HOUSE OF BROKEN SOULS Part 6
Warnings: This Chapter, none. Overall: Slash, sexually explicit content, graphic violence
The fiction includes a mental illness storyline. I am not qualified in mental health, everything I know about it is googled. It's fantasy folks, please don't shoot me though helpful criticism is always welcomed.
*Not real. It's fantasy. No harm intended. No profit made.
Becoming Emma
Tuesday afternoon
Jo snapped her mouth shut as she watched Jared rush out of the door with Caitlin.
She had been waiting for Jay to order, watching some teenagers at the front of the coffee house argue over girlfriends and internet games. It wasn’t that she was deliberately ignoring Jared and hot-guy but the big guy always took so long to decide and yeah, possibly she was offended that neither of them were paying attention to her. So when Jay had got up and just left in such a hurry she was somewhat surprised.
Hot-guy was still sitting there, staring at the exit.
“What the hell did you do to him?” Jo growled with barely concealed anger in her voice.
He switched his green eyed gaze to the waitress.
“Excuse me?”
“I said WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO YOU, DICK?” Jo snarled.
“I..i..” Jensen stammered as he focused on this new development.
“Is there a problem here Jo?” The older woman stepped confidently to where Jensen was sat.
“No”
“Yes”
They spoke simultaneously.
“He upset Jay, Mom. I mean Jay, he just upped & left. He just doesn’t, wouldn’t ever..”
“Well speak then. Did you?” The older woman was talking to Jensen, demanding an answer. He thought she sounded like his mother when she got pissed off.
“I have no...”
Jensen started to reply but then noticed that this little conflict was drawing attention, he was being given accusatory glares from all directions. He shrunk into himself. Only a year ago he would have coped with this situation with flair and diplomacy. Now all he wanted he was to get away and hide in the safety of his apartment. He hadn’t asked for this, hell it had been Jared who had asked him over. His hand trembled slightly on his stick and his face colored as he got up. He reached in his wallet for cash and slammed notes on the table.
“Here. That should cover my costs and Jay-red’s. I didn’t want to eat in a whorehouse anyhow.”
Jensen felt ridiculous as he attempted to storm off the premises, leaning on his cane. On other occasions he may have laughed at himself but right now he just felt devastated, belittled and confused.
“...and don’t bring your ass back here.” Ellen called after him, swinging a tea towel in her hand.
****
Jared helped Jane find her key, unlocked the door and went in with her. Her hands reached around his neck and pulled him into her lips. She was soft and hesitant, but he knew she was faking. He allowed himself to be kissed, walking her backwards into the small safe-room, stroking her back with one hand while the other unbuttoned her coat and threw it to the floor. He lifted her arms to strip her of her sweater. Her T-shirt was long-sleeved. He groaned. He should have guessed.
There was probably some rule about this. Boundaries. He just couldn’t think of a viable alternative. He was going to hell.
“You’re such a good girl Jane but I think you wanna do something bad”
“Mmm, yeah. With you I wanna be bad”
“Take off your top.”
She hesitated slightly then removed it slowly, teasing him.
She gave a nervous giggle as she looked up at the guy for his approval. He was huge, strong. She didn’t want to break up this scenario but it felt wrong. She didn’t recognize anything, This wasn’t her apartment. Her room was small, damp and dark, in the wrong end of town. She’d found the key in her purse which probably meant that this was one of Alec’s little ‘places’. Alec’s little places were reserved for his ‘special’ clients and had some very ‘special’ features. She bit down on her lip as it started to tremble.
Then he was holding her, gripping her arms gently, bending to look directly into her tear filled eyes.
“Jane. It’s OK. It’s me Jared. Is Caitlin there? Can you find Caitlin for me Hun?”
“You, you want someone else?”
She was dizzy, losing her grip, Alec was going to be so angry and there was a sharp pain in her head.
Emma came from nowhere, barreling into Jared, flinging her fist into his gut. Jared doubled slightly as she continued her assault. He reached into his pocket grabbing one of the syringes. He held her at bay with one hand, biting the cover off with his mouth. She was screaming obscenities at him as he plunged the needle into the bare upper arm. He grabbed her tight, circling strong arms around her and lifted her bodily, dropping her down onto the cot bed. His eyes watered as her knee connected violently with his crotch but he continued pressing her arms outwards on the bed, pressing gently with his weight, kneeling over her.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Fuck you! Bastard! I will cut you. Cut your pretty dick off.”
“Emma. You know that no-one is going to speak to you if you can’t be polite. I’d like to speak to Caitlin now.”
Emma’s right wrist was already fixed to the cot with the soft hospital strap and Jared was struggling with her left hand. Her movements were quietening as the sedative started to take hold.
“Caitlin’s a pathetic bitch. I should cut her up too.”
