[ti]Invite[/ti]Don't get too close, it's dark inside

The night was calm seemed just like any other night. Last month, he had been on the graveyard shift, which he didn't mind. He'd gotten used to staying up all night and sleeping all day. Then they switched him back to day shifts, which didn't bother him either. Nothing they could do bothered him, except giving him more responsibilities and titles that he neither needed nor wanted. He liked the simple things in life. Having bar-b-ques and drinking beer and relaxing. His thoughts swam with the current like the river that wound into the outskirts of their districts and he allowed his mind to wander, not really thinking about anything in particular. He hadn't realized his gait had slowed until he felt someone run into him.

Jake jumped forward at the sudden collision, more surprised than anything. The worst possible scenarios invaded his mind. A murderer. A flesh-eater. His hands went to his side where his side arm usually hung, but he wasn't in uniform. When he turned to look at who or what had run into him, he saw Aurelia in the moonlight. A shadow was cast on her face, but he could the distraught look on her face, though nothing else.

He moved towards her, back on the path, his hands reaching to either side of her arms. "Aurelia, what happened? Are you okay?" worry filled him. He'd heard something inside the house and wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't think it was anything that he had to get involve in. Had someone gotten hurt?

WC: 260
TAG: Aurelia Aker

Aurelia's mom. Since Jake was small, Chenise hid behind a facade. He was too young to see it then, how people put on masks and said and did things they didn't mean, or did mean. But he knew that something was deeply wrong. He didn't hate Chenise, because he didn't understand her. But he hated the way Chenise treated Aurelia. It was always her, too. Sometimes she and John would have arguments, but most of the time it was just banter. And towards Jake, she was always too sweet. Waiting on him hand and foot. At first, when they were young and he had just started living with the Aker family, Jake felt good about Chenise paying him so much attention. He smirked when Aurelia would get in trouble for small things, but soon, he realized that it didn't make him feel as good as he thought. Little by little, he started coming to Aurelia's rescue. He'd shrug things off and just say it didn't matter to make whatever was going on no bid deal. Most of the time, he was able to appease Chenise. Other times, he used her liking for him to his advantage. He wasn't sure why Chenise was always so nice to him. Maybe she wanted to look good to other people and what kind of woman would she be if she treated an orphan boy to two war heroes poorly? It didn't matter. What mattered was that for as long as Jake had known them, Chenise had always had a problem with her own daughter.

His arms wrapped around her, feeling the way her body trembled against his. He pet her head when she leaned against his chest, moving her hair neatly to the side so that it wouldn't get stuck on her face along with her tears. "I'm sorry, Bee," he said. It was the same thing he always said. He was always sorry. Sorry because he couldn't always be there to protect her from her mother. Sorry that he couldn't change her mother. Sorry that this was happening. Sorry that he couldn't change it. He always thought that he had the power to stop it, permanently, somehow. But he never figured out how exactly. He could only get in the middle of it and stop it at that moment, but the next day would be another day, another abuse. 

After a while, he put his hands on her arms and moved her away slightly so he could look at her face. The moonlight shone on her face just right and he could see a swell on her cheek. Anger filled him, his hands moving away from Aurelia and closing into fists. Before he could control what he was doing, he was already walking down the path back to the house. He saw red and no thought entered his mind, only the pure blinding anger that devoured him.

WC: 485
TAG: Aurelia Aker

Anger had always been his drive, anger had always been there for him when he needed it. He turned to anger every time conflict faced him. It had been his friend and the only real constant in his life. It was also something he couldn't change. Over the years, he'd become more patient, but at the same time the explosions got worse. When he moved out, he knew Aurelia was sad. But it wasn't until now until he realized the full affect of his moving out. He hadn't imagined that things could get worse. If anything, he thought that maybe his moving out would make Chenise nicer to her daughter. To focus all that sweetness she'd showed him to Aurelia. But he was wrong, so wrong.

Jake kept moving, his shoes gripping and pushing off the ground with such force he left tracks. He didn't care that Aurelia was trying to stop him. He continued to walk towards the house. When she grabbed his arm, he kept going, not letting her stop him. "Then stay out here," he said quietly, his mind focused one thing.

He kicked the gate open, the gate slamming against the wall. A hinge broke and the gate hung crooked. He forced the door open, but he didn't need to, it was unlocked. John and Chenise stood at the living room. He wasn't sure if they were arguing or just talking, but it didn't matter. Walking straight to them, he pointed a finger at Chenise.

