of yourself. Her pathetic state was the reason you ended her mandatory seclusion early. She is the reason you foolishly went back on your word to allow Barsad to help her again...She is the reason you are allowing yourself to feel this pain.
How can that be? Bane wondered back. She is merely a hostage... a piece of trash that was meant to be thrown away...
Clearly you allowed her to become something more, and this is why you are feeling the way you do.
Bane struggled to ignore his inner voice – the voice that always brought the truth to him, no matter how blunt or even terrifying it really was– but as he struggled to avoid the truth, new thoughts were beginning to pester him. All the things they must have done... he thought over and over, but within a minutes time, new and even more terrorizing thoughts occurred to him: imagine all the things Barsad is able to do that you never could...
Suddenly, all his previous, conjured scenarios and now new possibilities all began to congeal into an endless, spiraling mass of entangled sweaty limbs, and lustful, sucking mouths. Barsad was able to kiss her, to touch Jenna's pink, plump lips with his own, an impossible task that Bane had only ever imaged himself doing. Barsad was able to use his mouth and tongue on her body in ways that Bane never could, and he could feel his head throbbing as he wondered how much Jenna had enjoyed that. Barsad was able to achieve and enjoy another whole sense with Jenna... taste. Taste was a sense that had left Bane long ago.
The sudden, inevitable force of the truth his mind had delivered him, the scenarios of new possibilities, and the realization that maybe Jenna did mean something more to him, after all, came crashing upon him all at once, and the weight of these disgusting truths caused him bring his legs up before he sat forward, resting his arms on his knees. He couldn't bring himself to necessarily accept this about Jenna, though at the same time the longer he thought of her and Barsad's actions the night before, the more flustered he became. He opened his eyes and stared down at the ground, allowing his mind to run free and wild...
He wondered what that kiss might have felt like to Jenna as he thought back to what he had seen on the TV. He thought back to how close they had been standing, how easy it was for them to go back inside and enter his room. Bane closed his eyes again, picturing Jenna trailing her fingernails down Barsad's shoulders and back, and he wondered how that might have felt to him, what satisfaction Jenna may have finally gotten upon witnessing Barsad's face morph into an expression of pain, and with one hand, nonetheless.
This is your fault, his mind told him suddenly when his stomach clenched up tightly due to the images he was picturing. He imagined Jenna, bare and laying beneath his right hand man, and Barsad hovering over her, leaning down lower and lower... He pictured Barsad's lips against hers, and Jenna digging her nails into his flesh as she pulled him even closer to her... would she have done that though? Was she really that desperate to feel him, and have him that close to her?
You are the reason this even happened, came the voice again. What ever existed between you two before, you enjoyed. But you became annoyed, and still you could not kill her, because you thought she could still prove to be 'useful'...
I did what any rational person would have done. I punished her, I kept her away from myself-
You had to force it. You didn't want to be away from her... her pathetic punishment was nothing but a desperate act to avoid her, because you knew what was starting to happen...
No–
Face the truth, he growled to himself. Had you accepted what was happening, had you stepped up to help her and not Barsad, none of this would be happening. This is all your fault. You care about her. There is no use questioning it, for it'll never make sense.
But I cannot just... accept that.
...Maybe you should.
Bane let out a loud, angry sigh as he bowed his head, realizing this was an internal battle he was going to lose miserably. It made since, though, it had to; why else would he be feeling this way if he didn't care about her in someway? Perhaps I don't care, he thought now. Perhaps it's something else that I feel...
Immediately, images of Jenna and Barsad slammed back into his mind, forcing him to picture that same scenario again. He pictured Jenna's eyes closed, her soft and plump lips parted... he pictured Barsad's lips on her neck, on her shoulder, his tongue tracing her collarbone... He imaged what Jenna's groans and hums would have sounded like as she squeezed her eyes tighter, her mouth falling open, her back arching as Barsad traced his tongue against her body, moving lower, and lower, and lower...
ARGH! Bane clenched his fist and slammed it down on the ground next to him as his eyes snapped open, that prickly glass still tearing at his stomach, only now it had grown three times worse.
Oh, you're in deep, brother, his mind sneered. Do not even bother to try and convince yourself... you care about her, and you want her all to yourself...
Bowing his head again in defeat, Bane closed his eyes, keeping his fist clenched on the cold ground as he clenched his jaw.
