[b]Jessalyn - House - Floyd[/b]

Jess was quite happy, sitting there washing clothes. It was actually very peaceful. You could almost forget that the world had gone to hell. Here, in the swamp, it seemed untouched.

But the peace did not last long. Jess jumped nearly a foot when Floyd came stomping in, shattering the peace with his yelling. She opened her mouth to speak, but he wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise. Then he was dragging her to her feet and stomping off, just assuming she would follow.
That was it. Jess had reached her limit. She had tried being nice. She had tried being polite. Now, it was time to be serious.

When the got back to the house, Jess reached over and slammed the door shut without going in.
"I am going to say this out here and away from Abram. I don't expect you to appreciate me preserving your manly pride in front of him, but I am doing it anyway because I genuinely do respect you. Now you isten," she said, putting her finger into his chest and one hand on her hip. "Every time I have spoken to you I have been respectful and polite. I have bent over backwards to preserve your feelings and to not offend you. Now I think you should at least show me the same courtesy. I am tired of feeling like a stray dog you picked up on the side of the road and have to take care of out of guilt. I want you to care for me as a woman, not a charity case."

She removed her finger from his chest and crossed her arms. Frowning and telling off a man taller then you was not easy, but she managed it.
"I appreciate all that you do for me, how much you have done. I appreciate you not leaving me behind. You are the first real man I have ever met. But I want to be able to talk to you without fearing that I am going to offend you and have you stomping away to pout. No more talking to me like I'm a five year old and no more treating me like I can't think for myself. I went to wash the clothes because I didn't want to bother you. I was trying to not be a burden, I was trying to be considerate of you. And no I have not used a gun before but I have seen more then my fair share of shooting to figure it out."

Angry tears formed in her eyes and she looked away. "Since we've met I'm not sure if you've ever seen me as a woman and not a little girl. I'm not as young as you think I am or as naive. Life has seen to that. I don't know what I have to do to make you start seeing me as a woman. I certainly see you as a man."