“Jack?” I called but received no reply. Painfully, I reached over and touched his hand. This also didn’t illicit a response and I guessed that Jack was high. The familiar anger over that situation rose up within me but I had learned my lesson. Torture will do that to a person. I managed to use the bucket but I was out of breath from the movement.
My stomach growled for food and I reached over for the trays. I guessed by the contents of them that I had slept through three meals. The breakfast tray appeared the freshest. I was ecstatic to see actual utensils but between my injured hands and wrists, it was difficult to eat the scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice. I managed and felt full.
All my energy I expelled, which wasn’t much, left me feeling tired again. I could tell I was running a fever and wondered if Vivienne would be by with antibiotics. During the week and a half, medical help had been hit and miss. Vivienne had given me enough medical attention to keep the UTI from completely flaring but not enough to knock it out.
Not knowing when Jack would emerge from his heroin fog, I slipped beneath the blanket and fell back to sleep. I dreamt of nothing until a shadowy figure began shaking me. It was a gentle shake; this was not a nightmare. Slowly, I realized that someone was actually shaking me and when I opened my eyes, I saw Jack. The cliché rang true; he was a sight for sore eyes.
“Hello,” I said, my voice cracking a bit from deep sleep.
“Hello,” he replied back with a smile. I had missed that smile over the last week and a half and I was so glad that I was back with him. “You are running a fever,” he noted and touched my cheek.
“How could you tell?”
“Your cheeks were rosy. Did you get any medical attention while they had you?”
“A little but not much. It still hurts to use the bucket.”
“Lunch is here,” Jack said and moved a new tray closer to me. I could smell good food and my stomach growled. I wondered for how long we would receive the adequate food.
Jack sat me up and first made me drink a cup of water. He then revealed our lunch. It was tuna casserole with peas, milk, and to my surprise ice cream.
“Ice cream?” I questioned.
“Yes, a surprise, no?” I nodded and we began eating. Compared to our terrible food, this food tasted like heaven. I was full after the casserole but I wasn’t going to pass up the chance for ice cream. It was even my favorite – tin roof sundae – and Jack had chocolate.
“Do you think they are fattening us up for something?” I asked when we were finished.
“I do not know,” he said and picked up the tourniquet. He seemed so willing to shoot himself up.
“Jack, no,” I said. “You can’t keep using heroin. I know it means…”
“No, Penny. We will not discuss this.” His voice was forceful and I wondered if that was the heroin talking. Had they turned Jack into a junkie? I watched as he prodded for a vein and then expertly inject himself. He barely had enough time to take off the tourniquet before he slumped back against the wall.
It was a sad sight and I felt myself misting up. Jack used to be so strong but this situation had hollowed him out and now he was abusing – albeit by force – drugs.
“Damn it,” I whispered and pulled the blanket around me. The door to the cell slid open, revealing William and Vivienne. Surprisingly, I no longer feared them. Maybe I was still just so exhausted.
“Vivienne’s here to give you a checkup,” William said, leaning against the door jam. I nodded and the doctor knelt down and began checking my blood pressure and listening to my heart. She then started an IV, poked me in the hip, and handed me oral antibiotics followed by the usual other medications. I had been without those during the week and a half and to be honest, I was surprised I made it through without them.
“How long are you going to expect Jack to take the heroin?” I asked. It was a simple question that I hoped wouldn’t be met with pain.
“I don’t know,” he replied thoughtfully.
“Please stop the heroin,” I said. “Let me take it instead.” Doing heroin was the last thing I wanted to do but I had to somehow stop them from giving it to Jack.
“Your heart will not tolerate it,” Vivienne said. I looked at William.
“Please,” I begged. “He’s been through so much. I don’t like to see him like this.”
“You would do anything for Jack, wouldn’t you?” William said and tapped away on his cell phone.
“Yes,” I replied without hesitation. I knew if Jack was conscious, he would be trying to stop my words. For once, I was glad he was out of it.
William continued texting someone, probably Crystal. The wait was agonizing. What kind of position was I putting myself into? I suddenly wished I had kept my mouth shut. The conversation seemed to end between William and whomever and he looked at me. The look on his face caused me to worry. I was for sure going to be doing something I didn’t like.
. . .
When Jack came out of his fog, he was surprised to find himself alone in the cell. This scared him. Where was Penny? There was a new tray of food and when he looked beneath the towel, he saw food for two but there was something missing – his heroin. Jack wondered what was going on.
His stomach rumbled with sourness and he dry heaved a bit into one of the buckets. He could already feel the withdrawal symptoms starting and his mind focused intently on why there was no heroin on the tray. It consumed him until the logical part of his Big Brain kicked in and told him to worry more about Penny. What had happened while he was out?
Jack began sweating. The withdrawal was hitting hard. Focus, he told himself. He went to the window for some fresh air and listened for any sign that Penny was near but all he heard were the birds and slight wind fluttering the long grass. He went to the sliding door and put his ear to it but again, he heard nothing. He stood in the middle of the cell not knowing what to do. With a huff, he finally just sat back down and drank his milk.