As you should, though, the voice suddenly said, keeping Bane from falling completely into a miserable hole of defeat. After all, you took her. She belongs to you, whatever title she may carry. She is yours...
Within the depths of the basement sat a shuddering Jenna on top of her cot in her room, her left arm wrapped around her body as she stared down at the concrete floor, illuminated by the lights above. The basement had reached new, freezing temperatures, but this was not the reason Jenna was shaking. The second Bane ordered her away, a new sense of strong dread and anxiety had immediately taken over her completely. She was not sure how long she had been sitting in her room, but her stomach never let loose from it's clenching sensation, and as the minutes ticked on painfully slow, she could almost feel her throat swelling closed as ice chilled her blood. Her lips were parted as she stared at the ground, and every once in a while her tongue would flicker out to the lick them, due to breathing in and out from her mouth.
Now, she realized she had absolutely no idea why she had even thought about attempting to explain the situation to Bane, or why she had even gone to his room. She should have known she wouldn't have been able to get a word in; she could barely even answer his questions in the first place. She wished she would have known how truly terrifying it would have been to stand there watching Bane watch her and Isaac, what they had done, what they had gone inside to do... Just recalling it caused her stomach to clench even tighter. Had she been thinking at all the night before, she would have never gone through with anything, no matter how badly her body craved it. This –this whole thing with Bane now– simply wasn't worth it. All she had started to desire at the time was to feel something. Isaac's constant questions and attempts to talk to her made her reflect on herself and want to feel anything outside of her numbness, be it pain or pleasure. But now, Jenna found she was feeling both, one falling immediately after the other...
She wondered desperately where Bane had gone and what he was doing. Not even a full minute after returning to her room, she had jumped when she heard various, loud crashing noises come from his room, and at that moment she knew she should fear the worst. She had been granted no time to wonder what he had even done in there, for the second after she heard the crashes, she immediately heard his footsteps against the ground as he stormed out of his room to head up the stairs. She was sure he had gone outside, but she had to wonder... what if he had gone up directly to Isaac's room?
No, she thought. He wouldn't. He wouldn't... But would he? Just the idea of him hurting Isaac made her feel sicker than a dying dog. It would be all my fault... She had seen the look that came over his face when he directly asked her about what she and Isaac had done. She knew the crashing sounds were an immediate result of instant rage, as well as how loud his steps were each time his heavy boots slammed against the ground. Although she couldn't be sure as to why Bane was furious, she just knew he was, and again she had to wonder if he had gone up to Isaac's room, after all.
The thought sent a wave of dizziness over her, and without thinking she immediately stood up, only to pause as she shuddered some more. She once thought that encountering Bane had been shocking. She had been terribly nervous upon facing him and being brought to this warehouse where she learned she would forever stay. She had thought her seclusion in her room would ultimately prove to be as bad as it could possibly ever get, but never did she ever anticipate feeling the way she did now. Terrified for not only her life, but Isaac's as well, anxious over what Bane would do about the situation, sick due to having to live in this moment and face it all, face what she had done... All these emotions were bringing on even more painful physical feelings of torment that she could feel ripping her apart from the inside out.
Biting her lip, she turned her body slightly as it began to crave a cigarette, desperate for anything that would prove to calm her nerves and fright, even if in just the slightest. She clenched down harder on her bottom lip, struggling to think it over. A cigarette did sound good –at least smoking it would give her something to do as she impatiently waited out this torment before ultimately finding out what Bane would do– but was she really ready to even face Isaac?
Suddenly, that same, frightening thought began to creep back into her mind. What if Bane went up there... what if he hurt him... what if he actually killed him?
Jenna immediately released her lip as she clenched her eyes closed. She would not be able to live with herself if Isaac died, especially if it was due to something that she had encouraged. Cigarette or not, she had to find out if he was okay, even if that meant running into Bane...
Once she approached her door, she turned the handle before slowly easing it open. Her eyes instantly flickered over to Bane's door, which was completely open, the light from the TV illuminating the room and a small space outside of it, and as her heart began to pound against her chest, Jenna sucked in a deep, sharp breath before she opened her door all the way to step outside of her room. The light from her own room dimly illuminated the majority of the basement in front of her, and as she fought through her dread and worry of what she would discover, she took another shaking step toward the stairs. So badly she wished she could retreat to her room and hide away in there, and avoid everything, but she had never felt so determined to make sure that somebody was okay. This was primarily, if not entirely, all her fault. Even if she feared it, she should be the one suffering, not Isaac.
