Anxious Jeopardies

Chapter Five

About halfway to her apartment building, she stopped by the side of the road to tear off a piece of her jumpsuit to make a bandage for her bleeding thigh. A car pulled up next to her. Her leg was swollen pretty badly. It only just occurred to her that she probably should have taken advantage of the hospital. Stubbornness must have been her fatal flaw. Literally.

"Ana?"

"No."

"Hey, come here." She looked up, annoyed, and squinting because of the bright light. A familiar blond head was staring at her through the window.

"I'm busy, uh, Jake." He parked the car anyway a few feet ahead and ran towards her.

"You don't look very busy. You look hurt."

"How many times do you want me to tell you that I'll be fine?" He looked at her hopelessly. Ana rolled her eyes and looked back down at the blood seeping through the cloth. She must not have wrapped it tight enough. "You should go home and take care of Sophie. Did you leave her alone?" She asked distractedly.

"She'll be fine. I was only gone for a few minutes."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why did you leave?"

"We're out of milk."

"Ah." Ana squinted at him again. He was standing a foot or so away and looking down at her. She watched as his features grimaced when he saw the wound. Jake bent down and took the cloth from her. She'd never finished tying it the second time.

"I'll do a better job at home," he said quietly, rewrapping the bandage substitute.

"How do you know I'm coming with you?" He smelled good. She turned away. She didn't want him to see that she really didn't mind his company, or that she kind of wanted to go back with him, or that her face was laced with traces of pain. She didn't really want him to be there. Except she did. Which made her deny the fact even more. What if he thought she was weak?

"I don't. I was hoping you wouldn't notice." When she looked at him again, he was smiling. He had dimples. She couldn't help but smile a little back.

"I... I couldn't go with you. Even if I wanted to."

"So you do want to?"

"I never said that."

He gave her a pointed glance before standing up. "You might as well have."

"I have other clients-" She tried to stand too, but lost her breath and fell backwards before she could make it. She felt light headed. He caught her arm and stumbled when she fell, but eventually pulled her back up and supported her. She avoided eye contact. 

"He can't possibly be expecting you to go risk your neck for him while you're barely standing." She sighed. "What happened this morning?"

"I had a fight and wound up a few miles from my place."

"You're so vague," he commented. "Will you please come with me?" He put a hand on her shoulder but she shied away.

"I can't. I'm not allowed to."

"According to who? The rules or your boss?"

"My boss is the rules."

"Please." After staring at him for a few moments and debating everything silently in her head, she consented. "If you can't walk..."

When she finally nodded her head tiredly, he picked her up gently, avoiding the spot on her leg with the injury. She was lighter than he expected. Surprisingly, she didn't fight him. He laid her in the back seat of his car and turned it around, driving back to his house. "Sophie was asking about you all morning."

Sophie. Ana hoped she was okay. Maybe, when someone came back to get the little girl for treatment, they could take her too. Or maybe she should just suck it up and throw away her dignity and go herself. "Did you get the milk?"

"It doesn't matter. I can run out later."

"You sure? I don't mean to be a hassle."

"Ana, you're fine. I wouldn't have invited you if I thought you were going to be a problem."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"I am a problem. I'm probably the most problematic person you've ever met."

"I doubt that."

"Hmm."

"She wanted to know where you went," he said gravely. "I didn't know what to say. She's so smart sometimes, and you didn't exactly leave me with a whole lot of information."

"Mmm."

"I told her something about how a man took you. She was scared."

"Why would you tell her that?" Ana asked quite loudly, sitting up. She groaned and regretted yelling immediately; her ribs still couldn't handle taking such big breaths yet. Quieter, she said, "She probably thinks the guys who kidnapped her came back for me."

"Hey, calm down. It's okay. I'm taking the day off today to take care of you. I don't care if you deny it. You don't have a choice."

"I... I won't," she said hesitantly. "Just, please, keep me away from Derek. He's either going to look for me at my apartment or at your house, so if he comes by, I'm not there." Jake glanced back at her.

"Sure. Did he do anything to you?" Ana noticed how he tried to slip in the question with a casual voice. She answered anyways, curious to see what his response would be.

"He just slapped me."

"Just?"

"Yeah. It didn't hurt that much, at least not compared to everything else," she smirked. He frowned.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Why? I was just stabbed yesterday, and you're threatening to kill a guy because he slapped me? Sorry, I just find that slightly amusing," she grinned. She was playing with him. He didn't get it.

"Yeah, you would."

"Yeah." She paused for a moment. "You know I have to go back there, right? I have a job."

"I have a feeling the only thing Derek and I agree on is your safety. You're not going back until you can breathe and walk and live normally."

"Fine." She figured there was no point in fighting. He didn't have a say in her life. If she left, he couldn't do anything about it. For some reason she found herself not wanting to leave him. He seemed safe. But maybe he wasn't.

She wasn't good at trusting people, and there were solid reasons behind that. She shouldn't trust Jake. She had only met him yesterday. "But I could very well run away," she threatened, "So don't be surprised if you wake up and I'm gone. It'd be for your own good." He looked back at her and then her thigh.

"Do you want a change of clothes?"

"I'll pick some up later. I have my own car."

"Okay, sure. But when we get back to my house, you should probably just use some of my clothes so I can try to get the blood out of yours. And I'm going to wrap up your thigh. I'd be surprised if it's not infected by now."

"I don't think it will be. I saw the knife; it wasn't dirty." There was a silence. Jake broke it.

"What were you thinking about when they were beating you up? What kept you going?"

"Um..." Was it weird? Whatever. He had asked. She was going to answer. "Well, your sister. I had to get out alive so that I could keep her safe."

"You weren't worried about yourself, just her?"

"Not really."

"Do you ever put yourself first?"

"Apparently not." He glanced at her. She really was a conundrum.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Am I supposed to know?"

"No."

"Okay."

They were silent the rest of the drive.