Chapter 7; Hell Hath no Fury like a Woman Scorned
It'd be two years since that morning when Sam had left. Not a day passed that she didn't think about it.
"Hey Jones heads up" someone called.
She snapped back into reality. She was at the gym training. She'd gone back to her roots so to speak. She'd gotten a small somewhat meaningless job that paid the bills and the rest of her time she spent in training. She now competed on rather high levels in the sport of kick boxing.
It was her passion now, what drove her to get out of bed in the morning.
"So where were you?" Seth asked.
"What do you mean?" she asked tightening her gloves.
"You were off in la la land just a minute ago, just curious if la la land had a name?" he asked her.
"Just thinking about a lot of what ifs" she told him.
"What ifs aren't what win in the ring sweetheart" he said tugging on her ponytail.
"I know I wasn't particularly thinking about anything that goes on inside the ring" she said.
"Then that's not good, whatever happens inside the ring should be what all your attention is on girl, you know that by now it's the only way to get your edge" he said to her.
"I know Seth, but sometimes there are things that don't go on in the ring that are more important" she told him.
"Like what goes on at home" he said grinning.
"I swear to God is there a single man on this planet that can have a conversation without it leading to sex?" she asked.
"I don't think so, good luck finding a man in this galaxy or any other one for that matter that doesn't always turn the conversation towards the more carnal nature, especially where you're concerned" he said leaning in close and almost whispering the last part.
"Seth, this isn't the time" she said.
"Then lets make the time" he said.
"Wasn't last night enough?" she asked him.
"Nope, left me hungry" he said.
"Well then you'll have to suffer I've got to get ready for next Saturdays match, there's a lot at stake on this one" she told him.
"Speaking of next Saturday I have a wedding to go to on Sunday and I would love it if I could take my new girlfriend and show her off to some old friends" he said.
"Let me think about that one" she told him.
"Don't think to long it's 10 days away and a man has to have a date to a wedding" he said.
"Oh and why's that?"
"Because if you go to a wedding alone it's bad, but you'll leave with someone no matter what because no one ever leaves a wedding alone. I would like you to come so I don't end up drunk and leaving with some skanky ass ho that'll be calling me every day afterwards" he said.
"Ya calling to complain about what a lousy lay you were and how you owe her" Sam said grinning.
"You little letch! I didn't hear you complaining last night" he said cocking an eyebrow.
"That's because you were deafened by your own screams" she said.
"Alright that's it" he said walking towards her.
"What?" she asked innocently.
"Don't play games with me, come on front and center" he said.
"I don't know what you're talking about Seth" she said slowly stepping back towards the punching bags.
"Come on. You - me, we're gonna throw down" he said.
"You wouldn't go after a poor innocent little female Seth now would you?" she asked stepping behind one of the bags.
"A poor innocent little female no, but you're anything but little and innocent" he said.
She stuck her tongue out and ducked back behind the bag again. He dodged back and forth trying to get a hold of her but failed. She laughed at his attempts.
"Come on out and take your medicine you little wench, you earned it" he said.
"Never!" she cried and took off running. Suddenly she stopped short when she saw someone standing at the entrance into the room.
"Gotcha" Seth cried out and tackled her to the floor. "For being so cunning Jones you're not that bright at all, you came to a complete stop" he said.
"That's partially my fault, I think my presence startled her" a female voice said.
Seth looked up "Hey Jackers whatcha doing here?" he asked.
"Came by to tell you that Harold wished to speak with you this afternoon, something about the wedding. God only knows what it is now, it's a bit humorous. I thought the bride was suppose to be a bundle of nerves and the groom laid back and at ease, it seems we're doing this backwards" she laughed.
Seth picked himself off the floor and tugged Sam up with him. "The little blushing bride, I can't imagine seeing you a bundle of nerves Jack. Actually I picture you practically running down the aisle and telling the preacher can we skip this bullshit and get to the important stuff these heels are killing me" Seth said grinning.
"Blushing bride?" Sam choked out.
"Ya Sam, a lot can change in two years" Jack said meeting her stare.
"Well I take it you two know each other then" Seth said.
"Ya we're old friends" Sam said to him.
"I guess you could call us that" Jack said a bit icily. Seth raised an eyebrow.
"You're getting married Jack?" Sam questioned.
"Yes I am in about ten days actually, that's how I met Seth here. Him and Harold are old friends. They worked together on a farm years back, I didn't know you and Seth were acquainted though" Jack said.
