Freak is an Ugly Word

Hot. Burning hot. Her skin seared and felt as if it would melt off her bones. Inside she could feel her blood rush through her veins with every heart beat as if they were liquid fire. If someone cut her open she swore fire would burst forth and consume her. The pain was so immense and mind consuming she could think of nothing else. With a driving force it was slowly taking her deeper into the dark pits of madness. If she was able to think of anything else but anguish she would have been praying for the sweet release of death. A pity her mind could do nothing but process the massive amounts of torture it was going through.
Michaels watched as Jessica twisted and withered in her restraints with pure joy. Being a doctor in Arkham was hard. The pay was low, the patients horribly boring, and most of his coworkers were just as insane as the patients. His pay being low is the reasoning why he had started to make his little concoctions. Taking a page from Crane’s book he started to create drugs that attacked the many functions of the brain. Only his focused on pain and not fear.
What he had injected Jessica with was his newest creation and one he was so eager to try out. As far as he could tell the drug was having the desired effect. “Look at her!” he exclaimed to the male nurse that stood across the bed from him Jessica was withering on. “She’s the perfect specimen. Her reaction is just beautiful! Every nerve in her body is responding just as it should.”
Reaching out he ran his cold dry hand down her flushed sweat covered face. Her skin was hot to the touch but that seemed to bother him little. Tears streamed down her face melding with the film of sweat and pooled on either side of her face. The screams she was issuing would have rebounded across the halls of the asylum if it were not for the thick piece of silver duct tape that covered her mouth. The white sheets underneath her covering the mattress were tattered and torn from where her long sharp nails dug into them. If it were not for the restraints holding her down her back would be arched into a perfect C.
Blood trickled down her wrist from her harsh struggling against the overly tight restraints. Each dark red drop stained the pure white sheets. The little blood that did not fall from her wrists stained her skin a dark pink hue. A shocking splash of color on her pale body. Another muffled scream came from her and her body started to convulse.
Frantically Michaels turned to the nurse. “Hand me the nullifier. Her mind can’t take anymore.” The nurse did as he was told and handed a syringe to the male his arm reaching across Jessica body. With a quick glance he looked at her face. Only the white of her eyes could be spotted as they rolled in the back of her head. “Get the tape of her mouth and hold her tongue before she swallows it!” Michaels commanded the younger male.
Doing as the doctor said, the nurse ripped the tape from her mouth rather harshly and her lips bled. Opening her mouth he stuck his middle and index finger into her mouth. Normally, a wooden tongue depressor would have been used but there was none in sight and no time to search for one.
Plunging the long needle into her forearm, Michaels injected the only cure for his creation into her blood stream. It took and instant effect. Her body calmed and her eyes closed. Deeply sighing in relief the male nurse started to retract his fingers from her mouth. Jessica’s eyes shot open and her mouth closed. The man screamed as she bit through the flesh and bones of his two fingers at the second knuckle.
The man fell to the floor and she spat the contents of her mouth at Michaels. Blood splattered against his white shirt as the detached fingers hit him in the chest. Michaels could do nothing but watch in horror as the young woman ripped her restraints from the bed with an inhumane strength. Adrenaline. It was nothing but the adrenaline coursing through her body he kept telling himself. His drug did not have that effect on any of the animals that he had tested it on. They had all either died or returned to normal conditions after he had injected them with the nullifier.
Now released from her restraints Jessica was on top of the nurse that was cradling his hand against his chest. He tried with futility to back away from her, but he was not quick enough. She sat upon his stomach and glared down at the man. Contorted with such rage, anger and hate Jessica lost her lovely appearance. Her storm gray eyes had such ferocity in them making them appear more like the live clouds they took their color from, and he swore he saw a flash of lighting in them.
A demon is what she was. Thin long fingers with equally long nails reached down toward him. The nurse knew that this was his punishment for the sins that he had committed. The Devil had come to collect his soul in the visage of a young woman. It was all in his head. Jessica’s physical appearance had not changed. But in his fear he had to see something different then a woman half his size that he had once seen as pretty.
Screams. High pitched and womanly screams. Those screams of the man were echoing in the room and in her head. They drilled through her mind with the same intensity of pain that she had been experiencing only moments ago. She had to shut him up. With her hands she reached toward his throat and dug her long nails into his flesh. Clawing deeply within the thin flesh of his neck tore it away and dug deep until it reached what she believed was his vocal cords.
