Freak is an Ugly Word

Fall turned to winter and still Jessica was not accustomed to her new life. It was now Christmas Eve and snow covered the ground of the city. Large white flakes elegantly fell from the sky in a sea of white on the ground that was already covered in their cold brethren. She watched them as they glided down from the grey sky from the large window in her living room. When the wind would pick up some would float back upwards and dance with each other. Where ever one landed on the window it would fog until the tiny object melted.
The scuttled of tiny nails hitting the hardwood floor met Jessica’s ears and she turned around with a smile on her face. Prancing up to her was the four month old Akita puppy Greg had gotten her to keep her company while he was at work, not that he needed to work. The puppy was an adorable little thing. His chest had a strip of white, coming all the way up to his chin surrounded by the brownish tan that covered most of his body. White covered all four of his paws giving him the appearance of wearing socks. The tip of his tail that curved over was white as well. The insides of his ears were a charcoal black as well as his snout. His ears lay off to the side making it appear as if his ears were too heavy for his body. Clumsy was his walk and showed his excitement at finding his master along with the adoration in his brown eyes.
Musket she had named him. It had been the first word to pop in her mind when Greg had first asked her what she wanted to name him. She did not know why, but the word had randomly popped into her mind. After it had appeared, nothing else came to her. So, Musket he was and it was too late to change it for he already happily responded to it.
Once he reached her, Musket’s soft velvety tongue started to lap at her bare feet. Jessica giggled and bending over, scooped the little pup into her arms. In her arms the small dog struggled to lick her lips but settled with her chin when she held him at bay. Greg often complained that she was spoiling the dog by always picking him up or letting sleep in her lap. Many times he tried to explain to her that he was going to be too big to be a lap dog. She responded by saying Musket would then be the biggest lap dog in Gotham. This earned a roll of the eyes from the man.
Looking to the old grandfather clock that sat as tall as her in the far left corner of the room, she sighed heavily. It was almost eight o’ clock in the morning. Greg’s mother was due to come at ten and stay overnight with them for Christmas the next day. Two hours would seem like ample time to get ready, except the fact that it always took Greg at least an hour to drag him out of bed and then another hour to take a shower and get dressed. It took Jessica a maximum of half an hour to accomplish her morning routine. Five years of practice of getting dressed quickly really helped out.
She set Musket down on the floor and he wagged his tail peering up at her. “Musket,” she called quietly placing her hands upon her knees. “It’s time to wake up Greg!” The little pup’s ears perked up at hearing the man’s name and his tail moved back and forth in a fury. “Let’s go get Greg, Musket!”
Before she removed her hands from her knees the little puppy took off as fast as he could. As he ran he appeared to be nothing more than an orange blur. A smile crossed her face when she stood fully erect as she heard the scrapping of his nails on the wooden stairs. Greg had told her once that he almost regretted getting the dog just for that fact that he kept scratching the hardwood floors as he ran. He had decided against having carpet installed for Musket already liked to pee on the only rug in the master bathroom they shared. Jessica had washed the thing so many times it was already faded from bright blue to a gray hue.
Training a puppy had been harder than Jessica had ever imagined. Never before had she ever owned a pet. They were never allowed in her father’s house and when she was forced to live on her own she never had enough money to care for herself let alone another living creature. Even after Croc had moved in they still did not accumulate enough money to own a pet.
Having always wanted a pet she had been extremely ecstatic when Greg had handed her the little Akita. It had been difficult at first to get used to him, but now, she could not imagine not having Musket. Not only was she no longer lonely while Greg was at work, but having something to take care of had taught her patience. Something, she decided, that she had needed to learn. Having patience had taught her to control her anger, something she, more than most, needed to do.
A light skip in her step, Jessica headed up the stairs and into the bedroom she shared with Greg. Though Musket was lapping away at his face Greg was still fast asleep. Jessica was jealous of his ability to stay asleep. Once she was up, she was up. No matter where Greg was, he could find a way to fall asleep and stay asleep until forcefully awakened. He, also, had the ability to almost instantly fall asleep where as it took her normally an hour to finally fall asleep.
At spotting the man still past out, an evil smirk appeared on her face. As quiet as a mouse she crept to the side of the bed that he was sleeping on. Before she could carry out her evil plan, Greg grabbed her and yanked her onto the bed next to him. This sent Musket into a series of excited yips.
