FicWad

"Um, what exactly did James tell you?" I asked mother nervously. Inside, I was boiling at James. How dare he betray me after promising not to tell my parents about Cutler? I was suddenly in a mood to grab and knife and stalk off to the Adams' house. Well, maybe not, but I was still very angry with James. I had trusted him and he had betrayed me.

"He told me what you did to him and why you left," mother replied simply, watching my reaction carefully. Not sure what she was trying to say, I raised my eyebrows and asked, "What exactly did James tell you?" Mother gave me a dirty look and replied, "Oh, stop pretending that you don't know what I'm talking about. He told me how you raped him and how you were so embarrassed that you ran away afterwards. I can't even begin to say just how ashamed I am oh you. I suppose I should've seen it coming though..."

Oh my god, so James had told mother that I had been the one to rape him? My eyes bulged as I realized this. How dare he? James had been the one to rape me, not vice versa. I couldn't believe the two of us had actually been friends at some point. James was so much different in this life than in the last. I wondered why. Was it because of our new parents? I didn't know.

"I'm not even sure how to begin to punish you," mother told me, frowning deeply at me. Not going to take the blame for something that I had not done, I opened my mouth and immediately protested, "I did nothing to James! He raped me." My mother rolled her eyes and looked down at my body, muttering, "You're nothing more than a pathetic little liar. Your father is quite angry with you."

Father? So he was home? Stiffening, I asked, "So father is home again?" Mother nodded and said, "I told him all about your little stunt. You'll stay here until you're better and then we'll find some consequences for you." Mother looked down at me and wrinkled her nose in disgust as she said, "I really hope we won't be having little babies soon."

"Mother, really!" I said, flinching at her words. At that moment, the bedroom door popped open and Alana looked in. Seeing me, she started to the bed, saying, "Jenna! I missed you so much. How are you?" Smiling back at her, I replied, "Fair enough. And you?" Before Alana could reach my bed, mother grabbed her arm and pulled her to a standstill.

Alana gave mother a strange look and asked, "Why can't I see Jenna? I heard something about babies. Is Jenna going to have a baby?" Mother continued to hold Alana back as she said, "Your sister is having a few minor problems right now. It would be best if you stayed away from her for now. And yes, there is a possibility she might be having a baby."

"That would be so nice!" Alana burst out. "I could have another little sister or brother!" Mother flinched at Alana's reaction. Shooting me a dirty look, she said, "Jenna having a baby is not a good thing. She's far too young to be having babies and she's not even married." Mother shuddered at the thought while Alana just looked slightly curious.

"I would still like a brother or sister," she said at last. "Mommy, how do babies happen?" At the question, mother stiffened and said nervously, "It's something you can learn about when you're older, my dear. It is something that should happen between married couples though, not between young lovers like how your sister here behaved."

Since I was a bit angry at the way my mother was behaving, I decided to piss her off just for my own pleasure. Looking at Alana, I said, "It's called sex." Alana looked slightly confused. She asked curiously, "What's sex like?" Smirking at mother, I started out, "It's when two people love each other physically. It's when you and whoever it is that you're with decide to-"

"My god, Jenna, that will be enough!" mother exclaimed, slapping my cheek hard. I flinched, but didn't regret anything. Alana still wanted to know about sex. She looked at me and asked, "What's physical love? Is that different than normal love?" Mother clapped a hand over my mouth before I could say anything. I jerked out of her hand and gave her a dirty look.

"Just because you've chosen to fuck up your own future does not mean that you're going to do the same to Alana," mother cursed at me. "Come, Alana, let's go." She took Alana's hand and led her out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. As I watched the two leave, it occurred to me just how much I hated my family. Perhaps I was better off on my own.

Over the next several weeks, my body healed. I could now stand and walk around, but mother continued to be mad at me. I still couldn't believe that she trusted James over me. At first, I had thought about visiting James and telling him just what I thought of him, but at a second though, I decided not to. I didn't trust James anymore. He had used me and hadn't even kept his bargain.

One night, I found I was thirsty and started to get up to fetch some water. When I was in the hallway, I could hear voices. I immediately came to a standstill and started eavesdropping. True, maybe it wasn't the best thing to do, but I figured I had a right to know what was going on. My mother was saying, "I think perhaps it is time we help Jenna out by sending her to St. Martha's Home."

"St. Martha's Home?" my father echoed. "Why would we do that? Isn't that where they send all the people with the mental problems?" Mother hesitated and then nodded, replying, "But Jenna does have a bit of a mental problem, don't you agree? I always thought that we should send her off somewhere. I am too afraid that her bad choices will influence Alana."

"So you're just going to get rid of her?" father asked dubiously. "I don't think that will work so well. Have you talked to Jenna about this?" There was a long silence during which my mouth dropped open. Mother sighed and admitted, "No, but perhaps that is for the best. We'll take her to town tomorrow and instead drop her off at St. Martha's Home."

