Jenny’s POV
*An hour ago*
I resisted the urge to slam the door to Alex’s room loudly after I stormed out of that dining room.
I was so pissed off at him for making me sit through dinner when I wanted nothing more than to leave it.
You just wait two more days Alex Snow, I’ll show you what it’s really like trying to control me.
I pace back and forth, trying to empty all my negative feelings.
My body was still hurting all over but the dominant pain at this point was my collarbone cut.
I grab my pajamas from the closet and head towards the bathroom.
I take off the dress I was wearing all morning and gasp in fright at the sight of my naked body.
If I thought I looked like a zombie at dawn, I was so wrong.
Now, I’m officially a god damn zombie.
All my bruises turned from red or light blue, to dark purple.
It was dreadful to look at.
I removed my bandage and took a look at my blazing, burning wound.
It was more red than before, but it wasn’t bleeding.
Was it normal to hurt and burn that much?
I put back the bandage and wore a black, loose fit, cotton long pants, and a long sleeve cotton shirt of the same color.
I got out of the bathroom and continued to pace in an increased worry.
It was almost bed time. Alex was coming in here any minute.
Will he do something to me?
That was the question I have been asking myself since I gave up my life at the church this morning.
It was the thing I was dreading the most.
What if he tries something? Just to hurt me and break me further?
I won’t let him get that far.
My innocence was off limits.
He can punish me all he wants but he is not touching me anywhere down there.
Half an hour passes and I feel like someone is literally burning my skin off in my collarbone area.
I can’t keep feeling this pain and maintain a straight face anymore.
I need the pain to stop before Alex settles in for the night.
I head out of the room, praying to still find Sara in the kitchen so she could give me some painkillers.
I go into the kitchen and find it empty much to my dismay.
What the hell am I going to do now?
I can search in the drawers and cabinets, but it would break Alex’s rules if he catches me sniffing around in the dark.
I lean against the middle countertop with my back to the dining room, contemplating what to do with my pain, when an icy cold voice speaks directly next to my ear “What are you doing here, little Jennifer?”
I gasped, and jumped to the opposite countertop to get away from that horrible voice, just like a cat jumps up when it gets surprised.
I turned around and found Lucas leaning against the middle counter just where I was standing a moment ago, looking down at me with immense hatred and disgust.
My heart was throbbing loudly inside my chest.
I couldn’t decide who was scarier to me, Alex or Lucas.
“Well? Lost your voice already?” he asked mockingly with one eyebrow raised.
I kept my mouth shut, I couldn’t open it even if I wanted to because he was scaring the shit out of me.
I was scared shitless right then, and I didn’t know the feeling could get even more intense than that, but it did, the moment Lucas took a long knife from the knife set that was left on the middle counter, and started walking slowly towards me.
I was already caged against the back counter, I had no where to run, and a part of me; despite the instinctive need to stay alive, wanted to give in and get it over with.
I was rooted in place as Lucas closed the distance between us and was standing right in front of me, his body holding me in place, his eyes never leaving mine with the same disgust emanating from them.
His knife was positioned a few inches from my chest.
He tilted his head a little and said playfully “You know, I keep trying to convince myself that you are not Patrick Walker in the form of a little girl, but then I look at those soulless green eyes of yours and see him staring back at me. Taunting me with what he did to my old man, tempting me to kill him again, and I find myself unable to keep that temptation at bay”
Ouch.
That comment about the green eyes hit a very sore spot within me.
I knew we shared the same eye color, but for him to point it out so bluntly like that made my eyes glisten with tears, because it really was the truth. And the truth fucking hurt.
I keep staring at him through my falling tears without saying anything, or even begging him.
He looked like he was really going to kill me.
And I didn’t want him to stop.
It was only my first day here and I was more than done with it.
I just wanted the pain to end.
The atmosphere was so intense, the space between us so small, I found myself unable to take a breath anymore.
“Lucas” a cold low voice said several feet away to my left.
I tore my gaze away from Lucas and looked at Alex, who was standing near the refrigerator, gazing icily at Lucas, not sparing me the slightest glance.
Even the way he called his brother, if it was meant to stop him from killing me, it wasn’t that convincing as it held no hint of urgency, warning, or anger like the situation requires. Like my probable death was just inconvenient for him right now otherwise he wouldn’t bother to stop his brother from making a move to kill me.
I hate you Alex Snow. I hate you so much, words cannot express my feelings towards you or your brother.
“Go back to the room” Alex orders me curtly while still maintaining eye contact with Lucas.
