Jenny’s POV
I sit outside in the freezing cold, on the outer staircase that leads to god knows where.
I sit there, bury my head between my knees, and let out another series of sobs. I thought I had no more tears in me when I poured my soul out in that shower, but apparently I have an unlimited source that will probably never run out.
My right arm was still stinging from the vicious tight grip Alex had on it. and it didn’t help that he was unknowingly pressing on one of my bruises so hard.
The only thing that consoled me was that now, I was sure I had at least one person on my side in this house.
At least she was willing to stand up for me and keep him from hurting me more.
But what about when we are alone in his room? Who’s going to save me from him then?
Was the dessert thing over after his mom told him the truth? Or was he going to punish me for disobeying his rules despite everything?
Did I really care if he did hurt me? It wouldn’t be the first time I was hurt by a man before.
I wipe away my tears with my hands and check the clock. It was 1:40 p.m. Lunch was going to be served at 2 and I needed to go back to the room to inject myself with insulin.
My insides were shaking from the cold weather along with my entire body.
I enter back to the house and head for my room.
As I close the door behind me and advance into the steps, I freeze on the first one when I notice Alex sitting on the nearest chair with his phone in his hand.
Shit, I totally forgot to knock.
He was looking at me but as soon as I noticed him in the room I lowered my gaze down. I didn’t want him to notice my freshly tearful eyes.
I mumbled as I continued to climb the second step “I’m sorry, I should have knocked first”
I went inside and sat at the chair in front of the dresser, giving him my back.
He didn’t say anything to me.
I resist the urge to look at his reflection in the mirror as I busy myself with my insulin injection.
After I’m done with it, I go over to my spot on the ledge, nestle myself there, and pick up my phone to check some things and distract myself from the fact that his presence in the room was causing me to be nervous.
I looked at him from the corner of my eye and saw him concentrating on his own phone, but I couldn’t see what he was looking at.
After a while he got up and asked me from his spot, in what appeared to be a gentle tone that I was hearing for the very first time “Are you coming?”
I looked up in surprise. Did that come out as gently as I just heard it or was I imagining things in my head?
Definitely imagining it, for sure.
I nodded my head and went ahead of him out of the room.
The rest of the day passes without any new drama.
I don’t speak with anyone and no one speaks to me, not even Alex who disappeared after lunch and I never saw him again.
I shut myself in my room despite his absence from the house, because even though Alex was not home, his brother Lucas was.
Despite my lack of sleep, my aching body didn’t let me get a moment of rest.
My cut was nagging at me consistently and the painkillers Alex gave me last night were no good.
I tried everything I could to distract myself from the agonizing constant pain, pacing back and forth inside the room, putting a cold washcloth on the wound to numb it, watching my series on my phone, even listening to music. All of those provided some distraction but I was still very much aware of it eating and gnawing at my nerve endings.
I was also trying to distract myself from feeling the stress of my mother’s uncertain and dangerous escape out of town tonight.
As dinner time approached, I was heading out of my room and opening the door, when I heard my phone ring.
I left the door half open and went to check who was calling me. My phone was on the dresser.
It was an unregistered number and like an idiot I answered it only to hear the last voice I wanted to hear right now.
“Hello Jenny, it’s Simon”
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth in frustration.
I opened them and turned around, about to unleash all my anger and frustration on him, but before I could utter one word, I froze in my place when I saw Alex leaning against the entrance of the room, staring at me intently with his hands inside his pockets.
My heart dropped down between my legs while Simon kept blabbering in my ear. Out of pure fear, I did the first thing that crossed my mind, I hung up the phone in his face and clutched my phone tightly, praying he wouldn’t be so stupid to call me again.
“Who were you talking to?” he asked coldly as he kept gazing at me suspiciously.
I gulped and said in a small voice “My mom”
He raised his eyebrows and asked curiously “Why did you hang up when you saw me?”
I blurted “I didn’t, I was done talking”
He kept staring at me intently and I felt my face turn tomato red because I was lying straight to his face and if he found out, I was so fucked.
I lowered my eyes down and kept praying he wouldn’t ask further questions about this.
After a few seconds, he finally said “Shall we?“
I nodded my head, left my phone back on the dresser, and went ahead of him.
I wanted to desperately block the number but I couldn’t do it with him standing there or sitting next to me on the dining table. I had to wait until dinner was over.
I barely managed to eat anything. I was too tense and itching for this dinner to end so I could go put an end to Simon’s harassments.
I was also eating myself up with worry over my stupid lie to Alex. I hate lying, and I think I’m a terrible liar. I don’t know whether he was convinced or not but if he found out I was talking to Simon and lied about it to his face, he will definitely hurt me this time.
I couldn’t afford to let things escalate between us, at least not tonight with the risk I was taking by smuggling my mom out of town.
As soon as Lucas and David got up and left, I practically had to keep myself from sprinting into the room.
I grab my phone and almost curse out loud. It was turned off. The battery was dead. I plug it into the charger and impatiently wait for it to turn on again.
I get the nagging urge to pee and my phone unlocks but stubbornly refuses to open the call log before charging a little. So I leave it open on the dresser and hurry into the bathroom to get this over with.
I emerge out of the bathroom a few minutes later and freeze in front of it when I see Alex sitting on the bed in front of me with my phone in his hand.
He looks up at me with a piercing ruthless expression on his face.
He speaks coldly as he looks into my phone and reads from it “Jenny, it’s Simon. We need to continue our conversation from this morning. Call me when you’re alone” he then looks at me with tamed rage as he continues icily “Do you have a reasonable explanation for meeting with Simon Walker when you told me that you wanted to go see your mother…. Jenny?”
That stupid brainless piece of shit! He sent me a message?
I stare at Alex’s cold angry grey eyes and feel my heart about to explode from the extra speed it was beating at.
I tried to form words and speak, defend myself, clear any suspicion and tell him it’s not what he thinks.
But the fear that coursed through every cell in my body, just from looking at his face and staring into his beast like eyes restricted my ability to speak or open my mouth.
When I didn’t say anything for a whole minute, he stood up from the bed and I found myself instinctively moving away from the bathroom door and as far away from him as possible with every part of me visibly quivering with fear.
It suddenly dawned on me then. He didn’t look just capable of leaving bruises, marks, or cuts like my father and uncle, he looked capable of inflicting a lot more damage.. like breaking a finger or two.. or maybe an entire arm.
I’m so fucking done for this time, so… fucking… done for.