"You are never laying another hand on her, ever again," his voice was a low and gravely. He was trying to contain his anger, but it was like trying to wrangle a bull with only his bare hands. He had so many more things to say to her, he wanted to yell at her, hell he even wanted to hit her. But instead he turned his attention to John. John, who had always been so understanding to his daughter. Who had taken him in when he was ten. Who looked out for him and loved him like he was his own son.

"And you let this happen," Jake's voice was lower now. He shook his head, not able to believe that this had happened under this roof that he'd lived in for eight years. Chenise moved towards him and tried to speak, but Jake picked the glass vase sitting right beside him on the table and threw it against the wall.

"No! You don't get to talk!" he yelled finally, his blood pumping so fast and hard inside his veins that all he could see was red. "Aurelia's staying with me," he said and upon seeing John about to talk he turned to him, "and if you try to stop her, I'm bringing the Peacekeepers here. I love you John, but you let this go on for years. I swear, I will take everything from you, your reputation, your home, everything! This ends, now."

Jake walked out and slammed the door behind them. He still couldn't think straight and he was so angry he was shaking. He walked to the gate and slammed it closed, when it kicked back to the stone wall, he kicked it. Then he kicked it over and over until all the hinges broke and the gate fell on the grass. Jake picked up the broken wooden gate and smashed it against the stone fence over and over and over until it broke in splinters. His breathing was heavy and staggered, his entire body seething with anger. Finally, he threw whatever piece was left of the gate on the ground and walked down the path.

"I'm sorry," he said. He wasn't one to cry, he'd never cried in his entire life. He wasn't going to start now, but it was difficult. He had never been so angry in his life. Not even when his parents died. Why was this so much worse? He took another deep breath and sniffed, wiping his nose. "I'm sorry, Bee. I just... I lost it. I'm sorry," he said. He felt something wet on his cheek, but he knew he hadn't cried. When he looked at his hands, they were bloody and splintered. Pushing his hands inside his pocket, he walked towards town.

WC: 715
TAG: Aurelia Aker

The town was just down the hill when he finally stopped. He took in the buildings below them. There were still people out and about in the streets, though not many. The town had wound down for the night. The silence of it made him stop and think, truly regretting how angry he got earlier at the house. But even with the regret, he felt he was justified. Aurelia, of all people, didn't deserve what she had to go through. He didn't know the whole story, but he realized now that it must have gone on for a long time right under their noses. Even if she didn't tell him, he should have known. He should have asked.

Slowly, he turned to her. He closed the space between them, pulling his bloody hands out of his pockets, and held her cheeks. He leaned down, his forehead touching hers.

"I'm sorry," he said in a soft whisper. "I know it's scary to see me like that. But I promise, I'd never hurt you, Aurelia," he closed his eyes and then kissed her gently on the forehead. Then his lips brushed against the top of her head, over her blonde hair, as he kissed that part of her too. It was intimate, the most intimate he'd ever been with her. Then he lifted up her chin and stared into her eyes, red and wet from crying. His thumb hovered over the welt on her cheek and he wanted to wipe away her tears, but he didn't want to hurt her.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" Jake hadn't even asked her if she wanted to go back to his place, he had just taken control of the situation as he had been trained to do as a Peacekeeper.

WC: 299
TAG: Aurelia Aker

Their walk to his apartment was a quiet one. He made sure to keep some distance between them. Jake knew that he was sometimes to pushy when it came to things he was passionate about, and sometimes that came off as too aggressive. The rest of the walk had calmed him down even more, his breathing was more normal and his hands had stopped shaking. It took him a few tries to unlock the apartment because he was finally feeling the cuts in his hands.

Aurelia had only been to his apartment twice. The first time was when everyone came over to see it a week after he'd moved in. At that time, all he had was a mattress on the floor and some kitchen things. The second time was only a month after that when he'd been sick and couldn't get out of bed. She'd brought him soup then. At that point, he had another furniture, a couch. But that was it.

He turned on the light and walked straight to the bathroom to clean up his cuts. Splinters stuck out of his flesh and proved difficult to take out, which frustrated him, but he tried to keep his composure. He'd just calmed down, he didn't want to get upset again. His apartment only had one bedroom and one bathroom. It was modestly decorated and since his favorite color was navy blue, most of the things in his apartment was that color. The walls were bare of any decoration. Only three pictures sat on the mantle, a picture of his parents, one with him, Aurelia, and John when he was 13. The last was a picture of him and Aurelia from almost one year back. That day, they were helping build one of the shelters for the elderly outside of town. He remembered it being a good day, flashes of that day played in his memory each time he looked at the picture. His arm was wrapped over Aurelia's shoulders, both of them wearing hard hats, and both of them laughing with their eyes closed.