As she started up the stairs, slowly, her mind went rampant, flashing her all sorts of different images that she may have the displeasure of witnessing as soon as she found Isaac. She pictured his bedroom door to be fully open, and she imagined the site of his blood painted on the walls and stained into the carpet, Bane's back to her as he struggled to calm his rage after he had taken out his anger on his right hand man. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she hesitated before stepping forward to continue her walk in the hallway, imagining what it would be like if she heard the deed happening behind his closed door. "This is all your doing, Jenna," Bane would say after he opened the door to find her standing there. "You brought this fate on him." It would be just like her nightmare... only this time it would be the harshest reality she would have ever faced.
But what if it wouldn't be that simple? She knew Bane to be furious; what if he really took his time with the deed, and allowed his anger and rage to drag out and pulsate strongly in his veins? What if he was to kill Isaac slowly, and force Jenna to watch, to make her feel even worse and terrified than she already did, all while knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it. As she began to turn the corner of the hallway, her eyes falling on the ladder, she bit down on her lip again as her hands began to shake. What if Bane was in there now, waiting for her?
She grabbed the ladder with her left hand, and it trembled fiercely as she struggled to start up the ladder. Now, the images of blood, hurt, and torture had become so strong and vivid, Jenna felt as though she had already witnessed it all. Just when she barely reached the top of the ladder, she was certain she should begin to expect the worse...
Isaac's door was closed, and as soon as she stood up on the platform now, her entire body trembling, she stepped up to the door. She reached out her closed fist to knock, but before her hand could touch the wood, she pulled it back, swallowing as she did so. She wasn't ready to see Bane. She wasn't ready to see Isaac mutilated. If only she had tried harder to explain things to Bane... if only she had immediately told him what had happened in efforts to avoid all of this... if only she had held herself back the night before...
Another dizzy spell overcame her as soon as she left a few, gentle knocks on the door. After she let her arm hang at her side, she swallowed again as she waited, terrified that she would not receive an answer. Would it be a good thing if nobody inside responded, or prove to be a terrible thing? Perhaps Isaac had already gone outside, and avoided Bane... or perhaps Bane was already inside...
A short minute later, Jenna heard some sort of shuffling around the inside of the room. For a moment, a small shock of relief rang through her heart, but her mind was not going to let her have this victory. As she listened to the shuffling, which had grown louder now, she immediately pictured Bane picking up Isaac's lifeless frame. Somebody was walking toward the door now, she could hear their footsteps against the floor, and she was positive now that as soon as the door opened, Bane would throw Isaac's bloody body at her. She'd gawk in horror, unsure if she should hold onto Isaac or get away from the blood, and as soon as she'd look up to Bane, he'd speak: "You brought this fate on him, Jenna. This is all your fault..."
My fault, my fault, my fault, the words echoed on and on in her head as her shaking got worse. She heard a hand on the knob of the door now, and she held still, ice freezing over her entire body, and she listened to the handle turn. But when the door opened, she was not greeted by Bane, or a bloody, broken and lifeless Isaac. Rather, she stared, completely shocked, at a very alive, and a very sleepy-looking Isaac, and before she could even think about stopping herself, she sprang forward to him, knocking the door out of his grasp before it banged against the wall.
"Oh, thank God!" Were the first words out of Jenna's mouth as she began to wrap her arm around him, her body close to his, but as soon as she felt the skin that covered his bare torso, she immediately recoiled back. Her jaw dropped as her eyes raised up to meet his while flashes of his naked body hovering over hers played in her mind suddenly. Standing nearly two feet away from him now, Jenna breathed in deeply, completely stunned by her actions, but also immenselyrelieved to see Isaac was alive.
Meanwhile, Isaac couldn't help but to stare at her with wide eyes, as well. He had already started waking up nearly an hour ago, but his body had refused to let him get out of his bed. So rather, he stayed there, partly awake, partly still sleeping, but as soon as he heard the knocks on his door he was slightly pleased to have a reason to get out of bed, although just staying in it all day sounded nice too.
Once he threw on a pair of sweats, he shuffled over to the door, positive Bane would not be on the other side it, and primarily sure it would not be Jenna either, but as soon as he opened the door, and was greeted by Jenna springing forward to hug him, surprise had completely overtaken him, and now he wasn't sure of what to say or do as he stared back at her.
