Post by Jack Owyns on Dec 3, 2014 16:24:21 GMT
CHAPTER 1
December 1, 2014
Jack's Apartment - New York
Jack stood shirtless, sporting a pair of grey sweatpants and black Ray-Ban sunglasses concealing his eyes. He stared at his own reflection in a standing mirror, which was leaning against his dresser. Sitting beside the mirror on the dresser top was an open baggy with cocaine inside, a bottle of painkillers with the cap lying beside it, and a bottle of whiskey, half polished off.
Demons sang by Imagine Dragons played on his stereo with its volume dialed up to the max.
“When you feel my heat; Look into my eyes; it’s where my demons hide; it’s where my demons hide;
Don't get too close; it's dark inside; it's where my demons hide; it’s where my demons hide”
Jack sang along, flexing and then not flexing as a knock came from the other side of his bedroom door. He never heard it. He was too far gone into his own world. The door slowly crept open.
Holli wasn't surprised by what she sees. It killed her to see him this way, but she wasn't sure how to help him other than be there to support him. She wanted to say she'd do whatever it took to get him sober, at least from the coke. She moves into the room, careful not to startle him. Barefoot, she walks quietly across the carpeted floor. She's in boy shorts and a tank top. Jack always has the heat so high in the apartment that she can't stand lots of clothing.
She puts a hand lightly on his shoulder, a move that always seemed to bring him back in some way, like her touch is some kind of trigger. She catches their reflection together in the mirror and frowns.
Jack raised his sunglasses with his thumb, smirking at the reflection of Holli standing behind him with her hand on his shoulder. “There she is… my blonde… BEAUTY!”
Jack hits the power on the stereo system; spins around and wraps one arm around Holli’s waist. Pulling her in close to him, he brushes her hair back with the tips of his fingers.
“I… God, didn’t even hear you come into the room. Very fuckin’ sneaky, you are,” he says with a huge grin.
She can't help but smile at him, even with things on her mind. "Last time I startled you so... Thought I'd try a new approach." She reached up to remove the glasses completely and placed them on the dresser top, looking at his eyes. Although bloodshot, she could still see his true feelings in their depths, even if he hadn't outright admitted that he was in the same place she was right now. She would do almost anything for him—anything besides letting him leave again.
"You know, I've been thinking," Jack said, still with a firm grip around Holli's waist. "What if... Well, we said, 'Fuck everything'. Pack up and leave. Move to some tropical place. Fuck Radek, fuck Jason, fuck wrestling, and all that shit, you know? Just you and I. Holli and Jack in some tropical shindig?"
She smiled. "I would love nothing more than to spend every last moment with you, but there are other factors. What would we do for money? Where would we live? What about friends? What about my dad? I wish we could just leave everything, but running away from your problems, it just hides them for a while. When you're in trouble, it always manages to find you." She looked away for a second, saying under her breath, "I should know."
She looked back up at him. "Let's not also forget the biggest piece of trouble we have."
She reached over, picking up the almost empty bag between her forefinger and thumb. "I am not going to pressure you, nag you, or give you ultimatums. Because, one, I know they won't do anything, and, two, quitting has to be your idea. I don't know exactly what you're going through, baby, and I won't push, but, you know, I'm not going anywhere. Thick or thin."
She put the bag back on the dresser, noticing that the top was coated with a thin white film. She bit her lip realizing just how much he'd been relying on this substance to numb the pain. She wished there were something she could say to ease his obvious distress.
"I guess... If you look at it that way, it doesn't look so appealing. HA!" Jack continued smiling, trying his hardest to hide his disappointment.
He looked back towards the dresser, at the open baggy Holli had just held. If only she knew the reasons behind the addiction—that when he indulged in drugs and alcohol and painkillers, his mind went blank, the only time he truly felt happiness these days, besides in her presence, but even that wasn't enough at times. She has caused him to have another feeling, a feeling he isn't sure how to handle.
"That," Jack tries to play it off as nothing, not wanting her to worry. "I can give up... anytime, you know. Like the flip of a fuckin' hat."
"Can you?" She gives him a sad smile. She wonders if it was really true. It would only be a matter of time before another drug test was done in Metro. She knew how much he actually loved that sport, that industry even. Legally being able to destroy people gave him a release. "I will help you any way you want Jacky. I know shit is on your mind. I don't want to pressure you, but you know you can talk to me. About anything and I won't judge you. I...."