"Just make yourself at home, there's take out in the fridge if you're hungry," he called from the bathroom as he painfully tried to pull the splinters out with a tweezer. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at himself in the mirror. He'd tried to be different, he really did. Maybe some people could never change? Maybe he just wasn't that person.

WC: 417
TAG: Aurelia Aker

Jake pulled out the splinters he could, though some very tiny pieces were stuck far too deep inside his skin. He washed off and slapped a palm sized bandage on both hands. Jake looked up at himself in the mirror again. Life had not been what he'd expected. He wasn't sure what he'd expected out of life, with both parents already dead. He had people, two genuine people, who cared about him. But was it really enough? For the past few years, and especially this past year after the war, he'd been on autopilot. Living life only because he was still breathing. In truth, he felt like he was just taking up space. He could be better, he could do better, he could push himself like John had been telling him to all these years. Be like your parents, he'd say. Take charge of your life.

But his parents were dead. And taking charge of their life and doing things got them dead. So what was better? He sighed and splashed some water from his face. He didn't know what he had to do, but he knew he had to do something for Aurelia. He owed her at least that much for abandoning her with her mother. He should have been there, but he wasn't.

He sat at the small, square dining table that held only two chairs. There was a vase in the middle with one of Aurelia's flowers. "Just a scratch," he put on a brave face, then grew solemn. "What happened? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But I'm a good listener, as you once told me. A long, long time ago."

WC: 283
TAG: Aurelia Aker

Jake's eyes never left Aurelia's face. He was familiar with the face that she put on, a mask to hide what she really felt. When she first started doing that, Jake was annoyed. Why did she hide how she felt? Why didn't she become angry, like him? Why didn't she fight back? But the more she did it, the more Jake realized, maybe she didn't have a choice. Just like he didn't have a choice every time he got angry. It was difficult to control when life felt out of control. He stopped blaming her for not speaking up or standing up for herself. Instead, he accepted it, just like he accepted every unfair thing in his life.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," he said. He had been tasked towards the outskirts of the District today and no one had told him about the incident. Normally, someone would tell him something about Aurelia. That they saw her at the market and she was doing good. But maybe they were afraid of what he would do once he learned that they had screwed up. Jake wasn't there at the market and he wasn't there when Chenise hit her. Life was so out of his control and he had no idea what to do anymore. Usually when life went so far out he couldn't do anything, he'd just let go and lay back. There was no point in worrying about things he couldn't control. But now, he felt as if he should do something. John was always telling him to just do something.

Jake put his arms on the table, one hand moving forward slightly towards her. "Bee, you know you don't have to stay there in that house," he began, "you can stay here. I mean not forever, if you don't want to. But you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want until you're ready to get a place of your own."

WC: 325
TAG: Aurelia Aker

Jake felt Aurelia's fingers brush against his before she held his hand. The contact triggered a shiver than at his fingertips and ran through the length of his arm, up to the hairs on his head, and down to the ends of his toes. It was a cold, inviting chill that caused him to pause for a moment. He'd been having this odd moments, he noticed, and always with Aurelia. He squeezed her hand slightly before running his thumb over her hand in a side to side motion.

"Please, you wouldn't be a burden," he said when she spoke again. Aurelia seemed to be starting to feel better. It helped with Jake's mood, because even when they were already miles away from the house, he still felt traces of anger. "You'll find a job in no time," he said giving her a supportive smile, but then his smile fell as soon as she said her last words. For an instant, and only an instant, he had an image of Aurelia wearing the same underwear she wore at the waterfall, but this time she was on his bed. His heart quickened and blood rushed to his face. His lips moved, but he was so lost for words that he bit his lip hard on accident. He touched his finger to his lip, a tiny spot of blood forming on the cut. Jake mumbled a curse at himself and licked off the blood from his lips.

"That's um...." Jake said as he stood up quickly, his hand pulling from hers. He looked frantically around the room, scratching the top of his head. "I should.... clean. Yeah. I'll just. The floors. Clean. Um. Bed sheets..." Jake walked away as quickly as he could towards the bedroom and shut the door. He tasted the blood from his lip as he pressed his back to the closed door, and then looked at the bed. Oh god. Jake quickly stripped the bed and threw the sheets, blankets, and pillows down. He rummaged through the closet and found clean bedding. Once his hands were able to slow down from the frantic movements, he thought about what he just saw in his mind. Did he just... Yes. He did... Did that mean... It might. Jake was in trouble.

WC: 384
TAG: Aurelia Aker