"...uh–" was the first noise that stumbled out of his mouth as a strong, thick tension began to surround them, but fortunately, before he could force himself to say anything intelligible, Jenna had started to speak up.
"Um... can I, uh... get a cigarette?" She stumbled around for the right words to speak as her heart raced, not only in relief, but also due to the pure awkwardness that had overcome her, and clearly Isaac, as well. He stared at her for another moment, his features calming down a bit before he nodded slightly.
"Yeah," he mumbled, realizing he should have figured this would be the reason Jenna had gone to him. Truth was, he was just surprised she even had. He had been so sure that she would do everything in her power to avoid him –hell, he was ready to begin avoiding her as well– but now he realized this would prove, yet again, to be an impossible feat. He began away from the frame of the door, still confused on her actions when he had first opened the door, and something deep down inside of him made him think that her actions were a direct result from something that Bane had done or said...
When Isaac turned to head over to his nightstand, Jenna remained outside of his door, having no desire whatsoever to follow him inside, but as soon as her eyes found his bed, a cold shock ran up her spine and flowed throughout her body. Instantly, memories from the night before flooded her mind again, stronger this time, making her remember exactly how it had felt to have been laying there with him on top of her. She stared at the bed for a short moment longer, taking in the site of crooked pillows and messy blanket mounds, but fortunately Isaac returning to the door snapped her out of her daze. Once he stopped at the door, she tore her eyes away from the bed and glanced up at him before dropping her gaze to his hand, which was currently holding his box of cigarettes and a lighter out toward her. She reached out to accept them, being careful not to brush his hand with her fingers, and once she had taken the items she let her arm go limp at her side again as Isaac took a small step back, his eyes focused on the floor now.
That same, awkward tension remained strong, and as Jenna stood before him, still unable to fathom what had gone on between the two the night prior, she felt the need now to inform Isaac of the developing situation. She shifted her weight from her left foot to her right, and after she had cleared her throat, Isaac glanced up to look at her. She stared into his half-lidded eyes for a moment, feeling dizzy again, and after she swallowed she finally spoke.
"He knows..."
Isaac had figured this, he had known Bane would find out as quickly as possible, but yet he could not stop his eyebrows from raising as his eyes widened, and his next words would prove to be utterly pointless. "He knows?" He repeated, the slightest bit of shock laced in his voice, but a second later he forced his face to relax as he nodded, more so to himself, confirming that he already had guessed this.
Jenna nodded as she glanced down now. "Yeah... he uh, found out this morning. He saw go down to the basement... He watched us get back last night from the diner on his TV, from a camera that I guess is set up outside somewhere," she trailed on, but when she glanced up, she saw Isaac had closed his eyes as he leaned back slightly while reaching his hand up to rest on the door frame.
The cameras, he thought to himself. Fuck! How could he have forgotten about the Goddamn cameras!? He had been the one who had installed the vast majority of them! How could he have been stupid?
"I-I'm sorry," Jenna was going now as she watched him. "I didn't know about the cameras, and when he asked me if we did I couldn't lie to him... I can't go back to... I'm scared that... I-"
"It's not your fault," Isaac assured now once he opened his eyes, and he ran his hand through his hair as he glanced over to the left. If anything it's my fault, he thought. He had been the one to give in to his sudden emotions, he had been the one to kiss her and initiate everything, he had been the one to bring her up to his room, and he had been the one to go through it just as much as she had. But most importantly, he had been the one to betray Bane...
This thought caused him to sigh as he ran his hand over his hair again, this time going the opposite way, and when he let his arm hang lose at his side his hair was messily sticking up now.
"What's he doing?" Isaac asked her now, hating the conversation they were having that was becoming inevitable. He didn't want to discuss last night or its repressions, and he knew Jenna most certainly did not want to either. But it was something that was one-hundred percent unavoidable now.
"I don't know," Jenna replied honestly with a small shrug. "I think he went outside somewhere, though." Isaac nodded slightly while Jenna glanced away, both of them growing quiet, both of them entirely sure of what to say now. After a long and strong troublesome moment had passed, Jenna glanced up as she held up the cigarettes in her hand slightly. "Thanks... for these," she said. "Did you wanna come out too?" She felt the need to ask.
A morning cigarette did sound appetizing, especially now more than ever, but without even having to think it through Isaac was shaking his head. "No thanks... I might be out later..." He believed strongly in the fact that, after learning what they had done, that chancing Bane seeing them together would prove to only worsen the situation even more. It was clear to him that avoiding Jenna again was out of the question... but for right now, until all of this was sorted out and he'd learn what Bane was planning to do about it, keeping his distance from Jenna would prove to be one of the smartest things he could do right now. And he figured that Jenna felt the same way.
