Every Rose Has Its Thorns

Chapter 9

        Jo dipped in and out of consciousness, never becoming fully aware of her surroundings - only of the constant throbbing ache in her head, weighing her down like a rock beneath a strong current. When she fully came to it was to the sound of an unfamiliar voice. She slowly opened her eyes to a dim room, confused. 

        A man stood to her left. He looked like a doctor, a white coat donned over a sensible khaki and button-down ensemble. Jo blinked at him, trying to remember where she was. 

        "Hi there. I'm Dr. Salisbury. Can you tell me your name?" he asked in a kind voice. 

        Confused, Jo answered him. "Jo. I mean, Joyce. Joyce Marin. What happened?" 

        The doctor looked at her kindly, pulling a pen light out of his pocket. "Follow the light with your eyes ok? The best you can." Jo complied, doing so again when he told her to follow his finger. He ran through a few more tests, checking her motor function and her memory. 

        When he was done he stepped out of the room, giving Jo a minute to think. She looked around and found herself back in the same large room. She was lying on the bed and her head was pounding. She remembered running out of the greenhouse, finding the gate in the wall. She lifted a hand to her head as she remembered the fall, the dull ache bringing back the sharp pain of the impact. 

        Jo tried to sit up, using her elbows to support her but the second her head lifted off the pillow a hot pain seared across the back of her head. At the same moment the door to the bedroom opened again and Jack appeared. When he saw her trying to sit up he rushed to her side, "Woah, woah don't try to get up, you've hit your head pretty hard." Disoriented from the pain Jo let Jack guide her head back down to the pillow. The doctor appeared beside them and he looked down at Jo kindly. 

        "You seem to be doing alright, Jo. As far as I can tell you only have a mild concussion, but seeing as you lost consciousness for such an extended period of time I don't want to take any chances. I'm going to give you something to help manage the pain and I'll be checking in on you everyday. I've told Jack here to monitor you in case things take a turn for the worse. You're going to have to take it easy for a while." 

        Jo nodded but winced at the pain the movement caused her head. Jack gripped her hand tightly, a worried look plastered across his face. "I'm going to go talk to Dr. Salisbury but I'll be right back. Please try to relax." He lifted her hand to his lips and gave it a quick peck before leaving the room once more. 

        Jo closed her eyes again. The curtains had been pulled across the window and the sun had long set but the little light there was in the room wasn't helping her headache. She started to drift off and when the door opened a few minutes later she kept her eyes closed. She felt the bed dip next to her and a hand reach up, brushing her hair from her forehead. 

        She opened her eyes to find Jack watching her. She furrowed her brow, confused by the concern she met in his face. 

        "You scared me there for a minute Jo," he said quietly. 

        "What happened," she asked. She thought she remembered but she wanted him to confirm. "How long have I been out?"

        "A couple of hours," Jack said. He looked down, like he was ashamed, a flash of anger moving across his features but it was gone as quickly as it came. "When you ran I panicked. I went overboard trying to stop you and you hit your head on the gate. I'm so sorry, mio amore, can you ever forgive me?"

        Jo was more confused than ever. "You're not angry with me for running away?" 

        Jack shook his head, no. "You were scared, love, I can't fault you for that. I'm angry with myself for hurting you. When you lost consciousness I ran you back inside and called the doctor. We just had to wait for you to wake up," Jack stopped, wrapping both of his hands around hers and bringing it to his lips. "If anything had happened to you, I'd never forgive myself. I'm lucky it wasn't worse than a mild concussion."

        Jo looked at him, speechless. She was too tired to process what he was saying, but hearing that he wasn't angry had lifted a block of fear from her chest she didn't know was there. She closed her eyes again, wanting to go back to sleep. 

        "Jo, I need you to take your pain medication before you can sleep. I'll need to wake you every couple of hours tonight, just to make sure you're ok. Doctor's orders." 

