Chapter 10
Well, this sucked. Jack felt like shit. As Mr. Zarin drove them to the hospital in his truck, Jack sat in the bench seat with his face on Jenna’s chest. Mr. Zarin gave Jenna a handkerchief from his pocket to help stem the bleeding, and it hurt like a bitch, but Jack gritted his teeth through the pain.
Every pothole and turn felt like he had something sharp jabbing him in the side, making it even harder to breathe.
His good eye picked up on the fact that Mr. Zarin was following a police cruiser to the hospital.
“I don’t have insurance,” Jack muttered. He didn’t know if Jenna or Mr. Zarin could hear him.
Jenna leaned her ear down to his mouth. “What?”
Jack repeated his statement, which Jenna repeated to Mr. Zarin.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mr. Zarin said shortly.
Jack couldn’t tell what it was Mr. Zarin was thinking or feeling. No doubt the man was reevaluating his offer to take in Lilly and Jack. If that was the case, Jack was going to swallow his pride and beg for them to at least keep Lilly.
He couldn’t even protect himself. He’d had his ass handed to him by two men without even laying a single blow on either of them. He had no business trying to protect Lilly or Jenna. What must she think of him, too?
While in handcuffs, Jack had been so concerned about the accusation that he’d hurt Jenna that it hadn’t occurred to him until Mr. Zarin had practically had to carry him out of the library how weak she must think he was.
He tried to pick his head up off of her chest, to sit up on his own, but his head spun so violently that Jack gagged.
“He’s going to throw up!”
Mr. Zarin slammed on the brakes and pulled them over to the side of the road. Jack heaved. He tried to hold it in, but his breakfast from only a couple of hours before rose with a vengeance. At least he had the sense to try to shift himself away from Jenna.
Mr. Zarin threw the passenger door open just as Jack spewed vomit. He heard Mr. Zarin curse and then suddenly there was the feel of a leather jacket under Jack’s face. He heaved again. Soft hands rubbed up and down his back.
Jack’s remaining vision blurred as shudders wracked his entire body. Every bruise, wound, and sore felt like someone was pressing a hot poker to them.
“…wrong with him…”
“…bottle in the back…”
Jack could hear Mr. Zarin and Jenna talking but not entire sentences.
The first solid breakfast he’d eaten in years and it was now all over Mr. Zarin’s truck and possibly Jenna.
Christ, what a fuckup he was. No doubt neither of them would want anything to do with him after this.
Not only was he going to have to figure out how to pay a hospital bill he couldn’t afford, but he was also going to have to pay to have Jenna’s outfit cleaned, probably get Mr. Zarin a new jacket, and clean out the truck.
“…going on? Oh shit!” That was a new voice. Older like Mr. Zarin’s, but deeper. He was pretty sure it belonged to Chief Cunningham.
“…let it out, son…let it out…” A hand, calloused and bigger than Jenna’s, touched his hair. In an odd way, it was more comforting. Like a guiding hand, a mentor.
Jack didn’t know how long he sat there hunched over, hacking up the delicious breakfast Mr. Zarin had been so sweet to buy him that morning. The man was probably regretting that decision now.
Strong hands helped Jack sit up. His shoulder screamed a protest at the hold but Jack clamped his mouth shut. He’d just thrown up in front of Jenna, Mr. Zarin, and possibly Chief Cunningham. He did not want any of them thinking him a whiner or a baby.
The leather jacket was taken away. Plastic touched his lips. “Small sips, son,” he heard Mr. Zarin instruct.
Jack obeyed. Mainly because the water felt amazing on his throat.
“…possible concussion…”
“…ribs too and maybe his shoulder…”
“…Jack, baby…” That voice was softer, sweeter. He automatically leaned towards it, wanting it to soothe the fire raging in his soul. “…so sorry…all my fault…”
Jack tried to shake his head, but the dizziness that came over him had him heaving again. Hands gripped his upper arms as if to guide him into bending over again. But the pain in his shoulder, which was becoming more and more prominent, raged to the point that Jack lost control and screamed.
Black oblivion took him.
Jenna was pacing in the waiting room. As much as she wanted to be in the back with Jack, she knew she would just be in the way.
Mr. Zarin had called Mrs. Zarin from one of the payphones.
Jenna didn’t know if he told her everything or just enough to tell her where they were.
Not having anyone herself to call, Jenna just paced. Over and over again.
She was a mess, but she didn’t care. Mr. Zarin had tried to get her to change into a pair of scrubs the staff offered her. Jenna refused. She couldn’t really explain her reasoning, but it was like she needed to wear Jack’s blood and bile until she knew he would be okay.