Jenna nodded. "Yeah, I understand," she said, confirming his theory. "Thank you."
Isaac gave her final nod before he began to close his door while Jenna turned to start down the ladder, deciding it would be a good idea to get her coat before venturing outside.
After obtaining her coat and sliding it on, as soon as Jenna opened the exit door, she began to immediately wonder if she really even wanted to go outside in the first place. A blanket of sparkling, pure while snow covered the ground, and in the sky the clouds were clustered but distinct, appearing in the form of various cotton balls all bunched together, the morning sun rising behind them. As a small breeze blew past, she noticed all the garage doors were closed, and she knew that she smoking a cigarette would not only help to calm her nerves a little bit, but also standing outside while doing it would only freeze her body completely. Frowning, she pulled out a cigarette from the box before placing it in her pocket, and she held onto the cigarette and lighter in her hand before she finally took a step outside.
The slight breeze blew her hair behind her as she trudged through the snow, and the closer she got to the garage, the more she began to wish she could sit inside of it, mere inches away from that space heater. But once she approached the garage, she realized being warm was the least of her worries right now. Bane was more than likely somewhere out here, somewhere around her, and while half of her wished she knew where he was exactly, the other half of her was relieved with not knowing, and not having to see him.
She placed the cigarette in between her lips and held the lighter up, but as soon as she tried to light it, another breeze blew past, extinguishing the flame, and after struggling through this a few more times, she let out a frustrated sigh as she turned to huddle in the corner in between the garage door and wall, protecting the lighter from the wind. Once she had lit her cigarette, she took a long, hard hit before she whipped the cigarette out of her mouth, and she held onto it at her side as she exhaled noisily, the smoke flowing away in the breeze. As her legs shook, she glanced down, wishing she could sit down somewhere, but she did not want to sit directly in the cold and wet down. Her frown deepening, she took another hit from her cigarette as she glanced out toward the snow-covered field, Bane creeping into her thoughts again.
Where had he gone? What was he doing? What was he thinking? What was he thinking about doing? Who would he go after? It made sense that he would go after somebody, didn't it? But who? It would be so easy for him to place the blame on Jenna; Bane had taken her, and in a sense Jenna belonged to him. Would Bane see what she and Isaac had done as an action of betrayal?
At that thought, an even worse, sickening thought occurred to her. Betrayal, she thought again. She hadn't been the one to betray Bane... he had already made it clear that he was done with her, despite his actions to sometimes talk to her... but Isaac... realistically, Isaac had been the one to betray his commander. Isaac had slept with Bane's property, without his permission. Isaac had gotten overly intimate with Jenna, without Bane even knowing about, and Isaac hadn't even been the one to tell him.
"Oh, my God," Jenna mumbled to herself as she idly flicked her cigarette in her hand with her thumb, ashing it. Bane would go after Isaac. The only question now was how, and what would happen?
Swallowing, Jenna took a small step back to lean against the chilled garage door, but she ignored the temperature of it against her head and back as she shuddered in fright. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. Isaac shouldn't be the one to suffer due to something that Jenna had carried the blame for for a long time. Once she was freed from her punishment, all she had desired was Isaac's company. Granted he had helped her, she realized now, she almost found herself wishing she would have continued to shut him out, regardless of how bad she had wanted to feel something, until eventually he would have given up trying, and she would have been alone again. She would have been miserable, but at least Isaac's life wouldn't be at stake.
She closed her eyes as she shook her head slightly, and she had to wonder when her life had become so complicated. When had her simple lifestyle of luxury turned into such a deep and puzzling nightmare? It seemed like it was only yesterday that she was returning home from a huge shopping trip before sneaking out of her house hours later to attend a party with Rodger. It seemed like only yesterday she was arguing with her mother, and wrongly complaining about how miserable her life was then. A small grin cracked Jenna's lips as she opened her eyes. Yeah right, she thought. You had no idea how terrible it was gonna get someday. Had she ever known, at any point, that she'd be stuck in this situation, right here and now, the 'old' Jenna would have never complained again.