        Jo felt him move off the bed and get something. When he returned he gripped her upper body and helped her to sit up enough to swallow her pain medication. She winced as she sat up but his support helped. He handed her a couple of white pills and she looked at them hesitantly. "Please take them, love. I know you're hurting." She shook off the paranoia and took them. Jack held a glass of water to her lips and she swallowed. Then he helped her to lie back down. He was so gentle, she couldn't help but feel safe for the moment. She closed her eyes again, feeling herself drift off, Jack's warm presence never leaving her side.

______

        As promised Jack roused her every few hours just long enough to ensure she was okay but Jo barely registered him when he came in. The stress and exhaustion of the past few days combined with her head injury had finally wore her out. After her interaction with Jack and the doctor she felt safe enough for the time being to really let herself sleep. 

        When Jo awoke the next day she was alone. The throbbing pain in her head had dulled to a more manageable headache and as she sat up from the bed, she managed to do so without too much discomfort. The curtains had been pulled back from the window, letting light pour into the room. When Jo looked for a clock on the nightstand she instead found a small tray with water and two pills, a small note folded on top. 

        She picked up the note first, reading it as she swallowed the two pills. 

        Good morning, Jo. In case I'm not there when you wake up, please take the medicine I've left for you. I'll be up to check on you as soon as I can, mio amore. xx Jack

        Jo was still exhausted. The emotions that bubbled under the surface at the thought of Jack were buried beneath her more immediate need to recover. She felt the back of her head and found her hair matted down with dried blood. The cut wasn't deep enough to need stitches but there was a sizable bump forming that was tender to touch. 

        She made her way out of bed, moving slowly in case she lost her balance. She got fresh clothes and retreated to the bathroom, locking the door behind her with a sigh of relief. Knowing that Jack couldn't barge in on her lifted a weight from her chest. 

        When she looked in the mirror she was startled. Her hair was a mess, matted down in the back and sticking out in every direction and her face looked haggard. Large bags had formed beneath her eyes and her skin was pale and sallow. Jo was shocked at how much her appearance had seemed to change in just one day. She turned away and started the shower. 

        Jo took her time in the shower, washing her hair several times to get the blood out, wincing any time her fingers pressed too hard on the bump. She spent time working conditioner through her lengths to detangle it as well. Halfway through the shower she started to feel dizzy. She sat down on the tiled floor and let the water pour over her. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them, taking deep breaths. The dizzy feeling subsided and she reached up to turn the water off. 

        Jo took her time drying off and getting out of the shower, careful not to slip on the tile. Her dizzy spell made her anxious and all she wanted to do was get dressed and lie down again. A soft knock sounded on the bathroom door. 

        "Are you alright in there, Jo?" Jack's voice sounded through the door. 

        Jo heaved a deep sigh before answering. "I'm fine, I'll be out in a minute." 

        She dressed slowly as she could to prolong the moment she'd have to face Jack. She wasn't any more scared of him after what happened than she was before but there was something to be said for the fact that he hurt her so badly without meaning to. There was certainly a darkness beneath his kind facade and she had to be careful not to provoke it. It made her stomach churn at the damage he could do if he did mean to hurt her. She wanted more than anything to be free, to go back to her small life in her small apartment; write music, see her brother, laugh with her friends. She had to believe she would get that back.

        When she had done everything she needed, Jo took a moment to compose herself and opened the bathroom door. Jack was sitting in his usual spot, in the armchair by the fireplace. No fire was burning this time and Jo missed the sound it made to fill the void of silence that so often surrounded her in that room.

        When she opened the door Jack looked up and smiled. He stood and walked over to her but when she shrunk away back into the bathroom doorway he slowed down, his smile faltering. "How do you feel, Jo?" 

        She hesitated. She didn't know if she should tell him about her dizzy spell. She hadn't, after all, had anything to eat in quite some time. She needed to eat and hydrate and she didn't want Jack fussing over her more than he already was. 

        "I'm fine," she finally said, her voice cracking a bit as she spoke. 

        "Are you in any pain?" 

        Jo shook her head, no. He looked almost relieved. 

