A Second Chance 16
The pounding on the door continued to get louder. Emma swallowed back her fear and stood up from the couch. She slowly walked a few feet towards the front door to see who was there. She only made it a several steps before the door to Jenny’s bedroom flew open. Emma turned her head and froze mid-step. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Warmth spread across her cheeks and throughout her body.
Jenny stood in the doorway wearing nothing but a towel. Her hair was damp and clung to her skin. Emma was unable to look away from Jenny’s flawless frame. Her eyes devoured every part of Jenny’s exposed skin. As her eyes continued to canvass Jenny’s body a warm feeling she had never felt before began to spread in the pit of her stomach. Emma thought she should feel embarrassed looking so shamefully at her practically naked boss standing in front of her. But, to her surprise she never felt embarrassed. The tingling in her stomach had nothing to do with embarrassment. But what did the tingling mean? She wondered.
“Emma!” Jenny whispered frantically.
“Yes?” Emma replied as she was pulled out of her reverie. Her eyes met Jenny’s usual radiating blue. But now all that remained was sheer fright.
“Who is banging at the door?” Jenny asked with an apparent shake in her voice.
“I have no idea. I was just about to go look” Emma answered.
Jenny’s eyes widened even more. “No! Please don’t! I don’t want anyone to know I am home”.
Seeing Jenny so overcome with panic and fear caused something to shift inside of Emma. It tore at her seeing Jenny in this state. It was such a stark contrast from the arrogant cruel Jenny in the park. Emma knew she needed to do everything she could to comfort Jenny. She couldn’t bear seeing Jenny in this state. “I’m not going to answer the door” Emma promised in a soft reassuring tone. Her eyes sparkled with honesty and she smiled consolingly “I’m just going to look out the peephole”. Emma turned to walk towards the front door again when a loud angry voice filtered into the apartment from outside answering the question of who was at the door.
“Open the door Jenny!” We need to talk!” a familiar male voice said.
Shit. Ben. The familiar fear rose up in Emma again. What could he possibly want to talk about? Emma wondered. Clearly nothing good by the way he is banging on the door. What if he breaks the door down? Will he attack us? Will he try to finish what he started with Jenny now that there aren’t any witnesses? A shiver ran down Emma’s spine. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to protect Jenny from Ben. The mere thought of Ben hurting Jenny like that again caused a pain in her chest. Emma heard Jenny shuffling her feet and turned her gaze to her. Jenny had taken a few steps back into her bedroom in fear. Her whole face was contorted in alarm. Her eyes were wide in terror and Emma could see the tears pooling in them. One look at Jenny was enough to cause even the coldest hearted person to soften. Without another thought Emma pulled out her mobile from her pocket. She knew what she needed to do to keep her and Jenny safe.
“What are you doing?” Jenny whispered.
“I’m calling the police. We will tell them what he tried to do to you and then they will arrest him” Emma explained.
“No!” Jenny responded louder than she intended. She quickly lowered her voice and continued. “Emma you can’t do that!”
“Why not?” Jenny he needs to go to jail!”
“Emma, please don’t call the police” Jenny begged with pleading eyes. “You can’t. You don’t understand the situation!”
“Then explain it to me!” Emma demanded in aggravation. She didn’t intend to lose her patience with Jenny but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t understand why Jenny wouldn’t want to call the police. She is clearly terrified of Ben. Why wouldn’t she want him locked up after what he tried to do to her? Why would she want him to be close to her?
Jenny bit her quivering lip as she mulled over Emma’s command. “Okay” she finally relented. “But not here. I don’t want Ben to hear us”.
Emma nodded in satisfaction. “Alright. Why don’t you go get dressed and I will wait here for you. Hopefully Ben will be gone by the time you come back”.
Jenny shook her head. “No, I don’t want to be left alone”. She took several steps towards Emma and reached out and grabbed her hand. “Please don’t leave me alone” she pleaded in a whimper. One look at Jenny had Emma’s heart constricting in her chest painfully. Emma believed she saw a reflection of the child Jenny used to be in that moment. Her scared, self-conscious look reminded Emma of a young child just discovering the world. When Emma looked at Jenny, she knew she was seeing a glimpse of what Jenny really was like. Emma knew that the Jenny standing in front of her right now; exposing her worries on a silver platter was the real Jenny. This was the woman that Emma wanted to know; not the arrogant Jenny.
