Numb (Alliance Trilogy)

Max

Sooner or later she would have to find means to get a job or watch everything that she owned slowly slip away from her hands. Truthfully, she was too damn pride full to ask for help and the cherry on top would be that mostly she was deeply afraid. She was tremendously afraid that great friends would come but never stay or anyone else for that matter.

As she sat there chatting away with Max and Izzy deep down she knew well that they would soon leave and never come back. So she did the best she could to bask in their visit and once they both stood after an hour of talking she went with them to the front door and said her final goodbyes to them. Because in honest truth she would never see them again.

What is it about me that make's everyone leave? She thought.

The prison door closed and she shuttered as she reminded herself that it was simply her front door and pushed away from it. She glanced at the clock and rubbed her eyes feeling the sleep overcome her thin body. Jenny had lost so much weight ever since the incident and her doctor deeply recommended that she gained her normal weight back.

So instead of seeking the comfort of her bed she made her way into the kitchen and made a sandwich as she sat alone in her large dining room eating.

If I get a dog he'll probably leave me too, she thought.

She dropped the half-eaten sandwich and dumped it into the trash forcing all depressing thoughts aside for the moment as she made her way into a small guest room to lie down. She hadn't been able to go upstairs since everything had happened and probably never would. Most of the time whenever she felt like weeping she would crawl into her mother's old room and snuggle into the sheets that still smelled like her old 'Golden Pearls' perfume.

Pushing with her upper body she landed crookedly on her bed. The sheet's tangled with her dead stems and a frustrated growl escaped her as she painfully leant forward to pull them off. With much effort she tugged her legs free and then flung the sheets to the side as she collapsed on the bed. Wiping her sweat she pushed up to a sitting position and tugged her shirt up to reveal the nasty puncture wounds.

The stench of the dried blood nearly drove her over the edge as she removed the large soaked filled bandages. With a damp alcohol cloth she patted the stitches and bit down hard on her lip as the cringe smell of the antibiotic penetrated her swelled flesh. Her eyes watered but she refused to cry as she wiped at the blood.

Finally, after a crucial half hour of wiping down her stitches she patched herself up and laid down to rest. Tomorrow the same thing would take place, and the day before that. Jenny looked up at her frosting pink ceiling and knew that some changes would have to be made. She had to really cope with the fact that the use of her legs would be no more. And that hopes like becoming a great lawyer someday would never happen.

"I'm sorry momma, things didn't turn out as planned, but at least I'm still here." She muttered.

*******

Max laid down to rest and exhaled feeling the long day finally come to its end as he turned to look out the window. Things had really blown out of proportion for a moment there but now he was happy that things had straightened out and were now working swimmingly. He would be marrying Izzy in just a month. Nothing could be better than this. Next to him Izzy stirred and moaned in her sleep as she snuggled closer to his side.

He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead feeling like nothing could ever change for the worse. Alex was now happily planning his wedding and had a baby on the way. After everything that guy had been through he was happy that now he was able to live out his life with the woman of his dreams.

A faint chuckle rumbled in his chest as he remembered how foolish he had been to see Vicky with different eyes. He had been smart to back off and clear his mind from the confusing thought's that had dared entered his mind. For a moment he thought about it, what if he hadn't backed off? Max was more than certain he would have fallen in deeper for Victoria and therefore ruined four perfectly good lives. Alex, Vicky's, Izzy's and his. Not to mention all the people that would be affected by his sudden turn of thought.

He sighed and wrapped an arm over his fiancée thinking there was nothing greater in the world than to be getting married to the girl of his dreams soon and starting a fresh new life. Sure Izzy was not aware of the life he used to have back then but what did it matter. There was no reason for her to know none of it. Truthfully it scared him to even consider talking to her about the arrogant, heartless animal he once was.

I need to turn off my brain, he thought as he snuggled in deeper into his sheets. He exhaled and closed his eyes fighting to blank his mind and finally seeking slumber. When it came Max felt the heavy feel of sleep overcome him within seconds.

************************

Jenny's eyes fluttered open as the sun peered in through the small room, melting the frost from the squared shaped window. For a long moment she laid there simply looking up at her ceiling until her back began to ache from it all. With tons of effort she pushed up into a sitting position and pulled her shirt over her head and wiggled out of her pajama bottoms.

She stretched making sure not to harm her healing stitches in the process and made her way into her wheelchair and finally into her bathroom where a chair sat in the middle of the tub.

Her mind threatened to bring bad memories, awful dreaded broken dreams and so many more wishes and hopes she had had for the future. Instead she refused to feel bummed out and began to whistle a song to distract her as she went about washing her body from head to toe. When she was certain that her wounds were well cleaned and every inch of her had been washed she patted herself dry and pulled into a night gown.

Now she would proceed into the kitchen where she would cook, clean and then make her way into the living room. She stopped herself before she could reach for a pan and set it down on the table.

Things needed to change around here and she was low on money, her bank account was nearly wiped out, because of her medical bills.

"Pawn Shop." She muttered.

She hurried into the large living room and took the phone book from the desk lamp quickly searching the pages for a number.

"Stanley's." she muttered. For a moment she stopped before she could press down on the dial pad and looked around. Did she really want to go through with this? Some of the things in here had been so ancient that they had come back in style. The tip of her index finger itched as she gulped and pressed down on the number before she could regret it.

"Stanley's pawn shop." A man said.

"Yeah...I uh...I'm calling because I want to bargain for some things."