Jessica pouted and Greg laughed at her. “How long have you been up?” she asked him still pouting at the fact that she did not get to rudely awake him.
“For about an hour,” he replied. “I’ve been waiting for you to come up. What took you so long?”
“I was watching the snow fall. It’s so pretty. I wanted to go outside but it’s too cold.”
Rolling over to lean on her right elbow Jessica gazed down at the perfect man before her. The perfect face mixed with his toned but not overly muscular body made him seem more like a dream than reality to Jessica. The only flaw that he had that made him real was the large series of scars that cut across his chest down to his stomach. He had earned them in a bar fight against his best friend after he had found out that Michelle had been cheating on him with the other male. Rage had taken over both men and a fight had ensued. A broken beer bottle was the weapon used to earn him those.
Greg was very self conscious about them and they had been the reasoning behind him not wanting her to turn around the first time they had made love. The first time she had seen them was due to the fact that she had walked in on his while he was changing. He had tried to quickly cover them but she had stopped him. It was only after that she told him her take on scars that he had relaxed, though not much. He still tried to hide them as much as possible. She practically had to force him to go shirtless at night.
“Maybe later we’ll get you bundled up and play in the snow together with little Musket over there,” he stated pointing at the still yapping dog. The little pup was ecstatic and wanted to play. His owners ignoring him were making it all the worse on him.
“You know we can’t do that,” she chided him. “You’re mother is going to stay with us for Christmas. She’ll be here in a couple of hours.” Greg groaned. “No complaining! You’re the one that invited her to stay, remember?” Of course he remembered that mistake, the biggest one he had made since joining Joker. “Now, get up and get ready,” Jessica commanded playfully. “After you’re done, you can help me pick out something to wear.”
Greg gazed down at what Jessica was wearing. A pair of black short shorts that she sometimes wore to bed covered her bottom. Her top was covered by a matching tank top shirt. “What’s wrong with what you got on?”
Rolling her eyes, Jessica playfully slapped his chest. “I don’t think this is proper attire for me to be wearing to meet your mother.” Greg had gotten her a word of the day calendar and she had been religiously using them along with consuming every book that he bought her. She had forgotten how much she had loved to read when she was younger. After picking up the first book he had bought her a memory of her failing school because she read too much had crossed her mind. Reading had been her way of getting away from reality until it had bit her on the ass and took the only thing she had enjoyed away from her. It gladdened her that she could once again enjoy her favorite pastime.
“Ugh, fine! I’m getting up.”
Jessica sat up on the bed with a smile on her face. After five minutes it turned into a frown. “You’re not getting up,” she stated dully.
“You’re right, I’m not.” He gazed at her and pouted. “I don’t want to get up. The bed is so nice and warm and comfy. I just can’t bring myself to leave it.” Musket had finally stopped his yapping, laid down, and went to sleep. All the excitement had worn him out. Greg pointed at the pup. “See! Even Musket agrees with me. Maybe you should lie down, too. You’ll like it, I promise.”
With her arms crossed over her chest, Jessica sat on the bed and glared down at Greg. He still made no attempt to get out of the bed. That fact started to annoy her. “Greg,” she complained in the whiniest tone that she could muster, “you have to get up. Don’t leave me to take care of your mother by myself. I won’t know what to do.”
Taking in her pleading eyes, Greg decided it best that he got up. He was a sucker when it came to her begging. Those eyes of her could get him to do almost anything at the first hint of pleading. “Alright, I’m getting up.” He sat up and brought his hand to her face, running his thumb across her lower lip. “Would you like to join me in the shower?”
A small smile played on her lips. “Of course.”
Leaning forward, he was about to capture her lips with his, but a knock came loudly from the front door. Musket stood up and started up his high pitch bark. He shot off of the bed and down the stairs. They could hear him the entire time barking and nails clicking against the wooden floors. “Stay here,” commanded Greg. “I’ll go see who it is and chase them off.” Jessica responded by lying on her back, arms under the pillow, and gazing up at him. “You’re such a tease,” he whispered leaning forward.
“I’m not doing anything,” she responded innocently. “I’m just laying here.” The act of innocence would have worked if her back had not been slightly arched and a mischievous smirk on her face.