She stops. She wants to tell him, but there is a fear in her stomach that it will make him run, or that he won't reciprocate it verbally even though she sees it reflecting in his eyes right now, despite how stoned he is. She takes a deep breath and looks him in the eyes. Clenching her fists, she decides it's now or never. "I fucking love you and I'm not going to give up on you. On us. I don't care what people say, even people I consider as friends. They don't know you as I do, yet I know so little about your past. You can trust me."
Her fists are still clenched. She wants to close her eyes, expecting the worst. A blow that would hurt far worse than any blow she'd taken from Jason. But she doesn't. She keeps her eyes focused on his. Her hazel to his steel blue.
He knew how she felt, but the words still hit him like a brick to the side of his temple. He tries to keep eye contact, but it becomes extremely hard as he keeps looking away. He wasn’t sure how to react; the words, they weren’t thrown at him before. All he could think about was sniffing another rail, but he fought the urge.
“I know. I know how you feel; shit, I didn’t think you would be here if you didn’t feel that way, you know. But fuck, Holli… I…”
Don’t say something stupid was all he could think as he tried to find the right words for this moment, but his mind was drawing blanks, besides the worst words you could say in a situation like this.
“I… You mean… fuck… You know… Holli, you mean the fuckin’ world to me, you know. I just… I don’t want ever to let fuckin’ go, and I want you by my side, and… I know I can trust you. Before the other night, I’d never told anybody about Echo. Besides you now.”
She gives him a soft smile, sensing his internal struggle - the fear of admitting his feelings and risk losing her in some way. She reaches up to cup the side of his face. "I know. I know too that you've never had anyone in your life that actually showed they cared without expecting something for it. I didn't expect you to say it back, at least not yet. Maybe part of me hoped, but you didn't exactly have someone telling you how much they wanted you, without some kind of strings. But I want you. Not what you do, not what you provide, just you. As you are. These assholes, Liz...Damian...Carter...Radek... They think it's so easy to deal with shit. They know dick all. And they don't know the real you either."
“But do you really know the real me?” Jack responds.
"Not completely, but I know what you're capable of and... It doesn't bother me. At least... not as much as it should? Or maybe how much it might bother another woman. You told me you killed a man, and for a split second I thought about running, but it faded as quickly as it came up. I don't believe you would do that unless you had a good reason for it. Like when you intended to kill Jason. It was because he hurt me."
She removes her hand and takes the tiniest step back. "But I want to know more Jack."
She takes his hand, noticing that it shakes just a touch and puts it on her chest on the left side near her rapidly beating heart. "Every time I'm with you or think about you my heart starts beating like this. If I had a tail, it would be wagging."
She smirks, "I'm yours. Unconditionally. Nothing short of killing me would make this feeling stop."
“Fuck… Goddamn Holli, you sure know how to make a man… go speechless.” Jack smirks, moving his hand away from her chest and the rhyme of her beating heart. “But shit, I’m not good with this kind of… stuff. Feelings and expressions, and all that shit. I don’t know… what am I supposed to say? You are mine, and I am… yours? Fuck, I made that sound like a question, didn’t I. I didn’t mean for it to be a question, I was trying to say... ah, fuck.”
Jack takes both his hands, running them down along Holli’s back until he finds his hands on her hips. He pulls her in close and lifts her off her feet, so they are now face-to-face instead of him looking down and her looking up.
“You are mine… And shit, I wouldn’t want it, any other fuckin’ way. You… Miss Holland Blue. I think for fuckin’ once, I could say… I--”
The door to his bedroom slammed opened as Oddball came charging in. “JACK! YOU WOULDN’T—“
Oddball stopped when he noticed Holli. He adjusted his hair, fixed his collar and extended his arm as Jack let Holli back down onto her feet.
“HI! I’m Oddball.” He said walking towards Holli.
“DON’T FUCKIN’ TOUCH HER, DON’T FUCKIN’ EVEN COME NEAR HER!”
He chucked her a little hard behind him, standing defensively. She grabbed his arm to keep her balance. "Jack... It's okay."
She peeked around Jack's body to look at her boyfriend's manager. She didn't dare take his hand but, instead, offered a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you, Oddball... I've heard so much about you." She looked up at Jack's face, but his expression was a hard line. She realized at that moment that he would kill for her, and it actually made her heart beat that much faster. It was exciting and dangerous.
“Oh, it’s so nice to finally meet you too. I have pictures of you. Well, I have drawn pictures of you, when you sle… You can call me Mike; some know me as Mike Crazy, by the way. Jack’s friend Dakota cut my bro's ear off, did you know that? Can I feel your skin?” Oddball said, taking another advance.