Once his screams had ceased she moved down to his chest after adjusting her seating arrangement down. With every jerk of her wrist chunks of flesh came off of his body and embedded into her nails or just hung off of her fingers. Blood seeped from the man in large gushes and covered her soaking through the thin material of the patient uniform that she wore.
Mad laughter built up in deep in her chest, overflowed into her throat, and then spilt forth from her apple red lips. The man that was underneath her now lay still in death. His gold gray eyes opened already starting to turn glassy. With slow jerky movements, Jessica stood from the body and her attention diverted from the body to Michaels. A smile the Devil himself would be jealous of formed on her lips.
Closing her eyes she reached her arms up and fully stretched, standing on the tips of her toes. “Mm,” she licked her lips seductively running her blood and gore coated fingers through her hair, after she had finished stretching. Chunks of meat clung to the strands and some of them fell to the floor with a sloppy wet noise. “I don’t know what you did to me, Dr. Michaels, but I like it. I feel so… alive.”
“A-are you going to kill me?” Michaels’ voice was high in pitch from fear. Sweat covered his brow and breathing quick.
The fact that he was afraid made Jessica’s smile grow all the wider. “No, of course not!” she exclaimed as if such a notion was preposterous. “I need you, Michaels. You’re my doctor! You’re the one that has the authority to release me.” Her hands found her hips as she glared at the man. “And I am going to be released.” The statement was said with such authority and power the man could do nothing but agree as he quaked in his expensive shoes. Jessica swore the man was about to shit himself. The thought made her laugh.
Such an innocent sound was her laugh. Something that should not be coming from such evil lips. Attention once diverted back to him the wind chime laugh instantly died much like the man at her feet. “Now, Michaels, we’re going to set up a few ground rules.” Sure that she had his full attention she continued. “I don’t care who you tell about this, really I don’t. That matters little to me. What is going to happen is I’m going to be allowed to do whatever I please in this place. As far as I see it, you owe me. For what you did to me and would have continued to do to me, your life is no longer yours but mine. Out of the goodness of my heart,” she placed her bloodied hand on her chest where her heart lay, “I have decided to let you live. That makes you my property. You will do as I say when I say. Understand?”
Gulping loudly, Michaels nodded unable to find the ability to use his voice. “Good. First thing is you will no longer experiment on any of the patients here. Along with your life, all of your worldly possessions are mine as well and that includes your drugs. I decide when they get used and on who. If you ever disobey me I will tear you to shreds in such a manner that not even your mother will be able to recognize you.”
Turning on her heels, Jessica exited the room. There was no need for her to change; Michaels would make sure that nothing would come of her blood spattered body. For the very first time in her life she felt in control and felt empowered. The drug Michaels had induced her with had sent her deeper into the pits of madness that lurked like traps in her mind. Most say that madness is a terrifying thing. At one point in her life she would have thought the same, but no longer. Now that she had been forcefully driven into it by multiple people, she was rather enjoying the sensation.
With a skip in her step she entered what Ivy had dubbed the “Rec Room.” All eyes were on her blood soaked form as she smiled playfully and skipped over to where she had been previously sitting not twenty minutes ago. A mix of emotions appeared on her companions faces at the sight of her. Ivy and Crane were openly disgusted at her appearance, Mad Hatter stared at her with mild interest, and Joker just smiled that devilish smile of his.
“You have blood all over you,” Crane stated the obvious.
Jessica mocked panic and gazed in fake horror at her attire. “Oh my, you’re right.” Her storm gray eyes met his sky blue ones. “Are you secretly Sherlock Holmes?” A cough masking laughter came from Ivy and it abruptly ended when Crane shot her a glare. Placing her chin in her hand, elbow on table, Jessica smiled at the man. “I don’t know what you name is,” she informed Crane. “So I’m just going to call you Grumpy.”
The furrow of Crane’s brow deepened. Shrill laughter came next to Jessica spewing forth from the red painted mouth of Joker. He wheezed seemingly heartily, though Jessica did not believe what she had said to be that funny. As appearances were, Crane did not like the new name that she had given him and was glowering at her without restraint. Rolling her eyes, Jessica turned her attention to the man next to her that continued to cackle.
“Shut up, Dopey!”
The laughter instantly ceased. With a look of pure rage, Joker gazed down at the younger girl. Before her trip down the pit of madness, she would have been afraid of that look. Afraid of the pain that it promised. Still falling ever deeper into the bottomless chasm of insanity, nothing but a smile formed on her face. The gray color of her eyes was brightly alit with merriment and her ability to piss the man off. He had fucked with her head, why not fuck with his?