Another loud series of knocks came from the door and Greg growled. He stood up from the bed and headed downstairs in nothing but his blue pajama pants. He loved the color blue. It was the color that the master bedroom was mainly decorated in. Blue covers lay beneath Jessica on top of the bed along with a light shade of blue as the sheets and pillowcases. The curtains that covered the many windows of the room were also some shade of blue. The bed headboard and the dresser were black in color while the nightstands were glass and had metal stands. Blue, black and silver were his colors of choice.
Jessica had allowed him to decorate not only the bedroom but every room in the house. Having only lived in a small crummy apartment with secondhand stuff, she did not have the ability to decorate anything with style. She had even allowed Greg to pick out her wardrobe. The clothes were nice so she did not mind not having an input in them. What she would have picked out would have been far less classy and closer to what her old profession had required her to wear.
Greg stomped down the steps and to the front door, where Musket was barking with his nose buried in the crack of the door trying to sniff out whoever was at the door. Shooing the small dog out of the way gently with his foot, he flung open the door and came face to face with the perpetrator. “Mother!” He was in shock. She was early. She had never been early before. “You’re early.”
Olivia pushed past him and into the house with James in tow, heavy laden with her luggage. Though she was only staying one night, she had seemingly brought her entire closet with her. It always seemed that she had to take everything with her when she went anywhere. Greg felt sorry for James having to lug around the woman’s luggage. He was an older gentlemen and it must be starting to become hard for him though James never seemed to complain. It was his job after all.
“I had to come early,” responded Olivia. “I just knew you couldn’t wait another moment to see me.” James and Greg rolled their eyes simultaneously. The woman was truly the center of her own little universe. Her vanity had been the main reason why Greg was reluctant to invite her to stay. Unfortunately Jessica had talked him into doing the horrid deed; she could be quite persistent when she wanted to be.
Shutting the door against the cold that was seeping through, Greg gave his mother a short tour of the house. He only showed her around the bottom floor and explained that she would be staying in the guest room next to the living room. Olivia was absolutely horrified at how small the room was, but would stay in it none the less for she had no other choice as Greg told her. There was another much larger room next to the master bedroom but he was not about to let his mother be that close to him. Not only did she have a problem with knocking but eavesdropping as well. James, he explained, would be in the room next to her so he could be at her beck and call every minute that she was there. James looked highly annoyed at the prospect, but Olivia was positively delighted.
With his mother distracted Greg took the opportunity to run upstairs. The scuttle of Musket’s little paws followed closely behind him. When he entered his room, he shut the door so quickly Musket hardly had time to squeeze in.
“Who was it?” Jessica asked now sitting on the bed staring at him. Her attention was diverted to the small pup when he jumped on the bed and placed himself in the center of her lap. She scratched him behind the ears and Musket’s eyes closed enjoying the sensation. A heavy sigh coming from the man caused her to gaze up at him. He was leaning against the door his eyes closed.
“It’s my mother,” he finally answered.
Jessica’s eyes widened in shock. “What?!” Setting the pup off of her lap she climbed off of the bed and went to him. “But she’s not supposed to be here for a couple of hours! Why is she here so early?!”
“It doesn’t matter. She’s here and has already made herself at home. She’s setting up her room now. The first thing she did when she saw it was complain about how small it was.”
“Small?!” Jessica shouted incredulously. “That room’s the same size my apartment was!” Throwing her arms into the air, Jessica made her way to the closest and the search for the perfect outfit ensued.
Walking over to her Greg stopped her expedition by wrapping his arms around her waist. “Don’t even bother. No matter what you wear it won’t be good enough for her. It never is. It’s only good enough if it’s hers. She’s a very vain person.”
“I can at least try.”
“It’ll only end up in disappointment and I don’t want to see you hurt again. My sister did enough damage. I don’t want to see that same look in your eyes again. What I do want to see,” he started turning so that they faced the bed, “is you in that bed underneath me naked.”
Jessica turned a bright shade of red. “But your mother is here,” she whispered as if the woman could hear them.
“So. She’ll be busy in that room for hours trying to make it to her liking. Just enough time for me to do all the things I want to do to you.”
By her waist he lifted her off of the floor and she squealed in delight. He walked to the edge of the bed and tossed her onto it. When her weight fell onto the bed, Musket bounced up and fell back down landing on his back. He stood on all fours seemingly glaring at the two, and then lay back down and went to sleep once again.
