Jacklyn Baker (called_jack) wrote in the_colony, @ 2009-11-01 19:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 00, jacklyn baker, jed bailey, | jack and jed |
Characters: Jack Baker, Jed Bailey (and Rocky)
Location: A park in Jack's neighborhood
Summary: An injury leads to a series of revelations; Jack becomes Jacklyn and a deal is struck
Rating: PG
"Go Rocky!" Jack shouted, hanging tight onto the dog's leash. She'd discovered last week that if she got Rocky running, he could pull her on her skateboard and it'd quickly become one of her favorite games. The open spaces of the tennis and basketball courts at the park were perfect for this but today Rocky was pulling Jack along the concrete paths that cut their way through the park. Jed was nearby with the remains of the food. He'd been the first to bring food back when they first started meeting, walking up with snacks. Once Jack realized anything she brought with her would be safe, she started bringing her own lunch, sharing scraps with Rocky. She loved that dog and when Jack urged him to run faster, he did. Jack loved the freedom of being pulled. It felt like flying. But Rocky veered suddenly to the right as the skateboard hit a patch of gravel. The board went flying out from under Jack's feet and then it wasn't flying so much as falling as Jack skid to a stop against the rough pavement.
Jed couldn't help it. His first response was to laugh. "Jeez, kid," he called, pushing himself to his feet and heading over. "You really turfed it."
Rocky didn't get far before realizing he'd lost his riding partner, racing back to run circles around her.
Jack glared, resenting being laughed at. Especially when it hurt. Rocky darted in, trying to lick her face and she glared at him too. "Go away, Rocky." Quickly, she took an inventory. She'd skinned her hands and knees and though they stung, she'd had worse. Worse like the way her arm was throbbing. She got to her feet and inspected her right arm. A long stretch of her outer forearm was torn up, blood mixing with dirt and gravel. "Ow."
"Hey, he's just tryin' to say he's sorry," Jed said, leaning over to give Rocky a pat. Then he looked up and saw Jack's bloodied arm. With the kid trying so hard to be tough, and with Jed having next to no experience with kids, most of the time it was easy to forget how young Jack was. Right now, though, he looked awfully small. He reached out, gingerly taking Jack's elbow for a better look. "Shit, you alright?"
Jack stiffened with surprise at the touch. After her dad died, she'd only been touched by another person twice: once when the guy who robbed her hit her, and once when she shook Jed's hand. It was weird but she relaxed almost immediately. Jed was trying to help. "I'm okay," she said, trying to be tough and ignore how much it hurt.
Trying to hold back a smile, Jed shook his head. "And how okay you gonna be when we gotta chop your arm off 'cause it's infected?" he teased, giving Jack a light, fond smack to the head. "You go in the bathrooms over there and start washin' it off; I'll grab my bandage kit from the truck."
"Okay." Jack walked over to the girls' restrooms, Rocky running after her. She let the water run in the sink but it didn't seem like it would ever get warm. "Ow ow ow," she commented, twisting awkwardly to get the back of her arm under the faucet.
Kit in hand, Jed jogged back to the little park building, going into the men's room. It was empty, but he could hear water running. Raising an eyebrow, he went out and around to the other side. "Jack?" he said, opening the door. Sure enough. He gave a laugh. "I guess it don't really matter any more, but what're you doin' in here?"
Jack pulled her arm out from under the tap, dripping water onto the concrete floor. She forgot she was supposed to be a boy and she couldn't think of a good lie. "Umm..."
Jed wasn't entirely sure what to make of that expression. "It don't matter," he said again, grinning. "Not like there's anyone here to get you in trouble."
Jack looked surprised at his reaction, and then relieved he didn't say anything else about it. "Um, did I get all the dirt out?" she asked Jed, showing him her arm. "I can't tell."
That wasn't exactly what Jed had been expecting; it was almost as if Jack was avoiding the topic. Frowning slightly, he leaned over to inspect the wound. "Yeah, looks like you did a good job," he said. And then, for the first time, he really looked at Jack's face. It was hard to tell rightly with kids, especially that young, but Jed's stomach started squirming. He turned, opening the kit, his heartbeat jumping. How the hell was he supposed to ask?
"Watch it, this is gonna sting," he warned, wiping the wound with an antibiotic wipe. After a couple seconds, he asked, "Is Jack short for anything? Like my real name's Jedaiah, but everyone calls me Jed. You got a longer name?"
It did sting and Jack hissed, bouncing up and down on her toes, just to take her mind off it. Then Jed asked what her name was. What if Jed got mad at her? If he got mad at her, he and Rocky might not want to come see her anymore. That was scary. She didn't answer.
He--She wasn't looking at him. A girl. I been spending all this time with a little girl. And now I'm in a girls' bathroom with her. Jesus Christ. He took out some wadding, pressing it over the still-bleeding arm. "Hold this," he said, grabbing the bandage. As he began to wrap it up, he finally said, "It don't matter, y'know. Yer name. Anything. Just would be good to know fer certain."
Jack bit her lip and tried to ignore the throbbing in her arm. She still looked scared. "It's Jacklyn. Don't be mad at me."