Now that she had the chance, a small ability, and somewhat the mind to do it, she was going to do just that. Mess with his head. Though she dearly wished for a bloody revenge, playing with his head would have to sate her thirst for the moment. Deep within herself she knew that she was not ready to physically take him on, she was far too weak for that. If she really wanted to take him down she was going to have to work hard physically and mentally.
For two months she had had the time to recall her short stay with the man at his hideout. Noticed many things that her feeble mind had not picked up on at the time. Through his mad glazed eyes Jessica had witnessed a light of genius. An intelligence hidden deeply behind the scattered masses people liked to call insanity. The man was smart, of that she had no doubt. One would have to be intelligent to play around with the mind of another with such cunning and ease. To read people as if they were reading words out of a book that sat in their lap.
In a mere two days he had tore chunks out of her mind. Shattered the already broken pieces until they were floating fragments of dust in the wind. Had grabbed her by the wrist and led her into an insanity so deep she would never be able to crawl out. Once already that deep in, she had no choice but to dig deeper in order to free herself. Sure she could have just sat tight and waited for a helping hand to pass her by, but Jessica was never a patient person. Besides, she was starting to become accustomed to the madness and darkness that accompanied it.
Still annoyed at the name that she called him, Joker’s eyes flicked from her face to her wrist. Deep crimson droplets slowly slide down and made a small puddle at her elbow. It was clear to him that it was not the blood that caked her hands. There was just no enough on them to continue to slide. When she had ran her fingers through her hair most of it had transferred to it instead, and the remainder of it was now on her chin and part of her cheek from resting her head in it.
Instead of doing what any normal person would do, Joker was not a normal guy, and informing her that she was bleeding he ran his finger along the thin line of blood from her elbow to wrist. When he pulled away the tip of his forefinger was covered it the warm liquid. With the knowledge that she was watching his every movement, he brought his finger tauntingly slow to his lips and, with a quick flick of his tongue, licked it away.
With clear visibility Jessica stiffed. Her right hand fell from her face and landed with a smack on the wooden table top. With every ounce of will that she had accumulated over the past two months she fought the urge to jump on the man and shove her tongue into his mouth to taste the blood that was her own. The thick long nails of her right hand scraped against the wood leaving deep etches, scaring it. Standing up quickly after her nails had met her palms she stated, “I’m going to take a shower,” and made a hasty retreat out of the room.
As soon as she was out of the room she literally ran into Michaels. Glaring up at him she poked him hard in the chest with her finger. “I’m taking a shower and I want clean clothes and a towel, now!” The heated tone of her voice left no room for argument and he scurried off to do as she had commanded. Arms folded across her chest she leaned against the wall next to the Rec Room doors listening to the sound of Joker’s laughter billowing from between the cracks of the door.
Oh God, how much she hated that man. Knowing how she would react he had done that just to mess with her. Most likely retaliation from her calling him Dopey. The name had struck his ego hard just as she knew it would. Jessica could read people, but not from the conventional methods. She could not read body language nor decipher emotions through the eyes. Her method came from the only thing that she knew sex.
There was a lot to tell about a person from sex. From the way that their hands would run down her body to even their movements and pace. The method that she used did not always work for her for some people were just different, but with Joker she had an inkling that she had been correct in her assumption. The way that he had completely overpowered her had led her to believe that he had to be a man in control. Her experiences with those types of people were that they thought highly of themselves and did not like to be insulted. Using that knowledge she had struck at the man’s ego and felt the triumph of victory when his laughter had ceased.
She should have known that he would retaliate in one way or another, but what he had done was just plain cruel in her eyes. The man had known about her fascination with blood, he was the one to introduce her to it, and had used it against her. Now more than ever she wanted to rip his throat out as she had done to the male nurse that had squirmed beneath her. A delighted shiver ran down her spine just thinking about it.
Many disturbing thoughts of what she would do to Joker when she got the chance ran through her mind. They were cut short when Michaels returned with a fresh pair of clothes and towel, which she promptly snatched from him. Her eyes narrowed into thin slits as she gazed up at the man. “Is there shampoo and soap in the shower room?” Curt was her tone having a massive amount of dislike for the man.
“Yes,” answered he with a squeak. “They are in dispensers that line the wall.” Without thanking the man, he did not deserve thanks, she walked off to where Ivy had informed her where the showers lay.