Jessica giggled as Greg climbed on top of her. The giggle turned into a moan when he nipped lightly as her neck. He flattened himself on her and tangled his fingers in her hair. Long sharp nails dug into the flesh of his back when his jaw tightened, turning the nip into a bite.
“Gregory,” Olivia called as she barged into the room. “What is…” She never finished the rest of the question for she had looked up and spotted the pair on the bed. “Oh, sleeping with the help now?”
Untangling himself from Jessica, Greg stood up his jaw taut with anger. “She’s not the help, Mother,” he informed her. “This is Jessica, the woman I told you about.”
“Oh,” Olivia exclaimed. Greg sighed in relief, but it was short lived. The next thing that came out of his mother’s mouth as she looked onto the younger woman was just plain insulting. “You mean the whore your sister was telling me about?”
Balling his hands into fist Greg was ready to retort but Jessica beat him to it. “I’m not a whore. Well, not anymore at least. I have your son to thank for that.” Her voice was cool with no hint of anger in it though he was sure that she had to be feeling some of the emotion.
Jutting her chin out, Olivia raised her nose in the air and inhaled sharply obviously upset about the fact that Jessica did not lose her cool. “And I’m sure you have thanked him vigorously in the only way a whore can. Now, you can leave and go about your business. I don’t need a whore to ruin my image.”
Standing up, Jessica placed a sweet smile on her face, though her words were anything but. “I’m not going anywhere, Mrs. Johnson. I care a lot about Greg and don’t plan on leaving him. If you don’t like it, well then you can suck it.” Olivia’s mouth was agape in shock. The expression on Greg’s face was the same. Never did he expect her to say such a thing. He was gladdened that she finally found the ability to stand up for herself. She had come a long way from the too skinny and timid whore from the Narrows. “I could give a shit less what you think.”
“How dare you talk to me in such a way? You’re nothing but a piece of filth. Trash. Lower than a piece of shit on my boot heel!”
“I’m a piece of filth?” inquired Jessica pointing to herself. “Why, because I’m not rich like you?” Jessica shook her head. “I’ve got a newsflash for you, honey. We’re all the same on the inside. The rich have needs just like the poorest of us. In my five years of being a whore I have seen many things. The most common was rich men, like you, coming into the Narrows and spending their money on the whores that walk the streets. Most of them have come back begging for the women the give them something their rich snobby wives couldn’t. A man left his wife for a piece of filth, as you so elegantly put it. She’s now living with him and they couldn’t be happier. They even got married and had a couple of kids together.
“I witnessed one of the richest men in Gotham on his knees begging my friend Selina to marry him. And you know what, she refused him. Refused him because she didn’t love him. How does it make you feel to know that lowly garbage refused to marry someone just because she was rich? What does that make her? What does that make you, hmm?
“I know all about your kind. The kind of woman that just marries a man for his money. I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in the way that you hold yourself up. Like you’re the queen of the world just because you have money. See, to us whores,” she put much emphasis in the word, “you’re trash. You’re the filth. You’re the one lower than a piece of shit on the bottom of our knee high stiletto boot heels.”
After her long speech, Jessica felt a mix of freedom and joy. Finally being able to tell someone the true feeling she had felt being a prostitute that was not fear was a heavy weight off of her chest. It left her feeling much lighter. But calling Greg’s mother a piece of trash was not exactly what she had planned to do. Anger had taken over and the words had just tumbled out of her mouth. The brain mouth filter that she had used religiously had turned dirty and no longer worked correctly. Sooner or later she was going to have to clean it out. Deep down, she did not want to.
Now, with the ability to speak her mind, she felt like a free woman. She felt as if she could accomplish anything. Greg’s mother was a woman that she had just met and already she had shared harsh words with her. Imagining what it would be like to say such things to the people who had hurt her brought a smile to her face. Sadly she would never be able to tell them off for the fact that she was afraid that they might force her back into the life she had left behind her. That was the last thing that she wanted for herself.
Not being able to come up with a retort, Olivia just stared at the younger woman mouth opened in a large gaping hole. A smile cracked Greg’s face. Jessica, of all people, had been the first ever to tell his mother off. All the other women and men in his life had just taken what she had thrown at them and cried about it later. But not Jessica. Oh no, not her. She had taken a stand against the woman. Not only had she taken a stand, but she had pushed back and hard. It had left the woman at a lost for words, a first.
