Page 79 of Wrath

“She means well,” I explain, knowing that Anita can be a little overbearing. There are days when she still believes she’s married and tries to convince herself, and everyone around her, that she’s happy. Then we get the days where she must remember Cliff, and what happened to her husband, because she insists on keeping busy and is far less cheerful.

“She’s nice.” Jenika smiles as she curls up on the couch and wraps her arms around her knees. “She talks about her kid alot, she really loves him. Why is he not here with her?” It’s the first time Jenika has encouraged any form of conversation and it excites me that we’re making more progress.

“For a start, Richie’s not a kid. He’s a member of the club, who they call Grimm. He doesn’t want her to know that he’s one of them, and ironically she doesn’t want him to know about the history she has with one of the ex-presidents,” I explain, trying to keep up with the whole situation myself.

“That makes no sense.” The girl shakes her head.

“I know, right? I guess they just want the other person to be proud of them, and I get that.”

“Were your parents proud of you?” Jenika sounds intrigued.

“My adoptive parents were. They were great people and very proud. They were there at every recital I did, and they kept all my school reports.” I smile to myself when I remember them both.

“Sorry, I had no idea you were adopted, I thought Raze was your real brother.”

“Razeismy real brother. We share the same biological father and different mothers. Our dad was a member of this club, still is, I think.” I don’t have any memories of my mother before she died, all I ever knew were my adoptive parents. Somedays, I feel guilty for being curious. Had I not been, they might still be alive.

“So, your real father…I take it you found him and that's why you're here?” Jenika drops her arms and seems to open herself up a little.

“Searching for him brought me here and that's how I met Raze, but as for my father…still not met him. That was a long time ago, he didn't want to see me then and he doesn’t want to see me now. He’s had plenty of opportunities but–” I shrug my shoulders and pretend that it doesn’t hurt.

“Well, he’s missing out, you're kinda cool,” the girl tells me, as she plays with a loose thread on her jumper.

“How about you, have you got family somewhere?” Up till now, I haven’t wanted to press her too hard on where she came from, but it feels as if she’s dropping her guard.

“Nowhere near here.” She shakes her head and I can feel her starting to go into herself again.

“So, what brought you to Long Beach?” I try to keep things casual, knowing that Raze pushed her too hard during the first few days she was here. He and Aaron are so desperate to find out more information about who captured her, that they forgot to be mindful of the fact she’s a victim. It made her clam up. Luckily, with some persuasion, I managed to convince them to let me take over. It may be a slower process than what they are used to but it seems to be working.

“I met some guys in a bar, they were a band and looking for a female vocalist. This is where we ended up.”

“I take it things with the band didn’t work out?” I grit my teeth.

“The drummer tried to put his fingers in me while I was sleeping.” She rolls her eyes. “That’s when I parted ways with them and decided to freelance. I got a few gigs in some bars, nothing that anyone paid much attention to. But all it takes is that one person, in the right place, at the right time to make it big.” She sounds optimistic, despite all that’s happened to her.

“I’d love to hear you sing.” I look at her hopefully, but she quickly shakes her head.

“Come on, I bet you're great.” I nudge her with my shoulder.

“I’m not doing it. Okay?” she snaps, and when she gets up from her chair and storms into the bathroom, I hear the door lock after she’s slammed it.

“Jenika,” I call after her. “I’m sorry, I didn't mean to push you. I just… I really wanted to hear you sing, and if it’s something that makes you feel good, you should do it.”

I hear the door unlock and when she steps back out, her hands are shaking.

“It’ll never make me feel good, ever again,” she admits. Closing her eyes and making more tears stream down her face. “He used to make me sing when I was in that container,” she sobs, and I feel my heart sink. “Over and over until my voice went croaky and my throat felt like it had been scratched.”

“How long were you there?” I ask, remembering to stay calm and not push too hard. I won’t make the same mistake as my brother, this can’t turn into an interrogation.

“I don’t know, I lost all track of time. I was in the dark for so long, the light outside still hurts my eyes.

“And was he with you the whole time?” I need to keep her focused.

“No, he came and went, sometimes he’d be gone so long I thought he was never coming back.” She clenches her fists. “I hated myself for feeling that relief when he did, but I was just so scared of dying.”

“Jenika.” I go to put my arm around her but she steps back.

“He used to pull the sack I was wearing up to my nose, sometimes it would be to feed me, and sometimes…” She places her hand over her mouth like she’s gonna be sick. “He’d put himself in my mouth, force me to choke. Sometimes I’d be sick, one time I thought I was going to suffocate, but he just laughed.”

---