“I won’t leave you alone” Emma vowed with a kind smile. “I promise” she swore with a sense of conviction she had never felt before.
Jenny smiled weakly and pulled Emma into her bedroom; quietly closing the door behind her and locking it. Emma was a bit taken aback by Jenny’s sudden action. Emma tried her best to not let her gaze wander around the room. She didn’t want Jenny to think she was nosey.
“I’m going to change now”. Emma looked up at Jenny with a hint of panic and embarrassment. Her cheeks took on a slight pink due to shyness. “D-do you want me to leave?” Emma croaked.
“No. I will go in the bathroom. I’ll be right back” Jenny replied with a shy smile of her own.
“Oh, okay” Emma muttered shakily.
“You can sit on the bed and wait for me if you want” Jenny offered in a kind voice.
Emma’s eyes grew big and she looked at the bed in front of her. Her gaze then returned to Jenny as she turned around and entered the bathroom. Emma found herself staring at Jenny as she walked away; taking extra notice of Jenny’s long, slender legs and the graceful way her body moved. When the door shut behind Jenny, Emma snapped out of her reverie.
What is wrong with me? Emma asked herself. Why do I keep staring at Jenny? It’s not like I have never seen a woman naked before! I see one every day when I look in the mirror! She told herself in annoyance. Emma didn’t understand why she was suddenly taking notice of Jenny’s body. She never stared at any guy’s body for that long that she thought was attractive. Maybe it’s because Jenny is wearing just a towel and nothing else. Even when Emma was living with Luzi the two of them were always clothed. That must be it Emma reasoned to herself. I’m just not used to seeing someone in only a towel; whether male or female. Jenny clearly had a lot of confidence with her body. Which, from the parts Emma was able to see Jenny should be. She is gorgeous Emma had to admit. Wait, what?! She thought. Why did I just think that? I am not on women! Emma told herself defiantly. She shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts. She decided to distract herself by looking around Jenny’s room.
She didn’t want to sit on Jenny’s bed even though Jenny had offered. She felt uncomfortable doing that; like she was intruding in Jenny’s personal life. Her gaze glanced around the room noticing how modern everything was compared to the rest of the house. There were more photos in the room too. But, Emma decided not to examine them. She didn’t want Jenny to come out and catch her snooping in her bedroom. So Emma’s gaze continued to canvass the room not really looking at any detail. Her thoughts wandered to Jenny’s reaction when she told her she was calling the police.
Why had she been so adamant that I don’t call the police? Why wouldn’t she want Ben to be arrested? Emma had no answer for her own questions. She was at a complete loss as to why Jenny wasn’t willing to go to the police. Jenny had said that Emma didn’t understand the situation. But what don’t I understand? What could be so bad that it would deter Jenny from going to the police? Did this have to do with Jenny’s earlier comment about ‘them’ leaving her alone? But who was ‘them’? I thought this was just about Ben? Once again, Emma had no idea how to answer that. She was at a complete loss. Before she had any more time to dwell on it though the door to Jenny’s bathroom opened slowly and Jenny walked out.
Jenny was wearing a long sleeve gray sweatshirt and bright pink leggings. Emma was a bit taken aback by the stark contrast between the two outfits. On anyone else, the outfit would look absurd. But, somehow Jenny was able to pull it off perfectly. Jenny slowly walked into the middle of the room with her gaze trained on the ground.
“Jenny?” Emma muttered hesitantly after an uncomfortable bout of silence.
“Yes?”
“Why are you with Ben?” Emma questioned. Emma noticed how Jenny’s body stiffened and her arms wrapped around herself. Another silence fell between them. Only this one seemed to be more unbearable for Emma. She realized that pushing Jenny for answers to her questions right after she was attacked was probably pretty unsympathetic. But, she didn’t care. She wanted answers and Jenny promised to give them.
