Page 51 of Broken Pieces
“Are you okay?” Sarah asks, her face plastered with concern. “There’s blood on your shirt.”
I quickly blink as I look down and gasp when I see the red smears on my breast that clearly look like someone’s groped me.
Quickly covering it with my hand, I say, “Yeah, I fell over earlier and scuffed my hand, guess I didn’t realize it was bleeding.” The lie comes far too easily.
This could be my chance to tell someone what's been happening to me, but for some reason the words don't come. A twisted part of me can't wait to see what my tormentors will do to me next.
Sarah looks at me oddly and I must look like I’m crazy. My face feels boiling hot and I’m sure it’s bright red. “I should get inside, clean up.” I smile at her, but my lips tremble as I try to hold it.
“Look, I know you don't like me, Vi—Violet, but if you need to talk to someone, I'm here."
She can't possibly know what's been happening to me…can she?
Looking down at her feet, Sarah scuffs the toe of her shoe on the ground. "I…" she trails off and clears her throat, before looking back at me. "Just be careful dating James. He's…look I'm just here if you need a friend, okay?"
"Dating? I'm not with him, Sarah." I frown at her, confused by the sudden mention of him.
Her eyes suddenly widen in what I think is fear and she quickly stammers, "Oh, sorry, I must have heard wrong. Forget I said anything. I'll seeyou in a few weeks. Have a good break." She rushes off, before I can ask what she meant.
"Umm, yeah you too," I call after her and I'm not sure if she even heard me as she keeps her head down.
Has James really been telling people we're dating?
I'm starting to think that the sooner I get away from him the better. I thought he was nice, even whilst being a little too persistent and I was the one too caught up in my own head to give him a real chance, but maybe that's for the best.
That uneasy feeling creeps up on me again and I don’t want to hang around outside any longer so I run straight up to my room.
As soon as I close the door, my phone rings in my skirt pocket. I answer it without even looking at the screen, hoping it might be them. That this might be my chance to finally hear their voices again.
“Nice of you to pick up this time.”
I inwardly groan at the shrill voice on the other end. Disappointment settling heavy in my chest.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Your father and I need to know if you’re coming home for the summer. It’s about time you showed your face here. It’s so disrespectful, Violet. I can’t believe you wouldn’t even come home to show your brother some support when he needed it and now you're still making me look bad.” Her icy words pierce right through my heart and I do my best to hold myself together.
“Mom, I’m not—”
“Your brothers won’t be here, if that’s the problem. You should at least come and visit your father.” She sounds nervous about something, like she might really need me to help smooth things over withReginald, but that’s not my problem. If she’s screwed this marriage up, that’s her shit to deal with, not mine.
“Are Max and Maddox not at home? Where are they?” I try to not get my hopes up for the answer. If she tells me they're at home right now, then I've really gotten myself caught up in something dangerous with two strangers.
I’m about to take a seat at my desk, but realize I can’t sit down like this. As I wait for her reply I pull my underwear off and grab a wet cloth to clean myself up.
I should have a shower, but I don’t have the energy right now. All I plan on doing after this is sleeping.
“Oh, I don’t know, something about a wilderness holiday or something. They should really be thinking about their futures, not going off to some cabin where I’m sure they’ll be doing nothing but drugs, alcohol and girls.”
She goes off on a rant about how bad their prospects are looking and how it makes her look bad. Knowing I won't be able to get a word in, I take the time to clean up at the sink, throw some fresh clothes on and collapse into my desk chair to apply my moisturizer.
I don’t pay much attention to anything she's saying, I’m stuck on the thought of them partying in some cabin, hooking up with countless girls.
"What cabin?"
"The one the boys used to go to when they were younger. Reg has always wanted us to have a little family vacation there, but I'm not staying in some rundown shack," she scoffs.
That must be why I've never heardof the place before now. I would have loved to have gone on a trip like that, but of course she didn't think to ask me what I wanted.