I wanted nothing more than to move, but one little movement wasn’t even possible with Lucas so close to me, the knife still inches away from my body.
I look at Lucas who was having a silent staring contest with his brother.
A minute passed, and I had a feeling that Lucas wasn’t going to allow me to walk out of this kitchen alive.
I thought my feeling was about to be confirmed when Lucas turned his gaze down to me, lifted the knife a little and swung it in my direction in full force.
No sound came out of me as the knife hit the high wooden cabinet behind me and stayed there, a mere fraction of an inch above the top of my head
I flinched in my place and I felt my heart physically drop from its place a little with the amount of indescribable fear that swarmed inside it before the knife hit its target.
I was rooted in place, my tearing eyes glued to his as my body tingled and screamed at me to shove him away and run for the hills.
He backed off and rested his back on the middle counter as he smiled evilly at me.
I didn’t waste a single second as I practically ran out of the kitchen through the dining room.
I didn’t stop until I reached the room, closed the door behind me, and practically collapsed on the two steps leading inside the room as my feet couldn’t carry me any further than that.
My whole body was shaking uncontrollably, my heart was throbbing at a blinding speed, probably trying to prevent a heart attack to occur from that impairing confrontation I was just put through.
I bury my face in my hands, and I release a muffled sob that I could not contain within me anymore.
***
Alex’s POV
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I hiss at Lucas as soon as I hear my room door close in the far distance.
He scared the living crap out of the girl.
I was half expecting her to faint right there from the way her already pale face turned even unbelievably paler after how scared she got as my stupid annoying brother buried that knife above her head.
He looks at me mockingly from where he was leaning against the center counter and says “Aww, don’t tell me you felt bad for her, brother. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted to protect her from me”
I narrow my eyes at him in irritation and warn him coldly “Don’t try to psychoanalyze me Lucas. What did she say to you? What was she doing here in the first place?”
He looked at me for a long time before he answered casually “Nothing, I came inside and saw her just standing right where I am not doing anything. She didn’t open her mouth the entire time. It was rather annoying. I wanted her to give me a reason to hurt her, but she fucking kept her mouth shut, which only caused my already short temper to snap faster”
It was rather surprising, how good she was following my orders, much to my relief.
Not that I expect her to ever forget and forgive this little idiotic move my brother pulled on her.
“What did you say to her then?” I asked curiously.
“I told her how disgusted I was by having to look at her green eyes that resemble her father’s every god damn day, in my own house, and resist the urge to keep her breathing”
I closed my eyes briefly and ran my hands through my hair.
He was just trying to make her life miserable to let out his own frustration. He would never physically hurt her, that I was certain of. But that wouldn’t stop him from hurting her emotionally.
“Listen to me very carefully, Lucas. You will stay as far away from her as humanly possible, and you will keep yourself in check during her presence. This thing that just happened here will not happen again. Don’t interact with her in the slightest. If she didn’t open her mouth or even make a move to stop you from killing her, it was because I gave her my word that she will be safe in this house. I gave my word and I will not let you break it by being a brat. She is one of us now and you better god damn get used to it. Do you hear me?” I said strictly.
“Is that a leader order, brother?” asked Lucas sarcastically.
“It is an older brother request… brother. Don’t make me regret my trust in you” I said quietly.
I opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water, and headed towards my room without uttering another word to him.
I was frustrated with my brother’s behavior, I totally forgot to knock the door before barging in like I’m used to doing when it was just my room instead of ours.
She was sitting on the steps, facing the door I just came from with her face hidden in her hands.
She gasped audibly when she heard me come in, looked up at me in fear, and cringed all at the same time.
She was obviously sobbing before I interrupted her, judging by the wetness on her checks and her still tearful eyes.
She got up quickly, turned her back to me as she climbed the stairs and walked inside the room, trying to wipe away all her tears.
She sat at the farthest chair in the room and kept her eyes down to the floor.
I guess I was supposed to apologize for my brother, and for not knocking before coming inside, but I didn’t do either.
I didn’t want her to think I am going to go easy on her by saying sorry.
I came inside and sat at the other chair to her right, the small round table separating us.
I sat the water bottle on it and tried to speak firmly but without any harshness in my voice “This bottle is for you. When I said in the morning that you are not allowed to wonder around, that you are to stay in this room and mind your own business, I didn’t mean that you are forbidden from going to the kitchen to eat or drink when you’re hungry or thirsty. You're allowed to do that, you’re not a prisoner in this room. Is it clear?”
She nods her head but doesn’t look at me.