“It’s complicated” Jenny finally answered dismissively.
“I can handle complicated” Emma replied. She was not willing to let Jenny weasel her way out of this conversation. She noticed how Jenny continued to look away from her; obviously growing increasingly wearisome upon hearing Emma’s response. Again, Emma felt a momentary flash of guilt for pushing Jenny during a time of vulnerability. But, she wanted Jenny to open up to her.
“Hey” Emma murmured in a soft tone. She walked up to Jenny and placed her free hand underneath Jenny’s chin, lifting it up so Jenny made eye contact with her. Emma was so close to Jenny she could smell the faint scent of the strawberry shampoo Jenny used. “You can tell me Jenny; it’s okay. I promise; you can trust me”. Emma continued softly. She focused her eyes on Jenny’s; hoping Jenny would see the sincerity and honesty reflected in hers. She wanted Jenny to know that she was there for her. That Jenny wasn’t alone.
Jenny’s eyes searched Emma’s closely. After what felt like ages Jenny’s irises relaxed. It was the first time all evening that Emma saw the guarded look disappear from Jenny. Emma thought Jenny would finally open up to her. She released her hand from Jenny’s chin and waited patiently for Jenny to speak.
“What happened to your hand?” Jenny questioned. Her voice was laced with concern as both of her hands took hold of Emma’s wounded one. Jenny delicately took hold of the hand and carefully began to unwrap the cloth around Emma’s palm. Emma could see the concern in Jenny’s face as she worked to unravel the bandage. Emma knew that Jenny was using this as an excuse so she could change topics. Emma allowed her to do it; but only for now. She would bring up the topic again this evening and continually do it until Jenny finally talked about her feelings. Emma knew Jenny needed to talk to someone; she could see it in her eyes. She just needed to keep reminding Jenny that she was there for her and hope that eventually Jenny would believe her.
“Emma, what did you do?” Jenny asked when she saw the cut on Emma’s palm.
“I just pricked myself as I was cleaning up the broken glass” Emma answered. “It’s no big deal”.
“No big deal? Emma this looks really painful!”
“It’s not I promise. It looks a lot worse than it really is” Emma assured her.
Jenny didn’t respond but instead pulled Emma in the direction of her bathroom. The air was still a bit steamy from Jenny’s shower. Jenny easily turned the faucet on and pulled Emma closer to her. “Let’s get this properly cleaned up”. She positioned Emma’s hand underneath the faucet. “This is going to sting” she warned. A pain shot through Emma’s hand and she reflexively tried to pull it back. But Jenny held her hand underneath the water. “I’m sorry Emma. But we have to clean it. You don’t want to get an infection” Jenny continued in an apologetic tone. Jenny slowly grabbed some soap and tentatively rubbed it on Emma’s cut. Once again, Emma felt a hot stinging pain on her palm. She winced in pain and wanted to pull her hand back; but resisted. Jenny slowly cleaned the cut with the soap and then put Emma’s hand back under the water to wash it again. The pain remained in Emma’s hand but this time it was a little more bearable. Emma watched Jenny closely as she cleaned Emma’s cut and dried it off. Then Jenny carefully positioned a band aid on Emma’s newly cleaned cut. Emma murmured an appreciative thanks to Jenny. Her hand was throbbing but she knew it would feel better soon.
Now that Jenny had finished cleaning and bandaging Emma’s cut the two of them returned to Jenny’s bedroom. There was another awkward silence between the two of them. Jenny’s gaze refused to meet Emma’s. Finally, Emma cleared her throat. She was tired of being patient. She wanted answers.
“Jenny?”
“Yes?” Jenny muttered with a hint of dread.
“Will you please tell me what’s going on? Why are you dating Ben even though he just attacked you? Why don’t you want me to call the police?”
Jenny sighed in defeat. “Alright” she relented. “Come sit down and I will tell you about it”. Jenny plopped down on her bed and patted the spot next to her for Emma to sit next to her. Emma hesitated a moment unsure of whether or not that was appropriate of her to sit next to her boss on the same bed. But Jenny’s encouraging smile made Emma push away her doubts. Emma sat down next to Jenny but still kept enough space between them so Jenny would feel comfortable.