As Jessica walked into the shower room, Greg rounded the corner, headed to the Rec Room, along with Doctor Magnolia Reece. Doctor Reece was the newly appointed had doctor to Arkham Asylum, which was a stunning feat. Considered a prodigy to her field, none had accepted the job to go to no other and only a few old timers had stood in her way for that was the largest problem that barred her way. Doctor Reece was a woman. It would have been the reasoning for her not gaining the position had a single capable male doctor stood up to try and claim the position. A little blackmail and bribery had ensured that they would not.
Strong will, even of temper and mind, and her fairness had eventually won her her newly acquainted seat of power. The many men that had put her down now stood beside her. She had earned their respect in proving them wrong. A great number of them had her pegged at failure in her first week. Six months later and she was still going strong. During her walks in the long capacious halls, Doctor Reece held her head high at her accomplishments. Then, he had come.
Joker had only been in the asylum for a short period of time, but he had completely abolished everything she had created. Every chance that he got, he under minded her authority. The worst he had done was convincing some of his fellow mentally disturbed to rise against the guards and doctors. A riot of such large proportions had commenced that the local and state authorities had been called in to break it up. All had come to terms that the little uprising should be kept silent from the press.
It was not until after losing several doctors under her care that Doctor Reece decided that she alone would evaluate Joker. No others were allowed within speaking distance of the man for fear that she would lose more. With her head held high and with the utmost confidence in her abilities she had went into her first session with Joker only to for it to be shattered to the highest degree. With just a few simple softly spoken words he had decimated everything she had worked so hard to achieve. And now, because of it, she was unconditionally enamored with the man.
It all had been too simple for Joker to get her to the point of borderline obsession with him. During their first session he had invoked sympathy with the woman with one of his many scar stories. Had even thrown in a few tears to sweeten the deal. Once he had seen that he had her sympathy he decided to take it up a step by insinuating feelings toward the woman. Never did he outright said that he loved her, he could never bring himself to say the L word, but he might have hinted at it just a little bit. It had worked surprisingly well for him and now she was eating out of the palm of his hand. Everything that he said to her was believed to be true. While in the confines of the hospital he could now do as he pleased, not that he did not before, and it would go unpunished.
Greg recognized the signs of Reece’s obsession almost instantly after he had stepped into her office. The tall leggy blond with silvery blue eyes had a picture of Joker sitting on top of her desk in a golden frame. With tongue bitten to the point of almost puncturing Greg fought off the unnerving urge to laugh in the woman’s face. As strong willed as the woman had been he should have felt pity for her, but could not. He could not see beyond the hilarity of it all, having met Doctor Reece previously before.
The first time he had met her was several years ago. Magnolia, or Maggie as some called her, had been an acquaintance and a student of the man Greg had been dating at the time. An ambitious yet snobby woman, she had completely disregarded Greg’s existence once he had told her he was going to be a medical doctor. He had made things worse by claiming that he was going to be an actual doctor that did not sit on his fat ass, which hers was not, and listen to people whine about their problems in life. But hey, the bitch deserved it even though the comment had ruined his relationship with a man nearly the same age as his father. The look on her face had been worth it all.
It never occurred to him that he would ever meet the woman again. Not in Gotham at least. Having said that she grew up that and claiming never to return, he had been unpleasantly surprised to see her sitting behind the desk of the most authoritative position in Arkham Asylum. Greg guessed that one could never truly leave Gotham behind.
“If she’s anywhere,” Reece started in her cringingly annoying voice, “she’ll be in the Recreation Room. Patients are not allowed anywhere else unsupervised.”
“Hm, I see,” Greg replied taking in consideration of her words. A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. “I would guess that the donation that I have contributed to this hospital would allow her to do as she pleases.” No question, a statement of fact.
“It would indeed.” Thought Reece disliked the man greatly she could not help but grin widely. “The considerable amount that you have funded not only this hospital, but me as well, will ensure that she got away with murder if she so chose that path.” The poor male nurse will never see justice, not that she knew of him just yet. Michaels had ensured that his failure will forever be unknown by his superiors.
Pushing open the yellowing swing doors, Reece ushered Greg inside. The room, he came to notice, was quite bland. Nothing about it stuck out. White walls, white floor, round wooden tables surrounded by wooden chairs, and the zombie like patients drooling on themselves. It lifted his heart to know that Jessica would not be joining the walking dead on account that she would not receive any drugs, which very few of the patients had the same privilege.
