Chapter 9
Jack turned his head while supporting Penny over the bucket. She wasn’t just trembling, she was shaking hard and when she finally began to pee, she did so with a controlled scream. Landon had hurt her so bad by the rapes and the simple act of emptying her bladder tortured her. By the time she was finished, she was breathing erratically. Jack didn’t want to do what he needed to do next.
“I am sorry if this hurts you,” he said. “I will try to be as gentle as possible.” And he was but even his gentle touch with the toilet paper caused her to scream. Each time she had to use the bucket was torture for both of them.
“Hurts,” she moaned into his shoulder when he settled her back against the wall. It hurt her even to sit and she had to sit mainly on her good hip.
“I am so sorry, Penny,” he said, rubbing her back. She sat with a cringed face for a few more minutes and then calmed down although her wheezing remained bad. After Vivienne said she would get an inhaler for Penny, not another word was said about it and Jack figured Crystal had nixed it.
The door to the cell opened and William entered with his thugs. When Penny saw them, she shrank down against Jack. He tightened his embrace around her. He would not let the bastards near her.
“How are we this evening?” William asked. Jack thought it best to keep his mouth closed. He didn’t trust what might come out of his mouth. “The silent treatment, huh? Whatever. Move away from her, Jack. Vivienne needs to check on her heart.” Jack didn’t want to let her go but knew it would be worse if he didn’t.
“I will be just a couple feet away, Penelope,” he said gently and cupped her face. She nodded. “Vivienne is just going to make sure you are okay. No one is going to hurt you,” Jack said and dared to look directly at William when he said those words. William said nothing in reply and Jack hoped he hadn’t stepped out of bounds.
Jack scooted over, careful not to jostle his beaten feet. He was feeling shaky; it had been a few hours since his last hit of heroin and he hoped there would not be another. Jack watched Vivienne like a hawk as she began the routine exam he saw her perform too many times in the last three days. She listened to Penny’s heart, took her blood pressure in both arms, and then listened to her heart again.
“Well?” William asked.
“No change,” she replied but didn’t seem happy. She plugged in a new bag of fluids and then injected something from a syringe and followed that with a pill. Jack was not happy. Penny needed real medical attention but if he said anything, they might kill her. Vivienne pulled out something from her kit – it was an inhaler. “Do you know how to use an inhaler?” Penny nodded. Of course she would know how to use one after so many years of watching Sasha rely on one. “Only when your wheezing is bad. Make this last,” she warned and handed the inhaler to Penny who took it in her bound hands and with slow motions, took her first puff. After about a minute, Vivienne listened to Penny’s lungs. “Better,” she announced and moved over to Jack. She took his vitals, gave him pills for his ulcer, and packed up her things. James, one of the other thugs who had left, returned with a tray. Jack’s stomach hoped for something substantial for dinner. He was happier, however, that he wouldn’t be doped up.
“Like I said earlier, you will be relocated but will stay down here until you are both a little more mobile,” William explained.
“Where are you taking us?” Jack asked, worried.
“Don’t bother your Big Brain with that, Jack, because it honestly doesn’t matter. You’ll go where we decide. Vivienne, how long do you think they’ll need to recuperate?”
“Jack will need about another week for his feet,” she answered. “Let’s just go with that.”
“What does that mean?” inquired Jack. Vivienne and William exchanged silent glances. Jack didn’t like that. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Vivienne replied testily. “Penny will be fine as long as I continue the medication.”
“Please let her go,” Jack begged and kneeled up on his knees. “She obviously needs more thorough care. Please…” That’s as far as Jack got in his pleadings before William backhanded him hard enough to knock him unconscious.
. . .
When he woke up, Jack tasted blood in his mouth and his head throbbed from the hit from William. The throbbing increased as he sat up and he held his head in his hands for many minutes. It was still difficult to experience violence in the ordeal even after everything that had happened to both him and Penny. Each act reminded him there was very little in his control and this made him feel so helpless.
Penny lay a few feet from him, the fluid from the IV bag dripping into her. He crawled over to her. She looked to be asleep and since she needed the rest, he refrained from waking her up even though he would feel better if he had someone to keep him company. The situation rattled him in so many different ways. Normally, in his previous life as a free individual, he had no problem being alone. He didn’t always need to have someone with him. He saw plenty of other celebrities who were unable to function without a large entourage but for Jack, he could handle just hanging by himself. If he was doing any promoting for the band on his own, which was a rarity because the band was five men and not just him, he didn’t need to have anyone tagging along.
Although Penny acted as his personal assistant, she rarely accompanied him because of the kids. She made his professional life easier behind the scenes; she was his oil, taking the squeaks out of a sometimes crazy life. Only a couple times did she go with him on business and that was when he forayed into acting, guesting on a handful of TV shows. He liked having Penny along to help him learn his lines. Jack found acting an interesting challenge but where he rarely was nervous to sing, his nerves always got the best of him in front of the camera. Playing a role on television was so different than playing a role in a music video. Penny calmed him, reminded him to speak in English, and just having her off camera made acting so much easier. Surprisingly, it was acting he would miss when he decided to retire from the music business. Before the kidnapping, he had a few brief thoughts about maybe sticking with the acting but now, not so much. He wanted nothing to do with the limelight anymore.
