Loud and clear

After that day, Jason had changed his tactics. Becoming even more distant and harsh towards Jenny. Where he had treated her like a ghost before, he was treating her like a germ or like she carried an infectious disease now. The moment she went upstairs, he would go downstairs. If she headed into the dining room, he would stop in the middle of his meal and walk into the living room. Recently he had even started locking the door when he went into what used to be their room, denying her any access to that space. Even after she tried to talk about what had happened between them that night, he denied doing any of it. Leaving her at a loss for words and Stephen and Susan, who were watching from the sidelines, concerned about if they would be able to overcome this hurdle. Even they didn't understand Jason's reason for behaving this way. He had been searching for her for so long and now that she had returned, he kept pushing her away. But it was not their place to meddle. This was something they had to overcome by themselves if they were to grow from it.

During her days at Westwood mansion Jenny was working hard between studying her but off and trying to make Jason forgive her. She had also found out what Jason had done in her absence and what he had said to his family after she had left. In order to make them stop interfering, he had made an example out of the people that had talked to her that day at his birthday party. After he had crushed them, he had declared to the others "Let me make myself very clear. This had better be the last time any of you try to involve yourselves in my personal life. Otherwise the next time I won't be showing any mercy. No matter who it may concern, family or no family. I. Will. Make. It. On. My. Own. I don't need her help or anyone else's help for that matter to help me reach my goals. So, stop concerning yourself with my matters and focus on your own before I take it all away."

Hearing his words, she considered a wake up call to herself as well. She didn't need to be useful to him, he was a force to be reckoned with without her lifting a finger or be by his side. With her supporting him, he would become even greater and he would easily surpass his enemies all on his own. She had known that ever since he had told her of his plan. Somehow she had forgotten this at the time. But his message had been loud and clear this time. Making her as motivated as ever to earn her spot next to him back. As her time was starting to run out, Jenny was thinking hard of what she could do in the few days that remained till their deadline.

During this time she would go to school, whereas Jason would stay at home or go to the office in order to avoid seeing her. Everyday she would have to tell their friends that she had still not succeeded in getting him to take her back and in turn they would give her advice on what she could do. They too could not understand why Jason was behaving the way he was. Not after all the pain he had gone through in order to get Jenny back. Of course she couldn't tell them about her conversation with Jason, where he had told him that his fear was holding him back. That had been an emotional conversation where he had shown a side of him that even she hadn't seen before. He had shown her his weak side. Regardless of how difficult Jason was making things for her, Jenny remained strong. Waking up with new motivation day after day. In order to make him trust her once more, no matter how cold and mean he was to her, she would pester him every chance she got. Clinging to him and cooking him things he liked. Putting on a cute act. Pleading for forgiveness. But no matter what she did, Jason remained cold and distant. Up until the week was almost over.

Feeling a bit defeated, she tried to talk to him one more time. She climbed the stairs up to the first floor. Each step feeling heavy as she got closer to Jason and a possible heartbreaking rejection. She saw that his door was open and from the gap she saw Jason holding a few red roses. Thinking those might be for her, she cheered up and with a hopeful smile she knocked on the door before making her way in. Innocently she asked, "Hi...What are you doing?" As expected Jason did not respond. But Jenny continued, "It's almost been a week since I returned. Can you believe it?" Again her words were followed by silence on his part. A bit hesitantly Jenny asked the question that had been on her mind since she saw the roses in his hand. "Could those be for me?"

Finally Jason responded, but the words that came out of his mouth were as harsh as ever. "These? This is just some trash I found lying around. What would I give you flowers for?" Though those flowers had actually been intended for Jenny, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Despite what his cold behaviour towards her implied, he hadn't been unaffected by her actions during the past few days. He had seen how hard Jenny had been trying to earn back his trust. He had always had a weak spot for her and with each day that passed he had more difficulty with maintaining his distance. So, even though he wanted to do nothing more than pull her into his arms, he couldn't get his feet to move forward. By now even he himself didn't fully understand why he still couldn't take that one step in her direction.