Yes you would have, Jenna immediately thought sourly as she took another drag. You always complain. You always need help. You always need somebody there to share your trouble... now look what this trait has brought upon you. Jenna was facing the strong chance of losing the only person who had ever truly helped her, and actually, really liked her, all because of the fact that she had craved his company. If only she had known the danger she would have been putting him in.
She could fear tears burning in her eyes, but she would not let any fall. What good would crying do? What good would anything do now? She had blown her chances of explaining the situation to Bane, she had ruined any small chances of defending Isaac. Now, she found herself almost wishing that she could see Bane, just to try to explaining it all to him again. But would he even listen to her? Would he even listen to anybody about it, at all?
Suddenly, something Isaac had once told her entered her mind, and she bit her lip as she thought back to what he had said. "All Bane could stand to do was lock you in your room as a means of punishment, and from there all he did was avoid you." Was that true though? Was that really all Bane could stand to do when he was angry at Jenna. The question why had entered her mind, but even more so, if this was true, then Bane would go after Isaac before he'd ever do anything to her...
Shaking her head, Jenna closed her eyes as she let out a small sigh. "Bane is man of quick, rational action. If a thought crosses his mind, he'll consider it, and if he likes it, he'll perform it. He doesn't procrastinate or prolong things longer than necessary," Isaac had told her during that same conversation. This caused her stomach to clench uncomfortably tightly again, and Jenna tensed her jaw. If this was true, which she was positive it was, then Bane was more than likely planning on what to do with Isaac right now. Suddenly, Isaac getting hurt in one way or another seemed inevitable...
Sickened and terrified by these thoughts, Jenna threw her half-finished cigarette away from her and into the snow, where it quickly burnt out, and she instantly started toward the exit door, cold and fearful of what would happen to Isaac. She wished there was some way she could help him, someway that she could protect him, but really, whatever decision Bane made was out of her hands. There was nothing she could do, and Jenna knew the sooner she accepted this, perhaps sooner all of this would end...
–
Too much time had passed since Bane had gone and sat outside, and once the desire to go back inside had entered his mind, he realized he was still entirely unsure of what to do about anything. He was confused, disgustingly hurt, and his head hadn't stopped spinning since he watched that footage. He desired a plan, or at least the smallest of ideas on what to do to enter his mind, but it was blank, and only carried thoughts of hurt, betrayal, and most of all, Jenna.
As a stronger gust of wind blew past, Bane finally forced himself to stand. He leaned over and placed his hand directly on the ground, and he placed all of his weight on it as he slowly stood. Once he was up, he stared ahead at the field for a moment, struggling to decide on what to do. A part of him had already decided that nobody needed to be punished, especially after he had decided that perhaps this was all his fault, entirely. Though another part of him was strongly reminding him that in truth, Barsad had betrayed him... Jenna was Bane's. He wasn't sure what that meant or how he meant it, but in some sort of way, she was his property. Barsad knew this, he had respected this and never crossed boundaries, but last night he had. And it seemed as though he didn't even have the decency to tell Bane, himself. A small part of him wondered if this was accidental, Barsad had always been straight up and truthful with him... but now, what if he was too scared to have faced him? Barsad had lied to him once, and after he had years prior, Bane was sure he would never lie to him again.
It was all too confusing. A part of Bane was desperate to hurt somebody, but another, slightly smaller rational side was begging him to think it over more clearly. He would not prolong these thoughts, however. A decision had to be made, and it had to be made fast. He couldn't let them get away this... he just couldn't.
A garage door opening on the adjacent side of the building tore him away from his thoughts, but for this he was slightly thankful. He desired returning inside, and perhaps if he was in the warmth of his room now, he'd be able to think more clearly. Wiping his wet hand on his pants, he turned to walk in the direction he had come from, his heart still pounding, his head still spinning, the thoughts still provoking him. Half of him blamed himself while the other, more hurt side was blaming Barsad. But before he could wonder why he had absentmindedly decided that Jenna was no longer a factor in all this, the second he turned the corner, standing nearly thirty to forty feet from him, he found himself coming face to face with Barsad... Both men had paused, their eyes fixed intently on each other's, and as Isaac's heart began to race, more hurt swarmed in Bane's veins, causing him to clench his right fist, and suddenly all he could see was Barsad standing directly in front of him...
Oh... snap son. WHAT WILL HAPPEN! I wanna read some predictions in those reviews ;)
Also a major thank you, as per usual, to my beta Loretta Lolita, who really helped me out with some specific quotes and wording in regards to Bane's thought process :)