His mind was cluttered with thoughts of Crystal, acting, singing, and the hell they were in. He closed his eyes and shut down each thought until he found himself in a memory from nearly fifteen years earlier. Why it popped into his head he did not know because it was not a happy memory. It was when he realized how sick Penny was with her anorexia.
It was May 1996 and he and Penny were just finishing up their junior year at Princeton. Jack was sitting on the grass watching a seven-year-old Millie play in the sandbox with Ellie and Sasha at the park closest to his home. He had just finished his last final of the semester and picked Millie up from school. He had the rest of the day plus the next day off from his jobs. It was a rarity but he needed it. He was tired. Jack wasn’t afraid of hard work, that wasn’t it, but it had been a rough semester as he overloaded with six classes including a physics class with a lab that drove him crazy. He persevered, however, and despite his heavy work and school schedules, he would end the semester with all A’s. It was not easy, though.
He was now working three jobs which equaled two full-time jobs and he’d become a father again just a couple months earlier. Natalya Ivanovna was beautiful, healthy, and a spitfire straight out of Crystal’s womb. Jack dubbed her Nattie and loved her with all his heart. Millie and the twins loved her too and Jack’s heart was very warmed to see Crystal bonding with Nattie much easier, and closer, than the twins. Maybe a little bit too much as the twins, and Millie, took second stage to the baby. The twins were too young to notice but Millie did, so Jack spent what precious free time he had with the three.
Another reason it was a difficult semester was that it was the first
semester where Jack and Penny did not have the exact same schedule. In fact, they had no classes together at all and between his work schedules, her work schedule, academics, and the kids, he had hardly seen Penny since December. This bothered him; she was his best friend. They had tried to meet up for a quick lunch here and there but either Jack had to cancel to take one of the twins to the free clinic or Penny cancelled for unknown reasons. The unknown reasons bothered Jack a lot. The business of the semester cut into their ability to talk and share and Jack was desperate to catch up with her. She helped out a lot with the kids and Crystal saw her more often and insisted Penny was doing fine. Jack had a feeling, however, that might not be the case.
But now the semester was over and they had time to spend together and catch up. He was meeting Penny in the park and then she was coming over for an end-of-semester, celebratory Shabbat dinner. He’d scrimped and saved and picked up a last-minute tutoring job (job #4) and dinner would include baked kosher chicken, Penny’s favorite roasted Brussels sprouts, and fruit parfaits. He bought a cheesecake from Penny’s favorite bakery. Although he couldn’t eat any after the meat dinner and neither could the children, it would be a nice added dessert for Penny and Crystal. He’d hide a slice for his breakfast the next day.
“Papa! Papa!” Ellie cried happily as she pointed to the small sandcastle Sasha and Millie made. Hearing his daughter say Papa still brought a little mistiness to his eyes. At 32 months, Papa was the only complete word she spoke and she had yet to start walking more than a step or two. As expected from the birthing difficulties, there were other developmental delays also. She was just now hitting the milestones of a one-year-old; milestones her twin brother hit at nine months. The doctors weren’t sure at what point she would plateau but they warned Jack and Crystal it could happen soon.
“Jack, do you like our castle?” Millie asked.
“It is fantastic!” he exclaimed. “Fantasticheskiy,” he repeated in Russian. “Millie, you say fantasticheskiy.”
“Fantasticheskiy,” she repeated with a touch of clumsiness.
“Good girl. And now you, Sasha,” he prompted his son.
“Fantasticheskiy,” Sasha repeated perfectly. The amount of Russian Sasha picked up from Jack was close to surpassing Millie. His son had talent for the language.
“Good boy,” Jack said with a smile and tousled Sasha’s rowdy hair. All the boys in the family needed haircuts and Jack hoped to have enough money from his next check to swing everyone through a barber shop.
“Papa, we even put in a music room for you and the Ivies,” Sasha said. Ivies was the nickname he bestowed on the band and it always made Jack laugh.
“Thank you for thinking of us, yego,” he responded. Ellie half crawled/half scooted to Jack and he picked her up. She yawned and laid her head on his chest.
“Sssss… Sssss…,” she said. Sleepy.
“As soon as Penny gets here, we will go home and you can take a nappy,” he said to Ellie. Her eyes were already half closed and he doubted she would make it that long. Crystal was supposed to have put the twins down for a nap earlier in the day but she had not.
“Pe… Pe… Penny,” Ellie whispered and Jack’s heart leapt.
“That is right, Ellie,” he said calmly. “Penny.”
“Jack! She spoke a new word!” Millie screeched which scared her niece. Ellie thought she did something wrong and started to cry. Jack wrapped his arms around his little girl and comforted her. Millie leaned against them with a very sorrowful face.
“I’m sorry, brat,” she said in a softer voice. “I didn’t mean to scare her. I was just so happy.”
“I know,” he said and gave his sister a kiss on the forehead. Millie reached over and petted Ellie on the head.