Emma waited patiently in silence for Jenny to collect her thoughts. After several moments Emma noticed a shift in Jenny. All of the apprehension Jenny exhibited earlier when asked to explain the situation with Ben vanished. Now, Jenny appeared to be relaxing. As if she was accepting her fate. Emma wanted to know what was going on inside of Jenny to cause such a drastic change. But before she had a chance to ask Jenny began to speak.
“You promise I can trust you?”
Emma looked straight into Jenny’ eyes, “Yes, I promise” she replied honestly.
The corners of Jenny’s lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly. She seemed to believe Emma’s promise because she slowly began talking. She started at the beginning when she was just a little girl. She told Emma how she never got to run around carefree like a normal child. Instead she was always forced to go to her father’s business parties. How her entire life had been planned out by her father; who her friends would be, where she went to grade school, the boys she was allowed to date, where she went to University and what she majored in, and her lifelong career at the Harani Bank just like him.
Emma didn’t interrupt Jenny once. She let Jenny get everything off of her chest. Emma had been shocked to hear how difficult Jenny’s life had been. She couldn’t imagine living in such a cold emotionless family. How hard it must have been for Jenny. Emma could feel how desperate Jenny was to get away from it all. Emma wished she could help Jenny escape it. She hated seeing anyone so miserable. But what can I do?
Jenny’s voice then became quieter and her gaze refused to meet Emma’s. In almost a whisper Jenny tells Emma how she was dating a woman at university. Emma could tell that was a big step for Jenny. Without having to think she squeezed Jenny’s hand in reassurance; letting her know she accepted her. Jenny seemed surprised by this gesture and looked up into Emma’s caring hazel eyes. No words were exchanged. One look into Emma’s eyes made it clear to Jenny that Emma accepted her. Jenny smiled in relief and began to talk with more energy. She continued to tell Emma how she had loved the woman, whose name had been Kristin. How her father had found out and showed up at school forbidding Jenny to ever see Kristin again. Her father had blackmailed Kristin and threatened her family if she didn’t leave Jenny alone. The next day Kristin had dropped out of the University and left no note. Jenny never saw her again. After that, Jenny was forced into a relationship with men her father wanted her to date. Eventually she had graduated and came to the Harani Bank where she was immediately thrust into an unwanted relationship with Ben.
As Emma’s continued to listen her anger began to rise more and more. She was furious at Rolf Hartmann for how he treated Jenny. How could a father be so cruel?! How could he treat his own daughter that way? How could he be so homophobic as to refuse his own daughter her happiness? Emma was shaking with anger. She suddenly stood up in a moment of rage.
“I can’t believe your father is such an ass! How could he treat you like that? What the hell is wrong with him?”
Jenny smiled in amusement as Emma paced back and forth in front of her. “Emma its ok” she replied in an effort to calm her down.
“It’s not okay Jenny! Your own father cares more about his image than his own daughter! You shouldn’t be forced to date Ben! You should still be dating Kristen! Or another woman!”
“Another woman? Like who?” Jenny asked.
Emma stopped short and her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. What did Jenny mean by that? Jenny wasn’t talking about me was she? “I don’t know. Whoever you want”.
Jenny’s cheeks turned a faint red and she looked away. Emma didn’t notice Jenny’s blush because she heard a slight noise outside the bedroom. “Did you hear that?” she whispered to Jenny.
Jenny looked up at Emma in confusion. “Hear what?”
The two of them were silent and heard footsteps outside Jenny’s bedroom door. Jenny’s eyes grew wide in panic. “He’s in the house!” she whispered alarmingly.
Emma felt her heart pound in her chest. Was it really Ben? How did he get in? Before Emma could have time to panic she grabbed Jenny by the arm and began to push her towards her bathroom. If it was Ben she had to protect Jenny from him. The two of them only made it half way to the bathroom before they heard the lock on Jenny’s door twist and the door open violently.
TBC