In Sunshine or In Shadow ✔ [Completed]

Chapter 20.2 - Jenna

Jenna Foster was lying in the hospital bed. She was sporting a black eye and a couple more bruises marred her arms and wrist but on the surface she was relatively unscathed. But Riddhima knew that look on her face very well: she'd lived with it.

"Hello Jenna," Riddhima said smiling softly, "I'm Agent Riddhima Mehra. I wanted you to know that we called your mother, she should be here soon."

"You called my mom?" Jenna repeated, her voice was wooden and dead, "what did you tell her?"

"Not much," she admitted, "that you were safe and where you were." Jenna leaned back on the bed, clearly relieved. Vansh was right, she was trying to deny what had happened. Riddhima was at a loss at what to say for a moment. How could she broach this subject? There hadn't been a good way to do it when she had been the one lying in that bed.

"Jenna," she began carefully, "we need to talk about what happened."

Jenna met Riddhima's eyes, they were cold and sullen. "Chris is dead."

"Yes he is," Riddhima said. This was horrible, to be raped by the same man who killed her boyfriend, it was awful. "Can you tell me about the man who killed him?"

"I didn't recognize him," Jenna replied.

"Did you get a good look at him?" Jenna nodded, well that was a start. "You saw him kill Chris…and then he took you?"

"He put me in his truck and drove off," Jenna explained.

"Where did he take you?"

"Some cabin."

Jenna looked away and Riddhima noticed that she was beginning to shake. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She knew without a doubt what she was reliving. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing," Jenna stated firmly.

"Jenna—."

"He didn't do anything," she repeated, "I escaped, the other guys found me, that's it." She met Riddhima's eyes again, "No offense, because you seem nice and all, but you can leave along with the other cops."

She didn't. "Jenna," Riddhima said slowly, "I want you to know that there is no shame in what happened to you. It wasn't your fault, what happened to Chris…what this man did to you, none of it was your fault." She took a step closer to the bed. "But if we are going to have a good chance at catching this guy, we need your help."

Jenna cut her off. "You want me to tell you what happened, to let them pick me over like trash. No. I won't do that, I won't let them do that to me."

"Jenna, please—."

"I said no."

Riddhima was floundering a little now, which is why she said the oldest line in the handbook. "Jenna, I understand how you feel, but being honest is really the best thing to do."

And just like her, Jenna responded to that line badly. "You understand? What do you mean you understand? You're a cop! You don't get anything. You just say crap like that because that is your job, that's all we are to you, just another part of your work. Do me a favor and leave, I don't want to hear any dumb lies."

Jenna pointedly looked away and Riddhima was at a complete loss for words. She remembered being this woman, saying almost the exact same thing. She had hated it too. The cliché lines that everyone said but didn't really mean. Sure, they wanted it to be the truth but it wasn't, none of them knew the horrors she saw whenever she closed her eyes.

Riddhima felt that hopelessness now. She knew what it was like to be lying in that bed and how empty words were no help. Slowly she began to walk towards the door to fulfill Jenna's request.