Family Matters II
To say that, when he’d turned up at her doorstep (again), Ben was freaked out was an understatement. Simon had taken one look at him and after his cursory ”I don’t like the fact that he’s here again, jenny, he’s bad news” promptly pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a glass and pushed both towards the shaken thirty three year old.
He’d taken another look at Jenny before he’d excused himself and left the siblings to it.
Ben poured himself at least four fingers of whiskey and put the bottle back on the table, eyeing the amber liquid and swirling it around the glass. It looked like he was about to consider asking for ice when the look on Jenny’s face - somewhere between frustration and concern.
“What happened?” she asked, cutting to the chase as he looked like he was going to distract her someway, ask for something and just hide out in her home - putting her at risk again - for it all to blow over.
Ben took a breath and tipped his head back, glass against his lips as he took the drink like a shot, coughing as the liquid hit the back of his throat. His hands were shaking.
“I- I’m in trouble again, Jenny,” he admitted softly, clearing his throat and raking his hands through his hair, the glass back on the table. “Real trouble this time. I mean- there’s- I’m gonna die.”
“What?!” Jenny exclaimed, voice lifting in pitch to almost a screech. Panic slammed into her, what the hell had he been doing?! What was going on that he was afraid that he was going to be killed?!
Ben just looked at her plaintively and shook his head. He couldn’t talk about it. He chewed his lower lip and let out a frustrated sound, leaning forward. His elbows rested on his knees and he put his head in his hands.
The fine tremble in his body and it gave away the seriousness of the situation. Jenny chewed her lower lip and watched for a moment before she sighed.
“You need to tell me,” she said softly, sliding off her chair and kneeling on the floor in front of her brother. “Ben...”
Ben just looked at her, made eye contact and shook his head. His eyes, brown like hers, were wide and terrified. After a second, concentration flickered through them and Jenny’s widened a moment later when she heard Can’t you just take it outta my head?
She sat on the floor, surprise and shock warred with worry and concern because how did he know?!
“I worked it out when you were a kid,” Ben said, reaching out and cupping her cheek. She curled her fingers around his wrist and squeezed gently. “Doesn’t much matter to me, JJ. Don’t give a shit whether or not you can blow people’s heads up or just read their minds. You’re my sister.”
Despite the situation, Jenny felt tears welling in her eyes. She leaned up and wrapped her arms around her brother’s neck and he curled his arms around her waist, pulling her between his legs as he hugged her tightly. He hid his face in her hair, she hid hers in his neck and his fingers twisted in the blue t-shirt she was wearing.
“Please, Jen, I- I can’t- I can’t talk about it.”
“I’ve- Ben...” Jenny’s forehead creased as she leaned back and framed his face with her hands. He looked so scared and desperate that her heart twisted and she made a soft sound, chewing the inside of her lip. He could sense how nervous she was, just as she knew how nervous he was at the prospect of her digging around in his head.
“Please...”
“Ssh,” Jenny said, brushing her thumb over his cheek, “okay, Ben. Okay. Just- Relax.”
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes and Jenny mimicked him. She took another breath and stretched out her mind, pushing gently against his. His mind put up no resistance and she got in easily.
Think about what you’re trying to tell me...
He did, and Jenny felt sick with emotions as he walked her through the meeting he’d had. The man wore a hat low on his forehead and he was surrounded with smoke. She heard a New York accent and the impression of mob connections.
He gave me till the end of the week to get the money I owe him. He took over my debts. $40,000. I have got to the end of the week. I- I’ve got till the end of the week. If I don’t find the money, he’ll kill me.
His name’s Tropiano. New guy in town. It’s like he’s taking over. I- I saw what he does to people who don’t pay him.
Images flashed through her mind, enough fractured pictures to make her stomach turn and she broke the connection, chest heaving and nose bleeding. She felt faint and dizzy, hands flat on the floor as she breathed through the nausea what she’d seen. What Ben had seen.
“God, Ben... What did you do?”
“I-” Ben’s eyes shone and when he blinked, tears fell and plinked into Jenny’s hair, the back of her head. “I”m so sorry little sister. I don’t know what to do. I- there’s no way I can get the money by the end of the week. I can’t. I’ll be one of those bodies dragged out of the river, bloated and unrecognisable and you’ll be the only one who-”
He was cut off by a sharp slap to the face. “Don’t you dare talk like that,” Jenny snapped, lifting her head quickly in a way that made the world spin. Her nose was still bleeding and she frowned, deciding on what she needed to do, but it would have to wait until her dizziness passed. “We’ll fix this,” she promised, kissing his cheek and putting her hands on his knees, using them as leverage to get herself to her feet.
“I promise you, I”ll fix it.”
Of course, her statement would have been far more convincing if she hadn’t fainted as soon as she’d gotten to her feet.