Behind Love

Chapter 14: Bleach

*Daddy POV*

I slowly looked up at the hospital window from the outside. She was at least 18 floors up and the hospital was massive. Surely she wouldn't wake up while I was outside, I had been sitting next to her for hours while she just slept and that was the first time I had left the roo-
"Shit" I grimaced as the end of my cigarette met my finger, giving it a sharp burn. I flung it on the ground with an irritated sigh, shaking my hand back and forth. I also shook off the shame of relying on cigarettes again.
After a good while of trying to find a lift in that maze of a place, I returned to her side, waiting impatiently. She looked better though. She had a bit of colour to her skin and her lips were hydrated and she wasn't as sweaty. She actually looked alive. Her fingers twitched and my hand leaped towards her own...then her little eyes fluttered open gently like they would in the morning...I could have cried with joy. I wanted to scoop her up and make a fuss over the fact she was okay but I knew that wouldn't help, "hey baby" I said shakily.
Exhausted her eyes closed again, "Daddy?" She croaked, "why am I here?"
"You had a seizure, baby. I didn't know what to do so I called an ambulance and you were asleep the whole time" I tried to explain as I heard her heart monitor growing a little faster, "but you're okay, honey, you're safe. We're gonna go home soon"
"I... I thought it was a dream" she sighed.
"What was a dream, honey?" I encouraged her to talk.
"Ethan's room-"
"Ethan?" I cut her off immediately.
She froze completely, and the heart monitor beeped rapidly.
My heart was pounding faster than hers, I fidgeted uncomfortably growing confused.
What if they really did know each other? He acted as if he knew her, when we were in the bar... that look he gave. My eyes widened. I remembered. He made a comment about her not being a virgin which implied he knew her story... when I didn't even know it. I didn't know for sure yet.
She opened her eyes, slowly cringing, "My ex-boyfriend is called Ethan"
Shit.

*Jenna POV*

My body felt heavier and sluggish than ever so the last thing I wanted to do was talk. But I had to explain, and then make sure they were definitely different Ethan's. He kept his eyes on the heart monitor, extreme confusion and frustration flushed all over his face.
We sat in silence.
Finally...he spoke, "so when I mentioned his name to you yesterday, it was a trigger and you had a flashback"
"Correct"
"So your ex, Ethan, hurt you?" His voice grew louder.
"Yes"
"What does he look like?"
I could feel my body fighting tears and didn't have the energy to hold it in. I sighed while tears fell but I knew I had to make sure, "He's a bit smaller than you. He has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, he's lanky and dresses like a man from the 1800's. He's pale, like me-"
He sighed so loud it blew my hair away, "oh thank god" he held his head in his hands, "we're not talking about he same guy, baby"
"How?" The loud beeping continued.
"He's blonde and blue eyed. Nothing like your description" he laughed his emotions everywhere, I laughed with him.
"Look" He slipped his phone out of his pocket and started typing.
I closed my eyes hoping to god it wasn't him. I really really hoped it wasn't him. If I opened my eyes and saw the face of the man who tortured me for months on end, on Daddy's phone screen, no one knew what could happen. And that was terrifying.

*Daddy POV*

After typing up Ethan's Instagram, I clicked on one of his pictures to show her. I needed to reassure her that it wasn't him. Her eyes stayed shut after I brought the phone to her face, "Jenna, honey, look"
She shot them open, and stared real hard, squinting at the screen. That same look of horror washed over her face again, it just didn't make sense. "Not again" I thought.
The heart monitor screamed, "it's him" she whispered over and over again, "it's him, it's him, it's him" whispers turned into screams "it's him! It's him! It's him!"
I screamed in frustration and smashed my fist down on the emergency button.
Within seconds I had gloved hands shoving me out the room,  I watched in slow motion, the only thing my eyes stayed plastered on was a terrified face, along with her limbs kicking and punching, as nurses held her down firmly. Normally I would have screamed not to touch her but instead I just watched, being unable to do a thing, so instead I switched my feelings off. Now it was just numbness until I made sense of what just happened...and then figured out what to do.

For hours I stood staring at my reflection in the hospital vending machine, breathing in the smell of rubber cloves and sanitary products. I groaned, my brain still struggling to process what In the name of fuck just happened. My phone had been going crazy the whole time but all I could do was stay frozen, no matter how much I wanted to move I just couldn't, my brain wouldn't allow it. Finally I came back down to earth, and pulled my phone out to see a text from Ethan. Of course.

"Hey buddy, heard Jenna got rushed to hospital, what happened to her?"
I left him on read. She specifically said he was tall, brown eyed with brown hair. I continued to look at his profile picture, he's blonde with blue eyes. It just did not make sense. I didn't want to risk it so I sat and thought about my main priority since day one... Jenna.
But wait.
I didn't tell anybody that Jenna was in hospital and Jenna sure as hell hadn't told anyone because she was passed out...adrenaline shot cold up my torso and curiosity flooded into me, slowly.
I was all alone, the seats all around me empty. The only sound being the distant ringing of phones, the person at the counter gone. "Shake it off Calvin, you're overthinking" I whispered to myself.
All the self-reassurance in the world couldn't and wouldn't stop the horrible jumpy feeling that consumed me.
"Excuse me, Sir?" A quiet female voice said behind me, "Jenna's okay,"
I whipped my head around to see a young, red haired nurse giving me a sympathetic gaze, "but the team and Jenna have decided that it's best not for you to be around her at the moment as your presence could affect her well being"
Numb.
I was numb.
"Okay, I'll leave now"
"Oh" she looked surprised, "okay, Well drive safe and Jenna will still be able to text and call you!" Her voice echoed as I kept my dull eyes on the pristine, squeaky floor and walked away.
Feeling nothing.
After what felt like a year, I'd made it to the car park-

What the fuck?

A certain blonde we had been talking about, stood leaned against my car.
My chest still numb I walked up to him, "what are you doing here man, I really don't wanna see anyone right now" I said bluntly.
He continued to lean against my car, not even turning his head to look at me. I finally catch up to the car and turn to the side he was smugly standing against. His eyes stayed staring into space, "hey dumb ass, I really don't wanna see anyone right now so can you leave ?"
Nothing. His lips started to part into a snarky smirk, "well you're being rude"
He obviously found it amusing.
"Okay then fuck this" I huffed before stomping to the drivers side opening my car door, getting settled in and starting the engine. I rolled the window down so it tugged on his jacket, "I drive this car away and you're gonna fall to the ground if you don't move"
He moved within the snap of a finger, opening the car door and sitting in.
"Umm," I really could not process what was going on again, "what the fuck are you doing in my car, man?"
He sat his feet up on the dash board, resting his hands on his crotch, "it's weird how Jenna has seizures, considering she isn't epileptic... so how did it happen? Did you tell her about your buddy Ethan how you think he's weird, yeah?"
"What the fuck is going on, Ethan, how do you know all this shit?"
He casually turned the car mirror to his eyes and started to stretch them opening them with this thumb and index finger, taking his other hand to pull something out of them. He set his contact lenses on top of the dash and his beady brown eyes pierced mine. He had the eyes of a thirsty shark.
"You ever heard of bleach? It's the thing that dyes your hair blonde. Who's the dumb ass now, Calvin?"
He then grabbed a small piece of cloth from out of his pocket.
I sat there, not knowing what to do. It was him... it was him. HOLY SHIT. It was Jenna's Ethan....Jenna. He hurt Jenna. I flung my body towards him but my body soon flopped, as his piece of cloth was shoved into my mouth and nose.
Blackness.