Hush

Jack: Meeting Ace

After getting off the phone with the emergency services Jack turned his attention to Hush, who had been sitting with the other teddies in the dreary lounge. He walked over to the bear and noticed he had found a locket key and tied it around his neck.

'Where'd you find that Hush?' He asked playfully. 'Already adopting the I stole it, it's mine mentality I see?'

Hush looked up at him, quickly hiding the key behind his plush oversized paws. He shook his head as if to deny having had anything at all.

'Okay thug life bear, do you know where it fits?' Jack asked ignoring the denial of his teddy with a jokingly overdramatic roll of his eyes.

Again the bear shook his head, a slight glint of disappointment entered his ruby eyes as his ears drooped slightly.

'That's too bad, perhaps we could look for it. I bet it's in here somewhere.'

Hush allowed himself to look around the room, if it were to be anywhere in here it would be hidden among the bookshelves, or the bottom of a toy trunk. Following his train of thought Jack made his way over to the books and began scanning the shelves, running his hands over the dusty paperbacks above his head, feeling for anything hidden between the books and the space between the next shelf.

'Why did you do it Jack?' Charlotte asked, with her arms folded. She had came in as quiet as a ghost.

Jack looked up from the books, taking note of a few titles he may want to read. 'Do what?' Jack asked, preparing himself for her obvious answer.

'People were saying about how you murdered an officer, I didn't believe them.' She laughed once, 'then you go and attack my brother with a knife.' She shook her head in disbelief, 'you don't belong in an orphanage, you belong on death row.'

Jack stepped away from her, inching closer to Hush who had been sneaking closer to the door, attempting to make an escape with the key while Jack was distracted.

'What is it with you!?' She snapped. 'It's like the lights are on but nobody is home.' She tapped the side of her head emphasizing her you're crazy, insult.

Jack turned then, his eyes locked with hers and he noticed by the way she stumbled back, she felt intimated by his stare. 'Perhaps if the screws in my head are loose, your brother should be the one answering the reason why.' His voice low, he kept his eyes on hers, seeing her fear staring back. He basked in the feeling of power it gave him. A satisfaction, he knew should be shameful.

'You're a bully Jack, someone had to stand up to you.' She folded her arms and Jack heard her swallow hard, forcing herself to stand there instead of running away from him.

The sound of people outside, the arrival of an ambulance flashing blue lights across the room as two medics let themselves into the house to see to Freckles.

'If my brother dies, you won't have it easy here.' She flipped her auburn hair and made for the door, stopping and looking down at Hush.

'Is this yours?' She asked loosing some of her hateful tone.

Jack didn't answer at first, he had grew up with an understanding that it was okay for girls to have teddies, but any boy who had them from age six upwards was usually made fun of, or even turned out to be a bit strange.

'No.' He answered finally, crossing his fingers behind his back in an attempt to protect himself from karma for lying. He needed Hush close by, that much had been clear to him, and there was nothing he could do but watch as Charlotte inspected the beige strangely cute bear, glanced once in his direction and stormed off out the room with it.

He stood watching the closed door, listening as the medics instructed each other out from the orphanage, he looked out the window to see Elliot on a stretcher being placed into the ambulance by two medics. Betty climbed in the back with him and looked directly at Jack with an unreadable expression that made him shudder uncomfortably.