Scanning the room with her silvery blue eyes, Reece huffed. “It would appear that she is not here.” By the tone of her voice Greg could tell that the woman was peeved, but it mattered little to him.
“That’s fine,” he told her. “I’ll just wait until she shows up here, which I’m sure she’s bound to. You can go back to whatever it was you were doing, I know my way around.” He waved her off dismissively. It seemed to irk the woman more for she left with the same huff she entered in. For one reason or another, Greg truly loved pissing that woman off. It proved entertaining for him and he rather enjoyed being entertained, even if it was something as simple as angering some woman he hardly knew.
As Greg’s hazel eyes scanned the room in search of a place to sit, Ivy spotted the man and sat straighter in her chair. “Hello handsome,” she muttered under her breath. It had only been meant for her to hear, but the others had acquired the ears that one did when in an asylum.
The insane did not naturally have the superhuman hearing most put to them. Like anything else, it took a lot of hard work to acquire it. Years of listening for someone that could be sneaking on them that was associated with their paranoid delusions. Once they hit the asylum, their delusions become reality. An insane asylum is much like prison. There is always someone lurking behind every corner ready to attack at any moments notice. Footsteps echoed across the halls following their prey. One did not just fear the inhabitants, but the workers as well. Much like prison guards, they searched for any excuse to use forceful measures on any of the unlucky patient crossing their paths.
Many of the patients have met with those said guards and have come out for the worse. It was hard for anyone, even one that was not of the right mind, to fight off a small group consisting mainly of thick statured men. It would seem that the only one that had been left out of the groups teasing was Joker now that he could roam around freely. Before, when he had been confined to an underground room strapped securely into a straight jacket, they had entered his room and had their fun with him. Since he had gained his roaming freedoms, he’s badly injured a few of the guards and managed to kill two with nothing but his fist and feet. It was easy to crush ones windpipe with the heel of the foot or snap ones neck while lurking in the shadows.
Hearing Ivy’s proclamation, Joker decided to investigate on who the woman was referencing to. His dark pitted eyes alit with amusement when they landed on Greg. “Doc!” His shout cut across the near silent room. Greg’s handsome features twisted into a cringe at the sound of the man’s voice that was utterly unforgettable. Forever would it be etched into his mind like the trail of a bullet as it entered the brain. “Come sit by Joker!” Patting the seat that once held Jessica he enticed the man over.
Heaving a great sigh, Greg walked over and sat next to the man against his better judgment. It was not that Greg had much of a choice in the matter. Knowing the man, his little suggestion was not that but a command. A command Joker expected him to follow, as he expected with all of his commands. Those that defied him were usually left dead with either a bullet or knife wound somewhere amongst the body that would cause their untimely death. Even though they were in an asylum and weapons of any sort were prohibited, Greg suspected the man would still find a way to injure him in some way.
With eyes wide in amazement, Ivy watched as the man sat down before her. Normally, the woman would be trying to chat him up, hitting on him, trying her best to get into his pants, but for some reason, she was at a loss for words. Hearing the name Doc had struck a cord of familiarity with her, one that she could not quite place. It was obvious that him and Joker knew each other somehow, a way she thought might be better off not knowing.
“Have you and the Princess been having fun together?” The first question out of Joker’s mouth. Greg suspected he would ask as much. Any normal person would have been asking about the outside world and trying to convince him to find a way to break him out. Joker was not normal and cared little for what was outside of the walls he had been imprisoned to. And why should it matter to him? If he so wanted, he could break out of the place at any given time, blindfolded and with his right arm lopped off.
With a sideways glance, Greg looked to the man. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” then he smiled, “but yes, we have been having a great time. Well, that was until she landed herself in here after murdering someone.” The corners of Joker’s mouth twitched in amusement. “I guess I would have to thank you. If she hadn’t come into contact with you, she would be in jail right now. That tattoo was just icing on the cake.”
In that moment, Ivy finally realized where she had heard the name before. “Wait a minute!” Both men stopped their conversing for long enough to look to the woman. “You’re Doc, as in the Doc? The information gather for some unknown man. Torturer extraordinaire.”
“And how would you know that?” Amusement flickered in Greg’s eyes. Never before did he think what he had done for Joker was known. To find out that not only was it, but he was known as well. It gave him a sense of accomplishment.
“There’s a couple of people that are in here because of you.” A flirtatious smile formed on her face. “It seems now that you got them to talk, they just can’t shut their mouths. They give out all kinds of information freely.”