"Mad?" he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze once he finished tying off the arm. "Why would I be mad?" Completely out of my depths, sure, but not mad. "Hell, I say that's pretty smart. Gotta be safer, pretendin' yer a boy."
"Yeah," Jack agreed, thinking about being robbed and looking down at her newly bandaged arm. "It is." She reached down to stroke Rocky's head. "Thanks, Jed."
"Hey, yeah, sure, no problem," he said, concentrating on putting the kit away. A girl. He let out a breath. "Jack, I ever tell you 'bout my friend Alice?"
Jack rubbed Rocky's soft ear between thumb and forefinger. "Nope. There are more people?"
"Yeah. She's the only one I seen in Vegas, though. You wanna meet her?" Jed watched Jack's reaction carefully. "She's real nice."
Jack looked unsure. People made her nervous but if this was Jed's friend... It was confusing. "I dunno."
"You don't have to," he added quickly. "Juss, I think you'd get along, and she lives in a nice house an' all." And she knows a helluva lot more about little girls than me.
"I'm not going to some random person's house," Jack protested immediately.
"Alright, alright. Guess that makes sense." Jed chewed his lip. It'd been tough enough leaving a little kid alone, but how was he supposed to expect a little girl to be safe out there? If she didn't want to go to Alice's, though, well there was another option, but he wasn't exactly comfortable with that either. "How old are you, Jack?"
Jack looked up at Jed, the lie on the tip of her tongue. But was there a point in lying now he knew she wasn't really a boy? "Twelve," she said honestly.
Jesus Christ. He shook his head. "Jack, I... I ain't real comfortable leavin' you alone. I mean, I don' even know where you live. What if somethin' happens to you?"
Nothing was going to happen. She'd been stupid the last time; she was much smarter now. Jack wanted to cross her arms but her right arm was still throbbing too much for that. Instead she raised her chin and tried to look tough. "I told you I can take care of myself."
Jed gave a breath of a laugh. "Jack, I got guns, a truck, a dog, two feet, and one hundred 'n fifty pounds on you, and even I ain't all safe. It don't matter how tough you are, there's always someone tougher out there. That's why you gotta have friends."
"I am safe!" Jack snapped. Annoyed at Jed for wanting to scare her, she stomped back out of the bathroom towards where she had left her skateboard.
Gritting his teeth, Jed followed right after her, kit in hand, Rocky running back and forth between them. "Jack, I was juss sayin'-- Don' be stupid," he said, grabbing her shoulder to stop her.
Jack stopped, jerking away. "I'm not stupid."
"Yer right, yer not stupid, yer actin' like a little kid," Jed said, hands on his hips. "And little kids ain't allowed to live alone."
"I'm not a little kid," Jack said, glaring.
"Yeah, you are," Jed said firmly, putting his hand on her head to prove it.
Jack swatted his hand away. "I've been doing fine before you came." That was half a lie. She had been fine but she'd been hurt and lonely too.
"Fer how long? This ain't a short time thing, Jack. It's permanent. You might be gettin' by now, but there's a helluva lot of future, and there's dangerous people out there." He took a breath, running a hand over his face. He hadn't wanted to really scare her, but if she was going to be stubborn... "I met some of 'em. They're only lookin' out for themselves, and they would hurt you, Jack. They wouldn't even care."
Jack didn't like this conversation. She didn't like this conversation at all. "I know!" she snapped. "I said I'm not stupid. I been robbed. I know. What do you think I cut my hair for?"
That stopped him short. He stared, frozen for a few seconds. "Oh," he finally said, his eyes darting away. He had no idea what to say to her now; he felt bad enough for berating her before. "Right. Okay."
"Okay." She didn't know what they were talking about anymore, so Jack just bent and picked up her skateboard.
"Look, Jack," Jed said, his voice a lot gentler now, "I'm not saying you have to or anything, but if you want to, you can stay with me. At least let me know where yer stayin', so I can check in sometimes, make sure nothin's happened."
Jack didn't know what to do and for about the millionth time, she wished her parents here only to have to remind herself not to be dumb, they were gone and weren't ever coming back. "Why? If there are all these bad people who are gonna hurt me, how come you won't?"
His stomach wrenched, but at least it meant she was being cautious. Jed squatted down, now shorter than Jack. "'Cause I ain't bad. I got no reason to hurt you. Hell, you're a good kid, so I wanna keep you safe. Besides, Rocky likes you, and he needs more friends," he added, smiling slightly though he didn't really feel it.
Her dad used to kneel down like Jed was now and Jack frowned and took a step back. She didn't know what to do about his offer to stay with him, that she would have to think about carefully. First, the last test to see if Jed really was as okay as he seemed to be. "Guinn Middle School. That's where I live." She hoped this wasn't another stupid thing she was doing.
Well, it was something at least. "Alright then," he said, his smile more sincere "You still wanna keep meetin' here to play with Rocky?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I do."
Pushing himself to his feet, Jed said, "Sounds good. We'll keep meetin' up, same time, and this way if yer ever not here, I'll know where to find you. And I won't come to the school unless you ask me. Deal?"
Jack finally smiled again. "Deal."