(Jana refuses to let someone else have a chapter >.> The song was chosen by his voice. (that makes me sound crazier) Not to be mean, but to make a point it tries to hint at in the chapter, though, not sure why it's trying to make it here.)
Jana-
The ride away from the jail was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of Jana's life. He wasn't afraid of Orion's driving, or really, Orion, but he chose to sit in the very back trunk area of the SUV he said he'd borrowed from his friend, Xena, anyways. Seeing the building disappear was the first thing that had him fidgeting.
That's my home. That's where I belong. He thought to himself, repeating the words over and over.
His new voice tried to calm him several times, but retreated after it seemed to only make his thoughts more frantic. He sat in the back with his soaked, untied shoes as disturbing visions played behind his eyes. At one point he briefly heard mumbling, but wasn't paying enough attention to his present situation to understand who was talking or about what.
It wasn't until the car came to a complete stop, then moved a few more feet to part, that Jana lifted his head slightly. It hadn't nearly been as long as Orion had said it would take to get back to his club... Why are we stopping?
The answer to his unasked question appeared when Orion opened one of the side doors and reached over the back seat, offering him something he couldn't quite see in the dim light given off by the car's one working overhead light. Since Orion wasn't being aggressive and hadn't surprised him, Jana awkwardly reached forward and took the offered item, then brought it close to his nose.
It smells like sugar. He thought right as the chilliness of the treat permeated the cone that he was holding. His new voice was back immediately, yelling in his mind that he needed to consume the ice cream as quickly as possible.
He had always liked vanilla ice cream, but his new voice seemed a little too excited. He almost thought about giving it to Tera, just to see how the voice would react, but as his belly rumbled, eager for the treat, he figured that it was better to just eat it himself. He also wasn't sure how Tera would handle the ingredients, either.
As he began to eat slowly, the car started and Orion got them back on the road. Jana only took a few licks before his attention seemed to divert to his thoughts. The ice cream had brought back something he hadn't remembered in a very, very long time. It was a memory from when he was young, of his father buying him an ice cream cone with sprinkles and weird sugar eyes. Before his life had changed forever. Before everything he had taken for granted was stolen away.
I don't want to remember him. Not like that.
His new voice surprised him by replying with something he didn't think he'd hear from it, considering it said that it would help him, not work against him.
That's papa, too.
"No it's not! How dare you even say that!" Jana shouted as he whirled around, crushing the dripping ice cream cone in his hand as he aimed his fist at the tinted side window that had been behind him.
Don't! The new voice shouted, forcing Jana's left hand to snag his right wrist a second before the glass could be shattered. Fury burned beneath his skin as he felt the voice try to keep him from breaking the window.
"Go to hell! Go fuck that bastard you think was so fucking great! See how good it feels!"
Jana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. The voice hurried to reply, but it didn't seem to get through to Jana at all as he ground his teeth together and slammed his forehead into the side of the car to try and make the voice shut up.
"You fucking left me! All those years..." He said, his words quieting to a whisper as he finished speaking, leaving him panting heavily in the near-silence of the car. "You couldn't handle it, so you made me."
...I know, Jana. I had been a coward, but I can't change that now. The voice thought sadly.
He was about to respond with another nasty comment, and opened his mouth to do just that, when he suddenly felt something warm and damp against his forehead. The voice immediately retreated as he turned around, leaning back to sit down as his eyes found Orion's. The man had clearly pulled the car over and opened the large back trunk while Jana had been yelling at his voice.
"Hey..." Orion whispered as he gently pressed what Jana could see was a damp towel, against his forehead. "You're bleeding a little. Can you hold this for a moment?" He asked.
Unsure of the man's closeness, Jana scooted back until the towel dropped into his lap. Orion, thankfully, didn't try to lean forward in order to keep it pressed against his forehead, or retrieve it. Instead, he turned his attention downward to the grey first aid kit he had open on the floor of the vehicle.
