Intertwined

Chapter 48: I Don't Suck At Pool

S C A R

"Ow," Jenny winces as I treat her wounds.

"You're all done," I say, putting away the first aid kit.

"You wanna know anything more?" she asks tentatively.

I shake my head. "Part of me is dying to know, the other part of me wants to march straight to Heaven and kill every Henchman that had even the slightest hand in hurting her."

I sit on the edge of her bed, exhausted, rubbing my eyes groggily.

She sits next to me slowly, unaware of what to do.

"Tell me one thing," I can't help myself. "How'd she get into that stupid jacket?"

"She demanded that Duke should take it off before he left. It was badass," she says, with a hint of pride in her voice.

"I'll fucking kill him."

"What does Henchman, Clite and all that even mean? I don't understand anything."

I look at her, dreading this moment. "I want you to know, that I didn't tell you to keep you safe, I swear it. I was always gonna tell you because we're getting serious. I wasn't gonna keep it from you. I just don't want you to think any different of me, please," I beg, the temperature in the room rising drastically.

I look at her to look for confusion, anger- anything. But she looks at me with those gentle and encouraging hazel eyes as she holds my hands.

I have to tell her.

***

She tried to keep her facial expressions neutral, emphasis on 'tried'.

"Wait, so you're part GOD?!" she whisper-yells.

I nod.

She looks away, wondering out loud, "But I had sex with you."

A small chuckle escapes my lips. "Yeah, you did."

"And your dad hired your ex-one-night-stand to kill Juliet and then bring her back to life?" her eyebrows rise.

I nod again. "Yeah, basically."

"Damn," she blows a whistle. "No wonder she had an anxiety attack. It makes sense now, why the M&Ms are so protective of her. Anyone would be."

"It's... complicated, right now."

God, I hate how complicated everything is right now.

"How..." how the fuck am I supposed to ask this? "Do you still feel... the same way for me?"

Please, please tell me you do.

She holds my hand, smiling. "You're still you, a strawberry-lover who sucks at pool. And I like you just as much. Which is probably way more than I'm supposed to."

"I don't suck at pool," is what comes out of my mouth.

She laughs lightly, contradicting the heavy thunder and lightning outside the house.

I feel Jenny stiffen up. "Um, you should go."

"What? Why? I thought everything was good with us," I begin to panic.

"It is. Just- I don't do well with storms, lightning and stuff, okay? I don't want you to see me like that, a weakling who can't handle some thunder."

I remember Vito saying something about that.

I stare at the painting on my wall opposite me as I scoot closer to her, lacing my fingers with hers.

She looks at our intertwined hands and sighs. "You won't like me when I'm broken."

"I'll like you however you are," I confess.

She begins to stare at the painting too, taking a deep breath. "In the foster care system, you keep moving around a lot. In the end, we lived at an adoption home for three years. A middle-aged couple managed it. The lady was very kind but her husband, not so much."

Her fingers subconsciously tighten around mine as her other hand traces her scar, and I reciprocate as the flashes of lightning strike again.

"One night, when it was only Dave and I, and this other kid living in the adoption home, it was raining heavily, there was a lot of lightning and thunder and Mark, the manager, was drunk and his wife was out. He called me to his room and he-" she chokes, swallowing tears and looking at her feet.

No, no. Please, it couldn't have happened to her. My heart clenches and I can't find it in myself to look away from her.

"He uh- he raped me," tears roll down her eyes. "And I remember crying as he put his hand on my mouth so no one would hear me scream. And I remember thinking he was gonna kill me. So, I- I took the nearest beer bottle and hit him on the head, he took a broken piece of that very bottle and gave me this scar. I ran out of there after hitting him again, luckily his wife came home and she helped Dave and I run away, the other kid, Archer, my friend, was already adopted, his adoptive family was coming to pick him up the next day."

For a second, all I get are the most violent thoughts I think I ever might've gotten.

I stare at her scar subconsciously, that is not how I expected it to be there, at all. I shake the image of her screaming and crying out of my head. No. I hug her tightly, trying to make her feel better in any way that I can.

But how do you make someone feel better after they went through that?

"I felt... naked. And exposed, violated. I felt ugly, so ugly. And this scar is nothing but a reminder of that ugliness. And I'll have to live with it for the rest of my life," she sobs into my shoulder and my hold on her tightens.

I'll kill that fucking bastard. I'll send him straight to hell.

"I'm so sorry Jenny," I lightly grip the back of her head, feeling my heart break into a million pieces.

Letting my heart take control of me, I push her back gently so she's lying on my bed.

As I feel her pulse quicken, I slowly let my lips meet her scar and as I come back up to meet her eyes, I see the daze in them.

"I think your scar is beautiful. I don't think it's ugly, it shows that you survived the hardest part of your life and came out on top. And I'm so, so proud of you for that Jen. Promise me, that when you think of lightning and this scar, you won't think of that night, you'll think of me," I let my fingers hover over her temples.

She looks at me wondrously, "I promise." With slight embarrassment in her eyes, she asks. "But, you don't think any less of me?"

I shake my head instantly. "No way, if anything, I respect how brave you are even more now."

She smiles slightly. "I was scared you wouldn't like me anymore."

"Funnily enough, me too."

She wraps her arms around me. "Can I stay with you for the night?"

I wrap my arms around her waist. "I don't want you anywhere else," and with that, her lips are on mine.