About a half an hour later, or so Jack guessed as it was just too hard anymore to guess the time, the cell’s door slid open and there was Penny being guided by the elbow by William. Her eyes were puffy and she was sniffling. She’d been crying.
“What is going on?” Jack automatically said before mentally kicking himself for being demanding. William didn’t seem to mind. He also didn’t answer his question. All he did was let go of Penny and lock the door again. Penny stumbled towards where Jack sat and he helped her down. She drew up her legs to her chest and tucked her hands beneath her chin. A tear slipped from her eye. “Penny?” She just shook her head in reply before lying down and covering herself with the blanket.
Jack was dumbfounded. Something had definitely happened while he was out but Penny appeared to not want to talk about whatever happened. He needed to get to the bottom of the situation; he needed to protect her if that was the case.
“Penny, what is going on?” he asked as he moved so he was in sight of Penny. She wouldn’t look at him.
“I can’t tell you,” she replied.
“Why? Has William barred you from talking?”
“No. I just don’t want to talk. Please, just leave me alone for a while. I’m tired and don’t feel good.”
“There is food if that would help,” he offered but she just shook her head. Jack sighed and leaned back against the wall. He didn’t want to make the situation any more difficult than it was. Instead, he focused on the yearning he had for another hit of heroin. It occupied his time until William and Vivienne returned with their dinner. Vivienne also needed to attend to Penny. She was subdued as the doctor checked her blood pressure and listened to her heart. An IV of antibiotics was started and she also received the hip shot and oral
meds.
“Is she okay?” William asked.
“Status quo,” replied Vivienne who then turned her attention to Jack. She handed him a pill and the cup of water. “Take this. It’ll help with the withdrawal. You’re no longer going to receive the heroin.”
“Thank you,” Jack said with true gratitude although a small part of him was disappointed. “What has changed?”
“Your Pretty Penny has come through for you, Jack,” William explained. “She wants you off the heroin and is paying for that. You should thank her.” Jack looked at Penny. There were silent tears coursing down her face and she refused to look at Jack.
“Penny, what have you done?” he asked then looked back up at William. “What is she doing?”
“That’s for her to explain. Just know that she is voluntarily giving herself up. We are not forcing her.” And with that, William and Vivienne left. Jack looked back at Penny. She had dropped her gaze to her curled hands in her lap.
“Penny, again, what have you done?”
“Saved you,” she replied quietly.
“But at what price? Are they hurting you? Are they torturing you again?” She shook her head.
“It’s nothing I haven’t done before,” she peculiarly said. “I guess it’s what I do best.”
Penny’s words made no sense to Jack but he ran them over and over in his mind. Dinner was lost due to the situation and Penny lay back down. How was Penny paying for Jack’s release from heroin?
Jack found it hard to sleep that night. He would listen to Penny breathing thinking that would help him figure out what was going on but even with his Big Brain, nothing came to him. At some point he did fall asleep and woke up with the sliding of the cell’s door.
“Penny, come with me, please,” William said. Penny, already awake, looked morose as she struggled to her feet and left the cell. The door slid shut, leaving Jack just as confused as before. About an hour later, Penny returned and William had a food tray. Penny, again, looked like she had been crying but when Jack inquired what was wrong, she declined to speak. She ate little of the food and then spent the rest of the time lying down with her back to Jack.
It’s nothing I haven’t done before; I guess it’s what I do best. Jack ran those words over and over in his mind to try and figure out what Penny meant. As the day wore on, the same thing would happen. William would come for Penny, she’d be gone for about an hour, and when she returned William would have their food tray. Jack received medication to counter the withdrawal symptoms and they both received their normal medications. Penny was quiet, morose, and often kept her back to Jack. Whatever she was doing, she was ashamed.
That night, Jack was sound asleep when he suddenly woke up. It dawned on him what Penny might be doing and it made him sick. He had to know for sure so he gently shook Penny awake.
“Penny, wake up. I need to talk to you,” he said as he shook her shoulder. It was overcast so there was no moonlight to provide even the smallest amount of light so they were in the pitch black.
“What’s wrong, Jack?” Penny asked. She sounded tired and he felt bad for waking her but he had to know.
“Please be honest with me. When you leave with William, are you being forced to have sex with him?” Penny did not answer right away. When she did, Jack’s anger boiled.
“Not with William,” she said quietly. “With Landon.”
“And by doing that I do not have to take heroin?”
“Yes.”
Jack was beside himself. It was just like what happened between Penny and Shane. “Penelope, you have to stop.”
“I can’t. If I stop, they’ll force you to do heroin and I can’t have that.”
“And I cannot have you use yourself in such a way.”
“There’s no other way, Jack.” Penny’s voice was shaky.
“Yes, there is. I will take the heroin…”
“No, Jack. You can’t do that. It goes against what you believe. I don’t want you to become a junkie.” Jack huffed. This was a useless conversation. He knew Penny was set in what she was doing. Instead of logic guiding him, he chose his heart.