Jana watched him silently, noting that Tera was sitting up against him, but not lifting a hand to pet her. Her ears were pinned back and he had no doubt that her teeth were likely bared in warning.
She'll protect you. His new voice whispered quietly, as if it were afraid to speak after it's last mistake.
He thought the words would make him feel more secure. To a point, they did. However... tilting his head, he eyed the man in front of him with something akin to curiosity. Even with his cold stare on him, Orion didn't seem worried. Not even when he looked up and their eyes met. In fact, he just undid a small package he'd removed from the kit, then smiled as he shifted and sat on the edge of the trunk of the car.
When he slowly offered the items from the packet; a square of gauze, a large band-aid, and a small tube of disinfectant, Jana licked his lips nervously. It became silent except for the far-off whir of passing cars and the humming of crickets. Neither he nor Orion moved. Minutes passed, yet still, the man remained calm and smiled.
Still smiling. About what? Jana wondered.
He felt his new voice nudge at his curiosity, too, but it remained silent. Without allowing himself to dwell on his decision, Jana took a steadying breath and leaned forward. His left arm reached out, fingertips barely brushing the clean-shaven side of Orion's jaw before dropping to the plastic lining of the floor.
The man's smile grew a small amount, but he didn't react besides that. He did nodding, even with a murderer right in front of him. Having touched him.
He didn't hurt you, either. His new voice added.
Jana acknowledged it's words with a silent nod as he scooted forward a tiny bit. By that time, Orion had retracted his arm and turned toward him a little more. When they both remained still for another minute, Jana moved to sit within inches of Orion. His legs were turned backward, hands between his legs so that he could lean his weight on them like some children do. He could feel the stickiness from the ice cream on his fingers as they pressed against the plastic flooring, but the odd sensation actually helped keep his mind from focusing too hard on his current situation.
"Let's take care of this little bump, alright, Jana?" Orion asked quietly as he lifted the gauze up. Jana took a shaky, deep breath and after feeling a wave of reassurance from the voice, he allowed his eyes to close part way.
Orion took the cue as an okay, and very gently began patting his forehead. Jana could feel the slight sting of disinfectant. The pain was more of a relief than Jana thought it could be. He leaned into the man's hand, savoring the growing sensation with a content sigh.
When the gauze was finally removed and a bandage placed over his injury, Jana forced himself to move away from Orion. He'd already done far more than he normally would around a person, let alone one he hardly knew. He had just needed... What? He thought to himself as Orion carefully slid from the car and got the trunk shut again.
Instead of going back to the driver's seat, however, he opened the middle door and after digging around behind the front seat, pulled something out and offered it to him. Jana wondered why Orion was giving him a blanket, but didn't bother questioning him on it. He took the item and let it drop into his lap.
Without a word, Orion nodded and ducked back out of the car. Shutting the door, he finally slid into the driver's seat and began to drive off of the service road he had pulled onto from the highway. Jana watched for several minutes as cars zoomed by. Soon, though, he began to feel his mind begin to get fuzzy with a need to sleep.
He wasn't used to staying up much. Even when he'd studied he was unable to keep his eyes open for more than an hour after lights-out. Shifting around a bit, he opened up the soft fleece blanket and laid it out on the floor of the car, then climbed onto it and laid down. He made sure that his back was pressed up against the seat.
He began to drift off, even with the random bumps from the road and rumbling from the car as Orion accelerated or decelerated. The only thing keeping him on the edge of sleep was Tera. She continuously laid down against him, then got up and switched positions, then laid down.
This dog...
After the fifth time, Jana grabbed her around the middle and rolled over, putting her between him and the back of the chair against his chest. Just like the first time she'd slept beside him, she immediately snuggled in and stopped moving.
Jana sighed and shifted just enough to allow the blanket to rest against his side, covering Tera up to her neck. Right before his mind went blank, Jana could have sworn that he heard his new voice whisper something about being proud, but he couldn't quite focus on the words as he drifted off to a deep sleep.