"Well he's been training me for a couple months now, how long have you two been chatting?" Sam questioned.
"Well I just met Jack a couple weeks ago but I've been hearing Harold yak about her for the last year and a half though. It was nice to finally match a face with the name and stories I've heard" Seth said.
"Are you living here now Jack?" Sam asked.
"We just moved about a month ago to here. My daughter needed some special medical treatment and they say they best of the best is here" Jack said.
"It's true Jack, if anyone can get her hearing back it's Mitchell Weston. He's the best there is" Seth told her.
"That's what we hear and that's why we relocated" Jack said.
"You have a daughter?" Sam asked.
"Yes Sam, my husband or well my soon to be husband had a little girl when we met. Her name is Lissa" Jack said.
"Oh I see" Sam said with a little bit of ease. It's his daughter, about my heart dropped to my stomach thinking she'd had a daughter of her own Sam thought.
"I didn't give birth to her but she's mine, I love her more than life and that's what makes her my daughter Sam, I think you may know something about that" Jack said to her.
Sam looked up and met eyes that she couldn't read. She'd once been able to read Jack's eyes for a brief moment in time but now they were a dark cloud to her.
"How's things at home Jack?" Sam asked.
"Things are fine" Jack said not elaborating at all.
"Anything particular happening right now?" Sam asked hoping to ease into the conversation.
"No not really, they're all just getting ready for the wedding" Jack said.
"Well of course. Are they here yet?" she asked.
"No they'll be getting here on Friday so my dad can help me with the last bit of planning" she said.
Sam's heart nearly stopped beating....my dad...the words rang through her ears. "How are they?" Sam asked.
Jack looked at her "Say it Sam".
"Say what Jack?"
"Ask me about him, you're going to have to because I won't play this game. If you want to know you're going to have to swallow your pride and ask it flat out" Jack said challengingly.
"How is your dad?" Sam asked.
"He's fine. Dillion and Brianna are coming a day after him and Cara. Dillion has some tests to finish and then they'll take a shuttle late on Friday evening and get here late Saturday evening" Jack said.
"How is Dillion?"
Jacks heart softened a bit at this subject. "He doing well, smart as a whistle that one and a demon on the basketball court. He's won a lot of the championships. The center has pictures of him next to all the trophies" Jack said.
"Who's Dillion?" Seth asked suddenly stepping back into the conversation.
"Sam's brother" Jack said her eyes boring into Sam.
"I didn't know you had a brother Sam" Seth said.
"There's a lot about this one you probably don't know" Jack said gesturing towards Sam. Sam's eyes shot up at Jack and Jack looked back as if to say what?
"That's for sure" Seth said.
"Hey Seth I'm cutting out of training a little early today, why don't you go ahead and get ready for your next trainee" Sam told him.
"Okay Jack, tell Harold I'll catch up with him this evening" he said starting to walk off.
"Will do Seth, see you at the wedding if not before" Jack said and he nodded and walked off.
Sam looked Jack over. She was older and it showed a bit. Her eyes wore the look of maturity, her face had grown completely out of the little girl look it once held and now was the face of a responsible woman. Her hair was a bit longer almost brushing her hips. Jack looked softer to her but she could still see the real Jack that the more feminine exterior might hide from some people. She could also see the defined muscles that the clothing she wore couldn't hide.
"Still training Jack?"
"Of course, just because I got older and am getting married doesn't mean I can slack off. Besides even if I wanted to my dad would never let me" Jack said to her.
"He never lets some things slide does he? He's pretty relentless I suppose" Sam said.
"He is when it's important to him" Jack said.
There was more to that statement then what met the eye and Sam knew it. He was relentless with things that mattered and when they were important. He wasn't relentless with you was basically what Jack was saying, you weren't important enough.
"I suppose that's true Jack" Sam said responding to her statement and all the it implied. "You said Cara is joining him?" Sam asked.
"Yes she lives with him now so why wouldn't she" Jack said.
"I see, well I guess a lot of things have changed" Sam said pulling off her boxing gloves.
"If you would have ever called or came back you'd have already known all of these answers, and maybe some answers to the questions you aren't asking, the ones at least that you aren't asking me" Jack said leaving it open.
Sam looked up at her "Maybe I didn't want the answers Jack or maybe it wasn't what was right".
"I guess now we'll never know" Jack said. "Anyhow you're invited to the wedding but somehow I get the feeling you were already going to attend with Seth, you just didn't know who's wedding it was" Jack said.