“I’m sorry, Ellie,” she said and then imitated the kissing action Jack just did. After a few seconds, Ellie gave her aunt her very shy smile.
“Papa,” Sasha said quietly and rubbed his twin’s back. Even at such a young age, he was sensitive to his special sister. “Penny is here.”
Jack looked across the park and saw Penny walking towards them. Her gait was slow and her shoulders drooped. Millie and Sasha took off running towards her. They each took one of her hands and as they approached, Jack could hear them talking her ears off. Concern crossed Jack’s mind, however. Penny did not look well and from how her t-shirt and shorts hung on her and how knobby her knees were, Jack just knew she was struggling again with anorexia.
“Pe… Penny,” Ellie said happily and when Penny arrived, Ellie held up her hands.
“There’s my Ellie,” Penny said and picked the little girl up. She held her tightly and nuzzled her neck. Jack was certain he could see tears in Penny’s eyes. The concern he felt for Penny doubled. “Privet, Ivan.”
“Privet, Penelope,” he replied and gave her a kiss on each sunken cheek. They stared at each other for a few moments. She looked like she wanted to say something but then broke her gaze and stared past Jack’s head.
“Penny, come see our castle!” Millie yelled and tugged on Penny’s hand. Jack returned to the grass to watch as Penny interacted with the kids. It gave Jack an opportunity to observe her further. Her long chestnut hair was pulled tightly back into a ponytail which seemed to accentuate how thin her face was. Beneath her t-shirt he could see her shoulder blades sticking out and as she helped Ellie form a sand flower, he couldn’t believe how much thinner her already thin fingers were. They were skeletal. Her brown eyes, usually so bright and warm, were dull and sad. A terrible feeling of dread formed in the pit of his stomach. Penny needed help again. She looked worse than when he found out she suffered from anorexia during their freshman year. She refused medical help then for the eating disorder but did get better on her own. Although Jack read up as much as he could after learning of the disease, he was no expert but he thought it was a good bet she might need medical assistance now.
Penny smiled a lot with the kids but it was forced. Jack felt confusion rise within him. Even Crystal had to have noticed how thin Penny was but she said nothing to him. They were close friends also. Shouldn’t she have cared? Jack was perplexed; he was anxious to get home, put the chicken in the oven and pull Crystal aside to talk to her.
They stayed for about a half an hour until Ellie grew cranky and more tired. Jack had to carry her the six blocks home since the two secondhand strollers they did have were too small for her. Penny held hands with Millie and Sasha. Even those two were tired; the silence was odd out of the two.
“How did your finals go?” Jack asked as they started up the stairs to his apartment.
“I could have done better,” she replied, her voice weary.
“What? Did you get an A minus?” he joked. In their almost three-year friendship, Penny had strived almost to a fault for absolute perfection in her studies. Anything less than a 100% was unacceptable to her. She was even more obsessed with doing well than he was and there was many a time when he worried about the stress she put on herself. He wondered if the anorexia was a cause of the stress or was a result of the stress. Jack wanted to know about the origins of her anorexia but he had a sneaky suspicion it lay in her past which she wouldn’t speak about.
“I failed my Contemporary Lit class,” she said. Jack stopped moving in shock. “The rest of my grades are C’s.”
“Penny, what happened?”
“It was just a bad semester,” she mumbled and kept on ascending the stairs.
Jack insisted on the little ones taking a short nap when they got back to the apartment. Millie, who thought she was too old for naps, only agreed as long as Penny was the one putting them down. Jack thought it was a great idea. He felt he could use the opportunity to talk to Crystal. He found her in their bedroom. Nattie was asleep in the crib
and Crystal was sitting on the bed folding towels.
“How’d your test go?” she asked after they exchanged kisses. He sat across from her and began helping with the laundry.
“I did well,” he replied. “How was Nattie this afternoon?”
“Absolutely perfect,” she said with a smile.
“Ellie said a new word while we were at the park.”
“Really? What?”
“‘Penny’.”
“Aww, that’s so great.” Jack watched his fiancé’s reaction closely. He was hesitant to tell her of this new development. Crystal had hoped her second word might be Mama. She seemed pleased, however.
“Speaking of Penny, have you noticed how thin she has become?” Crystal finished folding her towel and looked to be pondering his question.
“Yes.”
“Why did you not say something to me? She looks awful. I am worried about her.”
“I guess I just figured she’d not accept help like last time,” Crystal explained with a shrug and pulled another towel from the laundry basket. “It’s her life, Jack. She is choosing to do this to herself.” These words from Crystal troubled him.
“She is not choosing anorexia,” he clarified. “I do not think she recognizes what is going on. And maybe this time will be different. Maybe she will want help now.”
“Jack, don’t be so naïve. She knows exactly what she’s doing. Anorexia is about being in control during times of upheaval. Isn’t that what you told me when you did all that reading about it when we found out she had anorexia?”
“Upheaval,” he repeated slowly. It was just a bad semester. Penny’s words echoed in his mind. Something was up and because of how busy he was that semester, he didn’t know what was going on. “How are things with Penny and Shane? Have you noticed any more suspicious bruising?”
Aftermath (The Deceptions Trilogy Book 2) Page 10