        "Let's sit down, shall we? You must be hungry, I've brought up some food, hot tea. If there is anything specific you'd like I can have the kitchen whip it up for you." Jack seemed especially eager to please today. She suspected he felt guilty for her hurting her but she didn't trust his guilt. 

        She walked slowly to the couch, sitting down as Jack took his seat in the armchair once more. The food in front of her looked delicious. There was a bit of everything, from a plate of small sandwiches to something that looked like oatmeal, a bowl of fresh fruit, toast, bacon, and as promised a pot of hot tea. 

        "I didn't know what you'd like so I brought a little bit of everything. It's almost lunch time but you slept late so I brought some breakfast food too." Jo looked at Jack a little closer. He was rambling and he had never been one to ramble before. Everything he said was usually so exact; calculated. 

        Now that she took a closer look he was a bit of a mess. He looked like he hadn't slept and his clothes were disheveled, not as crisp and neat as he usually kept them. He had a five o'clock shadow where he usually had a clean shave and his hair was falling into his face. He kept pushing the strands back only to have them fall right back into place. Jack's appearance had altered nearly as much as hers in just one day's time. 

        She didn't know what to do with this information. He looked truly upset about what happened but how was that supposed to make her feel? This man kidn*pped her. He took her away from a life she spent years building for herself. His emotions were only confusing hers. 

        "What are you thinking so hard about over there?"

        Jack's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She didn't want to confide in him. He had taken everything from her, her thoughts were the only thing that she felt she had any control over anymore. They were for her and her alone. As Jo was taking all of this in she picked up the bowl of fruit and leaned back on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her. When she didn't answer Jack put his head in his hands. 

        "Please talk to me, mio amore," he mumbled. 

        Jo was starting to get annoyed. She wasn't going to coddle him. It wasn't her job to make him feel better. "What exactly do you want me to say?" she asked, her tone icy. 

        "Anything, Jo. I need to know where your head is at."

        Jo put down the bowl of fruit and leaned forward on the couch. "Where my head is at?" 

        "Yes, how are you really? I'm sure there are some things you'd like to say to me or...ask or, whatever you need to get off your chest."

        "What, am I supposed to feel bad for you? That you're so cut up over the fact that I hit my head? Bottom line, Jack, is that it's your fault. My head is a f*****g mess and not because you knocked it into an iron gate. You took me from everything and everyone I love and for what? Because you love me? You care for me? Well this isn't love! Not the love I want, not the love I deserve. You don't hurt the people you love. I'd say do your worst but you already did that, the day you took me. This will never go the way you want it to."

        Jo had worked herself up into such a state that she didn't realize she was standing but when she finished the dizziness had returned. She clasped her hand to her head and stumbled back a step, the back of her leg hitting the couch and making her fall onto the sofa.

        Jack, who had been stunned at her outburst, now rushed to her side. "Jo, what's going on, tell me what's happening." 

        She shoved him away, the black dots that had formed slowly clearing from her vision. "Nothing, I don't want your help."

        "I'm getting Dr. Salisbury, he was due in a couple of hours but you're clearly not fine." 

        "I said no!" Jo roared. "Leave me the f**k alone!" 

        Jack looked at her and sat back down in the armchair, looking at her closely. She was breathing heavily, still worked up and it wasn't good for her head. 

        "I know you don't want my help but you need to help yourself right now. You have a mild concussion which means that you need to rest. I shouldn't have tried to have this conversation with you right now." Jack got up and poured her a cup of tea. He crouched in front of her and held out the saucer. 

        "What can I do to help you calm down?" Jo, shaky and suddenly exhausted, accepted the tea and took a long sip. She leaned back into the sofa. Her head was starting to clear and as much as she hated to admit it, Jack was right. She couldn't let herself get worked up, not when something as simple as a shower was giving her dizzy spells. She sipped the tea quietly, getting her breath under control. She looked at Jack who was still kneeling on the floor in front of her. 

        "I need my music," she said.