“It’s alright, Sherrie, we got this, you head back to work,” Jacques said. The short brunette nodded before leaving. Jacques turned to the door and knocked four times. “Hey, Ava, it’s Jacques. You wanna let me in?”
He was greeted by nothing but silence. Jacques glanced to Hamish, who was hanging close by. Hamish shrugged in response.
“Never thought of knocking,” he said sarcastically.
Jacques wasn’t keen on the idea of breaking into her room. There were some boundaries that they should set. If he wanted a chance at dating her, he needed to show her some respect, but he was also concerned at how hurt she was. Was she not answering because she didn’t want to, or was she so hurt that she had fallen unconscious? He knocked more insistently.
“Ava, if you’re not going to answer me then I am just gonna come in,” Jacques said.
Once again, no answer.
“Okay, I’m breaking in now!” Jacques called through the thick wood.
He sighed as he reached into his pack, pulled out a set of lockpicks, and went to work on the door lock. He’d told Hamish before that he needed to keep spare keys for these back rooms, but the old man was a stickler for privacy. He believed no one but you should have access to where you slept but you. After a few minutes of tinkering, there was a small click as the door was unlocked.
“I’m going to go in. Don’t attempt to come in unless I call you, alright? Not sure how she’s going to react,” Jacques said, his voice a low murmur.
It was weird to be giving Hamish orders, but he really wasn’t sure how his intrusion would be received. Ava made him think of a predator, and he was worried that she would strike out when she was wounded and cornered.
“Ava, I’m coming in,” Jacques said.
When there was still no response, he pushed the door open and slipped through the gap, closing the door behind him. The sight before him was something he was going to remember for a long time. Ava sat on the cot leaning back against the wall. All visible skin seemed to host a cut or a newly formed bruise, her blonde hair was matted with blood, but the worst was her face. Her nose was obviously broken, one of her eyes was swollen shut, while the other had a deep black bruise. The sheets she was perched on were also covered in blood.
She made no acknowledgement of him entering the room. Instead, she rolled her head back, bringing a mass of cloth to her nose in an attempt to stem the bleeding. Rage exploded within him; whoever had done this was going to hurt more than they ever knew.
“What the fuck happened?” he asked as he moved to her side. He took the cloth from her hand and examined her face; even her lip was swollen.
“Not much, you should see the other guy,” Ava said sarcastically.
“Ava, who hurt you?” Jacques demanded.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ava said, her face creased up in a pained wince. Even talking was hurting her. He wanted to reach out and see where else she was hurt, but he was sure that would not be welcomed.
“It does matter. It matters to me,” Jacques said as he climbed off the bed and grabbed a bowl of warm water and a fresh cloth from the sink. He perched beside her on the bed and gently started to clean some of the blood from her face.
“Glass,” Ava said.
His blood ran cold at the mention of her name. He hadn’t taken the threat seriously. Glass was a brawler of opportunity, not someone to actively seek a fight. She didn't have a vindictive streak. He looked over the injuries that he could see. He didn’t even think Glass was able to inflict this sort of damage. What had happened to her? Why the hell had she gone so far off the deep end?
“I told her to leave you alone,” Jacques said.
“I guess it didn’t work. Seems like your ex ain’t over you,” she said with a slight chuckle, which quickly turned into a grimace.
Guilt floored him. This had happened because of that stupid date. Glass must have seen them in the diner together. Maybe seen them holding hands as they dashed through the rain. The mixture of emotions from the other night were fading, and he was quickly seeing how he truly felt about the two women in his life. Glass would always hold a small part of him, but Hamish was right. He had no future with a girl who could do this.
“Okay, we’ve got to get you to a doctor. Some of these wounds are deep and need stitches,” Jacques said as he uncovered a rather nasty gash on her wrist.
“I’ll be fine. Just need a sewing kit and some thread, and I’ll be fine,” she said.
“Ava. Please. I’d really like someone who has a medical degree to look over them,” he said. He was considering where the closest free clinic was.
“No. I don’t want to go to those hospitals. Don’t like them,” she said with a grunt as the cloth brushed over her bloodied and broken knuckles.
Jacques was starting to feel a little frustrated. All he wanted to do was help her, and she was being stubborn. Now he knew how Hamish had felt all the times that Jacques had turned up here hurt and had to call the medic. That’s when an idea stuck him.
“How about I bring a doctor here? Would that be ok?” Jacques asked.
Ava didn’t respond straight away. She seemed to think it over for a moment. Jacques went to prompt her for an answer when she nodded slightly. Before she could change her mind, he summoned Dr Silver’s contact details. The backstreet doctor was good at what he did, and he did it cheaply with no questions asked. After a quick conversation and a promise of double pay the doctor was on his way. Jacques sat down next to Ava and waited.
*****
Ava was perched on her cot. The pain from her injuries was making it hard for her to really focus on anything. She’d heard the knocking on the door but hadn’t really been able to make out what was being said. Not that she cared. She didn’t really want anyone seeing her like this. It was bad enough that Sherrie had seen her on the way in. It wasn’t just her body that was broken; she felt useless and weak. Two things that didn’t sit well with her. The need to feel strong and invincible had been bred into her. If you looked weak in The Fringe, you ended up dead.
