♦ Drive to Dolour ♦ WiP II ♦

Shoutout to my Surface tablet this was filmed on who is currently on sick leave until my extra pen charger arrives (I miss that Microsoft bastard so much y'all hahah I love my big work tablet but my surface tablet is my SON T.T just a few more days to go though hahah we'll be reunited soon <3)

My abnormal emotional attachment to technology aside, here's the preview of a nearly finished painting I shared the wip of some weeks ago! I was skeptical about the colors at first, almost turned it black/white/red too, but I ended up liking it as it is!

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One of the most heartbreaking parts about this whole part of the book this scene takes place in is that, moments after this, Rick would finally find out that Jake's mother, Alice, and primarily her boyfriend Soren, were trying to send Jake out of the state. This was something that was in plan for a long time, something Rick was partially aware of Alice was at least considering, and was desperately trying to convince the Grimport police to react before it's too late. And while the police did what they could at the time, procedures proved too slow, and it was pure luck Rick had been driving around Jake's apartment every single day and noticed Alice handing her son over to strangers so he could react in time.

Of course, Jake never returned home after that night. The trafficking attempt was thankfully stopped in time, but it forever destroyed any chance for Alice to have her redemption, no matter how much Rick kind of wanted her to have one before, in spite of everything.

Alice, in her own right, was a very interesting character to me. She was a victim of a broken system as well, and in a lot of ways, she was extremely relatable to Rick, which is why he struggled believing she would ever sink as low as to actually put Jake in harm's way. She was born into a family that didn't want her and had no means to provide her with basic needs a child has, and she was unfortunate enough to find herself in quite a similar situation with Jake. He was a child she wasn't prepared to have, a child she didn't want, yet couldn't leave either. Without any support system, she found herself seeking comfort and safety in the only places that would take her, and thus she met Soren, the man that promised her that future at a cost of her loyalty.

Everything Alice did since was utterly unforgivable. She put Jake through hell to help Soren grow his drug business, used him for sympathy and extra cash until Jake began speaking out about the abuse he was experiencing, and Rick got involved in their lives. Upon realizing Jake was a liability and knowing she couldn't put him up for adoption as he knew far too much about their drug business, she opted instead to do one of the most inhumane things a person ever could. It was when Rick realized her despair turned her callous and never allowed her near Jake again.

Soren died, but Alice remained, and for years she roamed the streets of Grimport. She must have known what happened to Soren and feared the same fate might come her way, but more than anything, she resented the cards she had been dealt with. It's why she kept returning every now and then, roaming around Jake's school even when she knew she shouldn't be there. She resented his new life, she resented him for breaking the cycle, and she resented everyone who helped him get there.