“Motherfucker.” Jack delivered a quick right, connecting with the bridge of Oddball's nose.
Oddball stumbled back, holding his nose, as Jack threw his hands around Oddball's throat.
“SAVE ME, HOLLI!”
She smirked as she put a soft hand on Jack’s bicep. “Jacky... it’s okay. No harm, okay?”
“Fine.” Jack released Oddball. “What the fuck do you want, Oddball?”
Oddball slowly pulled himself to his feet. He pulled a picture from his back pocket and handed it over to Jack. “Found this *COUGH* by your door; thought you may want to see it.”
He handed the picture over to Jack, and Jack snatched it from his hand. Jack’s eyes went wide as his face turned red. It was a picture of Holli, fast asleep with a circle around her head and an X through it, with the words “Come to the desert” written across it. Jack dropped the picture and went on a rampage in his room, tossing anything he could find in his way. Holli picked up the picture, her brow furrowing in anger and confusion. She stalked up to Oddball, who looked giddy at the prospect of her being so close before she decked him. He stumbled back.
“Who the fuck did this? Was it you? You sick fuck!” She wound up to hit him again as he pulled his hands over his head, blood starting to flow down his upper lip, dripping onto his shirt.
“SAVE ME JACK!” Oddball screams as he cowards into a ball.
Jack stops, wanting to laugh at the sight of Oddball cowering and Holli beating on him. Jack walks over to Holli and places a hand on her shoulder. “No… it wasn’t him. It was fuckin’ Radek.”
She stops and looks up at Jack. “Radek... How did he get in here?” Her face goes from angry to scared in a split second.
“I… shit. I don’t fuckin’ know, but I plan to fuckin’ find out how he took this. He played the wrong fuckin’ game; if he thinks for one fuckin’ second about harming you... that’s a fuckin’ deathwish on his part, you know.” Jack walks to his dresser and opens a drawer pulling a T-shirt out.
“What will you do Jack?” Oddball pipes up, peeking his head up.
“Kill fuckin’ Radek, of course.”
“I’m coming with you.” Holli walks over to the dresser, opening the bottom drawer to show her limited wardrobe she had with her in New York. A single drawer had been all she needed, and Jack had been all too happy to give her. She pulls out a pair of blue jeans and a white cardigan sweater, throwing them on the bed.
“What… NO! I can’t; you can’t.” Jack walks over, closes her drawer and grabs her, turning her to face him. “I cannot put you in fuckin’ harms way. It… there’s just something you can't see, you know. You might not be able to handle what you see. This is not a place you want come and witness.”
“Jack.” She clears her throat, keeping her head high and her eyes looking directly into his. “I’m not as innocent as you think. This....” She points to the picture now on the floor next to Oddball, who seems to guiltily glance at it when he thinks either one of the couple isn’t really looking. “This concerns me just as much as you. I'm pretty sure he set up that encounter last week with Jason in the street and probably since I agreed to come and work with Angel. He’s doing this not only to fuck with you Jack. He’s fucking with me too.” She bites her lip for a second, still gathering her courage. “There are only two things in this world that frighten the shit out of me. One is fire; blame my retired firefighter father for that and the other is losing you again. I’d rather be the Bonnie to your Clyde than to sit around with my thumb up my ass, wondering if you’re okay.” She smirked. “Go down in a hail of bullets, baby.”
“Bonnie and Clyde, eh?” Jack smirked, the thought of Holli and him as the next version of Bonnie and Clyde, turned him on in a strange way. He looked her in the eyes, and he knew, no matter what he said, there was no changing her mind about coming with him. “If you insist on coming, I will not stop you, but know, the road is leading to a fuckin’ dark place, and you may see things that you can’t take back. Death is never a pretty sight, you know. I hope you can fuckin’ handle it ‘cause it can break a person down if they aren’t ready for it.” Jack took his thumb and gently rubbed the side of her cheek. “I will fuckin’ kill that bastard for even thinking of ever trying to hurt you.”
Her eyes took on an almost scary-looking gleam. Her voice went dark. “Good.”
Jack smiled, reaching down and, once again, grabbing her by the hips and lifting her up. "Fuck… I love this side to you.” Jack turned away, looking at Oddball. “Oddball, fuckin’ OUT!”
“But –”
“OUT!” They both yelled at Oddball, who hurried to his feet and exited the room.