"You do that then," my father said. I'm not going to be a part of it." Mother sighed and nodded, "Very well. I'll tell her I'm going to town in the morning and that I require her assistance. In the meantime, I'm going to get some sleep. It's going to be a long day." Father nodded and replied, "Me too. Come along, Madeline, dear. It's never good to be tired."

I watched them leave with big eyes, wondering how the hell mother thought she could do this to me. She was actually going to send me away to one of those places where they locked up crazy people? I may not be the normal kind of girl, but I certainly wasn't insane by any means. With that thought in mind, I realized my only option to avoid this fate was to run away tonight.

Not really wanting to do this, but not really having a choice. I tiptoed back to my bedroom to prepare to leave. As soon as I was in my bedroom, I pulled on my nicest dress and applied heavy makeup on my face. If I was going to be out on my own, I was going to have to pretend I was older than I actually was. Unfortunately, aging five years is not the easiest thing to do.

After getting everything together, I sighed and looked up at the window. Taking a deep breath, I jumped up onto the bed and started cranking the window open. It opened without a sound. Looking through my doorway to freedom, I took one last look around the room. I couldn't say I was going to miss my home. My mother and father didn't like me at all. Alana was nice, but she was young.

Knowing that I was making a good decision, I hauled myself through the window and stepped outside. After glancing both ways to make sure nobody was watching me, I tore off running towards town. As I ran, I wondered if my mother would even bother to search for me this time. Maybe she would be glad that I was no longer burdening her.

I ran until I reached the center of town. Once I reached the thick of the crowd, I stopped and panted, holding a stitch in my side. Walking around aimlessly with no destination in mind, I found myself standing in front of a tavern. I wasn't quite sure exactly how I had gotten here, but now that I was here, I figured I might as well go on inside.

Hoping that nobody would notice how young I was, I stepped into the tavern. There were loud men and women everywhere, but mostly men. Most of the women were whores flirting with the drunk men. Feeling a little bit lost and helpless, I stumbled around, thinking about what I wanted to do until a man randomly tapped my arm and said, "Hey there. Are you lost?"

Looking up, I saw a man who looked about my dad's age. He had stubby brown hair and kind eyes. Feeling like I could trust him, I asked, "I'm looking for a place to stay for the night. And I kind of need a job too." I sighed miserably as I thought about all this. How was I suppose to get a job and afford a place to stay? At this rate, I was going to end up on the streets.

"Well, I can help you out with one of your problems," the man said. He pointed to a door behind the bar and said, "I rent that room out year round. There's nobody using it currently. If you'd like it, feel free to take it. You are gonna have to pay at least a little bit though." I was grateful to him, but a bit unsure how in the world I could make enough money to afford to pay him.

"Thank you," I started out, "Unfortunately, I have no money though and I couldn't pay you." At my words, a sly smile slid across the man's face and he said, "Oh, I'm sure a pretty little girl like you can figure out some way or another to make money." With that said, he looked across the room. I followed his gaze out of curiosity and noticed he was looking at two whores.

I stared at them blankly, wondering what the man was suggesting. Suddenly, my mouth fell open and I gaped at him as I asked, "You don't think I could actually...you know?" I had never thought about whoring before for a living, but now that I thought of it, it was a rather easy way to make money. All you had to do was let people have your body. It was very simple.

The man winked at me and said, "Why not? You're a pretty one and you're quite young. I'm sure the men would like a woman who isn't all used up. So what do you say? Would you like the room? You don't have to pay me day by day. You can just pay at the end of the month. After all, we all know that some days are better than others when it comes to business.

I finally decided that this was probably going to be the best option I ever had. Taking a deep breath, I signed my life away and said, "Thank you, Sir. I would like the room very much." Smiling at me, the man replied, "It's all yours then. Go ahead and settle yourself in if you like. It's all yours. You must be tired. You had a long journey, did you not?"

"Yes, it was rather long," I replied. "Thank you again." As I started to walk off, the man tapped my shoulder and handed me a bottle of rum. I looked at it curiously and raised my eyebrows at him, wondering what it was for. The man gave me a friendly smile and said, "Take it as a welcoming present. There are always some privileges to owning your own tavern."

I took the bottle and asked him with interest, "So this is your tavern?" The man nodded, replying, "Yep, it sure is. Now I have customers to attend to. Make yourself at home." Nodding, I went behind the bar and slipped through the door leading to my new room. It wasn't much, but it was enough. There was a small bed by one wall along with a small desk and candlestick.

I lit the candle and sat on the bed, thinking about what I had done today. To be honest, what I wanted most was Cutler. How the hell was I suppose to find him though? He was off at Port Birch and I had no clue how to find the Port. Also, what if he was mad at me? What if he thought I had left him on purpose and now he didn't want to see me? My heart banged louder in my chest at that thought. I couldn't spend an eternity without Cutler. I couldn't spend the rest of my life whoring either. Something was going to have to change. Soon. With that thought in mind, I rolled over and fell asleep.