"I know you're trying to push me away. But it's not going to work."
Jacob meant that both literally and figuratively. Her foot on his shoulder was not going to hold up against him moving his entire body closer to her, and her attempts to relate her "bad" connections would not scare him away. There may have been times where Jacob looked like he fit into the "stodgy, strict dad" category, he was not put off much at all by mentions of drugs or sex.
Then there came the words that Jacob was shockingly too-familiar with. There had been so many people in his life, including women he had pursued and the woman he was currently with, that had said the same thing. "You don't know me." But as many times as he learned of the dark and violent pasts a person lived, Jacob refused to ever believe that they were inherently a bad person. He believed that about everyone. Maybe not everyone was good at their core, but everyone had to have some grain of decency or something to learn of.
He would have to demonstrate to Thorn that she was not his first "bad" person to confront, and he would also have to show that he was just as willing to give her care, and even love, as he did for the other people. Sighing, he got up and walked over to the door.
"Maybe you're right. I don't know all of you. I'm not you. But don't think for a second that I can't empathize with you, or that I think it's impossible to help..."
Opening the door a crack, he peeked outside before closing it again and locking the door. Then he walked, quietly and calmly, over to his desk and picked up his picture of Lenn.
"... Lenn was a killer when I met her. And I mean that literally. She was an assassin. A hitman-er-woman. She too came from a dark past of forced experimentations and violence. She too thought that she was beyond saving, and tried to distance herself from me. But I persisted. Out of love and concern for her, I opened myself and my home to her to try and give her a chance at a life she thought she would never have.
I did that because I believed in her..."
Jacob was admitting a lot to Thorn, and without Lenn's permission. But it was a risk he was willing to take because he did not think Thorn would let it leave the room. He would also not put all the risk on Lenn either. He would take some of it.
"... I received the bullet wounds on my chest because I was willing to give everything to help. I even put myself in harm's way to finally break the ties to her violent past once and for all.
I ended up drugged by some bitch and beaten, and turned into a monster that killed many men trying to get at this... beast of a woman that drugged me. Then I got her and I fucked her out of revenge. I would say I raped her, but I know she enjoyed it..."
He was visibly shaking as he admitted everything to Thorn. He was opening up to her in the hopes that she might open up just a little to him.
"... Then I killed her. With that sword you see on the wall. Impaled right through the chest and into the bar counter I had bent her over, right after I came in her....
I tell you this because I want you to know that no one will always ever be 'trash'. People, like Lenn and like you, can change for the better. And people, like me, can fall harder than you can ever imagine. But I still try. Because I believe."
Jacob meant that both literally and figuratively. Her foot on his shoulder was not going to hold up against him moving his entire body closer to her, and her attempts to relate her "bad" connections would not scare him away. There may have been times where Jacob looked like he fit into the "stodgy, strict dad" category, he was not put off much at all by mentions of drugs or sex.
Then there came the words that Jacob was shockingly too-familiar with. There had been so many people in his life, including women he had pursued and the woman he was currently with, that had said the same thing. "You don't know me." But as many times as he learned of the dark and violent pasts a person lived, Jacob refused to ever believe that they were inherently a bad person. He believed that about everyone. Maybe not everyone was good at their core, but everyone had to have some grain of decency or something to learn of.
He would have to demonstrate to Thorn that she was not his first "bad" person to confront, and he would also have to show that he was just as willing to give her care, and even love, as he did for the other people. Sighing, he got up and walked over to the door.
"Maybe you're right. I don't know all of you. I'm not you. But don't think for a second that I can't empathize with you, or that I think it's impossible to help..."
Opening the door a crack, he peeked outside before closing it again and locking the door. Then he walked, quietly and calmly, over to his desk and picked up his picture of Lenn.
"... Lenn was a killer when I met her. And I mean that literally. She was an assassin. A hitman-er-woman. She too came from a dark past of forced experimentations and violence. She too thought that she was beyond saving, and tried to distance herself from me. But I persisted. Out of love and concern for her, I opened myself and my home to her to try and give her a chance at a life she thought she would never have.
I did that because I believed in her..."
Jacob was admitting a lot to Thorn, and without Lenn's permission. But it was a risk he was willing to take because he did not think Thorn would let it leave the room. He would also not put all the risk on Lenn either. He would take some of it.
"... I received the bullet wounds on my chest because I was willing to give everything to help. I even put myself in harm's way to finally break the ties to her violent past once and for all.
I ended up drugged by some bitch and beaten, and turned into a monster that killed many men trying to get at this... beast of a woman that drugged me. Then I got her and I fucked her out of revenge. I would say I raped her, but I know she enjoyed it..."
He was visibly shaking as he admitted everything to Thorn. He was opening up to her in the hopes that she might open up just a little to him.
"... Then I killed her. With that sword you see on the wall. Impaled right through the chest and into the bar counter I had bent her over, right after I came in her....
I tell you this because I want you to know that no one will always ever be 'trash'. People, like Lenn and like you, can change for the better. And people, like me, can fall harder than you can ever imagine. But I still try. Because I believe."