“My Pretty Penny, I love you. You have no idea how much it pains me to learn what you are doing to save me from the heroin. But I do not want you to use yourself in such a way. You did that enough with Shane. Please, stop what you are doing.”
“But if I don’t…”
“I know. The heroin. I am willing to take it to keep you from being raped.”
“I’m not being raped,” she insisted.
“Yes, you are, Penelope.” Jack listened to Penny. Slowly, she started crying. Jack pulled her into a hug. She cried for a long time until finally she was cried out.
“I’m sorry,” she said and pulled herself out of Jack’s arms. “I didn’t know what else to do. I hate what they were doing to you.”
“I can handle it, Penny. Now, in the morning when they come for you, I will tell them I will continue with the heroin and you can stop being with Landon. Okay?”
“Okay,” she replied quietly. Jack hugged her again.
“I love you so much, Penelope.”
“And I love you. That’s why I did what I did. I don’t like to see you under the influence.”
“And I admit I do not like it either but honey, you are worth more than anything and you deserve to be respected. You are right; they are playing games with us. But we need to be strong and hold on,” Jack said and found Penny’s face which he cupped. “And no more of this trying to save me.”
“That’s not fair. It’s what you’re going to do.” Penny was right. That’s exactly what he was doing.
“I am doing this to protect you. You have gone so long in your life without someone to protect you and it is time someone did,” he explained and kissed her on the lips. “Let me do this. In this situation, there is so little that I can do to protect you but I can do this. I know it is hard to see me under the influence but it is so much better than what you are doing. This will allow us to have better food and it will keep you safe. Understand?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Thank you, Ivan. Thank you so much.”
They settled back down on the hard floor and Jack pulled the blanket over them. He then found Penny’s cheek and he placed his hand on it, his thumb stroking the area beneath her eye. He loved her so much and he had to protect her.
. . .
Both Jack and I woke up early the next morning. I was nervous and scared and felt awful from the urinary tract infection from hell. Although Vivienne was giving me medication, I felt that it wasn’t working like it usually did. It would not have surprised me if she was giving me placebos some of the time.
When the door slid open, there was William. My stomach flip-flopped as Jack stood up. We had already discussed what we were going to do. I was to stay in the corner while Jack talked with William. He would tell the maniac that he would voluntarily go back on heroin and I would no longer go with Landon. It sounded so simple but nothing in our situation was simple.
“That’s not how this is going to work, Jack,” William said. “You had your chance to save your Pretty Penny. Landon is enjoying her too much.”
“No, this is not right. Give me the heroin. I will take it voluntarily and Penny stays here,” insisted Jack.
“I’m afraid not,” William replied and stepped aside letting Landon into the cell. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Jack backed up until he was practically on top of me. He was going to put up a fight. I didn’t want that to happen. I wasn’t worth that kind of commotion. I stood up but Jack put his arms out to keep me in the corner.
“No, you are not
taking her!” Jack yelled.
“You’re making this worse,” I told him. Landon advanced quickly and with a strong right hook, contacted Jack across the jaw. It was a hard enough hit to drop Jack to the ground and Landon grabbed me. I didn’t resist; it would do me no good. As Landon led me away, I could hear Jack protesting.
I had trouble keeping up with Landon as he pulled me through the woodshop and down a small hallway. He finally grew frustrated with me and hauled me up over his shoulder. We entered the room that had the bed and he threw me down on it.
“Trying to take away my enjoyment?” he growled at me and slammed the door. Landon was mad and this did not bode well for me.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized.
“Sorry means nothing,” he spat at me and proceeded to relieve himself of his clothes. I turned my head away, as I had done previously with Landon and even with Shane. I became lifeless, just a body a monster could use how he pleased. When Landon roughly entered me, I bit my lip and closed my eyes and tried to picture myself somewhere else. Jack’s home, the cabin, anywhere. This time, however, Landon was mad at me and his hands encircled my neck.
“You will never take away my time with you.” He emphasized each word with a painful thrust making it hard for me to float away to a safe place. I started choking as he squeezed my neck. He let go only when he came. After he crawled off of me and put his clothes back on, he rounded on me. I took hits to my head, my abdomen, and my lower back which caused zinging spears of electricity to go up and down my legs because of the rods. I was a bloody mess when he was finished.
I was stunned from the violence and unable to follow Landon’s order to get to my feet. He again threw me over his shoulder and took me back to the cell where he dropped me unceremoniously to the floor, knocking the breath out of me. I heard the cell door slide shut as I gasped for air and then Jack’s apologetic voice.
“I am so sorry, Penny. I did not expect William to turn down my proposition,” he said and leaned over me. He had a large bruise spreading on his jaw. “You look so terrible. He did not need to rape and beat you.” I finally managed to take a breath and choked on it. Jack helped me sit up and lightly patted my back as I continued to cough. Eventually, I regulated my breathing but I was very wheezy. Jack produced the inhaler and I took two puffs. “Let me clean you up,” he offered and with the wetted corner of the blanket, he cleaned my face up. I was bleeding from my nose and mouth; Landon had been precise with his punches.
Aftermath (The Deceptions Trilogy Book 2) Page 24