When Jacques had entered her room, she was surprised that she hadn’t felt the need to run, hide, or throw something at him. She somehow didn’t mind him being the one to see what Glass had done to her; if anything, she was glad he was here. He was sitting beside her. She heard the sound of water tinkling as he rinsed out the cloth immediately followed with a stab of pain as he cleaned another of her wounds. There was so much pain that she couldn’t even begin to assess the exact extent of the damage.
She had lost that fight. Not just a little, but epically. She kept telling herself that if it wasn’t for Glass’ augmentic enhancements then she would have won, but that just felt like she was reaching for excuses. She was already thinking what her plan for the next attack would be. Even with this beating, she wouldn’t succumb to whatever Glass wanted. Ava didn’t bend to bullies. She never had, and that's what had got her kicked out of the Valkyries. She’d refused to bend to Big Boss’s sexual wants, and that had got her a beating, too, before she got kicked out. Good times, she thought sarcastically.
“I’m just going to talk to Hamish. I’ll be back,” Jacques said.
A spike of panic shot through her. She grabbed his wrist to stop him leaving. She didn’t want Hamish to see what Glass had done to her. Glass was his daughter, and Ava was worried that their feud could cause her to lose her place here. She had come to enjoy the comfort of a bed and a safe place to sleep; returning to homelessness wasn’t something she was a fan of.
“Don’t tell Hamish what happened,” she said.
“I have to, love. He needs to know not to let her in here anymore. I promise it’s going to be okay,” Jacques said. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
His hand slipped from hers, and he headed for the bedroom door. As she watched him leave, there was a sinking feeling that things were going to go horribly wrong for her. This wasn’t proving to be a very good fresh start. It was quickly starting to seem like The
Fringe part two, just they pretended they were better because the conditions and the technology were mildly improved. It was still a harsh world full of thugs and bullies, except these thugs just had access to better food and medical care.
The sound of the door opening caused her to jump. She hadn’t even realized that she had fallen asleep. She looked up slowly to see Jacques had come back. She didn’t like the look of concern and anger on his face when he looked at her. It was nice that he cared that much, but she preferred the cocky grin he had when he knew he was winding her up.
“Smile. You look better when you do,” she said. Even cracking a smile hurt her face, but she needed to see him smile.
“Not an easy thing to do right now,” he said gruffly as he sat down next to her. “For the first time since I met you, I need you to not be stubborn about something.”
“That’ll be difficult, that’s kinda my nature,” she joked. His serious face stayed in place, not even a ghost of a smile. “What do you need?”
“I’m gonna pack your stuff up, and you’re gonna come and stay with me for a bit,” he said. It was a statement not a question. She wasn’t really getting a choice here, which could mean only one thing.
“Hamish is kicking me out, isn’t he?” she said sadly.
“No. We thought it best that while you are healing, we take you somewhere that Glass doesn’t know. Once the Doc’s been, I’m going to take you back to my place,” Jacques said. “Is that okay with you?”
She hated feeling weak and even more hated seeming weak to others. She wanted to be stubborn and say no and stay here at the Casket. But she wasn’t stupid. If Glass turned up here at the moment, she would kill her with no issues. She was going to have to fight her pride and accept Jacques’ help.
“I don’t think I have much of a choice,” Ava said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her tone at the caged feeling.
“I’m glad we see eye to eye on this,” Jacques said almost chirpily. “Shall I pack your stuff?”
“Go ahead,” she said.
Most would hate the idea of someone rummaging around in their things, but it wasn’t like she had much. A few pairs of clothes, a pistol, a pair of knuckle dusters. Nothing really big and secretive that she needed to hide from him.
“When’s the doctor getting here?” Ava asked. Not that she was desperate to see him, more that she didn’t like the silence.
“He said an hour at most, so not long now,” Jacques answered.
Jacques’ face was tense. Each time he looked at her, she could see the angry tick in his jaw. The anger wasn’t pointed at her, she knew that. It was pointed at the person who’d done this. It was like he was reminding himself what had happened to keep himself angry.
He moved around the room, packing her things into a large black duffle. He stopped at the shopping bags that she had tossed by the door after she had dragged her ass back here. Even beaten to a pulp, she wasn’t going to give up the few things that she had earned for herself.
“You buy anything interesting?” Jacques asked as he nodded towards the bags. The ghost of a smirk flickered at the corners of his mouth. Clearly, cheeky Jacques was still there beneath the simmering rage.
“Not overly. Clothes mainly, and some sweet pastry things from a bakery… Taylins… Tayvins… something like that,” she replied, struggling to recall the name. She had mainly bought fabrics for clothes, but telling him that seemed weirdly intimate; she’d never really told anyone her desires for clothing before.
“Tayvians?” Jacques asked.
“Yeah, that’s the one. I tried some samples, and they were amazing. Can I have one?” she asked. She wished she had the strength to get up and get one herself, but there was no way that was happening.
Without question, Jacques fished around in the bag and brought a cardboard box to the bedside. Before he could walk away, she grabbed his wrist and summoned what little strength she had to pull him down onto the bed beside her. He was packing her stuff to avoid her, and she wasn’t having that.