In response to her statement Greg just shrugged his shoulders. The woman was flirting with him and trying to make it obvious, but he was not going to take the bait though the woman was undoubtedly attractive. Scratch that, she was down right gorgeous. But the one thing Greg valued more than anything in a relationship was loyalty, and, having been cheated on, would never be unfaithful. If he had not been tied down to Jessica, he had no idea how to really define their relationship, he would have jumped on the woman the instant that smile played on her lips.
“So,” started Ivy flinging her hair over her shoulder with a flick of her dainty wrist, “what brings you here?”
“Jessica,” he answered plainly. Then, he looked to Joker. “Where is she?”
“Snow White’s off in the woods playing with the cute fuzzy animals,” proclaimed the man standing up. Greg could not help but roll his eyes at the comment and new nickname. Joker just had a knack for calling someone everything but their name. “I’ll go get her before the hunter decides to cut out her heart!” With a single bound Joker was off to get Jessica.
A snort came from Crane gaining the attention of Greg. “What?” Greg inquired to the man.
“She’s in the shower,” explained Crane. “She just got out of one of her sessions with Michaels and was covered in blood.” With a studious eye Crane gazed upon the newly restarted game of chess he was currently playing with Mad Hatter. Chancing a glance at the game Greg noticed that the man was losing and very badly at that.
Several minutes later Joker returned with a very pissed off Jessica. Only donned in a towel and hair still dripping wet it appeared that she had only just gotten out of the shower when Joker had decided to get her. As he dragged her by the wrist to where the others were sitting she was screaming every name she could think of at the man.
With much force Joker through Jessica at Greg and she landed “gracefully” in his lap still streaming a long line of curses at the man. When she finally looked up and spotted Greg a smile of pure joy lit up her face. Wrapping her arms around his neck, nearly flashing the individuals in the room, she tightly hugged her to him. “I missed you,” she whispered in his ear.
With a light kiss on her neck he admitted that he missed her as well. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” he told her pulling back lightly. “I talked Doctor Reece into giving your necklace back to you.” From what seemed out of nowhere, it had come from his coat pocket, Greg produced the necklace and clasped it around Jessica’s slim neck. “She was completely against the idea,” he explained further, “but once I told her the content of gold in it, she relented. It was placed in her head that you would use it to strangle someone, but it would break before that happened. Besides, I place you as someone who would rather use their hands than an object.”
The humor in the statement was lost on Jessica for she was gazing at the necklace with such intensity that she hardly heard the man speak at all. Gladdened by the fact that she got it back nothing else seemed to matter to her. That necklace was the first thing someone had bought her, not including Musket, which actually meant something to her. Croc had never been able to afford to by her anything, food and living expenses had been more important. Being a bouncer at a strip club did not offer much for pay.
The reasoning behind her becoming so attached to the shiny golden object was not only because someone she cared deeply for bought it for her, but it was hers. It was the first thing that she could call her own and no one could take that away from her. If she had bought it herself, it would have felt that much better, but she did not considering she did not want to use Greg’s money as her own. No matter how many times he had told her that she could take as much as she wanted, she could never bring herself to do it. It just felt wrong to her.
“Now,” Greg spoke loudly trying to gain her attention, which he did, “let’s get you some clothes and you can show me around. There’s a few things that I want to talk to you about anyways.”
A smile and a nod were his response. Cloths sounded very good to her at the moment. Many eyes were on her and she was starting to feel uncomfortable. For some odd reason, she was sure that she would have to get used to discomfort. It seemed to recently follow her around just as Musket had done in the house. Oh well, at least she was happy for once. That is all she cared for at the moment. She was happy and the man that caused it was now helping her off of his lap taking extra measures to ensure that the towel stayed in place.
A small inkling of doubt passed through her. Jessica wondered if the happiness would last. Form what time has taught her, joy never stuck around. Only disappointment seemed to be the constant in her life. In the future, she was sure, Greg would grow sick of her and leave. Leave her alone to fend for herself as she was used to people doing. Very few had ever stuck beside her.
Pushing all depressing thoughts from her, she led Greg to the shower room where her fresh clothes lay. It was not in her to worry about the future. She could worry about the future when it came and it would come as it always did. The here and now was of the only importance to her. At that moment, she was with Greg and she was happy.
Whatever the future may bring her way, Jessica was sure she could handle it.

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Another chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy. If I annoy you guys with these little messages at the end of here just let me know. Well, anyways, thank you for reading. Review and rate please.