Diamond in the Rough

It didn't matter what Doug tries, he couldn't hide his swelling eye and burst lip from Claire. When she opened the door to him the next morning after Jem's attack, she looked a little uneasy that this easy going guy, her boyfriend could possibly let himself get into a situation like this.
Claire joins Doug on the sofa, resting her legs over his thighs as he sipped on his coffee.

"Are you going to tell me how you got the black eye and burst lip?" She asks, pointing to her own.

Doug licks the forming scab and nods. He knows he shouldn't have told Gloansy about Jem, but Gloansy did have a point where it came to being part of the team.

"Jem" he says.

"Why did Jem hit you?" She asks, confused."I thought you two were
close"

"We are" Doug huffs."He told me something...delicate and I told a mutual friend. He went ape shit"

"Sounds serious"

"He was just angry. I would have been the same" Doug concludes, avoiding Claire's questioning gaze.

"I know you said Jem has his issues, especially when it comes to his temper. Don't you think he overreacted?"

Doug sighs and draws his hand down his face. He's tired and guilt had kept him awake for the rest of the night, tossing and turning. He didn't have a clue how he is going to make it up to Jem. Especially after the bombshell he had dropped.

"It's complicated"

"Talk to me, Doug." Claire says, adjusting her position so she is leaning against the plump cushion.

"When Jem was in Walpole something bad happened to him" Doug begins."He was attacked. Raped by some meat-heads."

"No wonder he's so highly strung. Why do you feel so bad, though? It's not like you could have protected him. Did he go to the authorities?"

Doug sighs heavily and shakes his head.

"He didn't want anyone to know. Reporting it would just have made things worse. Everyone knows that"

"Apart from it happening and it shouldn't have. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like. Why are you beating yourself up about it?" Claire asks, threading her fingers through his.

"I didn't visit him enough. I was selfish and got clean from everything, cutting myself off from who I was back then and If I visited him, it maybe wouldn't have happened"

"You can't blame yourself for what happened, Doug. You aren't God. You can't control everything" She replies in a soft tone. She rubs his forearm tenderly.

"If it wasn't for Jem I wouldn't be here"

"What do you mean?" She asks, concerned where this conversation is going.

Doug didn't talk about his old life and rarely made references about it. Claire knew his mother had run off and that his father is in prison. She knows Doug had spent some time in prison, once with Jem when the were very young men, barely out of their teens.

"The guy Jem killed was sent to kill me" His tone is serious and even. He let's out a frustrated sigh. "He found out and did the guy first. Basically, I owe him and I told someone about what happened."

"Why would someone want to kill you?"

"Cause of who my dad is. He pissed off some people and they couldn't get to him, so they came after me." He replies quietly. The magnitude of the situation is really starting to hit home.

"I'm sorry." Is all Claire says and
Doug changes the subject.

He doesn't want to think about it anymore or talk about it. He just wants to forget about it by being with Claire.

****
Jem had been irritable when he had come home from the poker game at Gloansy's and it surprised her to feel him coming into bed around one in the morning. She knew by the tension in his body when he came to bed that something was wrong. Several times during the night Fiona had woken to Jem's restlessness and finally settled when she laid her head on his chest. He slept peacefully after that.

She is arranging her briefcase when Jem comes into the kitchen wearing a well worn tank top and jeans. He stands at the sink as he drinks a glass of orange juice, looking out the window. Fiona can see that the muscles in his neck and shoulders look painfully tense and she wonders if it had anything to do with he had returned from Gloansy's so early.

"Baby?" She touches his forearm gently as he jumps."You were miles away. Everything alright?"

"Yeah" he brushes her concern off dismissively."I don't fucking know"

"What's wrong, baby?"

"I've been wonderin' what you see in me" he huffs and leans over the sink, staring intensely at his blurred reflection in the mirror.

When Fiona doesn't answer he answers his own question.

"All I see is a crook....A prison bitch!"He says angrily, sad.

She grabs his hand and turns him around, holding both his hands like a couple would do when they take their wedding vows.

"Gloansy knows" He sighs"He knows, Des knows and soon everyone will know. They'll look at me like I'm a fuckin leper. I feel like a fuckin leper. You don't need to be with me 'cause you feel sorry for my ass."

"Listen to me right now"Fiona replies evenly."I'm with you because I love you,Jem. Nothing else."

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do. I love you so much"She replies, stroking his cheek.

"I love you too" he replies, his voice husky and his eyes glassy. He grabs the tip of her chin and kisses her softly, sweetly, passionately.