Jared snapped his head up, suddenly attentive to Emma’s words.
“Cut her up too. As well as who? Emma?”
She just sneered
Her kicks were uncoordinated as he fixed her legs to the bed.
“Well go on then. Do your worst. You’re a kinky son of a bitch aren’t you? When I get out of this I will kill you.”
Jared released his weight and stood over her. He ran his fingers through his hair and stared down at Emma sadly. He was so tired of all this. He grabbed soft fleecy blankets at the base of the cot and arranged them over her prostate form.
“Not gonna hurt you. Go to sleep Emma. If you decide to be civil, I’ll be here.”Angry eyes sparked at him as Jared padded out of the room. He looked back briefly, his shoulders slumped, eyes dull.
Jared blanked out the gently decreasing curses and took a soda from Caitlin’s fridge. He wedged himself on the sofa, put his feet on the coffee table and searched down the side of the cushions for the TV remote control. He’d wait it out. He always did.
He’d been his mother’s nursemaid, his father’s punchbag, his brother’s keeper and now this. He didn’t even know what this was. Penance? Punishment? And Jared felt awful, so terribly guilty for feeling like this. She had been his brother’s last wish. A part of his last will and testament, but yeah Jeff had been crazy and it could never have been binding or legal except for the fact that Doctor Carver had given Jared that long hopeful stare with a shrug.
“You know you have the experience, capabilities and resources to be a legal guardian for a vulnerable adult. You’re Jeff’s brother, you’ve always coped with him. You and Jeff are the only people I’ve seen her trust and right now, without Jeff, she’s hurting real bad Jay. She can’t stay here forever, we’re not a charity. She’ll be returned to a State Unit and with their approach and her record..”
The doc had let it hang there. There had been home checks, risk assessments and references and within a short time Jared had found himself solely responsible for Caitlin. There had been get-outs. He had always been given the option to back out, give up, have Caitlin readmitted. Even today Doctor Carver had taken Jared to one side after the session and advised that it had been a rough one. He had warned her guardian of the likely after effects and asked Jared to consider having her committed for a short period. He’d looked at Jared knowingly and asked about his health and personal life. Jared had taken the prepared sedatives from the doctor’s hand, tucked them into his pockets, thanked him and brought Caitlin home.
He groaned. He was destined to be single forever. There were some who would find a man with children, sweet and attractive. Trying to explain Caitlin was a lot harder, not that he’d ever got the opportunity to try until today and look how that turned out. The guy had been hot and Jared had let himself believe that just for once, for a short time he might be able to have something for himself. He didn’t expect anyone to stay. Chris had stayed longer than anyone could be expected to and when he left he had been more than direct in pointing out Jared’s flaws.
Jared huffed quietly and listened. He heard soft snuffling, she never quite snored. She was asleep. His long fingers perched ready to turn the television on. It was unlikely to be thrilling TV, an episode of Gilmore Girls or Days of our Lives was the usual level of excitement in early evening but it would be company. Later on he would bring Harley and Sadie up, but not yet.
Jared never got as far as turning on the TV. He squinted around the room before realising the screen was covered with a towel. The tall man recalled the day’s conversations. He remembered being asked to remove the TV, but there had been something else too. He picked up his mobile, scrolled through his contacts and dialed the one labelled Steve, Safety Services.
“Hey Steve!”
“Yeah, how’s it going man?”
“I got a query for you. The pre-renovation report you did on my building.”
“Uh-huh, Madison Mansions.”
“No, no there’s no problems. I guess it’s more personal curiosity on my part.”
“You tested the plaster, right. I mean is that common? How many people would know about those hazards in old plaster?”
“No. I mean I didn’t till it turned up on the report”
“God, No. It’s good. No, no reason to query the results but erm is it you who does that stuff? Is it a safety officer thing?”
“You sub-contract it? Oh. OK. Look man I’m not going to cut you out as middleman or anything but what sort of company does the specialized dust and chemicals work for you?”
“No, no. I’m not looking to go into business. I’ve just got this friend who’s interested in that line of work. Thought I’d find out what sort of qualifications they’d need, what opportunities there are.”
“Oh man, that’s great AIHA and OSHA are the main certification bodies for this? Can you repeat the site again? Yeah.”
“Thanks Steve. I owe you one. We should get out for drinks some time soon.”
“No, God. No! I’m not hitting on you. Do you want me to hit on you? ‘cos if you’re not straight dude, you’d still have to woo me.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you next week.” Jared laughed as he hung up. It was something. The smallest suggestion of a lead and far more than Jared had found in several months of looking.
****
Continue to part 7 here: anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com/3223.html
*http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/research/glossary/plaster.html info on animal hair in plaster in relation to anthrax spores - this really is rare & a low risk so don't panic if you've got old plaster!