Logic was not currently driving her.
At the very least, she used another one of Mr. Zarin’s handkerchiefs to clean her face and hands. Jenna’s hands would not stop shaking. Clearly Jack was worse than she’d thought. He’d thrown up so much. And that scream when Mr. Zarin had touched his shoulder…
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her mother had done this to him. It didn’t matter that Claudette Scanlon hadn’t laid a single finger on Jack herself. She was the reason Jack was here, that he was hurt.
And for what?
Jenna didn’t believe for one second that her mom actually thought Jenna was being assaulted when she’d come into that library room.
She hadn’t been defending Jenna. There’d been nothing maternal about her mom’s actions.
It hadn’t even been vengeance. It had been hatred, pure and simple.
Hatred for Jack, a boy she’d never even met.
Did she even know Jack’s name?
She would now. Jenna would never let her forget it.
A hand touched her shoulder. Jenna jumped, turning to see Mrs. Zarin’s kind eyes looking at her. It was the other woman’s knowing gaze that broke her. Jenna fell into the woman’s arms and let her tears really fall.
“What if he doesn’t forgive me?”
Mrs. Zarin made a soothing sound. “If I know Jack, he’s more worried about you thinking him weak right now. Blaming you wouldn’t even cross his mind.”
Jenna stiffened. “Weak? He had the crap beat out of him by two men twice his size! He’s the furthest from weak!”
“He’s not going to see it like that,” she said softly. “Men like Jack, like my Arnie, they care only that they failed to protect who they care about.”
“I wasn’t even there!” Jenna argued, her voice muffled by Mrs. Zarin’s chest.
“From what I understand, you had been. If you hadn’t run, you would have been. If you’d stayed, Jack wouldn’t have been able to protect you.”
“That makes absolutely no sense!”
“Welcome to trying to understand the male mind,” Mrs. Zarin chuckled. “They understand us just as little as we understand them.”
“Where’s Lilly?”
“She’s sitting with Mr. Zarin. All she knows is that Jack was hurt, but not anything else.”
Jenna stood up enough to look around. She saw Lilly sitting in a chair that was far too big for her with Mr. Zarin’s arm around her shoulders.
She looked worried but wasn’t crying. That was good.
Mr. Zarin, who was only wearing a sweater now that his jacket had been ruined, was talking softly to her.
Jenna’s gaze went around the room. She saw a security officer but no police officers.
She didn’t know if that was good or bad.
Looking back at Mrs. Zarin, she whispered, “Can we talk?”
Mrs. Zarin nodded. She made a signal to Mr. Zarin and then guided Jenna down the hall a little way. They were as alone as they were going to get without going outside to the car. “What is it, sweetie?”
Praying she wasn’t breaking Jack’s trust and confidence, Jenna confided in a low voice, “Jack had money on him today. He said Mr. Zarin took him to his dad’s trailer to get Lilly’s and his belongings.
By the way, whatever cardboard box Jack gave to Mr. Zarin is everything they own.
There’s nothing left at his dad’s trailer for them.
” Mrs. Zarin’s face fell at that news, but she didn’t interrupt.
“Anyway, the money my mom is accusing Jack of getting from dealing drugs is that money. It’s not from drugs,” she insisted quickly. “I swear. Jack would never—”
“I know,” Mrs. Zarin put a comforting hand on her arm. “I know. Keep going.”
“Well, my mom tried to take it from Jack. Jack got it back, gave it to me, and told me to run. I didn’t think, I just ran.
I knew that if my mom actually got her hands on it that Jack was never going to get it back.
I…left him,” she confessed. Her voice cracked with shame.
“I couldn’t have stayed and kept his money safe, but now that I know what my mom was doing to him when I ran, I feel like I chose his money over him. ”
Mrs. Zarin’s brows drew down and her lips pursed in disappointment.
Jenna assumed it was at her until Mrs. Zarin spoke.
“Honey, no one blames you. Jack won’t either.
Your mother was the adult in this situation and she was the one who acted inappropriately.
” She looked around Jenna’s person. “Can I ask, where’s the money now? Did the police take it?”
Jenna shook her head. “I hid it, but…” She winced. “I forgot about it when we left to bring Jack here. It’s…still there.”
“Is it safe? Do you think anyone will find it?”
Jenna wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking, but she nodded. “I think so. I mean, it was a last minute effort to hide it and I don’t even know if the police will be looking for it.”
“Then we’ll leave it where it is for now.”
Jenna hoped that was the right decision. “What if they arrest Jack?”