"Yes I'll be there with Seth, if I had known you were getting married Jack I would have attended no matter what" she said.
Jack shrugged off the care and emotion she heard in Sam's voice "Whatever" she said.
"Do you love this man Jack?"
"What the hell kind of question is that?" Jack asked a little loudly.
"I was just curious, when I last saw you I didn't know of any man in your life and it's only been two years I just wondered if you were rushing into things" Sam said.
"Well Sam unlike some people I don't need years of a long drawn out romantic tragedy to make a decision about whom I love or don't love, and I've had exactly two wonderful years with an incredible man.
The day you walked out wordlessly on all of us wasn't a day of reckoning for only you, a lot of decisions were made for a lot of people.
That was the day I met Harold, that was the day Dillion stopped trying to figure out why his sister kept coming and going, that was the first time Cara stayed the night and never left again, the first time my dad realized to smarten the fuck up and stop chasing hopeless causes and it was the first time Brianna stopped worrying about her reckless child and came to accept that she couldn't change her" Jack said sternly.
"I'm just concerned Jack about you it wasn't meant to offend" Sam said.
"That didn't offend me and do I seem like the type of person who would be somewhere if she didn't want to be. If you think your concern offended me Sam then you're more daft than I thought, it's actually been your lack of concernment for the last two years that's offended me" Jack said rather frosty.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you Jack by leaving, it was something I had to do" she said.
"Oh fuck that Sam and fuck me being hurt. There was someone else that you walked out on that hurt a lot worse than I did. But guess what. He mended, no help from you, and I swear to God don't attend my wedding with some personal agenda or I'll take you down bitch. You think that my father's been ruthless and cruel before you haven't seen anything yet. Hurt him or anyone else I care about again Sam and God save you because I'll come after your ass and you don't know the depth of the word relentless until you've seen it in me" Jack said and walked off.
Sam sunk down into a chair feeling the hot tears that burned in her eyes. Jack was right she didn't know the meaning of relentless, Riddick had never shown this kind of ruthlessness towards her. In Jacks hands she had no mercy offered to her then words from the past haunted her again "Corner an animal and it'll show it's teeth". Jacks teeth were fully bared towards her and she knew it.
Off away on another planet there was another argument going on only this one not as ruthless. It was damn near comical.
"Cara damn it you've been in this damned bathroom for an hour. What the hell are you doing?" Riddick shouted.
"I'm trying to get myself to look decent!" she yelled.
He leaned back against the wall by the shower and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well you look decent to me" he said trying not to laugh. She was standing in front of the mirror in her skirt and bra holding a curling iron in her hair.
"Very funny you shmuck" she said.
"When the hell did you get so female on me? I never remember you spending an hour in the bathroom fussing with your hair and make-up. In fact I don't remember you ever fussing with your hair or wearing make-up at all" he said.
"When the hell did I get so female on you? As if you haven't noticed before that I'm female" she spouted off.
"Oh I've noticed before" he said walking up behind her. "I just never remember you being this vain" he whispered in her ear.
"Watch it or I'll burn you with this curling iron" she said.
"Promise?" he asked.
"When did you get so egotistical and pigheaded?" she asked.
"Oh I've always been that way, you've just always liked it before, it's part of my charm" he said.
"Charm? More like annoying" she said.
He smacked her bottom "Hurry it up woman or I'm gonna drag you there like you are" he said.
"Oh that'll be day, I'm sure the judge would have a few words to say about you dragging some poor girl in there half naked" she said.
"Why, when you'll be that way a short time after we leave he court room" he said.
"You bastard" she spat at him.
"Oh you love it and you know it" he said walking out the door. She threw a can of deodorant at his retreating body.
"Ten minutes Cara!" he called back to her. She stamped her foot and went back to messing with her hair.
Sam walked home in a daze. Riddick and Cara living together? What did that mean? Why did she care? Jacks face still imprinted in her mind made her shiver. She was so cold and frigid. She had a right to be though. Sam knew she'd have consequences to face one day for her actions.
"I guess I just never thought they'd feel like this" Sam said to herself.
She thought again about Jack. She wasn't kidding and Sam knew it, 'Hurt him or anyone else I care about again and I'll come after your ass.' The words burned her like fire. An old phrase came to mind.
"Hell hath no Fury like a woman Scorned" Sam said out loud. "And there's no fury quite like Jacks" Sam thought as she entered her apartment.