Russian roulette

Jason did not expect Jenny to be so affected by what he had told her, because she wasn't really the crying type. He was having mixed feelings seeing her like this. He was happy to know she cared enough about him to be able to cry tears for his pain, but he didn't like seeing her this sad. It had been a long time since he had thought back to those times. Especially since Jenny had come into his life, his thoughts had been occupied by her and his world had turned a lot brighter. Each laugh they shared, each silly act and every adorable response she gave when he teased her, pushed any negative thoughts he might have further and further away. In fact, if it weren't for Jenny asking about his "family" now, he would have been able to spend his without ever thinking back on those years. Feeling they weren't worth it to influence his mood for a day. But even before Jenny came into his life, he had been too busy with slowly preparing to pull the rug from underneath their feet, to think about the events from the past. Thinking that all they were good for was sweet revenge!

When her emotions had calmed down, Jenny sat back down. She held Jason's hand tightly and used her other hand to cover the back of his hand as well. She turned sideways to face Jason and asked "That story was so incredibly sad Jace. How are you able to tell it with such a sense of calm?" Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I know it is sad, but it is reality and it is mostly in my past. It won't do me any good to be sad about it. Instead I hope to be able to change it so that. Maybe I won't be able to change it for the current generation at the top, but I am determined to change it for my generation or at least the one after mine. I cannot accept my future children growing up in such a toxic environment."

Jenny started to feel a sense of admiration for Jason, who was so young, but had such a wonderful goal in life. He had put such a heavy responsibility on his own shoulders but didn't seem fazed or pressured by it at all. The clarity in his eyes made Jenny believe he would be able to do it. She didn't know how he would do it, but if anybody could do it, it would be him. He knew no fear, he wasn't held back by the notion of family and had the strength and abilities to push his plans through. A gentle smile came on Jenny's face as she looked at Jason. "I believe in you..." That is all she said and squeezed his hand. Jason returned her gentle look and squeezed back.

The rest of the train ride was spent in a tranquil silence. Jenny was lying in Jason's arms and was looking out of the windows into the dark while Jason was resting with his eyes closed. After another half an hour, they arrived back at the hotel and they washed up to get ready for bed. They were both quite tired from both the fun earlier in the evening as well as the heavy conversation they had during their private train ride back. Despite her tiredness, Jenny was unable to sleep. Jason's words kept repeating themselves in her mind as she laid in bed, looking at the patterned ceiling. The more she thought about, the more curious she became. One question kept popping up no matter how many times she waved it away. She looked over at Jason to see if he was still awake, but he was vast asleep. She sighed and decided that it would have to wait till tomorrow. So, she too adjusted her body to a more comfortable position and shut her eyes to catch some sleep.

The next morning Jenny woke up early after a rather restless night. She had turned to her side and was facing the still sleeping Jason. She looked at him sleep and tried to resist the urge to touch him. They hadn't closed the curtains fully last night, so a beam of light was shining into the room and was forming a glow around Jason's face and body as he was breathing gently. He looked so peaceful, but his handsome features made her want to trace the lines that formed his face. With her hand floating just above his face, she barely touched his dishevelled bed hair, before pulling her hand back for fear of waking him. After waiting in silence for another ten minutes or so, Jason's started waking up on his own. As if he could tell subconsciously that Jenny was waiting for him and he didn't want to make her wait for too long, so he forced himself awake. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and facing Jenny with a sweet smile and half-closed eyes.

Jenny happy that he was finally awake, and she could ask him the question that had been on her mind. She put her hand on the side of his face and stroked him gently before she asked him "Jace can I ask you a question about what you told me last night?" Jason's eyes cleared up and his face became more serious when he heard these words. "Sure. Ask whatever you want." With some hesitation Jenny asked the question that had been on her mind "Well, I have been wondering about something since last night. It's about your cousins. There is strength in numbers, right? So, if you know that they are forced by their parents and the situation, and you think they are unhappy with the current ways either, why not help them now? If you help them now to escape their situation, won't they be able to help you when the time comes for you to act out your plan to change it all?"

"I understand where you are coming from, but I can't help them now. There is strength in numbers, but there is also danger in trusting the wrong people. One person can mess everything up. I don't know their intentions yet and some of them might be too far gone. They might already be brainwashed into thinking the same way their parents do. If I help them now. it's like playing Russian roulette. Every hand I hold out might be the one that pulls the trigger on me. Right now, I need to tread carefully. Once the control of the Westwood empire is my hands, I can try to lure out the rats to separate them from the good. Until then I can't show any weakness because they can use it against me and more importantly, against you and that is something I can't risk."