“Have a pastry and talk to me,” she said, carefully placing the box on his lap and taking one of the little pastries for herself.
“What about?” he asked.
“Tell me what’s on your mind. You’re walking around here like you’re the one that just got the crap beaten out of them,” she said, groaning slightly as her ribs started to protest that she was still breathing.
“I hate that she did this to you. All because of me. Maybe I should have kept clear; at least you would be safe that way,” Jacques said honestly. He took one of the little pastries and examined it thoroughly.
“Don’t think that way. Some things are worth getting hurt for,” she said, admitting a lot more than she intended to in that sentence.
Before she could stop herself, or second guess herself, she reached over and gently took his hand. She was pretty sure the feelings she had were reciprocated. If not, she’d pass this off as a moment of insanity when she felt better. His hand closed around hers, and his thumb gently rubbed her damaged knuckles.
“I promised you I wouldn’t let you get hurt,” Jacques said.
“No one can control the actions of others, and you can’t follow me around all the time. How about you promise that you won’t hurt me?” she said.
“That’s a promise I can keep,” he said.
There was a sudden knock on the door. She dropped his hand in an instant reaction. He got up from the cot and opened the door. The person he welcomed inside was a taller man with a long face and short black hair. He wore a simple suit and carried an umbrella against the rain. There was nothing overly spectacular about him, but he held himself like he was the most important person in the room.
“Doc Silver, this is Ava,” Jacques said.
*****
Jacques had sat back and watched as the doctor had gone to work. The multitude of injuries were going to take some serious stitching. He was currently fighting the pit of nausea in his stomach combined with the spike of anger that kept rearing its head. Every time he looked at her, he wanted to march to Glass’ and…he didn’t even know what he wanted to do. He just wanted to make her pay, but at the same time, he couldn’t imagine laying a hand on her. Even after everything she had done to Ava.
The guilt was the worst. Even with what Ava said, he couldn’t help thinking that this was his fault. A kiss on the rooftops and a few simple conversations had gotten her beaten to a pulp. Maybe when she was healed up, he’d take his leave, get away from Seattle, and get away from here. Then she’d be safe.
“Jacques…,” Ava said.
The sound of her voice pulled him from the train of thought. When he looked at her, any thoughts of leaving evaporated. As much as it would be for her safety, he was selfish and wanted to be near her.
“Yeah, you okay?” he asked as he rushed to her side.
“I was going to ask the same thing. You had a far out look on your face,” she said. Her voice was a little softer, indicating the painkiller Dr. Silver had given her was taking effect.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking,” he said, stroking the back of her hand gently.
“Mr. Mette, can we talk?” Dr. Silver asked as he stepped away from Ava. He snapped off a pair of latex gloves and disposed of them in the bin.
“Sure. I’ll be right back, alright?” he said, kissing the back of Ava’s hand. Her eyes were glazing over as she rolled her head back onto the bed. Jacques chuckled a little as he headed over to Dr. Silver. “How’s she looking, Doc?”
“I’ve stitched up what I can. The injuries themselves are relatively minor, but there are an awful lot of them. Her nose is broken, and so are at least three of her ribs, but she is lucky. There doesn’t appear to be any internal damage,” Dr Silver explained. Jacques was relieved to hear that there was nothing serious.
“So what’s the next step?” Jacques asked.
“You’re going to need to acquire some painkillers and antibiotics to see her through. She is going
to need a lot of rest and nothing strenuous,” he instructed as he went to his bag and started to pack it up. “I will send you over a list of the drugs you will need. If you can get hold of some osteonites, or osteoblast it will speed up the rib repair; otherwise, it’s just time and rest.”
“Thanks, doc,” Jacques said. He held out his hand, and when the doc took it, he paid twice the usual fee as agreed upon. The doctor bid farewell before leaving.
Dr. Silver was a fantastic surgeon, but he didn’t hold a medical license anymore, which meant he wasn’t able to prescribe the medication. They would have to find a dealer to get the drugs Ava needed. Well, not him, but he was sure Hamish would have someone who dealt in that kind of thing. The man had all kind of contacts.
Jacques went back over to Ava. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was steady. It seemed the painkiller had knocked her right out. At least with her comfortable, he could get things sorted without worrying about her. First things first, he went out to the bar. Hamish stood there alongside Sherrie and Keith.
“What’s the diagnosis?” Hamish asked gruffly as he sipped from a shot of amber liquid.
“She’s gonna be okay, just needs some rest and pills,” Jacques said as he sent the doctor’s list of medications over to Hamish, “You think you can get these?”
“Not a problem,” Hamish said as he glanced down the list. “Sherrie is going to give you a ride to your place. Getting her in a cab like that might raise some eyebrows.”
“Alright, we’ll head out now. Don’t want her here any longer than she needs to be,” Jacques said. The longer they were here, the more anxious he became, that was something he’d never felt here before. Glass could walk through those doors at any time, and he didn’t know what his reaction would be.
“Get moving then. I’ll have the drugs sent over to your place later,” Hamish said.
Recycled Lives Page 9