Pleasure ~ Jenlisa

Chapter 16

Jennie Pov

Lisa's screams woke me, yanking me from my sleep like a fire alarm. Flipping on my bedside lamp, I discovered her curled in a ball beside me, clutching a pillow so tightly that her knuckle had turned white. I stared, trying to decide what to do.

This was clearly a nightmare, and I couldn't ignore her cries that clawed painfully from her lips. My first mistake was putting a hand on her shoulder. Lisa reacted with force, elbowing me in the gut and knocking the wind out of me. I lurched up and swung my feet over the edge and planted them on the floor. Trying to stand was my second mistake. I hit the ground with a thud anf crumpled, still trying to catch my breath.

"Lisa wake up!." I yelled once my breathing had returned to normal. I stood again, unsure what to do. Grabbing a pillow, I smacked her with it, unwillingly to risk more accidental injury. I could already feel the soreness of a bruise forming on my stomach from her blow. It didn't work, so I padded over to the wall and switched on the overhead light, contemplating if I should actually throw cold water on her or wait. Thankfully, Lisa's eyes opened as the room brightened.

Her breathing was shallo and ragged, and as she panted, she turned to look at me with wide eyes.

"Jennie?." My name was a plea on her lips. She blinked, disoriented from sleep.

I stood back, rubbing the injury she'd given me. It had been an accident, but I kept my distance. I wasn't frightened of her exactly. I was more stunned at having been awoken in such a violent manner.

"Oh God." She panted. "What did I do?." She was on her feet instantly, walking towards me, but I backed away. Lisa paused, realisation flashing across her eyes. "I hurt you." She said flatly. Lisa didn't wait for my confirmation. Instead she crossed the room and grabbed my face while her eyes burned into mine.

"My Nini. That's why I want to protect you from the world. That's why I wanted to protect you from me." Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but as I blinked them away, they fell hot on my cheeks.

"You told me once that you wanted to hear me beg." Lisa drew in a ragged breath and shook her head, letting go of my neck. "No. Not like that."

"Please." I whispered. "Please Lisa."

"Do you want me to tell you that I dream about screeching metal and fire? That I wake up holding a pillow because I'm dreaming that I'm cradling my brother burning body?." She demanded. "And that everytime I wake up, I'm no closer to knowing what the hell happened that night? I can't tell you anything, because I don't know anything!."

My thoughts spun out of control, trying to take in everything she was telling me. I knew about the accident, everyone did. But it had been years ago.

"Have you spoken to anyone-."

"I'm not going to talk to a fucking psychiatrist. My brother would be alive if it weren't for me. Period. End of story."

"This isn't your fault." I dashed in front of the door, refusing to let her past. "It was an accident, everyone knows that."

"Everyone knows what they were told. Don't be stupid Jennie."

The remark, coupled with the coolness in her eyes, stung like a slap across the face. I shook my head, grabbing a hold of all the confidence I could muster and crossed my arms over my chest. "You're not the first person to have been in a car accident."

"It was a little more than a car accident." Her words were spoken softly, but the hard edge under them pierced through me.

Her admission shocked me. What did that even mean? Every time I thought we had moved forward, something pushed us right back. We were both dancing around our issues instead of moving on, and then I realized that it didn't really matter.