“Lucas wasn’t going to hurt you, whether I was there to interfere or not, I want you to know that. I warned him not to speak with you at all ever again, and you should stick to our agreement and not talk to him”
She doesn’t respond and keeps her expression the same, still focused on the floor.
“What were you looking for in the kitchen?”
It takes her a while to find her voice, I waited patiently because it was a miracle she was able to speak at all after what she just went through.
She looks at me finally and says in a low voice “I was looking for Sara, I wanted her to give me some painkillers”
“For what?” I narrowed my eyes in suspension.
“Headache”
Her eyes leave mine for a second before returning, a clear sign of lying.
She needed the painkillers but not for a headache, of that I was certain. Even if I didn’t catch that small hint of lying, I would doubt her answer. Because I observed her holding onto her upper chest before dinner and was sure that that was the main source of her pain.
But why was she hiding it?
I didn’t want to press her on it. There was enough drama for the day. So I let it slide, for now.
She let her gaze fall down to the floor again when I didn’t speak for a while.
My curiosity gets the best of me and I found myself unable to delay the question I wanted to ask her since I found out about it.
“I want to ask you something, and I want you to answer me honestly” I said strictly.
She looks up at me with a sign of challenge in her eyes but she doesn’t say anything.
“Despite catching my brother Jacob in your house, you lied about it to everyone and kept it to yourself. You may not have recognized who he was back then, but that doesn’t explain why you hid the fact that you saw your father’s murderer with your own eyes”
“Your question?” she asked quizzically.
“Why did you cover for him? Why did you lie?”
She looks at me for a long time, either trying to come up with another lie to say, or contemplating whether to trust me with the truth.
She finally speaks sarcastically “I wasn’t covering for him, or protecting him if that’s what you’re thinking. I had my own reasons for not saying anything to anyone”
“And they are?“
She leans a little closer to me, and says with a straight serious face “They are…… none of your business. Your brother just tried to fucking stab me with a knife and you have the nerve to suggest that I was actually trying to protect your other brother? that’s just down right ridiculous. I have no interest to protect any of you”
There we go again. She is back to her old disobedient self, trying to provoke me.
I get up from my chair, rest my hands on the arms of her chair as I lean down to stare at her with ice cold eyes.
She shrinks back in her place as far as she could and looks up at me with defiant challenging eyes, daring me to do something. There was no hint of her earlier fearful state, it was hidden but definitely still there within her I was sure.
Honestly, I couldn’t help but admire that contradicting behavior of hers. Obedient and scared shitless one minute, then defiant and brave enough to talk back at me with no regard to the consequences of such action the second.
Even when my brother held a knife to her in the kitchen. She was scared but she made no move to stop him, as if she didn’t care if she lived or died. It was eerie.
I threaten her in a low cruel voice “I will let that snide little comment pass, just this once, Jennifer Walker. But you watch yourself from now on. Weigh your words before you speak them in front of me. Because next time, I will not hesitate to teach you a lesson on respect, do we understand each other?”
Her expression doesn’t waver as she answers dryly “Respect should be earned, Alex Snow. It cannot be forced. But go ahead, teach me all the lessons you want. Just know this, you can force me to keep my mouth shut from saying what I truly want to say to you, force me to keep my eyes and head down in your presence, force me to be obedient to your commands, but those actions will never resemble respect, because I don’t have any, not for you”
Damn her fucking smart mouth!
I can’t believe she was the one giving me a fucking lesson on respect right now!
She was seriously tugging hard on my last thread of self control towards her.
I had to resist the urge to grab her from the neck and seriously teach her that lesson now.
Instead, I backed away and stood up straight while still gazing down at her as I said coldly despite the fire raging within me and the need to assert that fucking respect “All in good time Jennifer. Don’t rush your fate. We still have so many days together to see if I’m going to end up getting that respect from you or not”
Her expression said ‘Bring it on’, but she did the wise thing and decided to not rush that fate as she kept quiet.
I turned around and headed towards my closet to get my nightclothes.
I passed by my right nightstand, opened the first drawer, and took out a bottle of painkillers from it.
I walk towards her, without glancing at her, put the medicine on the table, and go inside the bathroom without saying anything.
Despite the fact that I was extremely exasperated by her continuous rebelliousness, despite the fact that I wanted her to be punished for talking back to me so disrespectfully, I didn’t want her to be in pain.
At least for now.
I was still trying to maintain myself from letting her force me into becoming a heartless monster who causes her physical pain to control her behavior.
I was really fucking trying, but I had a feeling that she was going to eventually cause me to lose all my resolve and hurt her.