꧁𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜, 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜꧂ 𝚊 𝚓𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌

Chapter 34 ~ Euphoria

                               
                                • • •

Jack grabs my hand as we scramble back until our backs are against the wall. I begin to breath harder at the confrontation, remembering what my mother had said about him.

He looked awful. His eyes were bloodshot and he has dark circles below them. His now grey hair is a mess going every which way. His facial hair is scruffy and uneven. His clothes look dirty, full of holes and stains. He wears a white tank top and an unbuttoned dark blue shirt with faded tan shorts. The way his shorts look I can't tell if their faded because it's the style, or if it's because they're so old. I think I'll go with old.

I don't remember him looking scary or ever being frightened by him. My mom must have protected me well because now I'm scared as shit.

I grip Jacks hand tighter as Cory approaches us, breathing heavily. He walks with a slight stumble. Maybe he's drunk? How convenient.

"Hey, hey... why you scootin' away, huh?" He asks staring at me with a sad look in his eyes. "I thought you wanted to see me. I— I mean I've missed you so much, kid, and I figur'd you'd missed me too, ya know?"

When I don't answer he continues, "oh I see, you're just surprised. I-I know, I know you haven't seen me in a while but... I'm back now!" He laughs as if I'd be thrilled.

When I still don't answer his demeanor begins to change, "W-w-w-what, are you scared? Are you scared? Is that what it is? You got no reason to be scared, kid, I ain't gonna hurt you or your boy here..." He stops, seeing the fear in my eyes. "Stop looking at me like that damn it!"

He begins pacing around the room glancing at me every few strides.

"You already did," I speak up finally, although my voice comes out much more timidly than I meant it to be.

He stops. "Did what? What did I do, kid?"

"Hurt me." I say louder, trying to sound more confident. My free hand goes up to my head where he had struck me to knock me out earlier.

He watches my movements, growing more and more angry. "I-I-I did not hurt you." He says, in denial, as he begins pacing again. "No, no, no I didn't hurt you," he says more to himself than to me.

"Yes you di—"

"NO, NO, no, no I didn't. Nooo, nooo I didn't hurt you." He starts talking more to himself again, "You— you wouldn't have come inside if I didn't bring you in. Yeahh, you just needed some help coming in." He turns to look at me. "You just needed me to help you come inside." States matter of factly.

Yeahhh, okay Mr. Kidnapper.

"What are you on?" Jack spits angrily as he pulls me closer to him.

I've never been so grateful for him like I am right now. And that's saying a lot. The mental and physical support he's giving me... is amazing.

"I AIN'T ON SHIT!" Cory yells at him, making me flinch. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! 'What you on'" he shakes his head. "Shut the HELL up." He says walking up to us angrily.

"We're sorry," I squeak, my voice shaking. "He didn't mean it, we're sorry, okay, we're sorry."

Cory stops for a moment as if deciding what he should believe. "You should be." He spits at me. His tone suggests that I should be sorry about more than just what had Jack said. I wait for him to continue, too frightened to speak at the moment. "You—" he points a finger at me accusingly. "You should be so sorry." He says growing angrier by the second. "YOU are the reason your mother left me. YOU are the reason she won't forgive me. YOU are the reason I got into this mess, hell, you're probably the reason I LOST MY FUCKING JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE." He stops, taking a breath as if calming himself.