The Attainment of Evangeline

Chapter 33

True to what Gibbs and the men had told Evangeline, Jack woke the next morning as if all was well with the world, although he was a bit hung over. It pained her to see him in any context after what happened between them in his cabin, and the pain she had seen in his eyes. She spent most of her time below deck, in the hold, in her little space, sitting up against the wall whilst thinking. The same questions whirled around in her mind; what was she supposed to do now? How would she react around him after their encounter? What was she to do now that she understood Jack's plan to bring back Annie? Would she actually stand by his side and assist him with said plan? The questions haunted her nightly and she could not give a definitive answer to any of them. If Jack noticed that something was wrong, he didn't show or acknowledge it.

Reliving the moment over and over again in her mind did not help matters, but it played on a never ending loop as if she were in the room watching it all unfold. She saw Jack lift her hand to his lips, enveloping her knuckle with a kiss as she closed her eyes, only aware of the placement of Jack's mouth. She would then watch as he rolled her sleeve up and generously kissed his way to her collarbone. Remembering how she felt in that moment made things even more difficult to handle. Her whole body had been blazing with life and every inch of her was sensitive to Jack's light touches and grazes. Needless to say, it was simply torture for her to know that not one single touch was meant for her.

Days went by without a single interaction between the two and Evangeline began to notice that Jack became increasingly curious as to why she was ignoring him. When and if he struck up a conversation, she hardly participated, giving him one worded answers. She knew he didn't understand the way she was acting; he couldn't remember what had transpired, and even if he did, Jack would have never hurt her on purpose. She knew she was being unfair to Jack; only, she wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation. She was helpless.

Evangeline, to get her mind off Jack, was peeling potatoes in the galley for supper. She found that this task was relaxing and time consuming, and she knew the cook could use the help. After losing count somewhere around twelve potatoes, she began to realize how much the crew ate, or rather, how much men ate. She shook her head at the thought, some of the men where thinner than her, yet they consumed enough food to feed a small elephant. Giggling at the thought of elephants parading all over the Pearl and stuffing their mouths with a never ending supply of potatoes she painstakingly peeled, she suddenly realized Jack was sitting across from her, smiling.

Gasping in surprise, her knife slipped against the wet surface of the freshly peeled vegetable and sliced deep into the flesh just below her thumb. The knife and potato clattered to the ground as she cried out and clutched her hand, blood seeping through her fingers. It had happened so quickly, it took a moment for either of them to try and stop the oozing blood.

"Shit," Jack cursed, tearing a piece of his sash that Geline had once washed for him.

Cloth in hand, Jack reached out and grasped her bloody hand, wrapping it. The makeshift bandage was soaked red in a matter of seconds.

"Y'alright?" he asked, applying pressure to the cut. "Damn it, I didn't mean to spook ya."

"It's alright," she whispered, although her entire hand was searing with pain.

Jack lifted the cloth and took a peek at the damage, grimacing and mumbling something incoherent.

"Bugger. Here, keep applyin' pressure to this," he ordered. "I'll be right quick, luv. Just keep pressure on it."

She obeyed, sucking in air through her clenched teeth as Jack scurried away. The blood on her other hand was sticky and warm and she thought she might faint. Or vomit. The sight of her own blood caused her to be queasy; it was similar to an out of body experience, seeing blood, her blood, spill from her veins. For some strange reason, she could deal with the blood of others. It was nonsense, really. Evangeline felt light headed, dizzy, and slightly distant. A fuzzy image of Jack came to view, a worried expression on his face.