District - 17: Reunification

Broken

"THIS WILL ALL BE documented and noted onto your file here at the Tower." He leafed through the pages. "You're getting a week's suspension and lockdown. You will remain inside your residence at the Tower apartments for the duration of that time." He shot her a glance. "Meals will be provided upon request, so just give a shout. I'll check in on you throughout the week to make sure you're holding up well." He then turned to look at her. Clicked his pen. "Any questions?"

Jaketta sank in her seat. Shook her head.

"Ms. Colmourn?" he said.

She shook her head again.

He drummed his fingers on his desk. "Jake?"

"No, sir!" she shouted.

For a fraction of a moment Tennyson was startled. "Jake. If –"

"I'm going home," she said and stood up. Walked toward the door. She looked over her shoulder and fixed her bun.

"Jake . . ."

"Like you said, correct?" she said, a wicked smile plastered on her face.

He rose from his desk slowly and spoke calmly. "What is going on with you?" he asked. "Talk to me."

She chewed her lip then turned to him fully. Crossed her arms and made a face. The sunlight in his office window was making her head throb. "Najrina is a whore. Ryder is a liar." She stepped closer to his desk. "And yet I'm the one in trouble? Please, don't make me laugh."

He spoke slow, voice rumbling. "But does that give you the go ahead to put the green light on someone — let alone your peers?"

Jaketta inched forward. "She knew!" Her lips were pulled back into a snarl. "He manipulated me, lied to me; I was loyal." A loud slam followed. "I took care of him. I — I was good to him. I was –"

"Jake!" Tennyson shouted and saw her jump. "Stop slamming my desk."

He gave her a long stare. She could see him weighing out the options. He shrugged and pulled on the collar of his blue polo. "Go home, Jake. Get some rest and cool off. We'll get you through . . . whatever it is you're going through. OK?"

She went toward the door then stopped. Stared at the accolades on the wall and championship trophies on the shelves. Ducked out of the room without saying another word. He sighed and gave a knock on his desk. Stroked the lanyard around his neck and gave a curse under his breath. Began the process of cleaning up the brazen mess.

We need to get her under control.

                                              

* * *

The light blurred her vision. Her head ached terribly. Putting one foot in front of the other proved more a challenge than a simple task. Her feet scraped against the concrete. Hard and cold. Then they hit something thick and moist. Snow crunched beneath her feet and the light dimmed. She could see a net above her in the pitch black sky. Multiple bright lines formed across the cosmos. Twin moons set in the middle.

It's not fair, Jaketta thought. Acceptance of rejection.

Tears welled up and she sobbed. Collapsed to her knees in the snow. Something so vague yet familiar bit at her soul. At the core of her being. She clenched her chest tight and screamed an ugly cry.

"It isn't fair!"

An icy chill picked up. Gusts of a foreign northeastern wind billowed through. Another familiar sensation.

"I am loved!"

Her head fell into the snow. Moon white hair returned from its excavation of the mound. Ice blue eyes burned deep. Burned a sickly blue. Her lips stretched back into a cursed smile. Fangs bared under the bright moonlight. She placed her hands together and interlocked her fingers. She turned her profile to the moons, then turned her head to look up at the perfect spheres, cocking her head forward a bit to peer into the all-blue marbles of her homecountry.