Olivia Johnson always had something to say. It was just the type of woman that she was. Only her opinion mattered and she was going to make damn sure that everyone knew where she stood. She had just met her first challenge. Her first roadblock and it was in the form of a young woman that barely came up to her nose and weighed as much as a medium sized dog. Musket would weigh more than her when he grew into adulthood.
That was slowly changing. Little by little, Jessica was gaining weight. Already her once visible ribs were disappearing as meat started to cover them. Her hips no longer protruded from her body and her spine was hidden behind the flesh as they should be. Even her breast had grown in size as she slowly became healthy. Once, she had complained about the weight gain, but Greg had quickly put her in her place. He had to explain that she was not getting fat but getting healthy. The size she had been was dangerous and could kill her. That prompted her to eat even more. Now, she had a healthy appetite and could stomach more than one meal a day.
Being with Greg was definitely in Jessica’s benefit, and she would openly admit it. It was not just his position with money, but he himself. Never did he hit hurt. He always made sure that she ate, even came home from his work at the hospital, he was a nurse, just to make sure that she consumed a meal. The best thing about him was that he made her happy. It seemed to be his main goal to keep a smile on her face. With him she had smiled more in a day than the entire five years that had passed.
What she deemed was his best quality was that she was not afraid of him. Not afraid to make a mistake and feel some sort of repercussion. Sure she still flinched just about every time that he raised his hand to touch her face, but that was not of his doing. A battered woman would always keep the fear of being hit no matter how gentle the new man was. It was incorporated into their brain. To them, there was always a chance of a man hitting them. Always a chance that they would upset him enough to cause him to strike her. Years of abuse left an imprint in their brain and body that pain would forever be there and come.
At first, it had upset Greg that she feared that he would hit hurt. He would never do such a thing. Even the thought was uncanny to him. He had hurt people in the past, many times, but he would not hurt her. She had been hurt too many times before and deserved to be shown that not everyone was out there to offer her only pain. He had promised that he was going to take care of her and he never broke a promise yet. It was his intention never to do so.
Still in shock, Olivia leaves the doorway and travels to her room. It was coming hard for her to think of words let alone speak them. Even when James inquired persistently of what had transpired she could not think of what to say. Nothing formed in her head and she could not comprehend a thing. Never before had someone had the audacity to say such things to her face so bluntly. Jessica was nothing but trash lining the gutters of the streets. A fleck of dirt at the bottom of her shoe. Or so she had thought. Never again would she think that of the young woman. Jessica had proved to the woman that she was worth more than what society had proclaimed her to be. She had her own mind and the mouth to speak it.
Olivia huffed knowing that Stephen was rolling in his grave in laughter an “I told you so,” playing on his rotting lips, smiling with his aged yellow teeth. He had always told her that one day she would meet her match, and that she had. When she had first looked upon the girl she had saw nothing but weakness. From her small stature to the blush on her face there was nothing of strength in them. Her timid appearance had made Olivia felt empowered and the older woman had opened her mouth before she had taken the girl fully in.
If only she had paid more attention to those eyes. Grey eyes the color of a stormy sky burning with the intensity of the hidden sun. Those eyes, her fiercest feature, had glared at her with such intensity Olivia had felt the heat radiating off of them as if she were near a forest fire. They had made her heart beat hard against her chest in a fear that she had never experience before. She feared if she had stood there any longer they would have consumed her in their fiery depths. It had not been her lack of speech or shock that had chased her away but those fearsome eyes.
Eyes were mirrors to the soul and she had gazed long into those gray pools. There was something hidden deep within them. A madness that had just barely touched the surface, rippling them. That madness that lurked beneath the surface would be the death to many. Olivia felt that deep in her very bones. Rage was the key to unleashing that madness. Mind consuming rage. As long as the girl was happy, all would be right in the world.
It was best that Greg stayed with the girl. He made her undoubtedly happy. Greg had always had the ability to calm people. His soothing voice and mannerisms gave him that talent. It was not lost on the girl. God help the soul that ever took her away from him or he from her for God would be the only one that could save them.
God help them indeed.

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So, here's another chapter for you all. I hoped that you enjoyed it. Not really much happened in it. Just met Greg's mother is all. Review and rate please.